VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence will oversee a search the department's new undersecretary of health and undersecretary of benefits.
Officials saw an 18% rise in MST-related requests last year after targeted efforts to encourage filing and reform the claims process.
Department leaders had warned of funding gaps of up to $18 billion but now believe those estimates were too high.
Roughly three-quarters of the 16,000 known U.S. veterans who served at K2 in Uzbekistan are already receiving some disability benefits, the VA said.
