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MAIL CALL! SOME WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM

JIM'S MAILBAG -- The latest from Veterans'

Advocate Jim Strickland.
 

 

 

Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for
VA Watchdog dot Org.

If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...

The archive of Jim's articles is here...

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When I started writing for VA Watchdog, I expected to hear both positive and negative feedback. I hoped to have a mailbox full of questions from Veterans seeking a plain English explanation to the arcane language of the Veterans Benefits Administration. I got just that; terrific feedback from readers who were hungry for clear and concise information about their issues. I didn't expect the dark side to be quite as vitriolic as it is. More on that later.

Most recently I've had a slew of letters referencing my "Do It Yourself" approach. I'm told by more than one VSO that only a fool would approach the Veterans Benefits Administration alone and without a VSO. More pointedly, I've been informed that only a fool would advise others to do so. DAV Commander Bradley S. Barton said applying for disability benefits at the VBA is a ''largely administrative claims process, which is designed to be open, informal and helpful to veterans". If we believe that, why do we need a representative in the form of a VSO? Much of my mail from the VSO side was angry. All of my mail from the Veterans side was positive.

Some of my mail has challenged me to dig deep and learn a lot of new stuff. I give a lot of credit to a handful of experts who write to me often and have offered their years of experience to help me problem-solve.

Reading your letters brought about change in my thinking. You opened my eyes to a host of facts that I hadn't realized before. Three years ago I was convinced that the VA was the source of my problems with my benefits application. I now know that VA is a small part of the issue and that my Service Officers who were supposed to be representing me failed in their duties. I'm proud that I'm not too old a dog to learn new tricks.

I've made some friends in a way I never thought possible. I have regular correspondence with some Veterans and their families and we know details of each other's lives. It takes me way back to the days of "pen pals" when I was a child, over a half century ago. We'd use a pencil, an envelope and a stamp to write to a stranger thousands of miles away to learn of their life. I get that same feeling of knowing these new friends today as I did then. It's unlikely I'll ever meet them. A couple of them have a terminal illness and I'll mourn the loss from my place in front of my monitor. But mourn I will, as surely as if they had been my neighbor.

I'd like to share some of what I've learned from your emails with you.

I knew nothing of Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) when I was asked about it. I was aware that a Vet who received retirement pay and VA Disability had the VA dollar amount offset from the retirement pay. I wasn't aware that if the Vet meets a few criteria, that amount is given back. My first Veteran to help with this was my father. He qualified, also had no awareness of the program and has completed his application. You may qualify if you meet these criteria; (1) Active, Reserve or medically retired with 20 years of creditable service, (2) Receiving military retired pay, (3) Have 10% or greater VA-rated injury, (4) Military retired pay is reduced by VA disability payments.

I was aware of the Combat Infantryman's Badge (CIB). I've seen a few and I was marginally aware of the honor of wearing it. When asked I didn't know its history or that during WWII men awarded a CIB were also given a Bronze Star Medal. After WWII the Bronze Star Medal was elevated in stature to a slot slightly different from the CIB. I knew there was often confusion between the Bronze Star Medal and a Bronze Service Star. I had to dig a little to find the precise definition of all of those awards. The email from a Veteran questioning all of that turned into a couple hours of a fascinating history lesson.

I'm sometimes critical of Service Officers. I've reported to you that I've found that the system is overflowing with poorly trained, poorly motivated Service Officers. I've recommended that in the instances where you need some help, you should shop for a Service Officer like you would for a heart surgeon. I've found that your best bet is to use the County or State Veterans Service Officer that every state provides.

On 10/07/06 I received a note from a Veteran who was relocating from Puerto Rico to New York. She was distraught that her records were being mishandled. She had been scheduled for a reexamination in her local (Puerto Rico) VAMC. She was told that to miss that exam was to lose her benefits. I urged her to find a New York State or County VSO quickly and let him help her. By 11/04/06 she wrote to say, "You advised me to get help from a State Veterans Officer which I did at the Montrose VA Hospital." I opened my mail on 02/15/07 and she said, "I received a letter today from my VARO informing me that I was increased from 70% IU to 100% permanent and total and that my son is eligible to receive chapter 35 benefits. I was basically homeless for almost 2 years and now I have a home. Now I can breathe..."

I tracked back a little and found Mr. Milton Steinberg, VSO at the Montrose Hospital. I called him and found that Milt is a quiet and modest guy. We chatted for a few minutes and he seemed grateful that I called although he was a little surprised that I'd do such a thing. After all, he was only doing his job. Helping Veterans is what he does. Thanks Milt, from all of us.

Most of us know about the Agent Orange Registry (AOR). The question came to me concerning some statements by a "knowledgeable" VSO that the AOR would positively end this year. My reader wasn't sure what to make of all that so he asked me. I was surprised too. While most registries like AOR have an end point, it isn't until there are no more subjects to register. In the case of Vietnam Veterans, the data is just becoming interesting as that group ages. More and more cancers are coming in to view, children and grandchildren and soon great-grandchildren will demonstrate the long term effects of AO exposure. Why end the AOR?

My quick research found nothing absolute about ending the registry. I did find that there were rumors circulating as far back as 1991. In the Agent Orange Review Vol.8, N0.1 February1991 I read, "VA Exams To Continue; Rumors of Shutdown Proven False" and "There is absolutely no basis in fact for this rumor. Unfortunately, such misinformation has unduly alarmed and upset many veterans.", declared Lawrence B. Hobson, M.D. The confusion may be a result of the Air Force study of Operation Ranch Hand that was slated to close in 2006. That's a smaller study and it's had this end date since its beginning.

