The frustrated follow a leaderless because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of their immediate feeling that he is leading them away from their unwanted selves. Surrender to a leader is not a means to an end but a fulfillment. Whither they are led is of secondary importance. 

Lincoln’s Statement
“Fulfill America’s promise to care for those who have borne the battle,”

Webmaster's Note: It's interesting that Politicians and Political Appointees can simply quit or resign but the troops are in it for the long haul. It's easy to talk commitment and honor and obligation but it's another thing to follow through with what you have started.

"Those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither"
Benjamin Franklin

THIS SITE IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPALS OF
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

Amendment I : Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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2012 Facebook Veteran's Christmas Project

In the 17 years that this Web Site has been on the Internet we have have only endorsed less than 5 Veteran related Projects. This new project we would like to endorse and promote is a worthy one. Perhaps one of the most worthy one to date. Last year a local Pastor of a Methodist Church collected over 2000 $5.00 McDonald Gift Cards for Veterans. These cards were passed out to veterans located at the Marion VA Facility in Marion, Indiana and other locations that house veterans. Considering that the project was initially set to collect 100 cards and turned up with over 2000 I consider this a remarkable accomplishment.

If your a Veteran, a spouse or family member of a veteran, on Active Duty or Retired Veteran I highly encourage you to participate in this endeavor. It's not just a card these veterans receive it is also knowing that they are not forgotten by there fellow veterans and fellow Americans. Everyone who participates in this special event will be listed on this web site as well as mentioned on our weekly radio show.

Remember All Gave Some and Some Gave All. Is it too much to ask for you to remember their sacrifices ?

This years cards (2012) will be distributed to the Veteran's Hospitals in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Marion Indiana.

To be listed on this web site and mentioned on the radio program please mention Veterans United in your contribution.

You can either send pre-purchased cards or a personal check or money order for the card(s) to

Redkey United Methodist Church
Box 545
Redkey, Indiana 47373

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THE REMAINS OF HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN TROOPS HAVE BEEN DUMPED IN A VIRGINIA LANDFILL

 

The USAF dumped the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago, records show. The landfill dumping was concealed from families who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a dignified and respectful manner, USAF officials said. There are no plans, they said, to alert those families now. The USAF had maintained that it could not estimate how many troops might have had their remains sent to a landfill. The practice was revealed last month by The Washington Post, which was able to document a single case of a soldier whose partial remains were sent to the King George County landfill in Virginia. The new data, for the first time, show the scope of what has become an embarrassing episode for vaunted Dover AFB, the main port of entry for America's war dead. The landfill disposals were never formally authorized under military policies or regulations. They also were not disclosed to senior Pentagon officials who conducted a high-level review of cremation policies at the Dover mortuary in 2008, records show. USAF & Pentagon officials said last month that determining how many remains went to the landfill would require searching through the records of more than 6,300 troops whose remains have passed through the mortuary since 2001.

McCain Open to Changes in Military Benefits, Retirement

Senator McCain we will take a cut in our payments when you take a cut in your salary ... VeteransUnited

Afghan outrage: U.S. troops scrounge for blankets, bullets

Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin

'One of my soldiers went without ammo for 5 weeks'

The parents of an American soldier in Afghanistan have accused the U.S. government of leaving defenders of its freedoms without basics such as blankets, food, feminine hygiene supplies and even bullets, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. "One of my soldiers went without ammo for five weeks once they got to Afghanistan because of shortages. I can't reveal the name, because they are frightened of reprisals. If they can do what they did to a four star general like Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, what would they do to a buck private?" That comes from a woman who, with her husband, has taken it upon herself to adopt soldiers & provide them with many of the needed basics. The woman, assigned a pseudonym of "Beth," insisted her name not be used because of the possibility of reprisals against her or the soldiers. But she told stated she received a report that a U.S. soldier bought a $15 knife "and slept with their hand on the handle in the waist of their pants because it was all they had for the moment to protect themselves." The woman confirmed she and her husband are involved in supplying the basic necessities for some 50 soldiers – because the military isn't. "If the military doesn't supply what they need, they must depend on family or people like me," Beth said. "Many of these families are struggling on low wages, some parents are on disabilities and unable to help. Sending a box once a month during their deployment is not only good for their morale, but they need to be resupplied with many items." The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations. But one soldier told Beth the work days are 18 hours long, and they have few "real meals."

U.S. 2nd Fleet in jeopardy as DOD trims budget

The U.S. Second Fleet, which trains and certifies all strike groups before deployment and employs 348 active and reserve military personnel, civilian employees and contractors, is in jeopardy as the Department of Defense continues to trim its budget. If the Second Fleet were to be shut down, hundreds of jobs could be lost in the Hampton Roads area. Retired Navy Captain Joe Bouchard says that any potential cost savings would come at a big price. Captain Bouchard is the former commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk and now a board member of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance. "I'm concerned that the Department of Defense is scrambling for savings somewhere in its budget." He says he thinks that the civilian bureaucrats in the Pentagon may not fully understand the operational impact of shutting down certain commands. The fleet trains and certifies every ship, sailor, and air wing that heads out to sea, with responsibility over 130 ships and submarines primarily in the Atlantic Ocean. Security, in addition to the hundreds of jobs, could be at risk. "We don't even want to think about the degradation of the combat readiness of those forces either to deploy overseas or to carry out their homeland defense role," says Captain Bouch

Documents Show Conservative Leader Was ‘Uninvited’ From Military Event for Opposing Obama Policies

By Fred Lucas

U.S. Air Force officials wanted to keep Family Research Council President Tony Perkins from speaking at a National Prayer Luncheon in February because his organization is opposed to Obama administration issues, according to internal Air Force e-mails. The Air Force chaplain invited Perkins to be keynote speaker at the National Prayer Luncheon earlier this year at Andrews Air Force Base, where the president boards Air Force One. After Perkins accepted, at least one person complained, which caused an unnamed general to be concerned, according to the e-mails. “Pastor, General [name redacted] came by a few moments ago and asked me to go to www.frc.org,” a Jan. 29 e-mail said. “That is the website for Mr. Tony Perkins who is to speak at the National Prayer Luncheon on 25 February 2010. The webpage has numerous Obama issues to which the organization is opposed. The organization can oppose initiatives, but the Command-in-Chief (sic) is named. CONCERN: Suppose the media gets a hold of this story.” The 14 pages of Air Force documents, including e-mails, were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group. The group filed the request in April. The Air Force produced the documents this week. The Jan. 29 Air Force e-mail corresponded with the FRC's online criticism of President Barack Obama’s call to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military, Perkins said. “I am sympathetic to the military leaders,” Perkins, an ordained minister and former Marine sergeant. “This administration is pushing the military in a direction of political correctness. This is one example. My position is consistent with current law.” Perkins said he did not even consider talking about politics or public policy at the prayer luncheon and does not believe it would be appropriate to do so. But, he added, a qualified speaker – from the right or left – should not be prohibited from speaking to military on the grounds of their public policy positions. Perkins believes such actions could have a chilling effect on free speech. "I am a veteran and have experience in ministry and in public policy,” he said. “The policies of someone should not disqualify their other qualifications.” The military tries to avoid speakers who are political or controversial for military sanctioned events, regardless of what they advocate, according to U.S. Air Force spokeswoman Linda Valentine. “I think anybody should ask themselves how one instance on one installation equates to the entire Department of Defense being politicized,” “This was not based on any political desires. It was not based on any lobbying of anybody.” Rather, she said some airmen complained because of the political nature. She did not know how many complained. “When you have somebody who is polarizing on either side of the political spectrum – and I would say Dr. Perkins is a fundraiser and a political figure first, and a preacher second,” Valentine said. “Joyce Meyer, who is also a very well known minister, is a minister first. She does not politicize her views. But, because Mr. Perkins has taken to politicizing his views and standing up for one party over another, he made a lot of our airmen uncomfortable,” Valentine added.

