Capt.

Hello ,,,, Yes ,,you have to register for the site , get a user name and password( mandatory change every 6 months or if you fail to log in after 2 times and you can NEVER EVER use a previous password) My healthy Vet is also under the ebenfits website and I had 2 users names and passwords but after last week end it now takes my ebennys user and pass word and does it all. Should be easy for you. Just remember to not believe everything you see on your records at ebennys cause they are usually behind. Better than nothing and MyheatlyVet ...at least you can get some records on your health printed out or you can view somethings. Thank you for your service ....NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Carlie and Berta,,,,,Ok ,,,I give up...... I read the regulations on QUE and it appears that the QUE can only be used when a Claim is finished ...over ...final decision....closed. But I also see that Berta states to ask the ROs to file a QUE on themselves with problems that come up BEFORE a claim is at the end or final decison. So which is it ....can you ask the RO to file a QUE on themselves while in the appeals state. My lawyer says no way ....... I am just looking at the regulations but both of you seem to have had some experience of doing this. Maybe the RO did not understand the Law and you all were able to pull the wool over their eyes and play a little poker and BLUFF them into action they had to take. I don't want to hijack this thread from Hollis but it seems he may be in for a pickle and might need to know the answer to my question also. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Manning....PLEASE refer to my post on the Paperless VA and watch the hearings from Dec 6, You will see the DBQ questions and then the GREAT answer from Mr. Hall of the Disabled American Veterans. Though I am not much on the DAV...he was exactly on track with his answer and the PROBLEMS with the Ratings Representative or ROs or the Service Center managers ,order C and P exams because they think they are GODs ,,,,they have power and can because as he put it someone has to protect the taxpayer from the VA just giving away the peoples money. I believe each one of us needs to think about writing our congress and ask them to do away with QTC and C and P exams ....all the Veteran needs is a letter....and IMO or Nexus from ANY doctor. This is my opinion is one Big reason the backlog is like it is and is a total waste of time because the Veteran will prevail if he has a good strong IMO ,,,,but those cost money. But just think that the other Secretarys of the VA ....who started and are on the board of QTC would lose their beloved CORRUPTED money machine. Remember Anthony Princippi .... James Peake and so forth. Anyway I hope system just fails. DBQs are a joke and I am working on getting one filled out with all the important dates and documents so the NP or doctor will just have to see the documents I bring in and then all he or she has to do is sign off on it. DBQs take more than the one hour a veteran is alotted to see his doctor with and not all Veterans can afford a private doctor and he also has time constraints. The paperless system and the DBQ will do nothing more than INCREASE the backlog. They have to ....Still remember Manny....and everyone else .....NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Plummer, I would just have to say AMEN.... I agree with everything you said. Thanks for your service and welcome. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Mark, Actually I sent for my second and it was only about 60-70 days to get it. Cost me on the second time around though. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Rich,,,,, the fire problem was so bad when I was there in 71-73 that the fires were weekly somewhere on the post and some were 3-5 years old. Burning underground and out of sight. It was an incredible thing to remember and to see. Some of the fires were small thank goodness, but some did get out of hand as the link I provided showed. As far as your case management is concerned ,,,,this term loosly just means it is now with a Rating Specialist or assigned to a team ,,, even can be a social worker dealing with housing, homelessness, dependent issues and such,,,some type of action is going on though. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello All, (There may be a long pause before the hearings begin so you may use your cursor to get it to the start of both of these) Ok......here is the law of the jungle and thats the way the cookie crumbles ,,,,,please watch the House Veterans Committee hearing and listen to the 2 hour and 40 Minute mark where the Director of the National Archives and Records , Mr. Bosanko's testimony. HVAC hearings from Dec 6, 2012. Also please look at the June 19 2012 hearings with Undersecretary Hickey and close attention to the backlog and this paperless myth dream. Also watch Congressman Filners amazement. Mr. Bosanko testifys that under question from Congressman Filner and others that ........ They have 3000 current employees. There are about 60 employees that were scanning documents There are between 600 million and 1 billion pieces of documents for Veterans transfer to "paperless". The cost has run somewhere between 150 -186 million dollars and something like 10 million dollars for their part. NARA,,National Archives and Records Administration has current contracts with the DOD. NARA has an agreement for work with the Veterans Benefits Administration to scan records into VBA and Veterans Benefits Management Services. BUT they will not be under one program but 2 separate ones...one for DOD and one for VA. General Eric Shenseki has promised to "break the back of the backlog" by 2015. Now enter the Office of the Inspector General and the "Review of Transition to a Paperless Claims Processing Environment" Report dated just a couple of weeks ago Feb 4 , 2013 is on line at here for our folks to review...... http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-11-04376-81.pdf Now if you review this report and the testimony and questions from Congressman Filner on how many Employees would be needed to get the job done by 2015 and Mr. Basankos testimony from the hearing Dec 6, 2012 would be 4000 employees ......4 0 0 0 .....four thousand.... from 60 to 4000...where and how much is this going to cost??? So it means that we are now looking at some real problems There is no contract or decision by VA to increase personnel, We cannot get to the 2015 goal according to OIG report. The DOD records are separate than the new VA records..... 2 different sets of records and more contract problems due when contract expires AGAIN in July 2013. The pilot programs presently being used to scan to a paperless VA only involve 5 Regional Offices. The National Archives and Records Admin HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY CLAIMS DECISIONS as the testimony says. Sooooooooo folks the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Regional Offices will not be online to ALL Regional Offices and will not have the records necessary for a "Paperless" decision from the Regional Offices anytime in the near future... Soooooooo what does this mean for the backlog???? How can the decision process be made for initial decisions, NODs or Appeals process.......with only a few ROs handling it??? And we have not even had a discussion for the BVA process of the "Paperless" segment of records for their decision reviews by Mrs Hallidays BVA Director of some sort,,, testimony for the California ROs are full of errors. I can go on but it only makes me sick to my stomach to see this. WIth no answers in sight. We also now find out that the actual number of claims has dramatically been increased and the backlog is now running from 2-3 years and BVA appeals are 3-5 years....but there are a few ,,,,very few Fully Developed Claims that have been awarded at under 9 months. We also find out the suicide rate now among our Veterans has jumped from 13 in 2011 and 2012 to .....22 per day..... and that does not count California or Texas which have the 2 largest Veterans Populations. So is there any relationship to the suicide rate and the claims backlog and appeals process????? Without a doubt. http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/Suicide-Data-Report-2012-final.pdf I have been involved with much research and study with VA and claims figures for about 10 years and over 6 years here on Hadit but I have never seen anything so discusting , so frustrating , so broken as the VA, our Veterans care and claims issues as what we as a country and as a group are seeing now. It is the worst since I started tracking and keeping records and dealing with other Vets. This is going to make all of us that care and to try and get our fellow Veterans help and those coming into the system of this thing we call the VA to realize more than ever that a Veteran can ........NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Merlin ...this may help some .... to look at the links, May answer some of your questions and also read the post in SMC where yours is ....all the post below yours. Much reading and good stuff. Welcome aboard Merlin. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C. http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/ http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/resources-rates-read-compAndSMC.asp http://www.hillandponton.com/2012/01/special-monthly-compensation-is-it-possible-to-be-rated-higher-than-100/

