Veteran Issues Digest Number 1697

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Messages In This Digest (4 Messages)

1. FW: VA falls further behind, new records show From: Colonel Dan 2. FW: Sometimes a Kick in the Fanny is the Best Medicine by Col. Bob P From: Colonel Dan 3. DoD contract link with newspaper investigated From: Colonel Dan 4. Lawmakers seek ways to work around VA claims backlog From: Colonel Dan
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1. FW: VA falls further behind, new records show

Posted by: "Colonel Dan" colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net coloneldan1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:24 am (PST)


Other Stories on Veterans at McClatchy News Service
http://www.mcclatch ydc.com/129

WASHINGTON - Sixteen years after the Persian Gulf War ended, more than 1 in
4 of those who fought remain seriously ill with medical problems ranging
from severe fatigue and joint pain to Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple
sclerosis and brain cancer, the chairman of a congressional advisory
committee testified Tuesday.
*****
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs, which touts its special
programs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in returning soldiers,
spends little on those programs in some parts of the country, and some of
its efforts fail to meet some of the VA's own goals, according to internal
reports obtained by McClatchy Newspapers

_____

From: Waspscpo@aol. com [mailto:Waspscpo@aol. com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 8:49 AM
To: undisclosed- recipients:
Subject: VA falls further behind, new records show
VA falls further behind, new records show

The Department of Veterans Affairs is behind or showed no progress in
improving its performance on key goals, the agency's annual report found.

<http://www.miamiher ald.com/news/ nation/story/ 323308.html>
http://www.miamiher ald.com/news/ nation/story/ 323308.html

<http://www.miamiher ald.com/news/ nation/v- print/story/ 323308.html#> Print
This Article
Posted on Wed, Nov. 28, 2007

VA falls further behind, new records show

BY CHRIS ADAMS
The Department of Veterans Affairs fell further behind this year in its
attempts to give veterans timely decisions on their disability claims, new
records show.

The latest numbers are in an annual report the VA prepares for Congress
detailing a range of short- and long-term goals for its disability, health
and other benefit programs. Overall, the agency either has fallen behind or
has made no progress in improving its performance in more than half of what
it lists as its key goals.

In the benefits measure the VA has said is ''most critical to veterans'' --
the speed of processing disability claims -- the agency lost ground for the
third year in a row.

Moreover, McClatchy has found that the VA put a positive spin on many of its
numbers and in two instances provided Congress with incorrect or incomplete
figures.

The agency said it took an average of 183 days to process a claim in fiscal
2007, longer than in any of the five years tracked in the report. Processing
exceeded its 2007 goal of 160 days and its long-term goal of eventually
reducing processing time to 125 days.

PROCESSING SPEED

Congress and veterans closely watch the time it takes the VA to process
claims, and the agency has vowed in previous years to pick up the pace. When
it was asked about its processing speed last year, for example, the VA told
McClatchy that hiring new workers would help it increase production and
decrease its backlog of claims in 2007.

In fact, processing time increased by an average of six days, and the
backlog of pending claims rose from 377,681 to 391,257, the agency's records
show.

The VA said this week that it was aggressively tackling the issue, hiring
more than 1,000 workers, boosting overtime and revamping training. The
agency also said it was receiving more disability claims than it had at any
time in recent history, and that it had received more than it had expected
in 2007.

Beyond that, the agency said that meeting or exceeding its goals wasn't
always the best measure of success.

''The VA sets goals to measure how we are doing so that we can continuously
improve performance, '' said Bob Henke, the assistant secretary for
management. ``We use goals to move and improve performance. ''

But for Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the report is more evidence that the
agency hasn't been upfront with Congress about its performance or its needs.

''It is extremely frustrating to hear the song and dance that we are doing
better when the reality is we are not,'' said Murray, a member of the Senate
Veterans' Affairs Committee. ``I want to say I'm surprised. But I'm not.''

In many sections of the report, the VA looks past the missed goals to put
the best face on its efforts.

The VA reports that 95 percent or more of outpatient visits are scheduled
within 30 days of patients' desired dates, a fact it's touted to Congress
repeatedly. The agency's inspector general, however, found this year that
only 75 percent of the visits it examined took place within 30 days. The VA
said it didn't agree with that finding and was examining the issue.

`TRANSPOSITION ERROR'

The VA also claimed that customer-satisfacti on ratings by inpatients at VA
hospitals are 10 points higher than ratings from private-sector hospitals.
In fact, the number the agency used as a comparison is wrong, and as a
result the advantage for VA hospitals is half as big as the VA claims.