An e-mail at 4:43 p.m. on Jan. 29 detailed one complaint.

“This morning about 0900-1000 I received a call from a lady in regards to our NPL speaker Tony Perkins,” the e-mail said. “She said she was going to call the Prince Georges County Executive and her congressman as soon as she got off the phone. She was very upset and would not allow me to get a word in. I then told her I would get our Senior Protestant Chaplain on the phone for her as soon as possible. [Redacted] spoke with her after that.” A military staffer sent invitations to  numerous ministers with a military background, Valentine said. Perkins was included in that round of invitations, she said, without looking into whether he was politically active. “Nobody thought to check,” Valentine said. “It was a mistake, in retrospect, to invite him.” But Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton believes disinviting Perkins as keynote speaker was a scandal. “This shows the military is being politicized,” . “The thought that invitations rise and fall on whether you are critical of the Obama administration is troubling. It was a prayer luncheon. The idea that that venue is subject to politics is scandalous.” Even though none of the documents indicate the White House was involved, Fitton believes the decision was clearly political. “Generals can be as political as anyone else in the administration,” he said. “They all serve at the pleasure of the president.” A White House spokesperson did not respond to inquiries. On Oct. 2, 2009, the Air Force chaplain sent Perkins a letter that said, “On behalf of the 316th Wing Joint Base Naval Air Facility Maryland, I invite you to be our keynote speaker for the 2010 National Prayer Luncheon. This year’s theme is ‘Getting Back to the Basics.’ As you know, the country was founded on the basics of honoring God, and our military core values herald and reflect these principles.” But Jan. 29, 2010 proved to be a frantic day for e-mails going from one office to the next. In all the e-mails provided in the documents, the names in the From and To sections were redacted. At 8:41 a.m., an e-mail said, “Chaplain, can you stop by this morning to discuss the prayer breakfast speaker? Thanks.” At 8:45 a.m., the e-mail was sent that talked about a general’s concern and said, “The webpage has numerous Obama issues to which the organization is opposed. … Suppose the media gets a hold of this story.” At 11:07 a.m., the chaplain sent an e-mail that said, “unfortunately, while he will be attending, he will unable to speak. We are actively working other speakers. Attached is a draft letter I propos to send to Mr. Perkins.” A reply at 2:27 p.m. said, “Chaplain, after a second look, I’d say we don’t need to get specific on the quotes and just highlight the incompatibilities as you do in paragraph 1. If he asks for more detail, we can pass that on to him.” A letter, dated Jan. 29, was sent from the chaplain’s office at Andrews AFB to Perkins.

“Dear Mr. Perkins: I wish to thank you for accepting our initial invitation to speak at our national prayer luncheon on Feb. 25,” it stated. “However, we must rescind the invitation due to statements posted on the Family Research Council Web site which are incompatible in our role as military members who serve our elected officials and our commander-in-chief.” “As a former Marine officer, I’m sure you understand the situation in which we find ourselves,” the letter continued. “As military members, we are sworn to support our commander-in-chief, and are forbidden to make or support statements which run counter to our roles in the armed forces.”

Republicans Seek To Cut 1.3 Million Vets from VA Benefits

by Ben Krause

Remember Michele Bachmanns’s attempted $4 billion cut from disabled veterans compensation? Well, “they’re ba-ack…” Except this time they are looking to cut away at our VA healthcare.

Republican Paul Ryan and the House of Representatives are looking to end VA healthcare for over 1.3 million veterans who are Priority 7 & 8. These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability. According to the Congressional Budget Office “Option 35,” the cuts would leave 130,000 veterans with no healthcare alternative. This means veterans with conditions not recognized by the VA, like certain diseases from Agent Orange exposure, would have to pay for healthcare out of pocket if they had not other service connected disability.

Currently, the VA spends over $4 billion yearly to treat these vets, despite co-pays intended to offset the expense. Ryan’s cuts are intended to save $6 billion off the VA’s tab and $62 billion over the next 10 years. Instead of merely increasing the co-pay or taxing Wall Street, Congress wants to just cut your benefits out, all together.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is fighting the across the board cut because many of the veterans in question have come to rely on VA healthcare over the years. In times when healthcare costs are astronomical, these veterans will go without the care they were promised, if the proposal becomes law. DAV voiced additional concerns that this attempt is just the start of a gradual and specifically focused erosion of veterans’ benefits.

Sweet sweetness. What chaps my hide the most is that the reason for the cuts is to reduce the U.S. budget deficit. All the while, two-thirds of major American corporations didn’t pay taxes this year after receiving bailout money and reporting record profits as a result. GE only paid up after receiving a great deal of negative press. These corporations and the executives who run them benefit a great deal from our American system: U.S. Military, Roads and Railways, the Judicial System, Education for workers and the like. So, they get high profits and protection while we get …? Let’s not forget that without our military, corporations wouldn’t be able to set up shop in so many countries internationally. Without tax dollars, the U.S. could not pay for the government contracts awarded to GE, Textron, Google, etc. Yet, they pay a very limited amount in taxes and provide fewer jobs than promised via Reagonomics. It appears this is more of a “Trickle-On Economics” rather than Trickle-Down. I think when Warren Buffett said he should be paying more taxes, I finally woke up to what he meant. Those who benefit the most from a system of government should pay a fair share of the profits they earned. Meanwhile, companies like Google take advantage of tax loopholes only very wealthy corporations can take advantage of while small businesses get hit disproportionately to cover military spending and similar programs.

Now, the House of Representatives has decided to propose cuts to Veteran healthcare benefits while supporting a third war in a country most of us could not even find on a map two months ago (if the proposed cuts went through). Don’t believe the headlines. These cuts are just an attempt to split the oyster shell in half to steal the pearl. Once 1.3 million bodies get cut out of the VA system, politicians will have an easier time justifying further cuts to VA programs. Suddenly, the comprehensive health care you once received will be reduced to occasional physicals and virtual appointments via computer. Count on it. And don’t think the politicians will stop until they gut the whole system. Many of them call benefits like Social Security and VA Disability “Entitlements.” Rather, VA healthcare is really just a cost of doing business. You break it; you buy it. Wall Street and Corporate America need to pony up their share and keep their mitts off our hard earned benefits.

Update: the cuts discussed above did not make the “markup.” Once the topic was run up the flagpole, public outcry caused the House to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the House cut spending for the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by half of the requested funds from the White House. This court is one of the last resorts for veterans’ disability appeals. Meanwhile, they did allow funding for the VA to police the hand washing of its employees using RFID technology. So while veterans may not get the care they need or the disability rating they deserve, VA employees will not have pee on their hands. At least the government contractor responsible for implementing the system will get paid.

