Commander Bob

Love those good ol' VSO Resolutions. " A journey of a thousand miles starts with that first step"... Resolutions are an excellent example of veteran unity,


WHEREAS..., WHEREAS..., WHEREAS..., ....... THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

Thank you Berta, for answering my question too. "BVA CUEs, If a claimant feels the BVA made a CUE,they have to file a CUE Motion on that with the BVA ... page 14:" . I would have never found that with out your posting.
April 23rd, I won my BVA case, " Benefit granted in fullI", however, I found 2 CUEs on my BVA decision. I am waiting for the award letter to see if I should go forward with a BVA CUE request, if I am not satisfied with the total outcome. After 45 years of distraction etc, I am seeking closure from this whole VA mess. However, If need be, I will press on. You are truly inspiring, Berta. Your years of service to all of us is priceless. My most positive thoughts are with you this Memorial Day, and always.
Kind regards,
C.B.

Thanks for the insight on the wait time, Veldrina. I'll give it another month...

I wish you well with your knee issues. My most positive thoughts are with you.

Kind regards,

Bob

Wow this was unexpected.....

And I am here to keep honoring 2 promises I made to my husband.over 20 years ago.

He made me promise to continue to help his brothers and sisters, as vets who must deal with the VA claims process, ,
and to continue his PTSD claim and his 1151 claim ,if they killed him.

I still remember saying Honey the VA isnt going to kill anyone,.

I made both promises.. 4 hours later he suddenly collapsed and died.
Death By VA and subsequently also death due to AO IHD and DMII.

I have mentioned here recently my time at hadit will be much briefer when the snow melts.I have farm business etc to do when weather changes

(Gee... for a minute I thought maybe you guys called Ms Cleo, the TV psychic and she said the VA was going to declare me dead .... he he .....one way they could get out of dealing with my claim.)

We have some Fabulous members here who know as much as I do and can help.

All of you above are fabulous members, giving your time to others.

PR ....the P 38 you gave me still catches the attention of any vet here who uses my PC or looks over the military stuff on my PC desk.
I dont think they even gave my daughter a P 38. They gave them MREs in plastic bags.for a sort of bivouac she was on.during BT.in 1998.
She said some of it was either lamb or shrimp and all of it was delicious.

I thought maybe it was tofu.

Keeping in mind every claim is different... Yours is going through a VARO. Mine went to Washington D.C.

I won my case in mid April, and I am still waiting for the award letter. I got a phone call from the D.C. Veterans Service Center yesterday, confirming my address.

Hang in there.

C.B.

Any day now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ore6K3ESTLc

According to a letter I received today:

"As of March 3, 2014 future request with some exceptions for FOIA/PA actions received at the Atlanta Regional Office AFTER March 3, 2014 are forwarded to ST. Louis Records Management Center for scanning and processing on disc.You will be notified by that office to your request if your request is in this category."

Exact spelling and grammar of letter.

Apparently applies to all RO's. I had a hint this was what they were doing since May 2014 when my Congressman's aide was told by the
Congressional liaison at the Atlanta RO "we don't do that here anymore" and a C file disc was sent from RMC at St Louis.

I am not sure if the actual documents are mailed to RMC from the RO for putting on disc or if the documents are copied from electronic records at RMC.

I do know that that they still managed to lose 65 documents and there are still several other Veteran's documents co mingled with my records on the disc.

More efficient? Who knows. More likely to take more time and involve more handling which increases errors? Yes.
I do know that only letter and legal sized documents were on records received. Crucial maps sized 2'X3' and 2'X2' were missing.

Also another FOIA/PA "claim" popped up on eBenefits for me today. And low and behold this time they did list an expected date of
completion as 120-187 days out. FOIA supposed to be done in no longer than 30 days! No real time limit on PA items. I have an
idea though that this might be a VCAA matter. The VA is placing some requests of assorted types under the "FOIA/PA" as they
say they don't have a "button" for everything so they just use that.

Another thing I have to discuss with Secretary McDonald

For decades the VA has been gaming the system.

Since it's inception, VA executive employees have been gaming Congress, the President and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Now, it's just a matter of time before those nefarious career VA employees will be found out.

C.B.

From what you posted and with the understanding that we need more info...

Yes.

C.B.

This has nothing to do with politics, 'bojack'.

For decades the VA has been gaming the system.

Since it's inception, VA executive employees have been gaming Congress, the President and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It's just a matter of time before those nefarious career VA employees will be found out.

Many should be wearing orange jumpsuits.

Cmdr. Bob

The media buzz seems to be all about the VAMC and health care. It appears the VAROs and their affiliates are being played down. If the public only knew... Cmdr. Bob

dont dress like a bum unless you nornally do, heres why. go over some of your recent doctors notes and see what they wrote. THEY too praytell keep notes abt your dress, your demeanor, ect. So if you regularly come to the hospital with your drawers on the inside of your pants, and on the day of the mental CP exam are wearing them on the outside, they may look back in the recent notes and see if your doing it to " enhance " your chances. DONT ever, never, ever, blow your credibility. once u lose that, you aint got a slippery turd to stand on.

