American Red Cross Offering Free Class to Help Military Families Cope With the Stress of Deployments
Last update: 2:09 p.m. EDT Oct. 13, 2008
WASHINGTON, Oct 13, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Course Presently Available in Sixteen States and Washington, D.C.
The American Red Cross today announced a new course. Coping With Deployments: Psychological First Aid for Military Families, is now available. The course, offered free of charge, is open to military family members of active duty, Reserve and National Guard forces, as well as veterans and their families. Presently, the course is offered in sixteen states (Ala., Ark., Calif., Colo., Fla., Hawaii, Ind., Minn., Neb., N.H., Ohio, Ore., Pa., Tenn., Texas, and W.Va.) and Washington, D.C. However, the Red Cross plans to make the course available across the country in the summer of 2009.
The Red Cross developed the course to address the stress and strain of deployments on military family members to include spouses, children, parents, siblings and significant others of servicemembers and veterans. The course is taught by actively licensed Red Cross mental health professionals. The Red Cross worked closely with subject matter experts from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, to include active duty, National Guard and Reserve commands, in development of the final curriculum.
"The American Red Cross is rooted in a proud tradition of providing support to servicemembers, veterans and their families for more than 100 years," said Sherri L. Brown, sr. vice president, Service to the Armed Forces. "From the front lines to the home front, the Red Cross will continue to help servicemembers and their families receive the services they need into the future. We are thankful that we can be there to help those who have served our nation."
The course provides significant information on resiliency strategies for adults and children. Resiliency is the process of how one quickly recovers from adversity or change. The course also explains the easy steps involved in psychological first aid which involves providing immediate support to people in distress. A significant resource and referral section in the course helps families identify resources that can provide additional assistance to them quickly. When taken as a single session, the course lasts four hours. It can also be divided into a module that focuses on adult issues which lasts two and a half-hours or a module focusing on children's issues which lasts one and a half-hours.
Interested families and individuals in the states presently offering the course can sign up to take the course at their local chapter, or they can call the local chapter to find out how to schedule a course for a military family group. Local chapters can be located by visiting www.redcross.org.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization -- not a government agency -- and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at www.redcrosschat.org.
SOURCE American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
American Red Cross Offering Free Class to Help Military Families Cope With the Stress of Deployments
Mullen: PTSD screenings for all returnees
Mullen: PTSD screenings for all returnees
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Monday Oct 13, 2008 12:24:14 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s top uniformed officer is calling for all returning combat troops, from privates to generals, to undergo screening for post-traumatic stress with a mental health professional, a move aimed at stemming an epidemic of psychological issues among veterans.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there’s a reluctance to acknowledge psychological problems for fear of showing weakness. Troops now fill out questionnaires after combat tours that help determine whether they have suffered psychological damage. They’re examined by medical professionals for physical injuries, but not by mental health experts.
“I’m at a point where I believe we have to give a [mental health] screening to everybody to help remove the stigma of raising your hand,” Mullen said. “Leaders must lead on this issue or it will affect us dramatically down the road.”
About one in five combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from post-traumatic stress or depression, according to a study by the Rand Corp. In all, Rand estimates that 300,000 veterans have been affected and it could cost more than $6.2 billion to treat them.
Half of the troops Rand surveyed reported that they had a friend who was seriously wounded or killed. Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were highest among soldiers and Marines, the study said.
“The PTS issue is something we just all have to focus on,” Mullen said. “I think it’s a bigger problem than we know.”
Mullen’s proposal is in its infancy, and there are no estimates about its potential costs or when it would start. Another potential complication is the number of available mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Pentagon budget records show the military has increased signing and retention bonuses for these professionals in recent years to make up for shortages.
Troops also know how to evade certain mental health questions to avoid treatment. Mullen said the Pentagon still has not addressed the negativity surrounding mental health care, which has kept many troops from seeking help.
A trained mental health professional who meets one on one with a service member can detect signs of post-traumatic stress in as few as five minutes.
Troops worry their careers will suffer if they seek mental health care, said Terri Tanielian, co-director of Rand’s Center for Military Health Policy Research. If Mullen’s plan increases access to confidential care, she said, “we will go a long way to removing the stigma associated with getting mental health care.”