Hello All,,,, Yes the SSDI should be gone after for the Veteran that is disabled , but A WORD OF Caution. If a Veteran gets too sick and does not pay into Social Security for 5 years in a row, he or she is INELIGIBLE for SSDI..... This happened to me and had a law group on it. They prepared everything and did it but warned me the Social Security would turn it down. Now I am just starting my early retirement . Even though I had paid into the system for a long , long time and had PLENTY OF QUARTERS ....the law and their rule about missing 5 years in a row puts a sick Veteran out the door on SSDI. And the Veteran has no choice but to file at 62 or wait until the 66 or 67 year time period for Social Security benefits. These folks are not as bad as the VA , but they change the laws to their benefit. Also an interesting thought about those Cold Weather fires that Rich brought up and I had forgotten. I could not understand why the fires in the Tundra burned for years until I got to Fort Greely and witnessed it first hand. The fires are burning under the Tundra and just above the Perma Frost. So the fire fighters go out by helicopters and such and the Air Force and the Army would launch all out wars to put them out. They thought they got them but the fires never go out really and burn under the Tundra ,,,,out of sight , and they thought they got them put out. But they would REAPPEAR in sometimes a week or two or even a half year or more. Totally blew me away how the fires did this. Check out this fire in 1999. like to burned the whole reservation and Fort Greely up. Huge problem especially with the bombing ranges going all the time . Also read some of the captions and the fires popping up after they were put out. http://www.deltanewsweb.com/archives/donnelly_dome_fire.htm CHECK OUT THE FIRES IN 99 When I was there in the early 70s the fires were all year long and just burned until efforts to "put" them out ...only to pop up again and in totally different areas because they burn underground and out of site . Really a wild place. Happens all over the tundra. Anyway back to the Social Security ..... a Veteran should make sure they put something in the system or the minimum sometime within a 5 year period,,, and not let the wound , injury or disease put them to where they cannot work. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Merlin.... Yes I remember. Welcome aboard. Hhaaahaa....Yes I know what you mean and the site can be a little overwhelming because of just how much information is here. It will take you some time to get familiar and negociate the topics but you will get to see just how much is here and ARCHIVED. Carlie has the help tabs so try to use them as alot of times the question may already have been asked and you can see that here. Also you can use the search engine tab for the forum by putting in topic or key word , so that is at your fingertips. Also this is a very interesting and complex disease you have and would make a great topic for our members and forum if you would post more about it in the forums. If you want to post a question about your claim you can do that and ask for advice or help. Our members are very knowledgeable and helpful. Glad to see you here. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Joe,,, As Carlie is pointing out to you, there is a difference. Please check your rating and see WHAT you are SC for and if there is any mention of TDIU. You are taking a gamble of trying to work if TDIU at 100 percent. You have no guarantees that your health, whether Mental or Physical will hold up to allow you to obtain gainful employment. And if the VA finds out you are working when TDIU is the rating award then you risk , retaliation and lose of benefits....many that could be State and Federal , like Property Tax Exemptions . Yes ,,, I understand the need for the Veteran to want to work..... but sometimes our brain is operating on our military training of man up , toughen up, do your job and do it well. In reality the Veteran could be dealing with diseases , injuries that are moving faster than what the Veteran can really admit or comprehend. I guess it is kinda , sorta, maybe is a form of DENIAL. I have this problem too. Most Veterans want to be self sufficient , and we are resourceful by training and our pride for our country and what it stands for. I would think this over long and hard ......and make sure that your 100 percent is schedular and NOT TDIU. Most Veterans that are 100 percent Schedular are usually too sick to work. I can tell you though I am only at 40 percent ,,,,,, I am by schedual law 38 cfrs and M21s , diagnostic codes, suppose to be at 100 percent on only one of the chemical exposure diseases. Yes I may have to go TDIU but that it not suppose to be the rating I want OR that the VA is legally suppose to award ....at least not at this particular period of my claim and life. ......It will be a course that still will take time due to our waiting period backlog situations at ROs across the nation. It does not matter what RO you are at. They are all jammed. I would also say to try and look at yourself on age , overall health and of course try to think where are you going to be in say 10 years. You are asking VA to take away something that is very difficult to obtain for most veterans. A 100 percent rating. A decision that has taken most Vets 10 years, 15 years , or 20 years OR MORE. I personally do not like this type of reasoning. The Cons overwhelm the Pros . Joe , thank you for your service and being a member here. Your question is a good one and others out here in our Veteran community should view this question and the possible effects of their decision on this one. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Meghp .....It is scarey to see what is unfolding and its going to be even worse. Since 2007 when the backlong was announced by Secretary James Nicholson, it was at 750,000 and the time to adjudicate a claim was 160 days and he was trying to get it down to 148 days.....this is under testimony....at the HVAC meeting . This drew immediate fire from several congressman .......Also said that 160 days was not correct. Hey folks , I just wish we could be back in those days. ......... Now over 1,300,000 claims.....Sorry VA saying it is 975,000 is WAY off base from real numbers. It was 1,200,000 claims back in May and June during the last HVAC hearings. It now as one of our posters yesterday put up ,,,,,3 years for an initial decision and 4 years to get a BVA decision. OUTRAGEOUS ....... And now we have the same old lies that ohhhh we have a wonderful paperless program and have General Shensekis promise to Congress that the backlogs will be broken by 2015,,,,,and Miss Hickey......God Bless her little pee picken brain......says she has it all under control and a new program is now implemented. Can anyone ever remember one of these VA managers or Secretaries with VBA ever ,,,ever ,,,take responsibility and say.....ITS BROKE ...we need to start over and fire all the dept heads. If this was a business the stockholders would have some heads rolling. Give the VA to a Company trained in production and IT and STOP IMMEDIATELY ALL BONUSES. Bonuses's are not given to people that do not produce. The VBA awards its bosses for failures. I am sorry to ramble on....but I am so sick and I am physically not able to do the thinking and activity necessary to try and keep up with all the VA shennagans. We are in dire need of Divine help with this and I feel like history repeating itself that we are now ruled by the Babylonians and under captivity. That was a 75 year rule before the Jewish folks got out.......lets see how long has this VA problem had us Veterans under captivity.???? According to history we may only be about 1/2 or 2/3 thru the abuse. And really no change in sight for our lifetimes. Hmmmmm maybe we need another Elijah to bring fire from heaven and the ROs and Washington might be a great target. Worked once in history back then....... NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello all, Replats,,, I do not have that unsolicited stuff ..... its not there . Jbasser and Teac,,,,, yes , I don't want to worry about it but now its to the point that I am totally isolated from any communication or VA contact period concerning my claim. Other than the VHA which still been fine for me ,,,,especially since everyone knows the Capt..... because I have been in the system since 2001. I don't think they are ignorant either Teac,,,, I think like Jbasser,,,,it is a well orchestrated system. Even the VISTA program does not work for most of the ROs or the VAMCs. I think we will as Teac said be dead by the time this thing comes around. I hate this decision to go "PAPERLESS" NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Teac,,,,, yes ,,,,I agree with you ... however the point is that the new PAPERLESS VA is here , and I hate it. Oh , I could go over to Ebenefits and check this or that status of a claim and knew that it was a waste of time. But now I see some dramatic changes and not any of them good. The VA is trying to go all paperless and computer , and the phone system is ......well it appears will be done away with as a claims link or any VA link for the Veteran. All the while it has been praised by all of the VA leaders to be just wonderful and it THE FUTURE of how VA does claims and communicates with the Veterans. Teac , I just had a discussion about my Cfile with my lawyer on some things. I just got a copy of it last year and it had the artilces of evidence listed on ebenefits. Now it is gone. I cannot view my cfile in Houston because you cannot call them and set up an appointment. This is where we are heading in the future of VA and its going to be just like the old VA ..... instead of SHREDDERGATE its going to be DELETEAGATE...... It is so simple now for the VA to get rid of our records .....just delete it. JUST LIKE THEY DID. This is where we are going and though I used to think like you about not trusting Ebenefits or MyHealthyVet.......... It is going to be in the future ,,,,,the ONLY way to communicate with the VA. I hate this system. Now I cannot pull up the records of evidence they received to talk to my lawyer and compare what they have or don't have. Whether you want to believe this or not is up to you....but for me ...... I do not like anything about this change and it means ....in the long run......that Veterans are going to have a more difficult road to their benefits and to contact VA for anything. If you can just think about where we where just 5 years ago and where we are now ,,,,,, there is a huge change and in the wrong direction........ON EVERYTHING dealing with the VA. I feel so bad for our new Veterans coming in........ its tragic. I am glad I am at least in the process for the last 6-7 years ..... and do not have a major part of the claims process to deal with . I am sorry for your record loss also Manny but it seems like its across the board. And as you say we will just have to wait and see how they fix it and what happens in the mean time. TEAC ,,,, I agree totally with your last statement ...... "I doubt if it ever will ". That is the sad part of this. Thanks Teac and Manning. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

