Can We Trust The Ro To Get Records?

[Hoppy]

I had to edit this. I tried to embed full sized jpg's and it would not let me. I used to do this many years ago. So now I attached two files of the referenced jp's. Click on the thumbnails to see full jpg's

Now we have to trust the RO’s to request and obtain deck logs. Individuals and Service org’s have been taken out of the loop effective July 8^th 2013. I received the information pasted below in italics from a secretary at the NHHC yesterday.

I spoke to the guy in charge of deck logs here at NHHC and he stated that "official requests come to us from a regional office of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs or the VA appeals office here in DC only. State/county/city departments of veterans affairs as well as organizations like DAV, VFW and Purple Heart are not considered official requests."

The RO’s can’t even figure out how to get records from a VAMC. Paste below are two scans from a veterans denial.

To keep it short. Here are the facts. The records were not destroyed or lost in the 94 earthquake. A VAMC employee lied to the veteran telling him the records were destroyed when the basement of the Sepulveda hospital flooded from water pipes breaking throughout the hospital. The VAMC records clerk lied because he was too lazy to get the records. Every employee of that hospital knew that no records were lost or destroyed due to the earthquake. The RO was so far out of the loop they believed otherwise. The records were eventually obtained. The veteran notified the RO that the records were found and now in possession of the West LA VAMC. This prompted the RO to request the records in April 2000 as they noted. The RO indicated that no response was received from the VAMC. Because they were out of the knowledge loop they did not make a second request.

Here is where it gets really interesting. The RO says the hospital did not respond to the April 2000 request. However, the veteran was a little upset that the VAMC did not respond. The veteran went to the VAMC and was shown the document below described as “purpose of disclosure”

It turns out the VAMC requires that an RO employee personally pick up the records from the VAMC. The records supervisor stated that somebody named Carlos from the RO picked up the records and signed for them on July 27, 2000. The decision denying the claim was made in November 2000. The RO lost the record somewhere between April and November of 2000 and had no way of determining that someone named Carlos had actually picked them up. Don’t they keep records or can’t they read. The records supervisor told the veteran he was not the first veteran to have the VA claim that their office did not respond when in fact they did respond. I have this information because this was my own claim.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Hoppy

[Notorious Kelly]

What an obomination.

[Berta]

Hoppy I would never trust the VA to get ANY type of records....

I just reminded others here the other day to follow through on SSDI records requests VA is supposed to make for many claims

if VA is aware of them.

And as you know the St Louis fire has been erroneously used as an excuse by VA many times ,particularly if they see USAF on the DD 214, to fail to even try to get SMRs from NARA.

Hoppy,I bet you have tried every single link here but they might help someone else.

At the BWNVVA site link (bluewaternacy.org) there is contact info for JR (John Rossie) who might have more suggestions.

BTW I always get monthly email from Veterans Resources (Ray B Davis)

http://www.38uscode.com/ His web site site ( email addy ray@valaw.org)

Maybe he could help?

Also he states at his site ::

“Feel free to write with any questions about veteran�s benefits and VA regulations, and I will research your questions, for free.

Ray B Davis, Jr (Editor)

P.O. Box 68

East Flat Rock, NC 28726”

He has been an outstanding advocate for vets for many years. I tried to get him to do an SVR radio show with me, but that isn't his forte and I don't think he likes to talk on the phone about claims as he never publishes his phone number.But he will respond to email.

Decklogs:

http://www.decklog.com/homeport.asp

(searchable data base)

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org15-1.htm

(article on VA and deck logs)

http://www.usndecklogs.com/

(s0unds like professional researchers)

http://veteransinfo.org/deck_logs.html

http://www.bluewaternavy.org/navdocs.htm

Also I am posting next Ray B Davis's last email to me about a Vets Stand Down here in NY.....Carol is an excellent advocate too and she can be contacted via the info there and might well have other suggestions on deck logs.

VA gave her a heck of a time when her husband died.

But us widows are Tenacious and she succeeded in her DIC claim...........after many denials and lots of research on her part.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Berta

[Hoppy]

Berta,

Thanks for all the great information.

I should have provided more details. The office providing the information processes requests for deck logs that are less than 30 years old. The bluewater vets and Vietnam vets are requesting logs from a different office.

I contacted the organization you thought were professional researchers. They are in fact professional researchers. They provided some interesting information. They said that the interruption in services is considered temporary. In the mean he said they are not even processing VA requests. He said that there are complaints being filed by every one to the congress at this time.

Most interesting he gave me some good advice free of charge. He told me to request under FOIA Shore Station reports and brig logs where the offender was taken ashore inrestraints. The Navy's FOIA research office is saying that they are also experiencing delays due to sequestration.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Hoppy

[john999]

I have been trying for years to get outpatient mental health records from Hunter Army Airfield/ Ft. Stewart. I know they exist but I get everything but those records.