Help for Families Facing Military Foreclosures
The Biggest Untold Mortgage Crisis: Help for Families Facing Military Foreclosures
by Carla Douglin , October 08, 2008
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/76821
More and more military families are finding themselves in the middle of a mortgage nightmare. Soldiers are returning after several tours of duty, only to find they are on the verge of losing their homes. While trying to rebuild their lives, they face the additional pressure and stress of a looming foreclosure.
According to one recent study, the number of foreclosures in military towns are four times the national average. Why? Because military families were targeted as customers during the boom in subprime lending. Their frequent moves, overseas stints, and low pay meant they were likely to have weak credit ratings. The initial low rates and easy terms of these loans made them more attractive than the traditional route of taking out a Veterans Administration (VA) loan. In fact, at the peak of the U.S. subprime lending, the number of new VA loans fell to their lowest level in 12 years.
With that in mind, it is not surprising that a large number of military families are being caught in the subprime mortgage collapse. Fortunately, there is some help in the form of the Servicemembers´ Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA was created to protect soldiers and sailors from losing their homes for nonpayment of mortgages while they are on active duty and for 90 days after they return home.
Those who qualify for the SCRA include members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp and Coast Guard. Also included are members of the public health service, commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Guard members who were called to active service during a national emergency and authorized by the President or Secretary of Defense for more than 30 consecutive days. In addition, citizens ordered to report for induction under the Military Service Act, and those serving with the Allied Forces are also covered under the bill.
If you are covered under the SCRA, a court ruling must be made before a foreclosure sale or seizure can occur to your property. Military personnel can ask for a court delay and be issued a 90-day adjournment. If the court denies the delay request, an attorney must be appointed to represent the service member in absentia.
If the lender forecloses without a court order, the sale is invalid. If a foreclosure sale was conducted lawfully, there is still some recourse. Foreclosed property cannot be seized until the service member completes active duty. In addition, the SCRA grants military personnel the right to revisit a default foreclosure judgment that was issued during active duty and also gives them the right to ask that it be overturned.
For veterans facing foreclosure, it is critical they understand the process and take action. There are two types of foreclosures – judicial and non-judicial. Judicial procedures are followed by states that use mortgages as the security instrument for property loans. Non-judicial procedures are used by states that use deeds of trust as the security instrument. For veterans who live in non-judicial foreclosure jurisdictions, lenders can foreclose on a property very quickly and without court proceedings.
For questions about the SCRA contact the Judge Advocate General´s office at your local military base or the local Veterans Administration regional office.
Monday, October 13, 2008
UPDATE: WILL VA'S WALL OF SILENCE QUASH "SHREDDER"
UPDATE: WILL VA'S WALL OF SILENCE QUASH "SHREDDER"
INVESTIGATION? -- VA Secretary Peake's obligation to veterans
is clear cut. But, will he "do the right thing" as he promised?
Story below:
UPDATE: WILL VA'S WALL OF SILENCE QUASH "SHREDDER" INVESTIGATION?
VA Secretary Peake's obligation to veterans is clear cut. But, will he "do the right thing" as he promised?
by Larry Scott
Yesterday we reported on documents found in shredder bins at the Detroit Regional Office (VARO) of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). The documents included claims for disability benefits and other paperwork critical to the claim process. Story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfoct08/nf101308-1.htm
While this may seem shocking to some, it isn't so shocking given the history of that office. Veterans, Service Officers and attorneys will tell horror stories of "lost" documents or paperwork "not received."
The VA's Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) made this discovery. We await their report.
We also await some sort of official statement from the VA on this matter. As reported, a highly-placed official at the VA's Central Office (VACO) merely said, "I can't talk about that."
This attitude is indicative of the VA's "wall of silence" when it comes to bad news.
Since this story broke over a holiday weekend, we haven't heard from VA Secretary James Peake. But, when we do, it will be something like this: "This is an ongoing investigation and VA will take appropriate measures pending the outcome." Basically, more silence.