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Ron Paul Issues Open Letter to President Obama Concerning Cuts to Veterans' Benefits Calls on Obama to keep stated promise to vets

The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign today released the following Open Letter from Dr. Paul to President Barack Obama:

"Dear President Obama,

"As a Doctor, an Air Force Veteran, and Congressman, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and has always fought for the best interest of our troops, I was deeply concerned to learn that our military retirees are now facing benefit cuts under your proposed $1.5 trillion dollar tax hike.

"Our military men and women have fought bravely. In exchange, our country made a promise to them, and we must honor it.

"There are trillions of dollars in unwise and unconstitutional spending we must cut. There are few other leaders in Washington willing to cut spending as deeply as I am and truly balance our budget. But, we must make sure we take care of our Veterans who fought to take care of us.

"We have put our troops in harm's way, and we must honor our promises. And, our troops have paid a heavy price these past ten years. Over 5,000 have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, 40,000 have seen crushing injuries, and hundreds of thousands more suffer from brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder.

"Failing to meet the promises we have made to our troops would be unjust and immoral. The cuts you announced yesterday, combined with the rumored cuts in benefits reported in publications like Army Times, have our soldiers and Veterans deeply concerned.

"Mr. President, instead of cutting our Veterans benefits, I call on you to support our troops. Support them by bringing them home to our shores, to protect our borders and defend our country. Ensure that they are rested and equipped to repel any real credible attack. Re-unite them with their families. And, make sure they no longer play policeman in dangerous foreign civil wars.

"Cutting the benefits of our Veterans benefits while we subsidize the security of other wealthy nations like Germany and Japan and play World Policeman makes no sense. The money we would save extracting our fighting men and women and our equipment from overseas conflicts and regions will more than offset the savings you seek by upending the manner in which veterans receive care.

"Bringing our troops home would ensure that we keep the promise to our Veterans, strengthen our national defense and secure our borders.

"Do not mistake me for a pacifist or a person solely focused on the economics of the unsustainable global security and state-building that has helped our country arrive at the shores of financial ruin. On the contrary, I consider my military service as an Air Force flight surgeon during the Cold War to be among my highest personal and professional achievements.

"Authentic, Constitutionally-sound national security -- a strong national defense -- begins with guarding our borders and not the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

"Mr. President, I call upon your to support our troops, honor our Veterans, and ensure our wounded get the care they deserve. To do so, we must end these protracted, trillion-dollar wars and bring them home."

In Liberty,

Ron Paul

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Veterans' Disability

Cuts to VA Claims Processing & IT Departments in 2011 Budget

The Department of Veterans Affairs budget for 2011 is passing through the House of Representatives. Although it is 6% more than the 2010 budget, strategic cuts were made to various VA programs and departments.

One of the departments that will face a reduced budget is the claims processing department, but two other major components of the VA suffering the same fate are the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the VA's information technology (IT) department.

The VBA will need to operate with $12 million less than they did last year, and the VA IT department's budget is more than 5% lower than where it was last year, and will be limited to a little more than $3 billion. Not unexpected, the cuts made to the IT department were made because of the amount of failed programs canceled over the last year, according to the House Appropriations Committee.

President Obama also authorized a 2-year federal pay freeze that went into effect in January. Accordingly, budgets are cut and minimized to accommodate not having to fund raises over the year. As a direct result of the pay freeze, the House bill was able to cut $34 million from the VA's budget for medical support and another $15 million from the VA budget for medical facilities.

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Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits
By Rick Maze

Tea party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, has unveiled a plan for cutting $400 billion in federal spending that includes freezing Veterans Affairs Department health care spending and cutting veterans’ disability benefits.

Her proposed VA budget cuts would account for $4.5 billion of the savings included in the plan, posted on her official House of Representatives website.

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, said cutting veterans’ health care spending is an ill-advised move at a time when the number of veterans continues to grow as troops return from Iraq & Afghanistan. Sullivan said he finds it difficult to see how VA could freeze health care costs without hurting veterans.

“It is really astonishing to see this,” he said.

In a statement, Bachmann said her plan is intended for discussion purposes as an example of ways to cut federal spending to make it unnecessary to increase the current $14.3 trillion limit on the amount the U.S. government can borrow.

Bachmann’s proposal

The debt ceiling will be reached sometime in March, according to economic forecasts, but many lawmakers especially members of the tea party movement have been talking about cutting federal spending either instead of, or as part of, a move to increase the debt limit.

Bachmann is one of those opposed to allowing the U.S. to borrow more than $14.3 trillion. “I’m against another increase of the government’s debt ceiling,” she said. “Instead of making it easier for Washington to spend more of your tax dollars, I’m calling for Congress to do the hard work of making real and necessary cuts in federal spending.”

Her list of cuts doesn’t explain the impact of freezing veterans’ health care funding, but the Congressional Budget Office said in a report issued in October that health care costs have been quickly increasing. VA’s health care budget was $44 billion in 2009, $48 billion in 2010 and is at $52 billion this year. The report forecasts a health care budget of $69 billion or higher by 2020 if trends continue, the report estimates.

Bachmann’s idea of cutting costs by reducing veterans’ disability compensation by the amount received in Social Security Disability Income is not new. The proposal, which would affect more than 150,000 veterans, has long been on a list of possible budget options prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, which describes the option as a way to “eliminate duplicate payment of public compensation for a single disability.”

The average SSDI benefit is $12,800 a year, according to CBO

In their annual budget options report, CBO analysts predicted strong opposition from veterans if the two benefits were offset. The report suggests the cost-cutting option would draw less opposition if veterans already receiving both payments were exempt from the change. Having it apply only to future benefits awards would mean about 3,000 veterans a year would be affected.

The two veterans’ program cuts now advocated by Bachman were included in an Oct. 28 report from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, about ways to cut $343 billion in federal spending. The think tank’s report projects that a freeze in VA health care costs would save $2.5 billion.

The report said cutting veterans’ disability compensation for those receiving veterans’ disability income would save $1.9 billion, which is roughly the same savings now claimed by Bachmann.

According to CBO’s estimates, saving $1.9 billion in one year would require applying the change to all veterans receiving both payments. Applying it only to those who become eligible in the future would save only about $40 million in the first year, according to CBO.

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Below is a email I received regarding VA Travel Pay problems at the Indianapolis VA Hospital. Is this how veterans are to be treated? President Obama said that Veterans were to be honored and respected. Talk is cheap Mr. President.

Hello Sir: 
 
My name is Gina Gabriele and I served in the USAR back in 1973-74.  I live in Fort Wayne, area.

I had two appointments in Indy, was reassured by the Fort Wayne VA that my travel pay was approved.
 
When it was time to leave Indy, the lovelies at the travel pay window said I wasn't eligible.
 
The Fort Wayne VA was closed and I was extremely angry and hysterical !!!!!!!  Like you, I had to go beg for mercy in the ER to get a gas card.
 
Fort Wayne Travel Pay (Jan, a male) apologized and gave me the travel pay in Fort Wayne.  But, I am afraid to go back to Indy and get treated like that again.
 
