allan

Veterans Innovations Program The Veterans Innovations Program was created to provide assistance to veterans and their families. Funds are provided to veterans and families in need through three separate programs within the Veterans Innovations Program. 1) Defender’s Fund 2) Competitive Grant 3) Veterans Family Fund (funding to become available in Spring 2008) We work with the veteran and/or their family to match their individual needs with the appropriate Veterans Innovations Program fund and other veteran or non-veteran programs and services. Our goal is to make sure the veteran and their family has access to all veterans benefits and the tools they need to provide for themselves and their families. Money comes into the Veterans Innovations Program from several sources: 1) Original funding was provided by the Washington State Legislature for the Defender’s Fund and the Competitive Grant 2) Individuals and businesses may purchase Veterans Family Fund CDs which directs a portion of interest to the Veterans Innovations Program, Veterans Family Fund. 3) Individuals and businesses may make direct donations to the Veterans Innovations Program <H3 class=style25>Defenders' Fund</H3> You may be eligible for a one time emergency grant of up to $1000.00 If you are a current or former WA National Guard or Reservist; Served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, or Noble Eagle and; Are experiencing financial hardships in employment, education, housing, health care or other areas due to extended deployment. Payments will be made to creditors such as landlords or utilities to directly resolve the financial hardship. The Defenders' Fund is meant to supplement other funding opportunities such as: County Veterans Assistance Funds, Minuteman or other private organization funds. Click here for an Application Contact your retention NCO or National Guard Annie Deandrea at 253-512-8722 WDVA at 1-800-562-2308 The Competitive Grant Program goes beyond the initial emergency assistance provided through the Defender’s Fund, and focuses on activities that will help veterans and their families obtain sustainable family-wage employment. Applicants must have served in Operation Noble Eagle; Operation Iraqi Freedom and/or Operation Enduring Freedom or awarded a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary or Service Medal. Individual grants are tailored to meet the needs of the veteran or their family. Below are examples of how a grant could be used: Supplement wages for on-the-job training or apprenticeship programs; Tuition payments for education or certification programs; and/or Supportive services such as transportation assistance, housing, child care, or other needs-related payments necessary to enable an individual to resolve crisis situations, enter training or employment, and/or retain employment. Click here for an Application Veterans Family Fund Available Spring 2008 The Veterans Family Fund will provide direct grants for emergency financial assistance and activities that promote long-term financial stability. This is a new program that will be funded with interest earned by Veterans Family FundTM Certificates of Deposit. Grants will be made beginning in 2008 as the fund receives the interest from CDs that have matured. If you are a veteran or immediate family member and currently in need of assistance, please contact WDVA at 1-800-562-2308. Please visit the Veterans Family Fund website for more information on the certificates of deposit. Veterans Innovations Program Goal: Develop a results oriented program that considers the long-term well-being of the veteran and their family and focuses on employment or financial stability, education/training, health care and housing. Veterans Innovations Program History: The 2006 State Legislature passed Second Substitute House Bill 2754, the Veterans Innovations Program. The bill does the following: [*]Creates the Veterans Innovation Program (VIP) for the purpose of providing veterans who served in recent military action with crisis and emergency relief, as well as education, training, and employment assistance. [*]Creates two separate programs within the VIP: Defenders' Fund Program and the Competitive Grant Program, and terminates the VIP on June 30, 2016. [*]Create the Veterans Innovations Program Account in the state treasury. [*]Gives Washington National Guard and Reserves returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, their spouses, and dependents priority in the Washington basic health plan. Visit the Health Care Authority website for more information and to apply for coverage. $2 Million was appropriated in the 2006 supplemental Budget and WDVA was given the authority to use funds to staff the program. For Information on Tramatic Brain Injury click here Source: http://www.dva.wa.gov/Vet_Inn_Pro.html

Women Veterans Health http://www1.va.gov/wvhp/

Fact Sheet 16-2 February 2008 Beneficiary Travel Benefits Benefit Description: If you meet the criteria below, you may be eligible for VA beneficiary travel benefits associated with obtaining VA health care services. In most cases, travel benefits are subject to a deductible. Deductibles apply for compensation and do not pension examinations and for travel by an ambulance or a specially equipped van. You Qualify If: 1. you have a service-connected (SC) rating of 30 percent or more, or 2. you are traveling for treatment of a SC condition, or 3. you receive a VA pension, or 4. your income does not exceed the maximum annual VA pension rate, or 5. you are traveling for a scheduled compensation or pension examination, or 6. you are in an authorized Vocational Rehabilitation Program You Qualify for Special Mode Transportation (Ambulance, wheelchair van etc.) If: 1. your medical condition requires an ambulance or a specially equipped van, and 2. you meet one of the eligibility criteria in 1 through 4 above, and 3. the travel is pre-authorized (authorization is not required for emergencies if a delay would be hazardous to life or health) Note: OEF/OIF Combat Veterans must meet one of the qualifying eligibilities or conditions noted above. Mileage Rates: General Travel .............................................................$ 0.285 (28.5 cents) per mile Scheduled appointments qualify for round-trip mileage. Unscheduled visits may be limited to return mileage only. Deductible: …………………………………………$7.77 one-way ($15.54 round trip) • Deductible requirement is subject to a monthly cap of $46.62. Upon reaching $46.62 in deductibles, travel payments made for the balance of that particular month will be free of deductible charges. • Veterans whose projected income in the year of application will not exceed the applicable VA pension rate may request a waiver from the deductible requirement. NOTE: Mileage reimbursement claims for travel prior to February 1, 2008 will be processed at the previous rates of 11 cents per mile for travel in relation to health care and 17 cents per mile for recalls due to an insufficient lab, EKG, x-ray, etc. in relation to a Compensation and Pension examination ("Convenience of the Government") with deductibles of $3 per one-way trip; $6 for a round-trip; with a maximum of $18 per calendar month. Supersedes Fact Sheet 16-2, dated April 2007 which will not be used Source: http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/Librar...ciaryTravel.pdf