We see this over and over. When confronted with veterans at the Marion, Illinois VA demanding action concerning the deaths of nine of their brothers, Peake said, "We don't do public floggings." More about the Marion situation here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=marion&op=and
Peake's condescending attitude toward those in his charge, the veterans of America, displays more arrogance than exhibited by most third-world dictators.
We also see this in testimony before Congress when the VA is called on the carpet about problems in the system. It's kind of like those retailers who get caught for bait-and-switch advertising, settle with the government, then say, "We didn't do anything wrong, and we won't do it again." VA promises to solve the problems then goes on its merry way to offend again. We see their lips moving, hear sounds, but know the sounds are meaningless... another form of silence because the real issues are not remedied.
Peake, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs prior to his confirmation, said he would "do the right thing" for veterans.
Well, Mr. Secretary, it's time to do just that.
A number of VA Watchdog dot Org readers have sent me portions of the U.S. Code that show the problems Detroit VARO employees may be facing.
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 101 > § 2071
§ 2071. Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally
(a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
(b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.
And, then there's this section of the Code that outlines Secretary Peake's obligations.
TITLE 44 > CHAPTER 31 > § 3106
§ 3106. Unlawful removal, destruction of records
The head of each Federal agency shall notify the Archivist of any actual, impending, or threatened unlawful removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records in the custody of the agency of which he is the head that shall come to his attention, and with the assistance of the Archivist shall initiate action through the Attorney General for the recovery of records he knows or has reason to believe have been unlawfully removed from his agency, or from another Federal agency whose records have been transferred to his legal custody. In any case in which the head of the agency does not initiate an action for such recovery or other redress within a reasonable period of time after being notified of any such unlawful action, the Archivist shall request the Attorney General to initiate such an action, and shall notify the Congress when such a request has been made.
Will this be done?
Or will there be more silence from Secretary Peake and other VA officials as they try to sweep this under the rug... or call it an "isolated" incident... or try to convince us that no documents went missing or were destroyed... or...
Care to take a guess?
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Me I am waiting to see if any Congressman or Senators pick this up from the VA Watchdog.org website and ask Secretary Peake about the validity of the charges here, it's the least they can do, and if it has happened at Detroit VARO have they found the same behavior at other VARO's as indicated and who has been or who will be held accountable?
Agent Orange and other things
Wally / Paul --
That was a good article. Glad it is circulating. Thanks Paul, for sending.
Having spent the last 40+ years as a biostatistician in the pharmaceutical industry and having analyzed several hundred clinical studies supporting new drug applications and new drug
maintenance (label claim defence), your point has interest.
The questions for the moment are these:
-- are you CERTAIN that age is "the variable" of interest OR is it "time since exposure"?
-- have you separated the data that you've counted in terms of enlisted/officer? The reason is
officers usually got to the theater at age 21/22 or later, whereas enlisted folks may have been
in theater at ages 18/19/20? Do members have "an age factor" or is it "time since exposure"?
What happens to the officer corps as opposed to the enlisted corps? Are they different?
Some of the below may be well-known to you and others. As a Blue Water Sailor, there are a couple of difficult issues that matter:
-- maps of sprayed areas are available. Locations of cities relative to these sprayed areas are available.
-- climatic data are available for the areas where ships were either on the gunline or in the Gulf.
-- prevailing wind data is also available and some are captured.
-- there's a VERY GOOD STUDY of ocean currents written by the Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography. This paper studies the South China Sea. The author is reworking some details to be able to put them on a two-dimensional display to provide to the Dept of Vets Affairs (DVA).
-- one "hiccup" is the water distillation procedure. DVA refused to accept or consider the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) study because it was not published in a refereed journal. I have a great deal of trouble with this because we're talking kitchen chemistry -- not rocket science. Fact: Agent Orange (AO) is insoluble and will not 'go into solution'. However, when a chemical is carried in water and that water is boiled the chemical we're discussing will settle on the walls of evaporator chambers. The next time those evaps are filled and boiled to create steam, the chemical on the sides of the container is concentrated, repeat often until your evaps are taken down, cleaned and demineralized?! Blue Water Sailors were -- just like the folks in the Brown Water Navy or ""in country"" -- inhaling Agent Orange in the air, consuming the water distilled (single distillation potable water) in iced tea, coffee, bug juice, you name it. We were wearing uniforms/skivvies washed in it. Sleeping on sheets washed in it. We showered/shaved in this same water. To think Blue Water Sailors escaped AO simply by being at sea is patently absurd!!!