Dan Stauffer gave me your name.  He also told me someone in Fort Wayne screwed up my approval papers.  I don't quite understand that. 
 
Just thought Id share with you.  I assume you were a Colonel?  I SALUTE you!
 
Gina Gabriele RN (jobless also)
 
No jobs in NE Indiana.... I have no money, no nothing, point of despair.  I had a very good interview at Parkview Hospital ... but they seem to drag their feet...I'm okay until the end of the month, then the electric and house payment is due....do you know anyone that helps veterans out with this situation?  I don't qualify for unemployment, and I refuse to be disabled.  I want to work.
 
Thanks, Sir!

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August 24, 2011

Honorable Mr. Mike Pence,

On August 22, 2011 I traveled from Dunkirk, Indiana to Indianapolis, Indiana for the purpose of a MRI at the VA Hospital in Indianapolis. After receiving the MRI I then went to travel to pick up my travel pay. I was informed that the computers were down and that no pay could be processed. I informed them that I had traveled 86 miles (one way) and that I was a little short on funds as my check would be in my account the next day. They informed me that there was nothing they could do. They did inform me that I could go to Social Services in the hospital and perhaps they could help.

I asked the social worker and was informed that she would give me a $10.00 Gas Card but I would then forfeit my remainder of my travel pay. That would amount to a loss of approximately $65.00 as my travel pay to Indianapolis and back would be approximately $75.00 for the total 172 miles traveled. I informed the VA social services that was unacceptable.

Sir, as a 20 year veteran/retiree of the U.S. military that is one of my benefits. Just as you in Congress also have your benefits they should not be used as a "Let's Make A Deal" by the social services part of the VA.

I was informed that I would receive my travel pay in the mail in about 4 weeks.

I usually utilize the Marion Indiana VA Facility for my medical needs which include Diabetes, a compression fracture of my lower back, a knee and leg injury. In the 16 years that I have utilized the VA Health Care I have always been treated with respect and a high degree of professionalism. The personal at the Marion and Fort Wayne Facilities and the CBOC in Muncie, Indiana are true professionals.

I find it completely unprofessional and verging on criminal that I be offered assistance for a benefit I earned by serving my country for 20 years by asking me to give up my benefit in lieu of a $10.00 Gas Card.

I will state that the medical services provided to me while at the VA in Indianapolis were excellent as were the medical personnel that I encountered. While I was receiving the MRI my wife was asked by the Deputy Director of the VA Facility there in Indianapolis how we were being treated. At that time it was perfect and my wife stated that.

I realize you are a very busy individual and I realize that this is a small matter. But as a constituent, and voter (for you I might add) I would appreciate it if you would look into this matter. And I would greatly appreciate it if you could look into this matter so another veteran is not subjected to this type of treatment.

Respectfully yours,

Richard E. Buckner
125 Harold Avenue
Dunkirk, Indiana 47336-1505
richard.buckner@comcast.net
www.veteransunited.org

Post Note : August 31, 2011 Received a phone call from Indianapolis VA Travel Section. After a lengthy conversation with their main Travel Section Representative I was informed that I had already received a "Gas Card" for my travel pay back home. Also it was questioned why I had contacted a Congressman about this matter. It appears that Travel was more concerned with a Congressional Investigation than they are doing their own jobs. However, no card was issued or wanted. After talking with 1 Deputy Director of VA Hospital - Indianapolis who was extremely helpful and a true professional and 2 Patient Advocates who were equally professional and helpful the problem quickly was taken care of. Travel check is being mailed and everything is like it should be. It is a shame you have to assert yourself to receive the benefits you earned. 

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Joyce Mikyska
"In God We Trust"

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION FOOD SERVICES MARION VA

Would you eat food in a restaurant that was prepared 5 days in advance ? Veterans, visitors and other individuals eating in the VA Facilities in Indiana possible are. At least those in the Ft Wayne & Marion facilities. We were informed by a reliable source that the Marion facility prepares food 5 days in advance. I really find this difficult to believe but the source definitely is in the know as to this situation. And if that is not a kicker the facility in Ft Wayne does not prepare the food served to the VA patients there it is trucked in from the Marion facility. However, there are personnel at the Ft Wayne facility that are being paid a wage scale of a cook that are not even doing the job they were hired to perform. We are investigating this and will provide you with the results of our investigation as soon as we receive them.

Document Shows Army Blocked Help for Soldiers - VA Document
Read a memo from the meeting where Army officials asked the VA to stop helping Fort Drum soldiers with their military disability paperwork.

Glossary of Abbreviations

ACAP — Army Career and Alumni Program
ADA — Americans with Disabilities Act
ARNG — Army National Guard
BDD — Bureau of Disability Determination
CBHOC — Community-Based Health Outpatient Clinic
COL — Colonel
C&P — Compensation and Pension
CPEP — Compensation and Pension Examination Program
DOD — Department of Defense
DODI — Department of Defense Instruction
EEO — Equal Employment Opportunity
FAAFP — Fellow, American Academy of Family Physicians
LTC — Lieutenant Colonel
MD — Medical Doctor
MEB — Medical Evaluation Board
MEDDAC — Medical Department Activity
MOPH — Military Order of the Purple Heart
NP — Nurse Practitioner
OIF/OEF — Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom
PA — Physician's Assistant
PEB — Physical Evaluation Board
RN — Registered Nurse
VA — Veterans Affairs
VACO — Veterans Affairs Central Office
VAMC — Veterans Affairs Medical Center
VARO — Veterans Affairs Regional Office
VASRD — Veterans Administration Schedule for Rating Disabilities
VBA — Veterans Benefits Administration
VHA — Veterans Health Administration
VISTA — Veterans Integrated System Technology Architecture

