Loose Cannon

Continue to seek answers everyone... LC

FYI Video Folks: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/html5/video?id=9406509&pid=null&section=null LC

Thanks to those who took the time to reply to me via personal messages and emails. Nice to know so many "have my back" and agree. This arrogant attitude is NOT reflective of this website, yet it is becoming more and more accepted it appears. Disregard jerks who act like this. You know who you are...and we know who you are. Just no place in society for that stuff and encouraging to see so many of you agree. Let the haters hate. Moving on now... LC

Hey Chuck, Not sure if you get what we're talking about. In a nutshell: FACTS: The Ebenefits site had a breach of information recently. It affected a minimum of 5,000 veterans. Much personal info including FULL SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS were released over the internet. The post was just a suggestion some may want to take, however thank you for your additional insight. LC

SecondChance - Very happy to hear your good news...Congrats! After viewing asknod's comment, Post #12 of this thread, I commend you on your restraint. His comment was not only insulting and condescending, but it proved to be completely WRONG. Amazing nobody calls him out on not just his content, but his arrogance. This attitude is NOT reflective of this website, yet it is becoming more and more accepted it appears. Disregard jerks who act like this. Just no place in society for that stuff. Enjoy your win! LC

Combat zones often include surrounding waters (as was in Desert Storm, other operations, conflicts, wars). Might not be "rock solid" evidence but couldn't hurt. Any specific operations that are documented would help prove participation too. jmo, LC

Congrats! That is one cute doggie you have in your screen pic. I have a long-hair chihuahua too! LC

I believe the advice meghp0405 gave above applies to you as well...It's all speculation on our part until you see the paper copy of your claim decision. Hang in there! LC

Glad to hear you got copies of your treatment reports...Smart move. Sometimes they don't like to give out mental health treatment reports on the spot as they are afraid of upsetting the requesting veteran. I thought there was a recently passed change that now instructs/ allows them to do that now but maybe I'm mistaken. No worries...They should arrive by mail in about 10 days or so. Only thing I'd ask is..Why your VSO thinks your SA claim will be denied?...Then won on an appeal. Is it for lack of evidence? What justification does he/she give you to predict that? I don't know about you but I'd want to avoid having to appeal anything once a claim runs it's course. As we all know, the process is long enough. I don't want to fight the VA for the rest of my life unless absolutely necessary. Hope you pose that question and get a satisfactory answer. Good job StreetWalker! Hope you have a good weekend. Stay warm wherever you are! LC

Carlie - Don't even know how to respond to your comments. I expected more out of a moderator. yada, yada, yada?? Really? You bet I'm "enamored" with a group like Lauren's. I'm very proud to stand by her and seek to improve the mess of a system we have today for those who come after me. You want to throw up the white flag, go ahead. Never said we would "save you all" as you stated above. The goal is to improve the system. Ah, but you've "been there & done that" and it didn't work so nobody else should try? I respectfully disagree. I'm willing to put my existing claim in peril to make my stand and voice my concerns. Don't think for a minute I don't think someone from the VA is lurking on the site, reading my comments and wants me silenced. Let the chips fall where they may. The cause is bigger than any $$ the VA owes me. Thanks for your encouraging words as usual. LC

Asknod - Instead of picking apart your massive metaphores, insults, and inuendos I've decided to take the high road one last time before calmly writing you off as part of the problem. I can't force anyone to read the information contained on http://www.veteranwarriors1.com/index.html Too bad - because if you had you would see Lauren Price has laid out a very detailed step-by-step plan that if acted upon, could very well change the lives of veterans & their families for many years to come. So what is your motivation to discredit any grass root organization that calls for change such as hers? Perhaps it is the fact that you stand to lose a lot of money on the book deal you have. That's right. After your own claim was completed you decided to capitalize on it by having a book published. Your book has since received very poor reviews by several respected members here on this website alone, not to mention many others - Go back and read their comments for yourself. Not very flattering. So if the VA claim system is in fact overhauled, like many vets are calling for, your book sales would be outdated & irrelevant. You may have had a distinguished military career with many hard-earned decorations. I don't question that. Like several of my Hadit family brothers & sisters, I too have medals with the combat "V" on them. Most of us don't place ourselves on a pedestal as you did with your above barrage of chest pounding and demoralizing comments. We just did our job and came home (most of us - only with the grace of God) to a system that is broken and struggling at best to keep up with our claims. You like to use fancy words to express yourself. Many vets are tired of fancy words. We get them all the time from the VA...from lawyers...and from politicians. Talk is cheap. Action speaks much louder Sir...Asknod...or Buckwheat as you so aptly signed your post. Maybe it's you who should reexamine YOUR approach and give our proposed change a look. Or are there other reasons you care to disclose as to why you won't lead, follow, or simply get out of our way? just sayin' LC