How does all this apply? The runoff from sprayed areas washed into rivers which went to sea. Going to sea there was a 'plume' of contamination carried into the ocean. Then showing the direction and rate of travel toward 'gunline stations' or the 'Tonkin Gulf fleet on Yankee Station' matters. It is not quite time to pull the trigger on this since there are limited odds that anything will happen while the present Congress
is in session this week. Best to prepare for the new Congress in Jan 09.
The National Veterans Legal Service Program (go to nvlsp.org) has filed suit to ensure a full-court review.
They object to the CoA opinion which was based on a tribunal (three judge) decision.
The Blue Water Sailors' Tale Getting Told in NC is great news. However, seems to me this must be supplemented by everyone contacting three members of Congress -- your two senators and a representative and alert them that DVA and the Court of Appeals (CoA) decision is an attempt to rewrite history by insisting now -- 40+ years after the fact -- that those with ""boots on the ground"" (in current vernacular) are the only ones eligible for presumptive claims of all the various diseases the DVA has declared presumptive is an abrogation of their responsibilities -- for budgetary reasons apparently. It is more than just a little difficult to requalify since the Republic of Vietnam no longer exists. ...and keep in mind some prominent Vietnam veterans were also reclassified as Vietnam-Era Veterans: Senator McCain, former Senator (and Admiral) Jeremiah Denton (84 - honored 9/19/08 at POW Day in CA, author of When Hell Was in Session [c]1982) and VADM James B Stockdale, (died in 2005 at age 81, former president of the Naval War College and The Citadel) -- they were imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton NOT in the Republic of Vietnam?!
The only real solution to this situation is legislative. Congress must act and it must be signed at the White House. Congress must step up and direct DVA to restore full rights to holders of the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM).
You may know all this. What may not be known is there is a Yahoo! Group focusing on this issue --
BWS_tonkingulfyachtclub. All are invited, no charges, no fees... To join:
1. Go to a Yahoo! home page
2. Find the word "Groups" in the box just below the word Yahoo! Click on "Groups".
3. You'll be asked for a Group of interest -- enter bws_tonkingulfyachtclub
You'll also be asked for a Yahoo! ID and a password. When these are entered you'll be asked for your
favorite email address -- when you enter an address any notes/messages come directly to your inbox.
4. When you see the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club patch you can click on 'files' to read the holdings, click on
'photos' to check the collection. Use the "back arrow" on your browser to change between selections.
5. When finished, you can click on "home" to escape.
More will be added in the near future...
Just passing it along
Dear Mike (Beetle) Bailey: I just read about you and recognized that you may come in contact with Active-Duty Military, National Guard/Reservists, and Veterans.
I'm a 1983 graduate of Irvin High School in El Paso and a 1988 Distinguished Military Graduate from UT El Paso Army ROTC. My military-to-civilian career transition began in 1994. I wrote a book to help those that consider a career outside of the military.
Let me introduce a book I wrote that may be of interest to you and the Veterans you serve!
The Fort Living Room Transition Course, may come in handy for anyone considering a career outside the military. Our motto: Showcase your talent, don't bury it! This book can help you - REGARDLESS OF RANK!
The Fort Living Room Transition Course is ideal for anyone who:
* plans to retire from the military.
* served in the National Guard or Reserves and returned from deployment to unemployment.
* received a medical discharge and had to leave the military prematurely.
* reached all of their personal goals and plans to enter the civilian workforce.
* is unemployed or under-employed.
* is just not sure.
You may know a Veteran, friend, or client who needs support during military-to-civilian career transition.
Please check out www.fortlivingroom.com.
You can watch the videos and learn more. You can order a copy of The Fort Living Room Transition Course - prepared military for civilian success!, by clicking on the picture of the book on the website. This will take you to the Tate Publishing website. The book costs only $16.99 each, plus shipping ($19.74 total).These are brand new books straight from the publisher.