The tendency is to downplay your symptoms. Most want to "dress up" like you're going to court or something, when actually you should show them your worst day. Be truthful whatever you do. Don't deny suicidal or homicidal ideations, as they are common and many with PTSD have them. If you have a plan, tell them, as it shows how bad your PTSD is. Women often use pills, while men usually use guns. jmo

pr

If you feel the tears begin to flow just let it happen. Don't be a tough guy because it works against you in a C&P for PTSD. Dress like you normally do on your worst day. I would avoid the firm handshake and steady gaze. The always count eye contact and affect against you if you smile or act cheerful or put on a brave front.

John

Why do we have to use the VA hospital system anyway? I live 20 miles from my VA. The VA schedules me for an appointment at 7 am and this includes testing before the appointment. Of course no way can I make it. I have to try and reschedule this dumb appointment. I am going in to do bloodwork and urine test at the worst possible time of day. The joint is crawling with vets waiting to do these tests. I would never dream of making an appointment this early, and no private doctor would either. Maybe if I was prepping for surgery I would be in that early, but it sure would not be at the VA. I am lucky I have a choice. I have the best doctors in town within 10 minutes of my house. Why do I need to hump out to the VA except I get my meds there. For everything else they are useless to me.

I think congress is trying to save the old VA system with a little tinkering. This is a hopeless task. If VA does not decentralized and give us choice about using the hospital system then I am out, but I won't give up trying to change it along with other vets. My VA hospital is a charity hospital as it is because no one with good insurance would use it for anything serious unless they just like to gamble with their life.


John

These senators are trying to comply with the unions and not the veterans.

not political:


http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2014/06/senate-has-deal-fix-va-whats-next/86023/

a bipartisan pair of senators has struck a deal to ease the firing of Veterans Affairs Department senior executives, provide significant funding for the hiring of new medical personnel and advance other agency reforms, but the proposal has yet to win universal praise.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reached the agreement after unveiling separate measures within the past week. The compromise legislation will include key provisions of both senators’ proposals:

McCain’s Republican-backed plan to give veterans 40 miles away from a VA facility access to private care on the government’s dime, and Sanders’ Democratic-backed initiative to create 26 new VA medical facilities and provide $500 million for hiring additional personnel


The House voted in October to cut bonuses for all VA employees by 14 percent for five years, in February to ban bonuses completely for agency senior executives for five years and in May to prohibit SES bonuses in 2015. The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved a measure last month to ban bonuses in 2015 for Veterans Health Administration medical directors, assistant medical directors and SES workers.

Great info, Stretch!

We need to drop the mileage requirement from McCain's proposal.

"Section 3 - Removal of Disciplinary Actions - Admonishments and reprimands may be removed from an employee’s files after a six month period. If an employee requests removal of such actions after six months, they should be removed if the purpose of the discipline has been served. In all cases, an admonishment should be removed from an employee’s file after two years and a reprimand will be removed after three years..."

'My record is spotless'

The VA called me today and asked me since the VA was late on providing me a dental exam would I be up for a referral to a private dentist for an exam. This is directly related to the 30 day wait for care that has evolved out of the scandal. I said I would be up for it. Maybe I can get the Aholes to pay for my crown that has to go on top of the implant I got via private dentist. The last time I asked for an implant the VA said "NO" not necessary. This was completely untrue according to two other dentists I spoke to about it. I might even see if I can get them to pay for part of the implant, or I will call my congress critter. I frankly don't trust the dentists at the VA to do my implant surgery. A lot can go wrong. Implants that are done right are painful and take months as healing takes place. I needed a bone graft. First comes the extraction and then the implant and then prep for the crown and lastly the crown. $6000 all told. I am going to try and get this dentist full time if he is any good and I can swing it.

John

In part:

"The Examiner filed Freedom of Information Act requests with 17 major agencies seeking a breakdown of who is taking official time, how much they are paid and which unions benefit.

The OPM report does not give details beyond total hours, total cost and broad categories describing how the time was used.

Though VA was unable to comply, it did provide a list of people on full-time release, including those working in the VHA and employees who process disability benefits claims.

The Examiner's investigation found 20 VA employees who make more than $100,000 per year working full-time for their unions.

The amounts of official time allowed by each agency are negotiated in collective bargaining agreements with the government employee unions."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/jeff-miller-wants-veterans-affairs-official-time-workers-helping-patients/article/2549221

Article by Mark Flatten | June 2, 2014 | 6:39 pm

This reporter is digging all the time.

It is easy to email him at mflatten@washingtonexaminer.com and/or cpmment on his many articles regarding the VA.

Also there is a Watchdog team working with him with other contact info here ::

"About the Washington Examiner Watchdog Team

"The Washington Examiner's special reporting team is dedicated to exposing facts about crooked politicians, bureaucrats, contractors, and others who would prefer to keep in the dark. If you have any information about waste, fraud or abuse in government, you can contact the special reporting team with complete confidence by emailing watchdog@washingtonexaminer.com or calling (202) 618-0760."