A document from the VA contradicts an assertion made by the Army surgeon general that his office did not tell VA officials to stop helping injured soldiers with their military disability paperwork at a New York Army post. The paperwork can help determine health care and disability benefits for wounded soldiers. Last week, NPR first described a meeting last March between an Army team from Washington and VA officials at Fort Drum Army base in upstate New York. NPR reported that Army representatives told the VA not to review the narrative summaries of soldiers' injuries, and that the VA complied with the Army's request. The day the NPR story aired, Army Surgeon General Eric B. Schoomaker denied parts of the report. Rep. John McHugh R-NY, who represents the Fort Drum area, told North Country Public Radio, that "The Surgeon General of the Army told me very flatly that it was not the Army that told the VA to stop this help." Now, NPR has obtained a four-page VA document that contradicts the surgeon general's statement to McHugh. It was written by one of the VA officials at Fort Drum on March 31, the day after the meeting. The document says Col. Becky Baker of the Army Surgeon General's office told the VA to discontinue counseling soldiers on the appropriateness of Defense Department ratings because "there exists a conflict of interest." When contacted by NPR, Baker referred an interview request to the Army Surgeon General's spokeswoman. The spokeswoman rejected requests for interviews with Baker and Schoomaker. The document says that before the Army team's visit, people from the Army Inspector General's office came to Fort Drum and told the VA it was providing a useful service to soldiers by reviewing their disability paperwork. According to the document, joining Baker on the Army team at the Fort Drum meeting was Dr. Alan Janusziewicz. He retired as deputy assistant surgeon general for the Army in Oct. "I was part of the team, and I was probably instrumental in the surgeon general denying that the Army had instructed the VA" to stop reviewing soldiers' Army medical documents, Janusziewicz told NPR in a phone interview. Janusziewicz says he has no memory of Baker telling the VA to stop helping soldiers with their military paperwork. In fact, he says, he thought the VA at Fort Drum was doing the best job of any base he visited. But he also says his recollection of the meeting is spotty, since it took place almost a year ago. "I believe that document is more likely to represent a miscommunication of intent between what Col. Baker was trying to get across and what folks on the receiving end of that communication likely heard," Janusziewicz said. The document describing the meeting at Fort Drum says the primary purpose for the visit was to "ensure that there are no other 'Walter Reed' situations at other Army installations." That's a reference to the scandal at Walter Reed Army hospital in Washington, which detailed reports of neglect of soldiers recovering from injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the document, Rosie Taylor, who recently retired as Fort Drum's Disability Program manager, described soldiers at the base in conditions of squalor and neglect. In an interview on Wednesday, Taylor described "soldiers crawling on their bellies to go to the bathroom, or soldiers who'd had surgery who couldn't go to chow because they had no way to get there." The document says one soldier was bedridden for three days without a change of clothes or meal. Taylor says nobody listened to her complaints until the Walter Reed scandal. "Every time I walked into a meeting before, it was like 'Oh my God, there goes $70,000.' And after Walter Reed hit the fan, it was like I was getting phone calls, 'Rosie we're doing over a building and we need your advice on access,'" Taylor says. Taylor says the accessibility problems have generally been solved. She doesn't remember whether the Army told the VA to stop helping soldiers with their disability paperwork. But she will say this about Fort Drum's VA workers: "They stand on their heads for soldiers. They put their jobs on the line for soldiers. They don't care if they're not supposed to do something; if a soldier needs something done, they do it anyway." Sen. Hillary Clinton D-NY has already asked the Army to investigate the situation at Fort Drum. She called the allegations in last week's report "deeply disturbing." Whether the situation at the Army base is a result of poor communication, poor memory or something else altogether, the result is the same: For the last year, hundreds of disabled soldiers at Fort Drum have received less help with their disability paperwork than the soldiers who came before them.

Why Does Johnny Come Marching Homeless?

In Wake of Afghanistan & Iraq, a New Generation of Homeless Veterans Emerges

Peter Mohan traces the path from the Iraqi battlefield to this lifeless conference room, where he sits in a kilt and a Camp Kill Yourself T-shirt and calmly describes how he became a sad cliche: a homeless veteran. There was a happy homecoming, but then an accident car crash, broken collarbone. And then a move east, close to his wife's new job but away from his best friends. And then self-destruction: He would gun his motorcycle to 100 mph and try to stand on the seat. He would wait for his wife to leave in the morning, draw the blinds and open up whatever bottle of booze was closest. He would pull out his gun, a .45-caliber, semiautomatic pistol. He would lovingly clean it, or just look at it and put it away. Sometimes place it in his mouth."I don't know what to do anymore," his wife, Anna, told him one day. "You can't be here anymore." Peter Mohan never did find a steady job after he left Iraq. He lost his wife a judge granted their divorce this fall and he lost his friends and he lost his home, and now he is here, in a shelter. He is 28 years old. "People come back from war different," he offers by way of a summary. This is not a new story in America: A young veteran back from war whose struggle to rejoin society has failed, at least for the moment, fighting demons and left homeless. But it is happening to a new generation. As the war in Afghanistan plods on in its seventh year, and the war in Iraq in its fifth, a new cadre of homeless veterans is taking shape. And with it come the questions: How is it that a nation that became so familiar with the archetypal homeless, combat-addled Vietnam veteran is now watching as more homeless veterans turn up from new wars? What lessons have we not learned? Who is failing these people? Or is homelessness an unavoidable byproduct of war, of young men and women who devote themselves to serving their country and then see things no man or woman should? For as long as the United States has sent its young men and later its young women off to war, it has watched as a segment of them come home and lose the battle with their own memories, their own scars, and wind up without homes. The Civil War produced thousands of wandering veterans. Frequently addicted to morphine, they were known as "tramps," searching for jobs and, in many cases, literally still tending their wounds. More than a decade after the end of World War I, the "Bonus Army" descended on Washington demanding immediate payment on benefits that had been promised to them, but payable years later and were routed by the U.S. military. And, most publicly and perhaps most painfully, there was Vietnam: Tens of thousands of war-weary veterans, infamously rejected or forgotten by many of their own fellow citizens. Now it is happening again, in small but growing numbers. For now, about 1,500 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have been identified by the Department of Veterans Affairs. About 400 of them have taken part in VA programs designed to target homelessness. The 1,500 are a small, young segment of an estimated 336,000 veterans in the United States who were homeless at some point in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Still, advocates for homeless veterans use words like "surge" and "onslaught" and even "tsunami" to describe what could happen in the coming years, as both wars continue and thousands of veterans struggle with post-traumatic stress. People who have studied postwar trauma say there is always a lengthy gap between coming home the time of parades and backslaps and "The Boys Are Back in Town" on the local FM station and the moments of utter darkness that leave some of them homeless. In that time, usually a period of years, some veterans focus on the horrors they saw on the battlefield, or the friends they lost, or why on earth they themselves deserved to come home at all. They self-medicate, develop addictions, spiral down. How or perhaps the better question is why is this happening again? "I really wish I could answer that question," says Anthony Belcher, an outreach supervisor at New Directions, which conducts monthly sweeps of Skid Row in Los Angeles, identifying homeless veterans and trying to help them get over addictions. "It's the same question I've been asking myself and everyone around me. I'm like, wait, wait, hold it, we did this before. I don't know how our society can allow this to happen again." Mental illness, financial troubles and difficulty in finding affordable housing are generally accepted as the three primary causes of homelessness among veterans, and in the case of Iraq and Afghanistan, the first has raised particular concern. Iraq veterans are less likely to have substance abuse problems but more likely to suffer mental illness, particularly post-traumatic stress, according to the Veterans Administration. And that stress by itself can trigger substance abuse. Some advocates say there are also some factors particular to the Iraq war, like multiple deployments and the proliferation of improvised explosive devices, that could be pulling an early trigger on stress disorders that can lead to homelessness. While many Vietnam veterans began showing manifestations of stress disorders roughly 10 years after returning from the front, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have shown the signs much earlier. That could also be because stress disorders are much better understood now than they were a generation ago, advocates say. "There's something about going back, and a third and a fourth time, that really aggravates that level of stress," said Michael Blecker, executive director of Swords to Plowshares," a San Francisco homeless-vet outreach program. "And being in a situation where you have these IEDs, everywhere's a combat zone. There's no really safe zone there. I think that all is just a stew for post-traumatic stress disorder." thers point to something more difficult to define, something about American culture that while celebrating and honoring troops in a very real way upon their homecoming ultimately forgets them. This is not necessarily due to deliberate negligence. Perhaps because of the lingering memory of Vietnam, when troops returned from an unpopular war to face open hostility, many Americans have taken care to express support for the troops even as they solidly disapprove of the war in Iraq. But it remains easy for veterans home from Iraq for several years, and teetering on the edge of losing a job or home, to slip into the shadows. And as their troubles mount, they often feel increasingly alienated from friends and family members. "War changes people," says John Driscoll, vice president for operations and programs at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. "Your trust in people is strained. You've been separated from loved ones and friends. The camaraderie between troops is very extreme, and now you feel vulnerable." The VA spends about $265 million annually on programs targeting homeless veterans. And as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face problems, the VA will not simply "wait for 10 years until they show up," Pete Dougherty, the VA's director of homeless programs, said when the new figures were released. "We're out there now trying to get everybody we can to get those kinds of services today, so we avoid this kind of problem in the future," he said. These are all problems defined in broad strokes, but they cascade in very real and acute ways in the lives of individual veterans. Take Mike Lally. He thinks back now to the long stretches in the stifling Iraq heat, nothing to do but play Spades and count flies, and about the day insurgents killed the friendly shop owner who sold his battalion Pringles and candy bars. He thinks about crouching in the back of a Humvee watching bullets crash into fuel tanks during his first firefight, and about waiting back at base for the vodka his mother sent him, dyed blue and concealed in bottles of Scope mouthwash.  It was a little maddening, he supposes, every piece of it, but Lally is fairly sure that what finally cracked him was the bodies. Unloading the dead from ambulances and loading them onto helicopters. That was his job. "I guess I loaded at least 20," he says. "Always a couple at a time. And you knew who it was. You always knew who it was." It was in 2004, when he came back from his second tour in Iraq with the Marine Corps, that his own bumpy ride down began. He would wake up at night, sweating and screaming, and during the days he imagined people in the shadows a state the professionals call hypervigilence and Mike Lally calls "being on high alert, all the time." His father-in-law tossed him a job installing vinyl siding, but the stress overcame him, and Lally began to drink. A little rum in his morning coffee at first, and before he knew it he was drunk on the job, and then had no job at all. And now Mike Lally, still only 26 years old, is here, booted out of his house by his wife, padding around in an old T-shirt and sweats at a Leeds shelter called Soldier On, trying to get sober and perhaps, on a day he can envision but not yet grasp, get his home and family and life back. "I was trying to live every day in a fog," he says, reflecting between spits of tobacco juice. "I'd think I was back in there, see people popping out of windows. Any loud noise would set me off. It still does." Soldier On is staffed entirely by homeless veterans. A handful who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan, usually six or seven at a time, mix with dozens from Vietnam. Its president, Jack Downing, has spent nearly four decades working with addicts, the homeless and the mentally ill. Next spring, he plans to open a limited-equity cooperative in the western Massachusetts city of Pittsfield. Formerly homeless veterans will live there, with half their rents going into individual deposit accounts. Downing is convinced that ushering homeless veterans back into homeownership is the best way out of the pattern of homelessness that has repeated itself in an endless loop, war after war. "It's a disgrace," Downing says. "You have served your country, you get damaged, and you come back and we don't take care of you. And we make you prove that you need our services."  "And how do you prove it?" he continues, voice rising in anger. "You prove it by regularly failing until you end up in a system where you're identified as a person in crisis. That has shocked me." Even as the nation gains a much better understanding of the types of post-traumatic stress disorders suffered by so many thousands of veterans even as it learns the lessons of Vietnam and tries to learn the lessons of Iraq it is probably impossible to foretell a day when young American men and women come home from wars unscarred.

