Veterans Benefits Management System (Vbms)

[vern2]

Does anyone know how this works.

Perhaps Veldrina could enlighten me- see my prior posts and IRIS response where they mentioned VBMS.

Vern

[JT24usn]

Vbms IS your cfile. It is a database and holds your electronically filed cfile. If you had asked for a copy of your actual cfile. That is what you would get from vbms. Veterans Benefits Management System a va program made to hold your cfile that was sent to scan and uploaded.

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/8736/the-benefits-of-a-paperless-claim/

Edited August 14, 2014 by JT24usn

[HorizontalMike]

Vbms IS your cfile. It is a database and holds your electronically filed cfile. If you had asked for a copy of your actual cfile. That is what you would get from vbms. Veterans Benefits Management System a va program made to hold your cfile that was sent to scan and uploaded.

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/8736/the-benefits-of-a-paperless-claim/

I checked out the link you provided and thoroughly read it all, including the multitude of comments. I have to agree with those commenting that are skeptical of the rosy picture painted by the OP in Feb2013. I know, at least in my case, that the VA came up with STR files I had no access to nor even knew existed. That makes ME skeptical as well.

SO, does that mean that my ENTIRE military record (STRs, performance evals, commendations, reprimands, CPRS files, etc.) are ALREADY part of my C-File?

I get the sneaky suspicion that the lack of transparency is by design. And that design is NOT for the veteran's benefit. I am now waiting for the VARO to prove that/my suspicion wrong. I hate that "I (VA) gotta secret" game, if you know what I mean.

Edited August 14, 2014 by HorizontalMike

[JT24usn]

With vbms our new request to get strs requests everything. So if we need just strs our request will get everything St. Louis has. Strs, personnel, dental, and orders. Now old claims that are uploaded in not sure. What was in the cfile is what we have but st Louis is supposed to forward it to be scanned. All part of going electronic.

[vern2]

Has anyone been successful:

• Acquiring/Getting a copy of everything in their VBMS file?

• Has anyone been successful at finding out what types of files VBMS specifically can access? In other words can we find out WHERE the VBA is looking for all of the information they HAVE on each of us?

BTW, I went to the local VA office yesterday and was treated poorly. The VA representative tried to query me at the front desk, in front of 30 other veterans waiting to be seen. I called her on this "Why are you doing this in public?" All the other VA representative were taking their clients to the back, to their private cubicles in a separate office, but not her. That pretty much set the tone of my conversation once I was able to force her to give me privacy. She never offered privacy after I pointed the above out to her... I had to specifically request it against her lack of willingness.

Anyway, I started with making a request for my C-file. Got a copy of the stamped FOIA request and then I started asking her about VBMS and how to get copies of all information in the VBMS. This lady went stone-face and started repeating "It is a database" any time I kept trying to ask for information... "It is a database"..."It is a database"... Apparently her answer was supposed to be some kind of magical word(a wall?) that is supposed to STOP all requests in their tracks. Kind of like "the cloud". I asked for a copy of everything in VBMS and got the answer..."It is a database" with no explanation.

FWIW, I am now filing a FOIA for all things in the VBMS database.

QUESTION: Any suggestions as to the exact wording of the FOIA? I don't want to give the VA any wiggle room to finagle out of anything, if you know what I mean.

I have a FOIA request for my VBMS records, since early July? Sent query to IRIS as well. IRIS reply was that VBMS info was mine and due to privacy they had no access to this record. What a load of BS! The info I uploaded to VBMS was over 200 pages of documentation for my Cnp claim, so to claim that they can not access it is a lie. Next step, letter to OGC, and my congressman.

[vern2]

Wording of the request would have to include ALL ELECTRONIC RECORDS and those records converted to electronic format, including all info in c-file and all uploaded info by the veteran.

[HorizontalMike]

Here is the FOIA that I am sending off today, requesting everything THAT CAN BE ACCESSED BY VARO using VBMS plus those records that are not. My thoughts are that it is important to be inclusive in the request. Any thoughts on the below request? I did specify my preferred media "PDF".

TO: Laurie Karnay

FOIA Team Lead

(005R1C) VACO

810 Vermont Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20420

(202) 632-7465 (Telephone)

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has a right of access to Federal agency records, except to the extent that such records are protected from release by a FOIA exemption or a special law enforcement record exclusion. It is VA's policy to release information to the fullest extent under the law.

Under the Privacy/Freedom of Information Act:

I hereby request a complete copy of:

1. THE VBMS (Veterans Benefit Management System) – All file-types, all files, all folders (and all contents therein regardless of data location), that are capable of being ACCESSED by the VARO using VBMS.*

1. All records/files/folders/images/graphs accessed by the VARO, at any time, that are not currently a part of VBMS (past, present, and future).*

*Media preferred: I would prefer all data be reduced to PDF form on DVD to save resources if possible. If DVD not possible, hard copy would be ok.

Veteran Identification No.

Last Name, First Name, Middle Name of Veteran Date

Address Telephone No. of Veteran

Signature

Edited August 15, 2014 by HorizontalMike