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allan
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Posts posted by allan
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VA, SSDI, SSI, Disability Reviews, Cuts, Terminations!
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/08/05/va-ssdi-ssi-disability-reviews-cuts-terminations/
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Family Caregiver Program For Injured Vets. UPI Veterans "may be eligible for a family caregiver program if they are medically discharged for a serious injury, officials say. Dr. Robert Petzel, Department of Veterans Affairs under secretary for health, says US law, for the first time, provides a direct benefit to designated, approved family caregivers of eligible post-Sept. 11, 2001, veterans, including monthly stipends and health insurance." The article notes that almost 1,650 applications had been received as of July 26, and 567 stipends averaging $1,600 monthly had been approved.
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Marines Surveyed Because Of Contaminated Water. Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry "is in the midst of largest health survey it has ever conducted and one of the largest surveys of its kind in the US. From now through December, more than 300,000 Marines and civilians who lived or worked at Marine Corps Camps Lejeune and Pendleton before 1986 will receive a detailed survey asking questions about health conditions possibly related to contaminants." The survey's focus is on exposure to harmful chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune, but Camp Pendleton workers and residents are being surveyed for comparison purposes.
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False Government Death Reports Leave People In The Lurch. Chicago Sun-Times Hardships faced by the estimated 14,000 persons who each year are erroneously reported as dead by the Social Security Administration. One Chicago man, Jeffrey Zych said that he "had to go through a whole ordeal. I had to get doctors, the VA (Veterans Administration) and other people to say I was alive." The Vietnam veteran, looking into an undelivered Social Security disability check, was informed by the SSA that he was listed as dead. He then received a letter from the VA, stating that his VA payments were due to stop since the SSA had informed them of his demise, "but the VA gave him 90 days to clear up the matter. He did so, but only by providing a parade of documentation. If his VA benefits checks had stopped coming, too, he would have lost his house, Zych said."
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] The Army now admits they ordered troops in the first Gulf War to destroy their critical wartime records
Date: Aug 4, 2011 12:22 PM
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/troubleshooter&id=8286665
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Since local veterans brought to ABC11's attention the roadblocks they're facing because they have few medical records from the time they served our county, an investigation has now revealed what happened to those records.
In May, 82nd Airborne veteran Sgt. Gerry Propst said he was being denied military benefits for service-related injuries because he didn't have most of the medical records from his five years of Army service during Operation Desert Storm.
The Army now admits they ordered troops in the first Gulf War to destroy their critical wartime records.
Related Content
Story: Health records missing for Gulf War vets
Propst says for years he had been telling his story, but not many people believed him until recently when a letter from the Department of the Army surfaced.
The letter confirms what so many veterans that served in the first Gulf War have said.
"They were throwing our medical records and every non-essential piece of equipment in the burn pits, because there was no room to fly it home," Propst said.
Through a public record request, the Army sent ABC11 a copy of the original letter, which includes the admission.
Click here to read the letter
"Units were told to destroy their records since there was no space to ship the paper back to the states," stated Dr. Gary A. Trogdon Chief of the Public Inquiries Section of the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
The letter also states that the order to destroy records is in "direct contradiction to the existing Army regulations." And that officials later discovered that "nearly all records below the brigade level no longer existed."
Propst says among the missing records is documented proof of a serious back injury he suffered during a parachute assault in the Middle East.
A back injury that is now haunting him years later and has him fighting for compensation.
"I've been dealing with denials, I know I'm not alone," he said.
And he is not, veteran Chris Layton says he feels Propst's pain.
"I don't have any medical records or records to show anything," Layton said.
Layton, a former Fort Bragg paratrooper who also served in Desert Storm, says he hurt his back on a jump and there is no record of it.
"You're expected to do a job in the military and then you expect if something happens that you'll be looked after," he said.
ABC11 provided Senator Kay Hagan with the letter from the Army to get her reaction.
"My first reaction was certainly the military didn't destroy any records and so getting to the bottom of that has been interesting," she said. "I wanted to be sure what the protocol was to do such a thing and why."
In turn, Hagan wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta asking what the protocol is if records are lost or missing.