You can also get my book at several online stores such as; Barnes & Noble.com, Target.com, Borders.com, Amazon.com, Powell's Books, and several others. (click on the store names and it will take you directly to my book)
I'm also available for presentations to organizations who support military. Feel free to contact me to discuss.
Have a great day!
Chazz
Phone: 623.640.7645
chazz@fortlivingroom.com
www.fortlivingroom.com
Get the book that everyone's talking about!
The Fort Living Room Transition Course
-prepared military for civilian success! is NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Check out www.fortlivingroom.com.
Support Our Military! Tell a Friend!
Shredding Our Trust in the VA
Shredding Our Trust in the VA
VA investigators find entire claims and other critical documents in shredding bins at Detroit Regional Office. VA official will only say, "I can't talk about that."
by Larry Scott
Many veterans who have filed disability claims with the Veterans’ Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans’ Affair (VA) will relate horror stories of misdated, misfiled or lost documents all leading to delays in processing or an outright denial of the claim. The mantra for veterans dealing with the VBA has become: “Delay, Deny and Hope that I Die.”
It has been assumed by many veterans, their Service Officers who help file claims and attorneys who specialize in veterans’ law that the VBA operates in such a way as to deliberately stall or hinder the claim process with the goal of frustrating the veteran to the point where they just forget about the claim and go away. This isn't some grand plan to purposely hurt veterans, but rather a combination of ignorance, arrogance, incredibly bad management and non-existent oversight. While this viewpoint has been labeled cynical by some and outright paranoid by others, new information is surfacing that shows the cynics, and even the paranoids, to be correct.
What We Know
The VA’s Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) has been conducting audits, or investigations, of a number of VA Regional Offices (VAROs). There are over 50 VAROs around the country, each set up to handle the claims of veterans in a particular geographical area.
The latest series of VAOIG investigations centers on charges that VARO administrators and employees deliberately falsified “timeliness” statistics sent to the VA’s Central Office (VACO). This would be information that shows when a claim was received and how, with a documented timeline including date/time stamps, it moved through the process.
The first heads have begun to roll in this investigation. During the week of October 6, 2008, four employees at the New York VARO, including the Director, were placed on administrative leave. More accurately, they were removed from their positions awaiting the outcome of the investigation. Sources close to this investigation say that those removed, and others, were found to have been fudging the “timeliness” figures. And, there are allegations that documents, including paperwork essential to the claim process had been destroyed.
Another VARO under investigation is Detroit. On September 5, 2008, VARO employees were called to a meeting with the main topic being their poor performance levels. They were told that the Director had been called to Washington to answer questions regarding the poor performance.
At that meeting, VARO officials announced an “amnesty period” for anyone who had old claims at their desk or stashed in other places around the office, a direct procedural violation. Employees were told to turn in paperwork so they could try to get the “timeliness” numbers up. Officials also stated that a VAOIG team would be coming shortly to inspect the VARO and urged all employees “to be prepared.”
By mid-September the VAOIG team had arrived at the Detroit VARO. What they found staggers the imagination. VAOIG discovered hundreds of claims, documents critical to claims and other valuable information in the shredder bins. Those bins were removed from the shredder area and the documents were screened by upper management.
It is unclear if the VAOIG team actually “seized” any of the documents in the shredder bins. What we do know is that after the VAOIG investigators left the Detroit VARO, management continued to find more critical documents in shredder bins. A meeting was called and the Director told employees that it was known who had thrown out the documents and that they would be fired. The “amnesty period” for turning in mail kept at employee’s desks was extended in the hope of turning up all “lost” claim documentation.
On October 2, 2008, the Detroit VARO Director began a “no record mail” program. This was meant to find all mail in the offices for which there, literally, was no record. Quoting from an employee directly involved in this process: “…discovered in the thousands of pieces of ‘no record mail’ we found original applications, medical evidence for veterans’ claims that had not been included in the decisions, informal claims (that likely could affect original dates of claims), and other relevant identifiable mail items.”