VA Health Care Overview (Updated) http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/Librar...thCareOverview/

All NARA Publications http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html A very good link to government information, codes, manuals, laws etc.

Like John says, get an attorney. If and when you can prove error on SSA's part, they must pay retro back to date of filing. Like DVA, Social Security is highly likely to deny you the first time around. It used to be you could request a hearing before a judge on appeal and maybe get it resolved that way. It saves you so much stress dealing with the agency, to hire an attorney after your denied the first time, it was worth it.

Board of Veterans Appeals: Evidence gathering and curing procedural defects without remanding, Federal Register, January 23, 2002 (Nbr. Vol. 67, No. 15) Rules - Veterans Affairs Department Permanent Link: http://vlex.com/vid/22884840

© The right to a hearing. (1) Upon request, a claimant is entitled to a hearing at any time on any issue involved in a claim within the purview of part 3 of this chapter, subject to the limitations described in 20.1304 of this chapter with respect to hearings in claims which have been certified to the Board of Veterans Appeals for appellate review. VA will provide the place of hearing in the VA office having original jurisdiction over the claim or at the VA office nearest the claimant's home having adjudicative functions, or, subject to available resources and solely at the option of VA, at any other VA facility or federal building at which suitable hearing facilities are available. VA will provide one or more employees who have original determinative authority of such issues to conduct the hearing and be responsible for establishment and preservation of the hearing record. Hearings in connection with proposed adverse actions and appeals shall be held before one or more VA employees having original determinative authority who did not participate in the proposed action or the decision being appealed. All expenses incurred by the claimant in connection with the hearing are the responsibility of the claimant. (2) The purpose of a hearing is to permit the claimant to introduce into the record, in person, any available evidence which he or she considers material and any arguments or contentions with respect to the facts and applicable law which he or she may consider pertinent. All testimony will be under oath or affirmation. The claimant is entitled to produce witnesses, but the claimant and witnesses are expected to be present. The Veterans Benefits Administration will not normally schedule a hearing for the sole purpose of receiving argument from a representative. It is the responsibility of the VA employee or employees conducting the hearings to explain fully the issues and suggest the submission of evidence which the claimant may have overlooked and which would be of advantage to the claimant's position. To assure clarity and completeness of the hearing record, questions which are directed to the claimant and to witnesses are to be framed to explore fully the basis for claimed entitlement rather than with an intent to refute evidence or to discredit testimony. In cases in which the nature, origin, or degree of disability is in issue, the claimant may request visual examination by a physician designated by VA and the physician's observations will be read into the record. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501) (d) Submission of evidence. Any evidence whether documentary, testimonial, or in other form, offered by the claimant in support of a claim and any issue a claimant may raise and any contention or argument a claimant may offer with respect thereto are to be included in the records. Source: http://vlex.com/vid/19776131

Gary LITTLEJOHN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, ... See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.103, 3.159, 3.328. The VA is not authorized to develop evidence for the purpose of challenging the claimant, but rather is required to "assist a claimant in developing ... http://vlex.com/vid/18466143

I've come close to dying from a bad mixure of medications the VA came up with. Do these deaths matter to Peake or anyone else in this administration that is collecting budget money to fight a war on the cheap? None of us matter to them. That's why it must matter to us. I watched Sen Bob Dole a few days ago, give his opinion of Vets with PTSD, and how bad the defecit is now and they will, well not all, well we're not sure how many, but the potential of vets taking advantage of the situation is certainly there, well you can see, and the expence of caring for these vets are high now, on and on about the cost and how these theiving vets can steal you blind attitude. He's the most uncaring veteran concerned with collecting the $$$ for the repulican goal of liberating the middle east. I must tell you. I have lost ALL respect for Sen Bob Dole and the rest of the chronies like Peake. Some say Bush is a veteran. I realized along time ago, that being a veteran can mean absolutely nothing to another vet, if it gets in there way of achieving thier agenda.