The VA told McClatchy on Monday that the mistake was made by a
``transposition error and we will be fixing that as soon as possible.''

_____

C 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiher ald.com


2. FW: Sometimes a Kick in the Fanny is the Best Medicine by Col. Bob P

Posted by: "Colonel Dan" colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net coloneldan1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:28 am (PST)


Chu is a Machiavellian, backstabbing appointed careerist bureaucrat who
should be tarred, feathered and run out
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert P. Walsh [mailto:rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 8:35 AM
To: David L. Houppert
Subject: FW: Sometimes a Kick in the Fanny is the Best Medicine by Col. Bob
Pappas, USMC, Ret.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gulf1
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 8:55 PM
To: rpwalsh@sbcglobal. net
Subject: Sometimes a Kick in the Fanny is the Best Medicine by Col. Bob
Pappas, USMC, Ret.

Please do not reply to this Email. It is being sent from an "Out Going
Only" mailbox.

Sometimes a Kick in the Fanny is the Best Medicine by Col. Bob Pappas, USMC,
Ret.

The recent revelation that the Army was collecting a pro rata share of
combat bonuses from soldiers who were injured and unable to complete their
combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan is indicative of the mentality that too
often pervades the bureaucrats in the Pentagon.and elsewhere in Washington.
Although it is unclear at this point who the culprit is, it is the height of
either ignorance or bureaucratic "B.S." that American Veterans who are
awarded combat bonuses for their voluntary service, and are injured enough
to warrant evacuation and termination of their combat duty are then served
with collection notices for the unfinished portion of their tours of duty.
In some cases unused leave is zeroed out to partially offset the "debt."

It would come as no surprise if Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense
(Personnel and Readiness) were the culprit. Whether Dr. Chu personally
issued the directive to collect, or it was some bootlicking subordinate, Dr.
Chu is no friend of military personnel. Chu is a Machiavellian, backstabbing
appointed careerist bureaucrat who should be tarred, feathered and run out
of Washington. Rather than have the cajones to go to the Congress for the
funds needed to properly fund military manpower programs and issues, Chu
finds funding by cutting active and retiree military personnel benefits, or
increasing the costs for access to those benefits. In another of his little
games, Chu pits active forces versus retirees before the Congress in an
effort to redirect retiree benefits. Great guy this Chu.

While the President and Congress were on their wild spending spree in the
early years of the Bush Administration, great fiscal conservatives these
Republicans, Chu did nothing to improve the overall lot of military members
and retirees. Rather, Chu, the Secretary of Defense, the President and the
Congress were abject, unmitigated numb skulls when it came to "taking care
of our own."

During the years when there was a Republican Congress and Administration,
they had the opportunity to practice the true Conservative message of taking
care of the troops, but no, they and their Democrat "co-conspirators" were
more interested in flooding the individual and corporate welfare system,
doling out billions of dollars in make work contracts, unnecessary price
supports, and flooding the budget with "earmarks" that were shameful and
gluttonous, all to take care of their respective constituencies.

Now the economic chickens are coming home to roost, and guess who will be
asked to "invest their share" to pay for it? It sure as hell won't be the
Careerists in Congress, although it may include careerist bureaucrats.

The Veteran's Administration makes much ado about its progress in taking
care of Veterans, just read the VA report, but it is pathetically lacking in
human terms. Of course there are good people in the VA, without a doubt
there are genuinely caring, underpaid and overworked people who do their
utmost to care for America's Veterans, but the kind of non-sense embodied in
the recent revelation about the services recouping combat bonuses, shows
that there is a deep seated bias against the very people who volunteer to
protect them from those who would destroy them and this nation.

Every time there is a fiscal issue, every single Administration as far back
as I can remember, immediately looked to military members and retirees to
absorb the cuts. During the sixties and seventies there was a concerted
effort to erode the benefits of military members to the point that
recruiting was problematic and the Draft was nigh impossible. So, when the
All Volunteer Force (AVF) came along with its targeted bonuses, some thought
that it was the panacea for all recruiting ills.

The AVF worked well in the relative peace that ensued. But, now, without the
"American Foreign Legion" i.e. "immigrants" legal or otherwise, Reserves,
Guard, and women the vaunted AVF would collapse. Then there are those
backstabbing members of Congress who want the Draft because they know that
given their experience from the '60s the streets would fill with those who
might be confronted with, "ask not what your country can do for you rather
ask what you can do for your country."