"Washington Examiner Watchdog investigative reporter Mark Flatten has been named the 2014 recipient of the American Legion's Fourth Estate Award.
Flatten's series on the Department of Veterans Affairs - "Making America's Heroes Wait" - was cited by the American Legion in announcing the award.''

http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiners-mark-flatten-named-fourth-estate-award-winner-by-american-legion-for-veterans-affairs-reporting/article/2549096

You can sign up for his Watchdog newsletter at that link.

As I said at our hadit radio show about a week or so ago....
if you pick at a scab ,it will bleed.

Mark is willing to go the whole 9 yards and will not let this die.

In more part the article today states:

"Though VA was unable to comply, it did provide a list of people on full-time release, including those working in the VHA and employees who process disability benefits claims.

The Examiner's investigation found 20 VA employees who make more than $100,000 per year working full-time for their unions."

We can gripe all day about the callous disregard the VA has been proven to have regarding veterans in the health care system as well as the VA Benefits system. And many of us have legitimate and very serious gripes.

But our gripe can really matter if we direct it to the right people.

Please check out these articles in the Washington Examiner and if you want to impact on some real change at VA, take the time to tell your story to this Watchdog team or directly to Mark Flatten himself.

Someone here said we needed a Woodward and Bernstein....We have that via the Washington Examiner.

I will be contacting them today about the other secret lists VA has......I know I am on 2 of them, and probably on all 3.

Of course those aren't really 'secret 'lists......the VA just doesn't want anyone to know what they are about.

It is just like the claims process....if you have probative evidence, the VA can and will ignore it....

If anyone here has received a Section 1151 award, for example, they are definitely on a secret list.

Mark Flatten, Reporter for the Washington Examiner, after receipt of my email, graciously sent me this past link, in his February story, regarding past bonuses paid to top VA employees.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/veterans-secretary-eric-shinseki-defends-bonuses-despite-patient-deaths-and-disability-claims-backlogs/article/2543684

I see the Director of my VARO isn't on it but she did get a tidy bonus in the past.

He obtained this list under FOIA and here is his most recent article on the VA scandal:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/decade-of-reports-show-veterans-affairs-secretary-eric-shinseki-was-in-denial-not-in-the-dark/article/2549151

I haven't read the comments yet...they should be very interesting.....

I need to check out my VISN director on the list.

JMHO...Gen Eric Shinseki leaving the VA is not the answer.

Cmdr. Bob

P.S. pathetic public response...

"If the VA fabricated numbers to cover medical appointments they more likely than not fabricated numbers to cover claim backlogs. "

Of course they did. I brought that up recently to the IG.

There are other 'secret ' lists in a addition to the waiting lists at Pheonix and other VAMCS......

I already mentioned the one at OGC ( violation of the NPDB mandate ) meaning.... know one knows ( except the OGC just how many vets deaths under FTCA has occurred)



The other list is the one at the ROs....These are the wrongful death 1151 awards to surviving spouses.

Not to mention the regular 1151 awards, by which the malpractice didn't cause the death of the vet, it caused additional disability that,in some cases could become the cause of their death.

One major reason the Interim IG report is so devastating is because long ago, VA manipulated their malpractice stats and got away with it.

Knowing they would have no accountability on that, it must have been easy for them to refuse timely care (which the Phoenix scandal, now involving other VAMCS ( I think Fox said 40 so far) is all about


No one really knows how many vets have died at the hands of VA for failure to timely and properly treat them.

Or will, in the future. die directly due to VA health care.

My prime goal, as an advocate, after reading this horrendous IG report, is to have those secret lists revealed to the H VAC.

I belive he was "Misled by others"

CNN: "Shinseki, who has been VA chief for more than five years, said he was misled by others."

Shinseki said, "I was too trusting of some, and I accepted as accurate reports that I now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times," he said. "I can't explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities. This is something I rarely encounter during 38 years in uniform and so I will not defend it because it's indefensible, but I can take responsibility for it and I do."...

He goes on to say, "My personal and professional commitment and my loyalty to veterans, their families and our survivors was the driving force behind that decision," he said. "That loyalty has never wavered, and it will never wane." CNN

C.B.

Firing VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is not the answer. Beware of the PACs using vets as pawns for their political gains

We will be discussing DIC tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28th, at 10AM EST, here at our radio show.

Call ins are welcome 1-347- 237-4819

I hope to discuss the ramifications of the Phoenix scandal that has taken husbands, grandfathers, brothers, and fathers to their graves, due to ..in all probability, in most cases, ......death by VA.

It always pays to run by Section 1151 DIC regulations and FTCA laws from time to time as well.

JMHO. Give the Gen. a chance to clean up the mess, that we all know took decades to make. Again, don't rush to judgment. This isn't McDonalds, It won't be a fast food job. C.B.