<H2 class=date-header>Thursday, May 29, 2008</H2><H3 class=post-title><A href="http://vnvets.blogspot.com/2008/05/tom-philpott-sailors-agent-orange-win.html">Tom Philpott: Sailors' Agent Orange Win Reversed </H3> Sailors' Agent Orange Win Reversed Tom Philpott May 29, 2008 A federal appeals court has delivered a stinging defeat to 'Blue Water' sailors and Coast Guard veterans of the Vietnam War who have been fighting for disability compensation from illnesses they contend resulted from shipboard exposure to deadly herbicides including Agent Orange. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 on May 8 that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) acted lawfully and reasonably in 2002 when it cut off Agent Orange-related disability payments and began to deny new claims from veterans who served on ships off the coast of Vietnam but never actually "set foot" in country. The decision reversed a 2006 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in the case of Haas v. Nicholson. That three-judge panel unanimously rejected as "unduly restrictive" VA's interpretation, by revised regulation, of qualifying "service" in Vietnam under the Agent Orange Act. The U.S. military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam from 1962 through 1971 to strip away foliage under which enemy forces could hide, to destroy crops and to clear vegetation from around facilities and fire bases. Over the last two decades, Congress and VA expanded the list of illnesses linked to Agent Orange exposure and for which veterans can receive disability compensation. The list of ailments includes prostate cancer, type-2 diabetes, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, certain soft-tissue sarcomas, chloracne and skin conditions, Hodgkin's disease, various respiratory cancers, leukemia and multiple myeloma. VA officials worried that if the 2006 Haas decision survived a government appeal, the pool of veterans eligible for disability pay if they contract illnesses tied Agent Orange would jump by 830,000 and VA benefit costs would rise by $3.3 billion over 10 years. But from 1991 until early 2002, the VA was paying Agent Orange-related claims filed by sailors who only served off waters of Vietnam, said Barton F. Stichman, an attorney with the National Veterans Legal Services Program. NVLSP lawyers have represented the claimant in this case, Jonathan L. Haas, a retired Navy Reserve commander. Stichman said sea service veterans for a decade won claims based on ailments linked to Agent Orange with relative ease. A manual used by VA claim adjudicators advised them to make awards based on presumptive service-connection of certain diseases if sea service veterans had received the Vietnam Service Medal. The VSM had been awarded to all military members who served from July 3, 1965 through March 28, 1973, in Vietnam, its contiguous waters or even in its airspace. Haas served on an ammunition supply ship, USS Mount Katmai from August 1967 to April 1969. The ship operated off Vietnam but didn't dock there and he never went ashore. By 2001, Haas had developed type-2 diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and loss of eyesight which he claimed were caused by herbicide exposure off Vietnam. His regional VA office denied the claim, saying service connection couldn't be established because Haas had not gone ashore. The Board of Veterans Appeals agreed. It turned out VA had reinterpreted the Agent Orange Act of 1991 regarding the phrase "service in the Republic of Vietnam," requiring at least a brief visit on land to be considered exposed to Agent Orange and eligible for disability pay for herbicide-related ailments. The veterans' claims court reviewed Haas' appeal with a three-judge panel so the decision would affect all claims filed by Blue Water veterans. It found the VA was being too restrictive, in part because ships along the coast might have been exposed to at least as much toxin from windborne coastal area spraying as service members deemed exposed from brief visits ashore. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal District, in a 51-page opinion, has reversed the decision for Haas and fellow sailors, finding VA's stricter interpretation of service in Vietnam permissible. The court acknowledged that in a 1990 regulation VA had defined service in Vietnam to include veterans offshore. It also noted that, even today, a VA regulation informed by a Center for Disease Control study allows presumption of service-connected Agent Orange exposure for sailors who served only offshore in Vietnam but suffer from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The two-judge majority said Congress left ambiguous the meaning of having "served in the Republic of Vietnam" under the Agent Orange Act, and Haas pointed to no single clarifying statement in the legislative record. But Congress did give to the VA authority to interpret such ambiguities and those interpretations are "entitled to substantial deference," the court said. The appeals court rejected the 2006 veteran claims court findings that the VA had applied its regulations inconsistently and that its tighter interpretation of law and regulation was both erroneous and unreasonable. But the third appeals court judge, Jeremy Fogel, dissented. He said judicial deference to administrative agencies is important but the appeals court should note that the intent of Congress has been to make it easier, not more difficult, for veterans to assert claims for exposure to Agent Orange. "I agree with the Veterans Court," Fogel wrote, "that in the absence of any scientific evidence in the records that support a 'foot on land' requirement, the VA's position is unreasonable." Stichman said Haas will seek a fresh review of the case from a full or en banc panel of seven appeals court judges. Such reviews are granted only sparingly. If that fails, an appeal to the Supreme Court will be weighed. Veterans can learn more about the lawsuit on line at http://www.nvlsp.org/ or at http://www.bluewaternavy.org/. http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,168739,00.html Tom PhilpottThanks Tom - well put. VNVets ”It is a stain on this nation's honor that the Department of Veterans Affairs has become a deadlier and more difficult adversary to the American veteran than any they have ever faced on a battlefield." -- VNVets "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." -- President Abraham Lincoln "Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious." --President George Washington Copyright © 2005-2008: VNVets Blog; All Rights Reserved. http://vnvets.blogspot.com/2008/05/tom-phi...orange-win.html