Thank you sooooo much for posting this. It is very important, yet something too many of us put off for a "rainy day" to do. I started working on this, got sidetracked, and need to complete it yesterday! Don't want my loved ones to have to search for documents, etc. after I've gone to the "Rainbow Bridge!" LC

The American Legion is challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take whatever measures are necessary to protect veterans personal information after a recent software defect on its eBenefits website exposed the online accounts of about 5,000 veterans to unauthorized users. American Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger wonders why such data breaches continue to plague the department. "We’ve seen VA expose sensitive information about veterans before," Dellinger said. "Now it has happened with the relatively new eBenefits website. How can VA expect our veterans to file for benefits online when they may be risking identity theft by doing so?" The defective software allowed veterans and servicemembers logged onto eBenefits to view account information of other users. After discovering the problem, VA shut down the system and switched over to an earlier version of the software. VA’s Data Breach Core Team (DBCT) is reviewing the eBenefits failure. According to a statement issued by VA, once the DBCT determines the individual veterans affected, "VA will take the appropriate response, which may include free credit monitoring for the affected individuals, consistent with VA’s standard practice." "There should be no ‘may’ in that statement," Dellinger said. "We want VA to guarantee credit monitoring services for every individual whose personal information may have been breached. That is the least VA can do to atone for its latest compromise of data." Dellinger credited VA for informing the public about the eBenefits failure and for taking immediate action to minimize the damage. "But these data breaches need to stop," he said. "VA can’t continue to expose our veterans to identity theft. VA needs to take care of defective software before rolling out any online system." Continue to be careful folks! LC

AT LEAST THE AMERICAN LEGION IS DOING SOMETHING: http://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/218285/legion-va-protect-veterans-personal-information LC

We agree on that one! IRIS has been the most useful but still, vets often get "computer generated, canned answers that often dodge the questions we submit. Persistence and following-up with additional IRIS questions is a must to get specific questions answered. And still, they dodge providing specific answers. I would think many like you would welcome the proposal to overhaul the VA's current claim system at http://www.veteranwarriors1.com and to lead the veterans of our country toward real & meaningful reform - which is sorely needed. Instead, you shoot the messengers... Respectfully Submitted, Loose Cannon

Very eloquently written asknod. I don't want to hijack eg1970's topic but your comments regarding Ebenefits and the 1-800 call center do nothing but re-enforce what many of us are facing. Those 2 "services" are what the VA offers us to follow our claims. If they are both unreliable and/or non-functioning means to do this then why are the taxpayers dollars being wasted on them. Safe to say, most agree they provide little or no valuable assistance. But it's all we got! Simply telling a vet not to rely on them is not helping fix the problem. Just my thoughts for whatever it's worth. LC

StreetWalker - Keep fighting day by day. Living with constant pain is awful but we need people like YOU to inspire US. Take care & hope you get good news soon. LC

LATEST NEWS VIDEO ON 1/23/2014 http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/abc11_investigates&id=9403782 LC

NEW VIDEO UPDATE: 1/232014 RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There are new developments surrounding the data breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now, it turns out that the breach the ABC11 I-Team first reported on last week may only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to VA privacy concerns. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/abc11_investigates&id=9403782 LC

Paranoid, huh? Your right to your personal opinions cease to exist when you slander other members here at Hadit. I simply asked you a question. You respond by " personally diagnosing me as paranoid." Guess you think you're a doctor now. You have much to learn about how the VA is treating this country's veterans. The proof is written about by many right here at Hadit...only you continue to drink the cool-aid the VA puts out there. I pity you AB. So congrats on a pissing contest victory since you obviously won't let the issue go quietly. Your ego needs it more than mine. Out of respect for other members I will no longer reply to your far-out opinions and disregard of facts. Peace. LC

Sorry to hear of your fall. I try to visit the ROI (Release of Information) office at my local VAMC every 3-4 months to get copies of all my latest doc notes just for that reason. Had some "head shaking" comments in mine as well. Not sure how to go about correcting stuff like that or, if it's even possible...Patient Advocate maybe? At least if it was a regular Primary Care Doc you could ask them wtf (tactfully of course!). But an ER doc? That's a tough one. I feel you RUREADY. In the meantime...get well fast! LC

It's all good navy04...LOL!... Nobody worse than multi-tasking than me, trust me! LC

My sentiments EXACTLY...Nicely written! LC

Pretty sure he's no longer working. Totally agree that going back would hurt any hope of TDIU or SSDI. LC