"I just want to be sure we get to the bottom of this so those veterans that have served our country and military, that we are certain that they not only can get the VA services, but the benefits they deserve," Hagan said. "I mean these people have fought for our country."
She is currently awaiting a response.
In the meantime, Propst and Layton say since ABC11's story first aired, they have both heard from the Veterans' Administration and had examinations to determine if their injuries are service related.
The examination was good news for Propst, who says the VA doctor gave his medical opinion that all his medical issues are service related.
He is now just waiting for the official VA decision in writing and what that will mean in terms of compensation for those injuries.
Meanwhile Layton, is also waiting to hear what the VA determined about his injuries.
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Agent Orange And Vietnam Ending A Fifty Year Legacy. Gilmer (TX) Mirror
A recent trip to Vietnam led by Edgar, for the Ford Foundation, which has a major project to alleviate damage from Agent Orange herbicide. Noting that the US "now compensates Vietnam-era vets for 15 serious health conditions and one birth defect related to exposure to the dioxin that was part of those herbicides," but says that less than 10% of Vietnam's rehabilitation needs have been met. The article notes optimistic signs, including inclusion of $18.5 million in 2011 appropriations and an already-begun AID remediation project for the Da Nang airport. It also recommends that the US adopt "a long-term action plan like that drawn up by the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin."
http://www.gilmermir...ies_left_column
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Labor Official Resigns After Findings That He Gave Work To Favored Contractors. McClatchy
“A top Labor Department official in charge of helping veterans find jobs resigned this week amid findings that he had steered work to favored contractors.” Raymond Jefferson “oversaw the department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, known as VETS, a federal effort to help veterans find jobs and protect their employment rights. It was geared to the veterans who couldn’t get job assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs, whose employment and training programs are directed toward former service members with disabilities related to their military service.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/28/2335395/labor-department-appointee-resigns.html
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/08/01/top-10-veterans-stories-23/
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VA Grilled On Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Army Times
“The Veterans Affairs Department was in the hot seat Thursday after an audit found it had awarded at least 1,400 contracts intended for veteran-owned companies to ineligible businesses. The contracts were specifically set aside for veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, but because companies can self-identify, many falsely identified themselves as veteran-owned.” Thomas Leney, the executive director of small and veteran business programs at VA, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee’s oversight panel that his job is to “fix verification and make sure it stays fixed.” Leney “will update the subcommittee in 90 to 120 days on further progress.”
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/07/military-va-veteran-owned-small-businesses-072811w/
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/08/01/top-10-veterans-stories-23/
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Panel OKs Email For VA Claims Notifications. Air Force Times
Legislation allowing email to be used as the primary means of notifying veterans about the status of pending disability benefits claims was approved Thursday by a House subcommittee after a few changes were made to ensure veterans could not be inadvertently hurt by electronic rather than paper notifications.” The House Veterans Affairs Committee’s “oversight and investigations panel also approved a bill requiring the Labor Department to post information on its website about the number of veterans hired by federal contractors.” The full Veterans Affairs Committee will take up by the two bills in August, as “part of a package of legislation that the panel wants to pass before Congress takes its summer break.”
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/08/01/top-10-veterans-stories-23/
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- Bill Would Change Standards For Agent Orange Victims. Shore News Today Bob Ford, the senior vice commander of VFW Memorial Post 9462.
- http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/index.php/pleasantville/pleasantville-opinion/14190-bill-would-change-standards-for-agent-orange-victims.html
<LI> SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/07/29/top-10-veterans-stories-22/
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• Big Changes In Treating Wounded Troops Delayed. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review“A special task force charged by Congress with proposing widespread changes in the way the United States treats its sick and wounded military members on Tuesday delayed discussing the most substantive reforms until next year.” Although the Recovering Warrior Task Force “initially expressed dissatisfaction with the Disability Evaluation System, a program that links the Department of Veterans Affairs to the military services, members decided…to table a recommendation to begin a ‘major overhaul’ of the system.” The Tribune-Review adds, “Although pleased that the task force had begun to address some problems he identified in 2009 and early 2010, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Noel Koch said the panel’s response was too timid and sluggish to remedy the suffering of thousands of military personnel and medical caregivers who are often overworked and underappreciated.”