Features: War Veterans Taking PTSD Drugs Die in Sleep Posted on May 25, 2008 by editor Hurricane man's death the 4th in West Virginia http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3059 by Julie Robinson, The WV GazetteA Putnam County veteran who was taking medication prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder died in his sleep earlier this month, in circumstances similar to the deaths of three other area veterans earlier this year. Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane, served in the infantry in the Middle East in 2005, where he was wounded in combat and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while hospitalized. Military doctors prescribed Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel for Johnson, the same combination taken by veterans Andrew White, 23, of Cross Lanes; Eric Layne, 29, of Kanawha City; and Nicholas Endicott of Logan County. All were in apparently good physical health when they died in their sleep. Johnson was taking Klonopin and Seroquel, as prescribed, at the time of his death, said his grandmother, Georgeann Underwood of Hurricane. Both drugs are frequently used in combination to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Klonopin causes excessive drowsiness in some patients. He also was taking a painkiller for a back injury he sustained in a car accident about a week before his death, but was no longer taking Paxil... On May 1, the night before he died, Johnson called his grandfather, Duck Underwood, and asked if he could pick up his 5-year-old son and take him to school the next day. Johnson and his wife, Stacie, have three children, all under 6 years old. Their car had been totaled in the accident the previous week. When Underwood arrived to pick up the boy the next morning, his knocks were not answered at first. He heard Stacie Johnson screaming. She opened the door and told him she couldn't wake her husband. They called paramedics, who could not revive him. Doctors did not declare an immediate cause of death. Toxicology and autopsy results could take as long as 60 days, authorities told the family. "I want to know the cause of death," said Ray Johnson, Derek's father. "Stacie said he was fine that night. Everything was normal. He kissed her goodnight and went to sleep." Stan White, father of soldier Andrew White, has become an advocate for families of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. During his son's struggle with the disorder and since his death, White has tracked similar cases. He knows of about eight in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. He and his wife, Shirley, introduced themselves to the Johnsons and Underwoods at Derek's funeral and offered their help. He is in contact with the office of Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who is a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Rockefeller requested an investigation into these deaths, which is ongoing, said Steven Broderick, the senator's press secretary. "When I talked to his family about Derek, I realized it was the same old story," said White. "It was all too familiar. He was taking those same drugs as the others, and, yes, I believe they are still prescribing that combination." After speaking with family members, White wonders if the patients are taking the medicine as prescribed. He said PTSD patients suffer short-term memory loss and shouldn't be relied upon to track their medications. Georgeann Underwood agrees. "You shouldn't put vulnerable, mentally unstable people on drugs like that," she said. An outgoing, personable young man who worked at several jobs to support his young family, Johnson frequently was offered other jobs by customers in the stores where he worked, Underwood said. In 2006, he returned from the Middle East depressed and short-tempered. Johnson had operated an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or rapid-fire machine gun, and rarely spoke about his experiences there. After his military prescriptions ran out, Johnson's medications were prescribed by private physicians because he refused to go the VA hospitals where he said he was required to wait long periods of time for appointments. His grandparents paid for his medications. "He had a very short fuse," Ray Johnson said. "That was the biggest difference in his personality after he came back." Until his death, he worked 12 or 16 hours a day. He was an electrical apprentice at the John Amos Power Plant until he was let go when his work hours approached the union limit for apprentices. He was on his way to apply for another job when the car he drove was rear-ended on April 24. Johnson died May 2. To contact staff writer Julie Robinson, use e-mail or call 348-1230.

Am I eligible for travel benefits? Subject: If you meet the eligibility criteria, you may be eligible for VA travel benefits associated with obtaining VA Health care services. Travel paid to you will be to the nearest VA medical facility that is properly equipped and staffed to provide needed care and treatment. VA has the authority to pay for transportation of eligible veterans traveling to VA authorized non-VA health care. In most cases, travel benefits are subject to a deductible. Exceptions to the deductible requirement are: travel for a compensation and pension examination; non veteran donors; veterans requiring special mode transportation; and when it is determined that the deductible would cause severe financial hardship. You qualify for travel benefits if: you have a service-connected rating of 30% or more; you are traveling for treatment of a service-connected condition; you receive a VA pension; your income does not exceed the maximum annual VA pension rate; you can present clear evidence that you are unable to defray the cost of travel; you are traveling for a scheduled compensation or pension examination; you are in an authorized Vocational Rehabilitation Program; certain veterans in certain emergency situations; certain non-veterans when related to care of a veteran (attendants, donors); Allied Beneficiaries Mileage Rate (Effective 2/1/08): General Patient Travel.$.28.5 per mile Scheduled appointments qualify for round-trip mileage?unscheduled visits are limited to return mileage only. VA Directed Travel . $.28.5 per mile Authorized travel associated with VA?s request for a re-examination of a veteran following an initial Compensation and Pension examination. Deductible: $7.77 for each one-way trip ($15.54 for each round trip) There is a monthly deductible cap of $46.62 for travel to all VA facilities. Upon reaching $46.62 in deductibles, travel payments made for the b Page Info: https://iris.va.gov/scripts/iris.cfg/php.ex....php?p_faqid=22 54k