It's always a pleasure to hear when a Veteran has used some of the information I've provided and made progress. This recent letter made my day: "I have to admit when I read your (Doctor Letter) article. I wasn't so sure it would be as easy as you made it out to be. I thought why not try. I told the doctor I need his signature on a letter. He said ok, let me read it. He read it, reached in his drawer, took out his stamp, stamped it, and then signed it. I will mail the letter and A&A form tomorrow. Thanks for your sound advice, I would not have tried it otherwise..." This Veteran has taken charge of his VA dealings and gotten an all-important document from his VA Primary Care Provider (PCP). A letter from your PCP can be the most important piece of evidence you'll submit and we're usually told that it can't be done. It can be done, we prove that every day. It's all in the approach.

I get more negative mail than I expected. You and I know there are the BS artists among us. I'm not naive, I'm a Veteran and like you, I've heard the loud braggadocio from Veterans telling their tall tales. What shocked me was the venom of some of these folks as they wrote to me. I'm not easy to impress. I'm a curmudgeon, constantly irritable, often grouchy as hell. If you need proof, ask any of my ex-wives. I cast a critical eye on everything before I accept it. Having made that clear, I really like my VHA Health Care. I'm an expert in the health care arena. Prior to retiring, my advice was sought after and paid for by health care providers across America. I know for a fact VHA care is as good as it gets.

Knowing that, how do I respond to this Veteran? "I sometimes have acute episodes and end up in Emergency Rooms and I have to pay for them. Why? So you can enjoy your VAMC? There are a lot of veterans like me that are not getting the same care as you from the VA. Why do I get the shaft? So you can receive preferenced (sic) treatment at your VAMC? We need to get veterans that are wounded on the battlefield into Medicare and Medicaid where they will be given professional health care not the torture centers of the DVA...if you really want to get me going just ask me about the political revolution that I want to get start here in the United States? Double DARE!!!"

This Montana Veteran above writes often and condemns everything about the VHA and everyone in it. He seems convinced I have some special privilege at my VA facility and that's why I get good treatment and he doesn't. I didn't Double DARE ask him about the "political revolution" he's going to start in the United States. I was afraid he'd tell me.

Every day I get these, "...it is time to impeach the ENTIRE White House and throw all the elected Republicans (along with any Democrats who collaborated) in charge of veteran funding over the past six years into prison for life." OK, funding for DVA is an issue. We deserve the best of everything. But, thinking back to previous administrations along the way...has there ever been adequate VA funding? Was there ever a popular war? When did Americans decide that impeachment was a replacement and a cure-all for everything they disagree with? It's unnerving to get so much of this irrational screaming-at-me-through-my-monitor email.

Don't these people have anything productive to do?

I shouldn't have been, but I was stunned to get the "Proud To Be White" chain mail message. I was born in a Navy hospital. I went to school in Quonset Huts on Marine Bases during my elementary school years. My earliest memories are of classes at places like Quantico, Cherry Point and Pendleton. This was long before integration, a concept I hadn't heard until after my father retired and we were civilians.

In my childhood, I can't recall any color other than “Marine”. The buildings, the people, the food, the grass, the very sky above was all just “Marine”. You Marines and Marine brats will understand that even if others don't. I said it before; I'm not naive. I'm a Southerner and I've lived in Boston and I've seen enough racism to last me a lifetime. Why somebody would put me on their email list to send racist literature to is beyond me. There are people who enjoy stirring the pot I suppose. Email just makes it easier for them to spread their hatred.

A Veteran writes to me about his non-service connected VA pension. He says; "It is unfair because in today’s world because the average household needs two incomes to really survive. It is discriminatory because the law is saying the vet’s spouse (usually meaning the WIFE) cannot work or if he or she does then the vet loses his/her pension." He goes on to tell me he can't get SSDI as he hasn't worked enough in the last 30 or so years to earn enough credits to qualify. He had no injuries in his service and he didn't see combat. The pension he refers to is subject to a means test of family income. The higher the family income, the lower the amount that pension will pay. It doesn't mean his wife can't work, it simply means that if she does work and she's successful, the pension will disappear. Am I being a jerk when I think that he hasn't earned a dime more than he gets? I don't remember anyone telling me that were I to manage to serve my three years I'd have super benefits for life just because.

Sometimes our failure to achieve in our life isn't the fault of our military service or the VA. Some of us screw it up nicely on our own, no help needed.

I've thought a lot about these nattering nabobs of negativity. I think I get the constantly negative email from the lazy people. It's easy to sit at a computer and outline all the problems of the system. They don't have to do much, just endlessly forward the messages from others and be smug and satisfied that their work is done. You remember these guys from your days of active duty. If there was an easy way to get out of a day's work, these slackers were there. That path of least resistance is always their first choice. They don't offer any solutions, they only harp about the obvious problems that we already know about. These characters were the ones you didn't want covering your back.

Then there are the workers, the people who set a goal and get it done. I don't get as much email from them as I'd like to because they're too busy solving problems. They help other Veterans, one on one most often. They don't have time to forward hate mail and they don't see much reason to bitch about the system. These are the same people you were relieved to see assigned to your team back in the day. You knew you could trust them in a tight spot. Instead of looking around for someone to blame, they just got to the task.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to write and tell me your success story. I've heard all about the VSO that lost the important file and the VA employee who was such a snot on the phone. I want to hear about your heroes. How about that doctor or nurse who went the distance for you? Tell me of the VSO who was concerned and called you to update you on your claim.

I'm sure there must be more than one Milton Steinberg, VSO out there. Let's give them a round of applause.

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Larry Scott  --