At least as long as there are wars.

But Driscoll, at least, sees an opportunity to do much better. He notes that the VA now has more than 200 veteran adjustment centers to help ease the transition back into society, and the existence of more than 900 VA-connected community clinics nationwide. "We're hopeful that five years down the road, you're not going to see the same problems you saw after the Vietnam War," he says. "If we as a nation do the right thing by these guys."

120 War Vets Commit Suicide Each Week

The military refuses to come clean, insisting the high rates are due to "personal problems," not experience in combat.

Earlier this year, using the clout that only major broadcast networks seem capable of mustering, CBS News contacted the governments of all 50 states requesting their official records of death by suicide going back 12 years. They heard back from 45 of the 50. From the mountains of gathered information, they sifted out the suicides of those Americans who had served in the armed forces. What they discovered is that in 2005 alone -- and remember, this is just in 45 states -- there were at least 6,256 veteran suicides, 120 every week for a year and an average of 17 every day. As the widow of a Vietnam vet who killed himself after coming home, and as the author of a book for which I interviewed dozens of other women who had also lost husbands (or sons or fathers) to PTSD and suicide in the aftermath of the war in Vietnam, I am deeply grateful to CBS for undertaking this long overdue investigation. I am also heartbroken that the numbers are so astonishingly high and tentatively optimistic that perhaps now that there are hard numbers to attest to the magnitude of the problem, it will finally be taken seriously. I say tentatively because this is an administration that melts hard numbers on their tongues like communion wafers. Since these new wars began, and in spite of a continuous flood of alarming reports, the Department of Defense has managed to keep what has clearly become an epidemic of death beneath the radar of public awareness by systematically concealing statistics about soldier suicides. They have done everything from burying them on official casualty lists in a category they call "accidental noncombat deaths" to outright lying to the parents of dead soldiers. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has rubber-stamped their disinformation, continuing to insist that their studies indicate that soldiers are killing themselves, not because of their combat experiences, but because they have "personal problems." Active-duty soldiers, however, are only part of the story. One of the well-known characteristics of post-traumatic stress injuries is that the onset of symptoms is often delayed, sometimes for decades. Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam are still taking their own lives because new PTSD symptoms have been triggered, or old ones retriggered, by stories and images from these new wars. Their deaths, like the deaths of more recent veterans, are written up in hometown newspapers; they are locally mourned, but officially ignored. The VA doesn't track or count them. It never has. Both the VA and the Pentagon deny that the problem exists and sanctimoniously point to a lack of evidence they have refused to gather. They have managed this smoke and mirrors trick for decades in large part because suicide makes people so uncomfortable. It has often been called "that most secret death" because no one wants to talk about it. Over time, in different parts of the world, attitudes have fluctuated between the belief that the act is a sin, a right, a crime, a romantic gesture, an act of consummate bravery or a symptom of mental illness. It has never, however, been an emotionally neutral issue. In the United States, the rationalism of our legal system has acknowledged for 300 years that the act is almost always symptomatic of a mental illness. For those same 300 years, organized religions have stubbornly maintained that it's a sin. In fact, the very worst sin. The one that is never forgiven because it's too late to say you're sorry. The contradiction between religious doctrine and secular law has left suicide in some kind of nether space in which the fundamentals of our systems of justice and belief are disrupted. A terrible crime has been committed, a murder, and yet there can be no restitution, no punishment. As sin or as mental illness, the origins of suicide live in the mind, illusive, invisible, associated with the mysterious, the secretive and the undisciplined, a kind of omnipresent Orange Alert. Beware the abnormal. Beware the Other. For years now, this administration has been blasting us with high-decibel, righteous posturing about suicide bombers, those subhuman dastards who do the unthinkable, using their own bodies as lethal weapons. "Those people, they aren't like us; they don't value life the way we do," runs the familiar xenophobic subtext: And sometimes the text isn't even sub-: "Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, in Washington and Pennsylvania," proclaimed W, glibly conflating Sept. 11, the invasion of Iraq, Islam, fanatic fundamentalism and human bombs. Bush has also expressed the opinion that suicide bombers are motivated by despair, neglect and poverty. The demographic statistics on suicide bombers suggest that this isn't the necessarily the case. Most of the Sept. 11 terrorists came from comfortable middle- to upper-middle-class families and were well-educated. Ironically, despair, neglect and poverty may be far more significant factors in the deaths of American soldiers and veterans who are taking their own lives. Consider the 25% of enlistees and the 50% of reservists who have come back from the war with serious mental health issues. Despair seems an entirely appropriate response to the realization that the nightmares and flashbacks may never go away, that your ability to function in society and to manage relationships, work schedules or crowds will never be reliable. How not to despair if your prognosis is: Suck it up, soldier. This may never stop! Neglect? The VA's current backlog is 800,000 cases. Aside from the appalling conditions in many VA hospitals, in 2004, the last year for which statistics are available, almost 6 million veterans and their families were without any healthcare at all. Most of them are working people -- too poor to afford private coverage, but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or means-tested VA care. Soldiers and veterans need help now, the help isn't there, and the conversations about what needs to be done are only just now beginning. Poverty? The symptoms of post-traumatic stress injuries or traumatic brain injuries often make getting and keeping a job an insurmountable challenge. The New York Times reported last week that though veterans make up only 11% of the adult population, they make up 26% of the homeless. If that doesn't translate into despair, neglect and poverty, well, I'm not sure the distinction is one worth quibbling about. There is a particularly terrible irony in the relationship between suicide bombers and the suicides of American soldiers and veterans. With the possible exception of some few sadists and psychopaths, Americans don't enlist in the military because they want to kill civilians. And they don't sign up with the expectation of killing themselves. How incredibly sad that so many end up dying of remorse for having performed acts that so disturb their sense of moral selfhood that they sentence themselves to death. There is something so smugly superior in the way we talk about suicide bombers and the cultures that produce them. But here is an unsettling thought. In 2005, 6,256 American veterans took their own lives. That same year, there were about 130 documented deaths of suicide bombers in Iraq.* Do the math. That's a ratio of 50-to-1. So who is it that is most effectively creating a culture of suicide and martyrdom? If George Bush is right, that it is despair, neglect and poverty that drive people to such acts, then isn't it worth pointing out that we are doing a far better job? *I say "about" because in the aftermath of a suicide bombing, it is often very difficult for observers to determine how many individual bodies have been blown to pieces.