M21-1MR http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/M21_1MR.html

<H2 class=date-header>Wednesday, January 30, 2008</H2><H3 class="post-title entry-title"><A href="http://vets4politics.blogspot.com/2008/01/study-ptsd-not-brain-injury-may-cause.html">Study: PTSD, not brain injury, may cause vets' symptoms </H3>PTSD linked to physical medical problems By Yvonne Lee CNN NEW YORK (CNN) -- Sgt. Ryan Kahlor has the same nightmare every time, a vision of walls painted in blood and fat, and men on top of houses, throwing pieces of Marines' bodies off rooftops. It's a vision he can't shake, because he lived through it while deployed to Iraq last year. Sgt. Ryan Kahlor survived four bomb blasts during his duty in Iraq and suffered concussions. 1 of 2 "I have nightmares. I dwell on it. I think about it all the time," said Kahlor, 24. "Staying asleep is hard. I associate a bed with the dreams I have. My parents think I'm crazy, but I sleep better when I'm on the floor." Kahlor has post-traumatic stress disorder, which can develop after surviving a traumatic event in which a person is physically threatened or injured. He also experienced concussions while surviving four explosions during his 14 months in Iraq. He said these events left him with a detached retina, vertigo, memory problems and dizziness. A new military study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine says soldiers who suffered concussions in Iraq were not only at higher risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, but also that the depression and PTSD, not the head injuries, may be the cause of ongoing physical symptoms. Five percent of the 2,500 soldiers surveyed by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research said they had concussions in which they lost consciousness during combat. Forty-four percent of these soldiers ended up with PTSD. Researchers were surprised to find symptoms normally associated with concussions -- headaches, dizziness, irritability and memory problems -- were actually related to PTSD or depression. "It isn't the combat exposure or physical injury, it's the PTSD that seems to drive these symptoms. That's a surprise," said Joseph A. Boscarino, Ph.D., who studies PTSD at the Geisinger Center for Health Research in Danville, Pennsylvania. "You would expect they would have these other symptoms related to traumatic brain injury, that maybe they have a permanent injury, but it's explained by whether they have PTSD or depression." Health Library MayoClinic.com: Traumatic brain injury About 8 million American adults have PTSD. A 2003 New England Journal of Medicine Study found that 15 percent to 17 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were suffering from PTSD, and more than 60 percent of those showing symptoms were unlikely to seek help because of fears of stigmatization or loss of career advancement opportunities. As of June 30, 2007, the Department of Defense reported 3,294 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. Bomb blasts caused nearly 70 percent of those TBI cases. Dr. James Kelly, a neurology professor at the University of Colorado and a co-author of guidelines the military uses to identify traumatic brain injury, expressed concerns that doctors will attribute lingering health problems to psychological issues. "I think if people misunderstand or overextend beyond what this survey shows, they could dismiss true brain injury features as psychological only," Kelly said. "It would be a terrible disservice to our military for that to happen." Kahlor is worried this study will make it harder for soldiers to get appropriate medical care. "The military doesn't want to diagnose people with brain injury," he said. "So what they'll do is play it off as PTSD as the sole injury for everyone, because PTSD and traumatic brain injury have very similar symptoms," he said. "The disability [compensation] is a lot higher for traumatic brain injury. What the military is saying is, you can't be diagnosed from a brain injury unless you get better from PTSD. It's kind of like a paradox." Kahlor says he has documents saying he has concussion injuries such as a detached retina, seizure activity in the brain, inner-ear expansion and post-concussion syndrome, which gives him bad headaches. Still, he has been unable to get an official diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. "A doctor in Fort Irwin looked at me and glanced at my records for 10 minutes and wrote on my records that he thought my symptoms, my claims were psychosomatic, where I made them up myself," Kahlor said. "He's basically seen me once. He wanted to send me to a med board to get me out of the Army as soon as possible and pawn me off to the VA system." In response to concerns that this study could make it more difficult for soldiers to get a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, study author Col. Charles Hoge said, "Hopefully it clarifies things a bit, that soldiers who have had concussions with loss of consciousness are at higher risk of PTSD. We want to make sure they are seen and get help. It also clarifies that the symptoms they are experiencing may be multiple reasons for that." Kelly said one of the problems with the study is that it describes symptoms such as headache, dizziness and fatigue as possibly psychosomatic and related to PTSD and depression. But these are symptoms also commonly associated with postconcussive syndrome, he said. "They don't know that these soldiers didn't have post-concussion syndrome," he said. "They are components of post-concussion syndrome and PTSD... It's absolutely confusing. My concern with this article is people can over-attribute all the lingering problems to psychological issues only, when it started with a biomechanical brain injury. I think it's unfair to unlink what happened to the brain and the psychological aftermath of what happened in that scenario." In an accompanying editorial, Richard A. Bryant, Ph.D., says this study should encourage doctors to be more cautious when attributing health problems to mild traumatic brain injury, because PTSD and depression may be the problem. "Incontrovertible evidence now shows that psychological factors play a significant role in postconcussive symptoms," Bryant said. "Soldiers should not be led to believe that they have a brain injury that will result in permanent change." He said the study also highlights the need for a clear definition of mild traumatic brain injury. "The study retrospectively assesses for mild traumatic brain injury by inquiring about having a loss of consciousness, being dazed, or not remembering the inquiry. Each of these reactions can be attributed to acute stress," Bryant said. SOURCE: http://vets4politics.blogspot.com/2008/01/...-may-cause.html