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_748584.html
SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/07/29/top-10-veterans-stories-22/
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: Military retirement is not a "move to Easy Street"Date: Jul 29, 2011 10:24 AM
From: Was
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 11:15 AM
Subject: Military retirement is not a "move to Easy Street"
Military retirement is not a "move to Easy Street"
July 29, 2011
(This was taken from www.military.com)
Military Retirement Faces Overhaul
July 26, 2011 • Terry Howell
Some in the DOD are pushing to dump the current retirement system and replace it with a version of the "Thrift Savings Plan" similar to the one currently offered Federal Employees. This plan would allow DOD to save money by making contributions to a civilian style 401(k) retirement plan.
According to some reports, the DOD would also use the new retirement plan as a lever or incentive by offering increased contribution rates for those who opt for multiple deployments, hardship assignments, and high demand or unpopular military occupations. In addition, service branches could use it to entice service members to retire early or stay in longer.
Unlike past changes to the military retirement plan, which shielded current service members from the changes, the plan presented by the Defense Business Board would not grandfather current service members. The plan would go into effect immediately and includes current and future service members.
Under that plan, new recruits would start immediately earning TSP contributions, but, would have no incentive to stay in the military for 20 or more years since they would not get a fixed-benefit pension. Current service members would begin receiving TSP contributions immediately and would earn a graduated percentage of their pay if they stay in the military for 20 years or more.
Their fixed pension rate would be based on their years of service when the new plan kicks in. For example a service member who has 15 years of service would get 37.5 percent of their base pay at 20 years in addition to the new TSP contributions.
Some see this as a way to make the system more flexible or fair to those who serve less than 20 years and a great way to reduce the overall cost of military retirement.
COMMENT: This may or may not have merit. The math works out to be pretty much the way it is now so the kicker would be the dollar amount contributed to their TSP. Would DOD be allowed to change the game like was done to the COLA computations? COLA was changed because the administration changed the rules. They decided to remove food and energy costs from the figures so that there would be no increase in the cost of living.
Some of the things I see is that they are going to put the service men and women in the same program that other Federal workers are in. Most GI's are forced to retire in their 40's or 50's so their earning years, as well as their incomes, are well below the Federal workers who can work until they are 65 or 70. For the service man or women this is also a point in their lives when they have school age children and maybe even a mortgage
Lets also talk about military retirement for moment. Unless you retire as a 4 star general/admiral there is no way that you can retire from the military. According to the dictionary Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. Won't happen if you were in the military and not at the top of the officer ranks. People seem to think that anyone who has retired from the service is on easy street. Most of us who retired were in career fields that don't translate to a civilian career. Last time I checked United and American Airlines had no position for a Tailgunner. Our choice then becomes taking whatever job you can find or go back to school on the GI bill which again has it's own complications. I moved on the average every 3 years, just time enough to get settled, make new friends and start packing again. Not really enough time to make the critical contacts that would lead to employment.
SMSgt George Schryer (ret.) is a 24-year Air Force veteran. He served as a B-52 tailgunner (see insert on the masthead) in Vietnam. Tailgunners were trained to not only protect the plane from the rear from enemy fighters but to also assist other B-52's following in a formation that might have experienced difficulty with their radar in locating the target. The tailgunner in the forward plane would use his radar to locate the target and then signal to the following plane where to drop its bomb load. The technique was called "The Bonus Deal." George and his wife Gail have lived in Beaufort County for the last 17 years and since his 'second' retirement from Grady White Boats in 2006 after 12 years there. He is a life-member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, currently serving as the Chief of Staff for the Commander of VFW District 2. George will be offering information for veterans and their families and commenting on issues he believes are important to all of us. He speaks for himself and not the Air Force, VFW or anyone other than himself. We thank George for providing this "Bonus Deal" to the veterans and their families in our readership. You can contact George at: schryergeorge@yahoo.com
__._,_.___ "Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: It's Time to Rally - Take Action TodayDate: Jul 29, 2011 8:53 AM
Go to web site
http://capwiz.com/ncoausa/issues/alert/?alertid=52258501
From: Non Commissioned Officers Association [mailto:rschneider@ncoadc.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 12:11 PM
To: Dan Cedusky
Subject: It's Time to Rally - Take Action Today
COLA CHANGE LOOMING UNDER DEFICIT REDUCTION
An old idea is emerging with supporters in both Congress and the Administration to establish a Chained-CPI as the new COLA Standard replacing the current CPI formula for annual cost of living adjustments in federal programs. The index revision is a consideration to reduce the National Debt by reducing federal entitlements and changing the tax code. The Chained-CPI grows slower than the current CPI by an average of 0.3% points a year over the past decade. Adoption would eliminate NOT ONLY the first COLA increase in more than 2 years but produce future military retiree loss of substantial lifetime retirement income. Some estimate the cumulative potential loss of income of a Master Sergeant (E-7) retiring today to be $100,000 after 20 years.