So far only one so called, "journalist" from the "land of fruits and nuts"
that I know about has had the gall to refer to active military members as
"mercenaries. " One can bet a paycheck that there are hundreds of the same
ilk but without the cajones to do the same. What those pathetic ignoramuses
don't know or appreciate is that their little pink, brown, black, yellow or
red behinds are being protected by men and women whose boots they are not
worthy to lick, whose courage they do not have, and one of them has more
patriotism than the entire entertainment and media industries combined.

Until we begin electing patriots who are more interested in this country
than being political careerists like Senator Trent Lott (good riddance), or
US Representative Jeff Miller and all but a handful of the 535 members of
Congress, Veterans will continue to be castoffs rather than rewarded with
the honor, respect and care that is they have earned and truly deserve.

Until we elect patriots who will put first those who make this country
possible through their voluntary and dedicated service, the Dr. Chus in the
bureaucracy, whether Republican or Democrat will treat service members like
so many chattel. Dr. Chu may be the world's greatest mathematician, but he
is about as concerned for the very people he manages as Hitler was of the
Jews.

Now, for those highly paid elected and civil servants for whom it is just a
job, get off your asses and begin taking care of the troops! Get it!!!?

Strong letter follows!

Semper Fidelis,

If you wish to write a letter to the Editor please use:
http://www.gulf1. net/letters/ NewLetter. htm

If you wish to read PREVIOUS ARTICLES by Col Pappas, please see:
http://www.gulf1. com/columns/ pappas/pappasfra me.htm

If you wish to send a comment or ask a question of Bob Pappas please use:
pappas@gulf1. com

If you do not wish to continue to receive these columns by Col Pappas please
complete the form at: http://www.gulf1. com/mail/ columns/remove_ pappas.htm

Copyright C November 27th, 2007, by Robert L. Pappas. With proper
attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed. It may not be used
in any way, in conjunction with any advertisement without the author's
expressed written permission.


3. DoD contract link with newspaper investigated

Posted by: "Colonel Dan" colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net coloneldan1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:36 am (PST)


<http://www.americas upportsyou. mil/americasuppo rtsyou/index. aspx>
http://www.americas upportsyou. mil/americasuppo rtsyou/index. aspx

DoD contract link with newspaper investigated

http://www.armytime s.com/issues/ stories/0- ARMYPAPER- 3201091.php

By William H. McMichael - bmcmichael@military times.com
Posted : December 03, 2007

The Pentagon inspector general is investigating whether an internal public
relations program improperly funneled a $499 million contract with a
private-sector firm through Stars and Stripes, the military's independent
newspaper.

Defense officials who asked the IG to look into the money transfer for their
"America Supports You" program deny any impropriety. But even if the IG
finds nothing wrong, Stars and Stripes staffers say the relationship
undermines the newspaper's independent status with its readers, mainly U.S.
troops, government employees and their families.

"Some could infer that Stripes had suddenly shifted its presence and
influence from independent newspaper to pillar of support for the public
affairs shop," Stars and Stripes Ombudsman Dave Mazzarella wrote in a Nov. 7
blog posted on the paper's Web site.

But Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs,
said Nov. 21: "I don't think there's any doubt that they're separate
entities, and I don't know where there would be confusion. There's no
indication at this point that anyone's done anything inappropriate. "

America Supports You, founded in 2004, is a taxpayer-funded public-relations
program that recognizes and encourages citizen support for U.S. troops.
Stars and Stripes is a daily newspaper, continuously published since 1942
with a congressional mandate to provide independent, bias-free news for
troops and their families. The newspaper's primary source of revenue is
non-appropriated funds from sales and advertising, but it also receives some
taxpayer funding.

In at least two instances, Stars and Stripes has been used as a conduit for
America Supports You funding, according to newspaper reports. In the largest
such arrangement, $499 million in taxpayer funds was transferred to Stars
and Stripes and paid to public-relations firm Susan Davis International in
July 2006 to promote America Supports You. Stars and Stripes also sells
licensed America Supports You merchandise on its Web site.

According to a Nov. 6 Stars and Stripes report, publisher Max Lederer said
the paper's dealings with America Supports You would end within six months.
He could not be reached for comment Nov. 21.