Soldiers' concussion symptoms tied to stress Provocative military study rethinks traumatic brain injury http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22904216/

Two-year prospective evaluation of the relationship between acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder following mild traumatic brain injury. Am J Psychiatry. 2000; 157(4):626-8 (ISSN: 0002-953X)Harvey AG; Bryant RA School of Psychology, Unviersity of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.vey@psy.ox.ac.uk OBJECTIVE: To assess the ability of acute stress disorder to predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the relationship between acute stress disorder and PTSD over the 2 years following mild traumatic brain injury was determined. METHOD: Survivors of motor vehicle accidents who sustained mild traumatic brain injuries were assessed for acute stress disorder within 1 month of the trauma (N=79) and for PTSD at 6 months (N=63) and 2 years (N=50) posttrauma. RESULTS: Acute stress disorder was diagnosed in 14% of the patients. Among the patients who participated in all three assessments, 80% of the subjects who met the criteria for acute stress disorder were diagnosed with PTSD at 2 years. Of the total initial group, 73% of those diagnosed with acute stress disorder had PTSD at 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further support for the utility of the acute stress disorder diagnosis as a predictor of PTSD but indicates that the predictive power of the diagnostic criteria can be increased by placing greater emphasis on reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal symptoms. PreMedline Identifier: 10739425 Source: http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/10739425

Soldiers' Concussions, PTSD Linked Study Shows Concussions Suffered in Iraq Deployment May Have Link to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20080130/s...?src=RSS_PUBLIC

The Army's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (PTSD/MTBI) Chain Teaching Program http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/07/18/4066-...gram/index.html

Message : ALERT GET IT OUT TO ALL To: tomcat6169@yahoo.com I am going to ask veterans to help in a very specific request. The gulf war veterans have pushed and gotten a Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness and the work they are doing is helping. Their next big report will be released in DC at the VA headquarters on September 15th! We need all veterans notified! WE need a huge attendance inside and outside of the meeting! Inside you will hear the details of the work that has been ongoing since 2002. The first report was in November 2004 and this report coming will truly be significant! We need all veterans to be notified this will be OPEN MEETING. WE Need veterans on the outside to carry posters like GULF WAR VETERANS NEED HELP NOW! GULF WAR VETERANS DO NOT HAVE STRESS BUT EXPOSURES AFFECTING THEIR HEALTH. WE truly need everyone's help NOW. Their website is http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/ Email me if you need more info DSNurse1@yahoo.com WE need our vietnam veterans help! Can you make it happen? WE need our gulf war veterans to get out of their bunkers! We also have a new committee under the VA that will meet in DC on June 17-19. Right now the meeting on the 19th of June is schedule to be an OPEN PUBLIC MEETING WE NEED GULF WAR VETERANS TO BE THERE SO WE need all to be aware of these two meeting DATES and help us get the information to all veterans. VA Names Members of Gulf War Veterans Advisory Committee May 13, 2008 (Printable Version) Secretary Peake to Hear Their Concerns, Issues WASHINGTON -- Veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during 1990–1991 will have their own special advocates before Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake, thanks to a new advisory committee Peake established to respond to issues unique to them. The 14-member, independent panel will advise the Secretary and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on the full range of health care and benefits needs of those who served in the conflict. “Gulf War veterans made an invaluable contribution to national security and peace in a volatile region,” Peake said. “This new panel will ensure that VA benefits and programs adapt to the needs of these veterans, just as our services have adapted for veterans of other conflicts.” Serving on the committee are Gulf War and other veterans, veterans service organizations’ representatives, medical experts, and the survivors of Gulf War veterans. Members were selected to provide a variety of perspectives, experiences and expertise. The committee will be chaired by Charles Cragin, a retired Navy captain, who has had several senior level positions within the federal government, including Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Chairman of VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals. In January 2002, the Department created an advisory committee to assist VA’s secretary on research into the medical problems of Gulf War veterans. That older committee will retain responsibility for research involving veterans of the 1990-1991 conflict in the Middle East . This committee’s first meeting will be held in mid-June in Washington , D.C. It is expected to complete its work within 18 months. Committee meetings will be open to the public. A list of the members of VA’s Gulf War Advisory Committee is attached. Membership VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Charles Cragin, (Chair) of Raymond , Maine . Currently serves a senior counselor for Maine Street Solutions, LLC. Martha Douthit of Ashburn , Va. Surviving spouse of Gulf War Army veteran, member of the Gold Star Wives of America, currently an international trade analyst with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Dr. Henry Falk of Atlanta . Retired rear admiral and former Assistant U.S. Surgeon General. Currently director for the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mark Garner of Lorton , Va. A retired Marine Corps chief warrant officer-three and Gulf War veteran who served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Officer. Dr. Lynn Goldman of Chevy Chase , Md. Vice chair of the Institute of Medicine Gulf War and Health Study; currently professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University . Dr. John Hart of Plano , Texas . Past president of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, currently professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. William (Rusty) Jones of South Riding, Va. Retired Marine Corps colonel, and veteran of Gulf War and Vietnam War. Kirt Love of Crawford , Texas . An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as director of the Desert Storm Battle Registry. Daniel Ortiz of Whittier , Calif. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as department service director with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Daniel Pinedo of Oceanside , Calif. Marine Corps colonel currently serving as the comptroller for First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton , Calif. Thomas Plewes of Annandale , Va. A retired Army lieutenant general and former chief of the Army Reserve. Currently a senior program officer with National Academy of Sciences. Valerie Randall of Savage, Md. A retired Army sergeant first class; currently with the Department of Homeland Security. Edward (Randy) Reese of Washington , D.C. An Army veteran of the Gulf War; currently national service director for the Disabled American Veterans. Steve Robertson of Fredericksburg , Va. A Gulf War veteran who served both in the Air Force and Army National Guard. Currently director of the national legislative commission for The American Legion. # # # http://www1.va.gov/advisory/docs/CharterGu...ns4-24-2008.pdf Regards, The unifiedveteranscoalition Team. http://xsorbit27.com/users5/unifiedveteran...ition/index.php