Others impacted by a Chained CPI and its reduced cost of living adjustment include: Every person receiving entitlements from the Department of Veteran Affairs but most notably, Wounded Warriors, and all who receive Disability Compensation, Pensions, Survivor DIC; America’s citizens who receive Social Security benefits. Arbitrarily depressing the annual inflation rate by different criteria in a proposed Chained CPI will limit or eliminate the annual cost of living adjustment. This action on former members of this Nation’s Armed Forces, their survivors, and all Social Security recipients should be rejected. It’s potential harm to those who have worked and supported America in both the short- and long- term is unacceptable.
This call to action is for you, your family, your neighbors. Spread the word. Be an active part in this ALERT!
__._,_.___ "Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Thank you people of Oklahoma
Keep electing people like this and "ALL" promises made to military personnel will be gone. Why stop at health care? Why not remove "all" retirement benefits? Why not remove "all" compensation benefits as well?
Why not just do away with the Dept of Veterans affairs? Think of the savings that could be made eliminating this government agency and the bums using it.
These people are like vampires. One drop and they will never be satisfied until it's all in their control and there's riots in the streets.
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To: Veteran Issues by Colonel Dan <VeteranIssues@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [VeteranIssues] Anti Veteran Sen Coburn R-OK still at it
Date: Jul 25, 2011 5:45 AM
http://www.washingto...l6WI_story.html
partial reprint below
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wants to cut taxpayer funding for non-military elements of the Defense Department, starting with making retired, uninjured service members pay more for what he described as "extremely low-cost health care for life" for themselves, their spouses and dependents under the Tricare Prime system.
For military retirees eligible for Medicare, he also wants to raise the co-payments that they are charged to be in Tricare for life, the second payer for health care after Medicare. In addition, he wants to increase low fees that Tricare beneficiaries pay for pharmaceuticals purchased at their local drugstores.
Former defense secretary Robert M. Gates proposed raising Tricare Prime enrollment fees for single retirees from $230 a year to $260 a year and fees for retiree families from $460 a year to $520 a year. Coburn wants the fees to be much higher and more in line with private-sector health plans.
Part of his concern is fairness, first for uninjured veterans who, for example, served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan but "leave the military without serving 20 years [and] are not entitled to any of these health-care benefits." They represent some 70 percent of those serving, according to Pentagon officials.
Another comparison he makes is to other federal government workers whose plans are not as cheap. A medical doctor, Coburn told reporters last Monday: "Nobody in the country, as a single person working 20 years for the government, should be able to get health care for $250 a year. Nobody was ever promised that, and nobody should be able to do that."
Instead, he wants to increase the enrollment fee for single retirees to "approximately $2,000 per year and $3,500 for a family." At the same time he would limit out-of-pocket expenses at $7,500 for those retirees with families. He thinks these changes could save $11.5 billion a year.
His Tricare for life would require retirees to pay up to $550 for half the initial cost not covered by Medicare and then up to $3,025, after which all costs would be paid by Tricare. This change could save $4.3 billion a year.
Coburn wants to reduce the $8 billion annual government share of the cost of drugs that Tricare beneficiaries purchase from their local private retail pharmacies rather than buying them at lower cost by mail order or at military base facilities. Where the price is now $3 for a 30-day supply of a generic drug and $9 for a brand-name from private pharmacies, Coburn would raise that to$15 for generic and $25 for brand names and save some $2.6 billion a year.
Coburn told reporters he has no doubt about the reaction to his Tricare ideas.