I have tried to go and research the claims and appeals and compensation and pension links and where I was able to view the evidence they have received and could at least get a list of it. NOW as of this week ,,,,,,nothing there . Folks this is huge . If the 2 days of maintenance where doing that is one thing. But doing away with my records is something else. I would suggest that everyone check and see if their ebenefits records and evidence they have received ....is still there. MINE ARE GONE..... Don't you just love Miss Hickey and the new 'paperless" system? I hope its only me they did this too and not everyone. Please COMMENT and let everyone know about your records on ebenefits. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello All , it appears that noone has gotten to use this feature ,,,,,because it is so new...just a couple of days old or so. Oh well ...lets see.....how long was the backlog and the dear Secretary said that the backlogs would be gone by 2015. Anyone want to bet on this one...... ??? NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello John and Berta,,,,,, Due Process and the probative evidence is such a bad joke. VAROs just never get it right and sometimes the BVA is not either , which means CAVC may be the last leg to stand on. Though the report I posted is suppose to be followed by the VA, it obviously is not and requires due diligence. Berta and John, I believe that this thought of not turning in evidence because of the bottom of the pile issue,,,,,,,well its now probably to the point it really doesn't matter . I mean the VAROs are so backlogged and as one of our members just posted today is now over 1200 days for an appeal so I don't think it matters anymore...... Just send in anything you can as fast as you can and hope they get it. Thanks for your work with our Veterans and NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello Ride and Indy, I know exactly what you are going thru. I have it in all four extremeties for over 15 yrs and not service connected yet for it. It is crippling depressive,,,extremely painful and dangerous to our health. I am just glad that I have posted something that could help someone. I have had a Hot tub for over 3 years and it was prescribed by my Neurologist and VA podiatrist. It gives me alittle relief before I go to bed and during the day when I am having a tough one. I was on Neurontin,,,Gabepentin like you'll were but ....I was having serious reactions to it and they discontinued it . I am on Hydrocodone but it is only a matter of time before stronger pain meds will be issued. Being seen for Depression because of the pain from it is as real as it gets and I know what each one of you is going thru. There are NO cures as you both know and it only gets worse....... I too am on very restricted foot wear........ white cotton socks and flip flops due to being assessed as HIGH RISK and Podiatry orders. No this is no fun and it takes another PN person to be able to know exactly what you are going thru. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello,,,,, Jbasser is on target........... I would like to say that it is ALWAYS better for the Veteran to be 100 percent by the Schedular that by TDIU. First, the TDIU is going to be very legally restrictive on your ability to do any kind of work. You just don't want to be doing any work......period. Whereas the Schedular ratings for 100 % do not restrict you from working. Also TDIU is normally going to be a yearly required letter generated to your State for benefits such as Property Tax/Homestead Exemptions. Check your local state laws to see if the Veteran comes under a break in their property tax due to disability ....whether TDIU or Schedular you still qualify if your State allows it. Anyway you look at it ....schedular is the way to go. Also there are some other benefits that can be cross referenced to this comparison. Good question Indy. NEVER GIVE UP . God Bless, C.C.