What Kurt says is the truth.

<H2 class=date-header> Friday, May 23, 2008</H2><H3 class=post-title><A href="http://vnvets.blogspot.com/2008/05/downgraded-diagnoses.html">Downgraded Diagnoses </H3> Here is an open letter to the Congressional Veterans Affairs Committee Chairmen: To: Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Chairman, Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Honorable Members of Both Committees From: Kurt Priessman, MSgt, USAF (Ret), B.A., M.B.A., Veterans Advocate The Veterans of this Great Nation from All Wars Subject: This is not an Isolated Incident Chairman Akaka and Filner, Ranking Members, honored members of the Committees on Veterans Affairs, interested Senators and Representatives, ladies and gentleman of the presenting panels, Veterans and Citizens of the United States of America, Today is a special day, a day not for exercises in obfuscations or excuses, nor grandstanding or indignation, but a day to shed light on a system that is broken, a corporate culture rife with adversarial processes, denials, cover-ups, and rule-making ad infinitum. This country’s veterans deserve better. Suicides and PTSD among veterans are nothing new; they have just become more prevalent in the media which has covered them more attentively. Veterans today are faced with combat unlike any before, where the enemy is vicious and use the populace as shields, where human suffering seems unending. And unfortunately the suffering does not end after the battles in the Afghan mountains, or the streets of Sadr City or Basra, it continues in the constant bureaucracy, outlandish, outrageous procedures and requirements of proof, and trivial excuses of a system that is forced to cover-up statistical information that verifies its own failures. Eighteen Veterans die each day from suicide, seventeen more a day die while waiting for their claims to be adjudicated. It is becoming increasing clear from internal e-mails that the practices described herein are insidious, prevalent, and long-standing. This is not about anything other than a total failure of leadership gone too long, without anyone’s accountability. I submit to the Congress that the following practices come from the highest levels of the Department of Veterans Affairs, through Secretary Peake, Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield and Dr. Michael Kussman, conveyed through internal memorandums and e-mails to Regional and Medical Center Directors, to Program Administrative Officers in every line of the Veterans Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration. The practice of not documenting, downgrading, and denying applicable diagnoses is prevalent in the Veterans Health Administration and also in the Department of Defense. From real experience I will give you two actual instances. The first was a discussion with my VHA primary care provider about my military health record, in which an inch worth of visits only reflected one instance of blood pressure and temperature taken in twenty years although it was standard practice that these were taken at the onset of every visit to a military clinic, thus making my claim of service connected hypertension unproveable. My provider responded, "Yes, I know, I had a patient walk in the other day with blood pressure of 235/178 and no diagnosis of hypertension. I called the physician of record, and he asked me if I hadn't heard about not documenting diagnoses, especially if they were compensable." The next instance was the result of a C&P exam. I was hit by a truck while serving in Thailand and was nearly killed. I escaped through quick reflexes, as I turned my thigh towards the vehicle and stood on my tiptoes. I was flipped high in the air over the truck, rather than being run over, which saved my life. I was in the hospital three days. Shortly thereafter I began experiencing continued knee pain, back pain and back spasms. When the C&P exam took place, the exam showed degenerative disk disease of the spine, degenerative joint disease of the spine, knee, hips, and iliac joints and arthritis. Yet the examiner stated that due to a lack of treatment it was unlikely my condition was related to the accident although I had never injured my back at any other time and my primary care provider attempted to schedule both CT scans and a MRI for three years before she finally got approval from the clinical line’s Administrative Officer. Thus denial of expensive diagnostic tests (CT scans, MRI), is another ploy used to deny benefits. The doctor I got for an independent medical opinion, a renowned radiologist, stated that my spinal injury was common in traumatic accidents of this kind (with medical citation), and then asked the VA examiner that if she felt it was less likely than not the accident caused the condition, what did? The answer is obvious, but unfortunately it is not medically related. The answer is that denial of nexus for service connection is just another ploy used by the Department Of Veterans Affairs. In an arrogant manner, the Department denies Veterans. They do not have to provide or explain a reason even when that