Whitman, who has interim overall responsibility for day-to-day operations of
America Supports You, would not address the question of whether the
relationship would end. He also did not respond to requests to detail how
many current America Supports You contracts are being executed by Stars and
Stripes or the amount of money involved.

Dorrance Smith, former assistant secretary of defense for public affairs,
asked the IG May 9 to look at America Supports You as well as the entire
range of programs under the American Forces Information Service, including
Stars and Stripes, said IG spokesman Gary Comerford.

The New York Times said May 12 that Smith's request was prompted by
questions posed days earlier by that newspaper about the relationship
between America Supports You and Stars and Stripes.

On June 7, the IG said it would audit America Supports You and the
"administrative procedures and fiscal actions involved in the formation and
operation" of the program. The inquiry widened June 29 to include whether
Smith's office and AFIS have "established proper segregation of duties and
effective internal controls," Comerford said.

Smith resigned in October to return to the private sector.

Comerford said the audits, which are administrative, not criminal, in
nature, will take several more months to complete.

Stars and Stripes and America Supports You are overseen by Allison Barber,
deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communication and public
liaison. She would not address the relationship between the two
organizations, referring questions to Whitman.

Whitman declined to address specific issues under scrutiny by the IG, but
said the expenditures and transfers of funds received a thorough prior legal
vetting.

He noted that it was Smith who asked for the IG audit. "This is something we
want to be able to hold up to the highest scrutiny, with maximum
transparency, " Whitman said, adding that the investigation should help
answer concerns reportedly expressed by Stars and Stripes staffers.

In a joint statement published in Stars and Stripes on Oct. 19, Executive
Editor Robb Grindstaff and Managing Editor Doug Clawson said the situation
"could cause readers to question our objectivity as an editorially
independent newspaper - an unacceptable situation."

Grindstaff, reached on vacation, declined further comment.

Mazzarella, for one, would like to see an end to the relationship between
Stars and Stripes and America Supports You, saying each organization has
"worthy goals, best pursued separately."


4. Lawmakers seek ways to work around VA claims backlog

Posted by: "Colonel Dan" colonel-dan@sbcglobal.net coloneldan1

Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:54 am (PST)


Lawmakers seek ways to work around VA claims backlog

By Rick Maze - <mailto:rmaze@militarytimes .com> rmaze@militarytimes .com
Posted : December 03, 2007
<http://www.armytime s.com/issues/ stories/0- ARMYPAPER- 3198358.php>
http://www.armytime s.com/issues/ stories/0- ARMYPAPER- 3198358.php

The Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to one day harness the power of
technology to speed the processing of veterans' benefits claims, but it is
wary of ideas for quickly reducing the claims backlog, which is hovering
around 400,000.

That has not kept some radical suggestions from being made.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., House Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman,
suggests that the VA approve, with no questions, most Agent Orange-related
claims of Vietnam veterans, allowing more time to concentrate on new claims
from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Filner said the long wait for
receiving disability and survivor benefits is one of the most vexing
problems facing the VA, which has had only modest success in whittling the
backlog by hiring more claims processors.

Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., are sponsoring a bill,
the Immediate Benefits for Wounded Warriors Act, that would give partial
payments to some veterans while they wait for a formal VA claims decision,
which can take a year for initial claims and up to three years for appeals.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said he is "very disappointed" in the VA for not
coming up with more new ideas of its own.

Lamborn has introduced a bill that includes a pilot program for handling
some electronic claims through automation. "This bill is not perfect," he
said. "But rather than offering a simple, out-of-hand dismissal, I would
have appreciated constructive input."

His bill is controversial; Paralyzed Veterans of America, for example, "does
not believe that software exists that can replace the human element," said
Richard Daley, the group's legislative director, at a Nov. 8 hearing of the
House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee on disability assistance.

********* PVA.org info

<http://www.pva. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= homepage>
http://www.pva. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= homepage

Any individual who meets the following criteria is eligible to join PVA:

* A citizen of the United States

* A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces whose discharge was other than
dishonorable

* An individual who has suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of
trauma or disease.* (Note: The injury or disease onset could have occurred
after discharge/retiremen t from military service.)

* Some examples of spinal cord diseases are:

* Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

* Lupus

* Tuberculosis

* Multiple sclerosis (MS)

* Poliomyelitis

* Spina bifida

* Spinal stenosis

* Tumors of the spinal cord

The above list is not all-inclusive. Therefore, if your condition is not
listed, or if you have any questions, contact PVA membership staff.


"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
Veteran Issues>