Immersive tech, maximum readiness: How DHA and VA are partnering to transform warfighter and veteran healthcare

News – Immersive tech, maximum readiness: How DHA and VA are partnering to transform warfighter and veteran healthcare

Immersive tech, maximum readiness: How DHA and VA are partnering to transform warfighter and veteran healthcare

UNITED STATES

07.28.2026

Story by Robert Hammer 

Defense Health Agency

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Carrie Howe had difficulty beginning and managing tasks with anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder — but a mixed reality game at the Immersive Health Care Technology Demo Daychallenged her to move, react and engage with activities.

The former combat helicopter pilot tried an extended-reality headset July 15 during the joint Veterans Health Administration/Defense Health Agency event at the Washington VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The game had a simple outcome: It encouraged her to “get started,” she said.

“I think this would be a great tool for people who just need that little kick-start of dopamine or adrenaline to help them get up and unload the dishwasher or go outside to take a real walk,” Howe said.

DHA’s Web and Mobile Technology Program Management Office and the VHA’s Strategic Initiatives Lab hosted the event, where service members, clinicians, veterans, and agency leaders tested tools and provided developers with feedback on their potential uses in military and veteran healthcare.

DHA, VA partnership benefits the warfighter and veteran

The event joined the two federal health systems that care for many of the same patients at different stages of their lives.

“The Department of War is in the business of making veterans. It’s a byproduct of what we do,” said James Perkins, acting program executive officer for the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Medical Digital Solutions. The DHA and Department of Veterans Affairs share utmost responsibility for continuity of care as patients move from active duty to veteran status, Perkins said.

DHA leaders emphasized the partnership supports the DHA director’s priorities by delivering warfighter medical readiness, giving service members access to tools to get them back into the fight sooner, and providing the healthcare enterprise all beneficiaries deserve.

“It’s really important that we’re collaborating, that we have these innovation opportunities to explore different tools and capabilities that benefit all service members and their families,” Perkins said.

The event also demonstrated how the key partnership helped the agencies collect stronger evidence, improve tools, and decide on future expansion. The DHA and VA aim to strengthen their collaboration to give more veterans and service members access to immersive technology to support pain management, anxiety and PTSD treatments, addiction recovery, and physical and recreational therapy.

Technology designed to help warfighters, veterans navigate challenges

Attendees tested virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality tools, known as extended reality or XR.

The DHA demonstrated various tools and software, including:

• Immersive Wellness: A mixed reality mindfulness and wellness toolbox
• VR PTSD Runner: An empathetic therapy for PTSD management and trauma-informed care
• VR for Mental Health: An immersive support tool for therapeutic engagement and psychological resilience

U.S. Public Health Service Rear Adm. Ivonne Arena, DHA’s acting assistant director for Research, Development and Acquisition/Component Acquisition Executive said the tools could strengthen clinical care and military readiness.

“Technologies like VR have the potential to transform how we train our workforce” to strengthen skillsets in delivering medical warrior currency, she said, and the tools “help our service members, enhance readiness, and improve the overall experience of our patients and providers.” Arena emphasized the technology has a further benefit: access to key data.

“It’s not just about the VR technology itself but also having access to the biometrics that are collected by users. This data can be useful to develop more tools, and to be able to use them in the right way in the future,” she said.

For providers and clinical staff, the event was designed to demonstrate how technology can improve patient outcomes, serve as a new tool for complex cases, support their own wellness, and offer an opportunity to try the technology. For leadership, the demo day provides an opportunity to offer clinical and operational perspectives to development teams and learn how the intersection of joint warfighting capabilities — research, technology, and mental healthcare — directly impact lethality.

“Immersive technology isn’t just about innovation; it’s about readiness,” said Alistair McLean, program manager for DHA’s Web and Mobile Technology Program Management Office. “Whether we’re helping providers strengthen how they deliver care or supporting a service member’s recovery so they return to full duty faster — today’s demonstrations show that these tools have direct implications for how DHA delivers on its core mission.”

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This work, Immersive tech, maximum readiness: How DHA and VA are partnering to transform warfighter and veteran healthcare, by Robert Hammer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.

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