reason is ungrounded by any evidence. Additionally, although required by law, re: The Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 1991, paragraph 5103 A(3)(b) and ©, when I requested assistance in finding retiree medical records from the USAF (a governmental department) with specific information as to where and when, help was not provided. Yet the examiner cited the fact that records did not reflect treatment during that specific time period. This is exacerbated by the failure of the Department of Defense and other government to release evidence that would substantiate Veterans claims. It thus becomes obvious that another ploy to deny benefits is not to assist veterans in compliance with the law. Another ploy is the arbitrary and capricious disregard of its own rules and regulations. Despite a requirement to give Veterans the benefit of the doubt, this is always denied and not usually remedied until a case is taken to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims seven years later. The answer is tied to money, an unscrupulous corporate attitude, and a prevailing attitude among Republicans in Congress and the White House that the benefits given to Veterans are entitlements. As a career military man, I feel that this abhorrent attitude is beyond belief. Veterans who have served and continue to serve earn every dime of every benefit the law provides. Until the attitudes towards these benefits changes in the Administration and Congress, Veterans will be faced with being nothing more than chattel, “volunteers” lining up to give their lives, only to be dismissed and left to die. Please think! The health care, disability payments and pensions, burial, educational, rehabilitative and home loan guarantees are not entitlements, are not entitlement programs, they are earned benefits. I am sure the Secretary will state that the e-mail in no way reflects the attitude of the Department and is an isolated incident. Or that it should be obvious from their outstanding PART Report that they are the best of the best. As a former civil servant, involved in the formulation of this report for another Department, I remind you that these reports, their criteria and results, are nothing more that self initiated assessments meant to reflect positively and that negative criteria are weeded out and dismissed. In conclusion, I ask Congress not to believe for an instant that the administrators of the Department of Veterans Affairs have not instituted "unwritten rules" intended to deny benefits to Veterans. Veterans across this country would be more than willing to testify to Congress on their experiences and if given impunity from retaliation, so would responsible providers and employees of the Department. With sincerest thanks for your continued efforts and support, Kurt Priessman Kurt Priessman, MSgt, USAF (Ret0 Vernon, Texas Proud Vietnam Veteran, Proud Father of an Iraq/Afghanistan Veteran Thank you Kurt! VNVets ”It is a stain on this nation's honor that the Department of Veterans Affairs has become a deadlier and more difficult adversary to the American veteran than any they have ever faced on a battlefield." -- VNVets "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." -- President Abraham Lincoln "Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious." --President George Washington Copyright © 2005-2008: VNVets Blog; All Rights Reserved. Posted by Novus Livy at 09:12 FWD FROM: VNVETS http://vnvets.blogspot.com/2008/05/downgra...ses.html

maxwell, one way to get around the idiots at the 800#, you may request a local hearing at the VARO in St Petersburg and speak to a ratings officer in person. Take everything you need to show earlier effective date. The request must be in writing. Always request a formal hearing and a copy of the transcript. Those 800* operators will play dodge ball with you all day, every day.

here's the link Betty...... VETERAN'S APPLICATION FOR INCREASED COMPENSATION BASED ON UNEMPLOYABILITY http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-8940-ARE.pdf

Providing Paxil to bipolar patients while only treating the depression side of it, can also cause suicides. After a decade of bona fide preventive steps from VA practitioners, I came very close to it. The truth is, it doesn't matter to the majority of health care practitioners at the DVA. Mood swings? Oh take this and thats that because they have no knowledge of how to treat bipolar. They will put you into an explosive nature by prescribing paxil, if your bipolar. Then fill your records with patient has an attitude problem, red flag your file etc. How many of us with brain injuries, neurological disorders, PTSD and bipolar go untreated, or provided the wrong medication? How many Bipolar patients being fed Paxil, committing suicides or in jail for aggressive behavior? Less than 1%, protect 99%. What % of outcry do we hear from the 99%, over how veterans are treated by this administration? Add that to what % of actual change we experience from it. That should give you an idea of what changes we'll see before next spring. Try it. It's proved accurate for me for years.