A Day At The VA - Richard E. Buckner - Veterans United

His name is David, he is a military veteran like his father. His father was a POW in Viet Nam and his son is a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier in Iraq was wounded and a recipient of the Purple Heart. His day started when he left Van Buren, Indiana to visit the Marion VA facility in Marion, Indiana. He was instructed to pick up medicine by the VA. But when he visited the Pharmacy he was informed that the medicine he was instructed to pick up would not be released for another 5 days ? Frustrated David asked the Pharmacist to contact his Doctor at the VA facility there in Marion and clarify the problem. He was informed that they could not do that and he would have to go up several stories and talk with the doctor himself. David explained that he had an injured foot but the Pharmacist insisted he could not help him. When David asked if there was a Patient Advocate he was informed there was not. This is when I entered the picture. Knowing that there is required by law for a Patient Advocate to be assigned to each facility I informed him that this was not the truth. I explained to him that the position was vacant for nearly 8 months and the position was manned in a rotational order. I told him to check at the front administration desk and that the Advocate if he or she was in was across from the administration desk. David thanked me and proceeded to go to the desk. I waited several more minutes and my name was called and I picked up my medicine. My wife and I then proceeded to leave the facility when we came upon David standing next to the advocate's cubby hole area across from the Administration Office. I asked him if he was being helped and he informed me that he was waiting for someone to assist him. Not being in any particular hurry I decided to wait with him. As we were standing there talking with David an elderly veteran accidentally spilled a large cup of Orange Soda. We then informed the VA employee working at the desk that there was a spill in front of their window and that perhaps it should be cleaned up to prevent an accidental from someone slipping on it. After 2 more attempts to have someone clean up the mess my wife decided that since 10 minutes had gone by perhaps it would be just as easy to clean it up herself. The VA Administrative Workers action to this was not even a thank you. All this time David, myself and another VA employee was discussing David's problem. The VA employee Chad was extremely polite and helpful and departed to make arrangements for David to get his medicine. While he was away David and I spoke about other problems he had lately at the facility. Several weeks earlier David asked about the Means Test and how much it was for veterans in his area. The Means Test is a Financial Chart that shows exactly how much to the dollar a veteran can make without going over a mandated amount to receive free or Co-Pay assistance for medical services and medicine. This particular VA employee who David had spoke with informed him that according to an order given her by her supervisor that this information was not to be given out. I found this puzzling since that information did not even require a Freedom of Information Request since it was posting in VA Booklets and Manuals and was on the Internet. I asked David if he asked her why she was not able to give out the information. His answer floored me. It seems she was informed by her supervisor that and I quote "Veterans are thieves and are crooked and conniving" and that they would use the information to circumvent the paying for services. David requested to speak with her supervisor and was directed to another VA Supervisor who asked David in a sarcastic tone "What do you want a Cash Settlement ? That's what you want cash, right?" David was completely aghast and asked to speak with her supervisor. The next meeting was between David and a VA Employee when David happened to mention that his father had been a POW and his son was an Army Special Forces soldier who had received a Purple Heart after being blown out of a tank and receiving injuries. The comment made by this supervisor was completely unbelievable. "His comment was "Yes, business is good" I then left David and remembered that I needed to make an appointment with my VA Health Care Physician. My wife and I went back up several floors and patiently waited for over 10 minutes while the VA Representative behind the counter talked with her bank regarding her mobile home. It seems she was not clear about some papers she signed and wanted clarification. From the conversation it sounded like she was in a hurry to get it cleared up. When she finally got off the phone I asked her to see when I could make an appointment as I had received a Reminder Card from the VA to make an appointment. She informed me that I had to go next door to the next office. My wife and I then left her counter and walked to the next office only to find it locked and vacant. It appears that the VA Supervisors are out of touch with reality much like their political leaders who make the policies. The names of most of the VA employees have been omitted but are on file and will be release to any governmental agency or official upon subpoena.

VA BENEFITS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME

Let's assume you are at the VA picking up your prescription. You and another veteran in line in front of you are prescribed the exact same identical prescription of 30 pills. Both supplies carry a co-pay of $8. Right? But, your prescription requires that you split your supply. You now have a two month supply (15 pills 1/2 pill per day). This $8 supply now increases in co-pay cost to $16, for the exact pill medication and supply that costs $8. But let's kick it up a notch, assume that veteran in front of you, having still the same prescription, his supply for a 30-day supply is instead 90 pills. Co-pay remains at $8 for this 30-day 90 pill supply. Hope this explains, how the veteran is overcharged by the VA, and just got shafted again (3/13/07) by the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). What veterans have known as fact, is that veterans continue to lose benefits. This is just another example.
 
Criteria & Analysis by the Board of Veterans Appeals.