bumping it so the Veteran can read all 3 of the post to see the relationship.

bumping it

bumping it

BUMPING FOIA issue to help with the paperless ,,,,,,,Ebenfits claim new topic "Download Evidence" button that I posted earlier today. NEVER GIVE UP . God Bless, C.C.

HELLO ALL,,,,,, I am bumping this in response to important new programs being incorporated into the new PAPERLESS process the VA is so high on. You can use it while also reading my post on the new Ebenefits link under Actions column for Preparation for decision........ the NEW UPLOAD EVIDENCE button to send VA any documents or evidence. ...... I also think it is time for us ALL to start writing the Congress and the OIG of this new problem and make them very aware of it so the next set of House and Senate hearings can pick up on it before it gets to far down the road. NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.

Hello,, Meghp and Vync,,,,,,, I believe that this will develope EXTREME problems with the claims process. Because we have no legal way to make sure the VA gets the evidence because no one is SIGNING OFF on it. Yes the Veteran can print and show that he had a copy and sent it via this "DOWNLOAD EVIDENCE" button. That does not mean they will get it or acknowledge they PUT it into your Cfile as part of the claim. THIS IS WAY SCARY....... If you remember one of my post on DUE PROCESS. I discussed the lack of DUE PROCESS because of the lack of getting your QTC C and P Examinations , so the Veteran CANNOT File a timely appeal or NOD . Therefore since you cannot respond to the C and P Examination , then your NOD or Appeal is FAULTY ,,,,,or NONPROBATIVE........BIG PROBLEM . Now this new way of downloading evidence is going to be another issue for DUE PROCESS. Except it will mean more denials initially and farther into the process the VA cannot or will not fix it . SOOooooooooooooo it will take the BVA or even the CAVC to REMAND it back , taking even more time. And we think the backlog is bad now....................... Someone please let me get to Congress and I will be glad to testify and put this in front of the Undersecretary General Allison Hickey ...... She deserves to be treated as a TRAITOR if this is her answer to the last HVAC meeting in June 2012 where she announced a new paperless plan. Folks , I am sorry to have posted this , but if we here at Hadit cannot raise the alarm on this one .....it will mean a total collaspe of the backlog system and the wait time will hit 4-6 years just to get a response on an initial claim. There is not one safety precaution on this one and as most of us have found out you cannot even get the VA to answer the phone anymore. You can't get an appointment to view your Cfile , because it now takes an appointment. Sooooooooooo..... the VA going paperless means they cannot process or talk to a Veteran ,,,,,there is noone to FORCE them to .......as discussed by Congressman Filner in that June hearing where he grilled the Undersecretary on these issues. I am very discouraged with this direction and it shows a total collaspe of the VA direction and its willingness to try and get the backlog reduced and the error rate of decisions below 40%( according to OIG reports 2012) Even more than ever I see Hadit.com, and its members being more diligent and more alert , so as not let this swallow up our Veteran's community and those filing for their benefits. We thought the Vietnam Era Vets were forgotten....... folks ,,,,,,you ain't seen nothing yet. We keep giving the VA a chance of doing right on any problem that has come up and they refuse to. Should we expect them to do right on this new program that already has HUGE problems and its only into day 2. I am going to try and BUMP the DUE PROCESS post I made awhile back so some of you may be able to follow my concerns and where this all fits in. Please holdfast Veterans and remember that we all must dig in and say NEVER GIVE UP. God Bless, C.C.