"There's no question," he said, ". . . retired military, they won't like what I've done. But the fact is is nobody's going to like what we've done, because everybody gets a pinch everybody. "
__._,_.___ "Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
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Rare lung disease found in war zone soldiers
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/07/gannett-rare-lung-disease-war-zone-soldiers-072111/
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Major Court Decision Rules Against BCMR’S
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/07/18/major-court-decision-rules-against-bcmrs/
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From: Colonel Dan <colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net> [Add to Address Book] To: Veteran Issues by Colonel Dan <VeteranIssues@yahoogroups.com> Subject: [VeteranIssues] Pass to your friends in OK! Agent Orange Presumptions In JeopardyDate: Jul 20, 2011 8:09 AM
Pass to your friends in OK..
Take action let your reps know..stop this BS
http://capwiz.com/vfw/callalert/index.tt?alertid=51700501
From: Teresa Morris [mailto:tmorris@vfw.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 9:04 AM
To: Dan Cedusky
Subject: VFW Action Alert: Agent Orange Presumptions In Jeopardy
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is adamantly opposed to an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to change the manner in which presumptive disabilities related to exposure to Agent Orange would be determined. The senator wants to require veterans to prove a positive connection between Agent Orange exposure and one or more of the 15 presumptive illnesses that the VA now recognizes. We cannot allow this amendment to pass.
Vietnam veterans have suffered long enough from the effects of exposure to Agent Orange. For decades we told the government that being exposed to Agent Orange made veterans sick. Now that the VA Secretary has determined he had the scientific evidence required to recognize the disabilities, we cannot allow a change in presumptive rules just because the government can't balance its own budget.
The cost of caring for our nation's veterans continues long after the last shots are fired. America and the United States Congress must live up to that obligation.
Please contact both your U.S. Senators today and tell them that Coburn Amendment #564 to H.R. 2055 is a deal breaker with America's veterans.
__._,_.___ "Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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It’s time for the government to prove to all those afflicted that Agent Orange IS NOT the cause of veterans health problems.
Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com
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Getting accountability is the first step to resolve the Agent Orange issue.
Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com
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To: Veteran Issues by Colonel Dan <VeteranIssues@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [VeteranIssues] FW: VUFT Bulletin #47 2
Date: Jul 13, 2011 3:59 AM
Attachments: 47-071211.pdf
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 11:00 PM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: Fw: VUFT Bulletin #47 2
----- Original Message -----
From: "Veterans United For Truth, Inc." <scook@vuft.org>
To: <bhandy@vuft.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 4:27 PM
Subject: VUFT Bulletin #47
If you are a subscriber only, please consider joining us - you can do so on
our website. It is free, and the larger the numbers the more clout we have.
Please forward the bulletin to those on your mailing lists who are
interested in military and veterans' affairs.
ADRBriefs ~ Vol 29 No7 July/August 2011 – pp 130, 137-139
Russ Bleemer And Peter Siemons
‘THIS IS THEIR WAKE-UP CALL’: NINTH CIRCUIT TRASHES THE VETERANS’ ADMINISTRATION CLAIM
PROCESSES
See attached VUFT Bulletin #47 PDF file
From: Veterans United For Truth, check out their link for more information on the lawsuit. http://www.veteransunitedfortruth.org/
Through:
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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Neurologists are not my favoraite kind of Dr's. Mostly due to their failure to comit to a diagnoses of one way or the other for over a decade.
I have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Stenosis/Spondylosis.
Anyone of these could be causing it. I'm used to it after all these yrs.
Although I still get weard looks from nurses and practioners that don't read the list of diagnoses I have or know what the twitching or tics as they like to lable it, are caused by. They refuse to give comment what exactly causes it and i've spent enough time making the 300mi trip just to get the run around.
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Many are working hard. But you might not want to know who for.
Many others spend their time fighting a head wind trying to make changes.
It's just another hard spot we have to get through. Some of them leave me wondering where they get their ideas from or if they have any. Most leave me feelling like they'll get it done.
Under Debt Deal, Military Pay, Veterans Programs In Play For Cuts
in VA Disability Claims Research
Posted · Edited by Pete53
Deleted source not acceptable on Hadit.
Under debt deal, military pay, veterans programs in play for cuts
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0811/080311bb1.htm?rss=workforce