“. ...The appellant contends that the standard co-payment is excessive in light of the pill splitting.” No where in my claim did I mention the word ‘standard.’ To determine what then is the standard $8, 30 day supply, one must compare 2 supplies. The VA apparently has two (2) standard supplies. A 30 day supply of 30-60-90 pills. Co-payment cost $8. Then a second standard 30 day supply of 15 pills, $8 co-pay. Two distinct and different standards. A standard in cost, but no standard in supply. One does not have to read any further to see the unfairness of the BVA decision. The BVA cites my argument, 38 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1722a “Copayment for medications. Paragraph (2) The Secretary may not require a veteran to pay an amount in excess of the cost to the Secretary for medication as described in paragraph (1).” As just described above. Paragraph "(a)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), The Secretary shall require a veteran to pay the United States $8 for each 30-day supply of medication furnished such veteran under this chapter on an outpatient treatment of a non-service connected disability or condition. If the amount supplied is less than a 30-day supply, the amount of the charge may not be reduced." If the 'standard', mentioned first by the BVA describing, "The appellant contends that the standard co-payment is excessive.." and according to paragraph 1, is $8 for 30-day supplies of 30,60, or 90 pills, why are veterans charged $16 for a 2 month supply of 30 pills? "In addition, the Board notes that the references to the cost of medication contained in 38 USC 1722a clearly pertains to VA's cost in dispensing the medication, not the cost to the appellant." That statement is incorrect. Co-payment For Medication, 1722a, (listed above) clearly, makes no mention the VA's cost of dispensing medication. It mentions only the veterans' co-payment obligation. A reference is made to the VA cost in the Federal Register, however, the "cost in dispensing the medication" is not the argument. It is the cost in overcharges to the veteran. To you, and me it is quite simple. “The Secretary may not require a veteran to pay amount in excess of the cost to the Secretary for medication as described in paragraph (1).” If one supply can be a standard 60, or 90 pill 30 day supply with a copay of $8, how then can a 30 day supply, limited to only 15 pills, for medication administered during treatment lasting several months, at a co-pay of $8, each 30 day period be standard supply? "...As described in paragraph (1)". Therefore, an "excess of the cost" does indeed exist. If given to an 8 grade grammar school class this arithmetic problem of the two supplies to find the excess of the cost, what would be their answer? They too, would find that an excess of the cost does exist, “..for medication as described in paragraph (1)” This is a bad sign. Indicating exactly how veterans with disabilities claims, going before the BVA, and Veterans' Law Judge, John E. Ormand, Jr., are adjudicated. “(b) The Secretary, pursuant to regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe may-...(1) increase the co-payment amount in effect under subsection (a);..” "Pursuant to regulations" means according to the law as written. The BVA, has decided the VA Secretary can make law to fit, rather than prescribe the law, or regulations as written.  Citing..Under 38 C.F.R. Sec. 17.110 Co-payments for medications. (b) Co-payments. (1) Unless exempted under paragraph (c) of this section, a veteran is obligated to pay VA a co-payment for each 30-day or less supply of medication provided by the VA on an outpatient basis (other than medication administered during treatment)." If ‘administered during treatment’ meant hospitalization, that’s not what it says, or should have been worded. But it did not. It is not ambiguous in the context in which it is presented. Citing, ‘on an outpatient basis, other than medication administered during treatment’ The meaning is quite clear. A patient receiving 60, or 90 day outpatient supply is clearly a treatment of a condition, such as a heart condition, diabetes, etc. BVA mentions, “Thus, it is clear that the VA’s cost of filling the appellant’s 30-day prescription exceeds the $8 co-payment under 38 C.F.R. Sec. 17.110.” Again the argument clearly is not the VA cost as noted in the Federal Register 12/6/2001. When determining the medication copay cost, VA factored in everything, except the cost of the medication. The BVA’s inadequacy, and mindset shown here, is for all to see. BVA denial in part, "...adherence in the face of overwhelming evidence in support of the result in a particular case: such adherence would result in unnecessarily imposing additional burdens on the VA with no benefit flowing to the claimant." Never mind the burden of overcharges, or the benefit flowing to well over 1.1 million veterans whose prescriptions call for pill splitting. It is clear, the BVA came up with this denial of overcharges claim due to national budget concerns due to the involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and who knows were else. Veterans did not cause that. But men and women went to military service because of it. This is how they get rewarded by a grateful nation. There are many things in life we do not like, but ignoring a veterans' cause, or the law is not an option. Who lost? Having sat in the lobby of my VA hospital and observed those that passed by, it's not hard to see, there are many who could use any help they can get, as well those returning from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Walter Reed. The filing process for an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has begun.

Gulf War Casualties

During the Gulf War between 1990 and 1991 the United States military incurred:

 467 individuals wounded in action
148 killed in battle - 145 killed in other than battle (i.e. accidents).

 Therefore, the total number of US Gulf War casualties was 760 at the time of redeployment. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Benefit Administration Office of Performance Analysis and Integrity Data and Information Services Gulf War Veterans Information System report that was just published (May 2002) states that as of May 2002: 696,778 individuals had served during the Gulf War with 572,833 individuals now eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits to include lifetime medical care, financial compensation, and a lifetime pension. The difference of 123,945 individuals includes Desert Storm veterans who are still on active duty, who already received a disability rating directly from the military, and those who are ineligible for benefits for various reasons. As of May 2002, 206,861 veterans had filed claims for benefits based on service-connected injuries and illnesses caused by Gulf War combat related duties. Department of Veterans Affairs officials have processed 183,249 claims for medical care, compensation, and pension, determining that for 159,238 veterans their injuries and illnesses are service connected, caused by Gulf War exposures and injuries. Consequently they have been awarded lifetime medical care, compensation, and pensions based on the extent of their medical problems. The VA still has claims from 23,612 individuals pending while they have denied benefits to 24,011. SINCE THE CESSATION OF GULF WAR HOSTILITIES IN 1991; AN ADDITIONAL 8013 VETERANS HAVE DIED FROM SERVICE CONNECTED INJURIES AND EXPOSURES INCURRED DURING OPERATION DESERT SHIELD AND OPERATION DESERT STORM. The implications of this official report are staggering! As of May 2002, the Gulf War casualties include 8306 veterans dead and 159705 veterans injured or ill as a consequence of wartime service to our nation. The official May 2002 Department of Veteran Affairs report classifies 168011 individuals as "disabled veterans". That reflects a staggering casualty rate of 29.3% for combat related duties between 1990 and 1991. We still know that many sick veterans have not submitted claims. We also know that some veterans have received disability benefits directly from the military. Thus the actual casualty rate from combat during 1990-1991 is probably higher than the 29.3% rate the new VA report verifies. However, combat activities did not stop in 1991. Therefore, since August 1991 a cumulative total of 1,127,458 individuals have been deployed to the Gulf with 851480 veterans now eligible for veterans benefits. Consequently the VA officially recognizes in the May 2002 report that a total of 262,586 individuals are "disabled veterans" due to duty in the Gulf and that 10,617 veterans have died of combat related injuries or illnesses since the initiation of the Gulf War during August 1990. That gives us a verified casualty rate of 30.8%. If we are to initiate Gulf War III we had better be ready for the possible casualties