On October 7, 2008, quoting again from the VA employee, “…the Director, Service Center Manager and other top management ransacked our work areas in search of mail that was being stored/stashed at individual’s desks. They sent some individuals home, and the others were told to wait in the break room until the end of their shift. I can’t attest to what they found in the work areas, but individuals were pulled aside and questioned.”
Then, on October 9, 2008, quoting again, “During a training session the Director…stated that other regional offices have already placed numerous supervisors on administrative leave in regards to ‘cheating’ on their numbers, and that with as poor as our station numbers [are]…at least we aren’t cheating on our numbers, or at least not cheating well.”
So, what is being done in the Detroit VARO to put an end to this mess? Not much. The VA employee adds with a noticeable sadness, “…They don’t seem to have any answers yet. They have juggled the supervisory staff around to different departments for some reason, and have been telling us to stand by for further training on our job functions. There are still items of mail at my desk currently that I have been told to hold on station since they don’t know the disposition of these types of mail yet [and]…they keep finding new piles of mail that date back to March of 2008 [and further] that’s had no action taken on it.”
What We Don’t Know
At this time, we don’t know how many VAROs have been caught up in this investigation or if the VAOIG teams just went out to “sample” some VAROs and hit pay dirt in New York and Detroit.
We also don’t know what VACO is going to do about this. A highly-placed VACO official, when told that this information was going public, gulped, paused, and said, “I can’t talk about that.” And, one of the VAOIG investigators who was at the Detroit VARO will not return phone calls on this matter.
The worst part is, we don’t know if any documents were actually shredded. By its very nature, shredding would eliminate the evidence of what was shredded. We may never know unless a VA employee comes forward and says that they did it or saw it done.
CYA Time
We will have to wait for the VAOIG reports before we can get a handle on how widespread this problem of “timeliness” is. Is this happening at all 50+ VAROs? A number of former VA employees have said that they believe the “timeliness” issue exists in all VAROs. They are of the opinion that there is widespread abuse of documents as they come in to the VARO. No one felt that any VARO Director would actually tell employees to hide or destroy documents, but the general feeling is that this is “winked at” and a standard way of handling the paperwork crunch at the VAROs.
Several former VA employees have postulated about how the VAOIG reports will turn out. They feel that the VA will claim that any hiding or destruction of documents was done at the lowest possible level and without the consent or knowledge of anyone above that person’s grade, then make promises that it will never happen again. A former VA attorney decided that it is impossible for such “widespread abuse to occur” without knowledge of its existence at all levels of the VARO.
We can expect statements of outrage from VA Secretary James Peake. We can expect hearings from the politicians on Capitol Hill. But, what will this really accomplish? Will any of this change the way the VAROs operate? Don’t count on it.
Shredding Our Trust
Although it is not clear at this time whether any documents related to a disability claim were shredded at any VARO, it is safe to assume that they weren’t sitting in a shredder bin waiting to be processed by a claims representative. What has been shredded is veterans’ trust in the VA.
By deliberately hiding vital documents and delaying claims, the VBA has lived up to its reputation and to the slogan so many disgruntled vets hate to say but know is true: “Delay, Deny and Hope that I Die.”
VA executives are fond of touting their agency as “non-adversarial” when it comes to the disability claim process. Prior to his confirmation as VA Secretary, Dr. James Peake promised the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs that he would “do the right thing” for veterans. It appears he missed the mark.
The VA’s biggest fear is that the VAOIG investigations will open the doors to, perhaps, tens of thousands of re-filed claims from every veteran, Service Officer and attorney who has had a claim or appeal timed-out because their paperwork was “not received in a timely manner.” While that would add to the huge backlog of claims facing the VBA at this time, it may be the only solution.
The VBA has shredded veterans’ trust in the disability claim process. It’s time for them to re-earn that trust.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This has happened to many times in the past and it is really doubtful that anyone will be terminated over this, managers will be moved around, Regional Officers will retire with all of their benefits and promises made by the "new guys" to do better and in five or ten years we will discover the same mess and the veterans and their families will continue to suffer under this. Instead of Veterans Affairs it needs to be renamed Veterans Advesary Agency they try real hard NOT to help.
