I received a copy of a new book that just came out this week. Included was a cover letter  addressed to Mr. Gordon Alexander. The VA Accreditation site has me as Gordon A. Graham and the nova site has me as Gordon Alex Graham. Since you just gotta know everyone sells their lists including the VFW etc. , I’m now watching my mail to see what else comes in with that name configuration. Below is the copy of the cover letter. I’ll give Maggie a bye on this one. I don’t mind being addressed as Mr. Alexander. Beats Hell out of being called late for dinner.

Advertize my book, please

Back to the book. The subheader below Betrayal of Valor is ‘An Exposé of a Horribly Flawed Veteran’s Administration”. The author has asked me to critique his work. I’m sure it’s a very well written book. I’m sure it’s unerringly accurate historically speaking.  I’m uncertain as to whether Mr. Eric Gang, Esquire is an accomplished VA attorney or not. I don’t know anything about him and don’t recall I’ve ever run into him at our legal conferences. His record that I can see reveals hundreds and hundreds of Joint Motions for Remand (JMR) asking to relitigate the denials again below salted with requests for dismissal. Granted, maybe he prevailed the second time around. Let’s give him the Presumption of Soundness, shall we? What the hey? The man has a J.D. and I sure don’t.

I’m pretty sure Eric’s as busy, if not busier, than me but honestly, sending me-or any Veteran- a copy Of this “exposé” is like carrying the coals to Newcastle. I reckon that phrase dates me. To all of you who just came back from Sandrancher country, it’s like reminding us all you just spent twenty plus years at war and had to run for your lives at the end. Veterans are well-versed in that version of war since the Vietnam debacle. I’m praying it doesn’t become the default setting in the future.

From the title, you’d expect the book  would recite the litany of VA stupidity that’s followed them like a moonshadow since our War for Independence. Think about it. VA has an almost perfect unblemished record of turning everything they touch into a world class fustercluck. Seems plausible. The VA used to be an offshoot of the Secretary of War and thence the Department of Defense. Historically speaking, Fort Five Sides hasn’t been able to find their ass with a methane detector since the end of WW II. Now they’re hopelessly  occupied with flying the rainbow flag and achieving equity to even attain (let alone maintain) their troop strength.

The VA didn’t technically come into its own until 1989 but nothing has changed except the name. Which is why I question why anyone would suddenly wake up in 2024 complaining the system is irretrievably broken-and then write an exposé sharing their newfound revelations with the folks who’ve experienced it since their separation. Helloooooo?

Remember the Bonus Army that came to Washington DC back in 1932 and demanded early redemption of their bonus coupons? Screwed to a man they were. MacArthur and Patton got in some good cavalry practice that day and even Eisenhower got dragged into the fray- albeit unsupportive of the action.

Think of more recently. Remember Under Secretary for Benefits (USB) Allison Hickey testifying before Congress circa 2013-14 that the VA was preparing to revise their DBQs to provide a space for doctors to opine-up or down- as to whether the disease /injury was caused in service?  Under Secretary Hickey insisted they just wanted to use up all the existing ones in stock first. But riddle me this- all the DBQs are electronic .pdfs.

I guess I might add it appears they never did finish using up the electronic version as there still is no place for the outward-facing document available to Johnny Vet with that promised box to opine in. VA has, however, created a separate inwards-facing “DBQ” of sorts called a Medical Opinion form wherein they perform this function but it isn’t available to us (Veterans) to provide to our own doctors. Sound like some kind of Secret Squirrel SOG bullshit? You betcha.

Remember when the AMA was inaugurated in 2019 and  was going to revamp and simplify the whole VA claims process as we know it? I’m still hoping to live to see the promised drive-thru lanes at our VAROs across the fruited plains before I pass. But then I’m also still waiting for the backlog of any kind of claim or appeal to evaporate (as promised) which might create the necessity for these drive-thru lanes.

Remember when the VA had so many doctors that they were promising you an appointment within a month?  In 2014, we all found out they had to 86 a shit ton of appointments at Phoenix just to keep the wait time down to a dull three-month roar. Even then some Vets fell through the cracks and died before even getting to first base with their caregivers.

Every time I hear some Vet spout off about  what killer care he receives from the VAMC near him, I look down at my belly and those seven ventral hernias avec cadaver skin and say “wait”. Just wait until you’re coming down with Prostate cancer and some VHA desk pilot in scheduling says in a chirpy voice that you’re in luck inasmuch as they have an opening in MRI next February 10th (2025) at 1640 hrs. So what if your prostate cancer has metastasized into your bones and lymph nodes by then? It’s free because you’re 50% or more SC. Surely you can see the value in it being free medical treatment.

Mr. Gang’s book reads more like a poorly plagiarized version of a NVLSP Veterans Benefits Manual. The title suggests we’re going to get the down and dirty on every nasty deed they’ve ever perpetrated on us. It doesn’t.  I’m not denigrating the book. It’s just that it regurgitates nothing more than how to win a claim-not an exposé as promised. When the war’s over, Veterans are leftover detritus that no longer needs to be pandered to.  What throws me for a loop is that several of my fellow VA agents have also received this tome but nary an attorney has. Is this to say we’re equally as ignorant as VSOs and need counseling by Eric on how to do this? That’s pretty condescending. Remember- his publisher, at his insistence, asked me to critique this book honestly. This isn’t some Sunday afternoon diatribe.

I’ve been playing VA poker since 1989 on a pretty regular basis and there’s not much they can pull out of their hats these days that I haven’t seen. The major change just seems to be the inordinately large amount of bullshit coming down the pike with new, imaginary regulations that say that unfortunately we can’t get there from here.

If Mr. Gang had been more forthright in his investigations before taking pen to paper, he’d comment on the reality of our latest fiasco called the PACT Act. It’s as if Congress and VA colluded (read ‘made a pact with the VSO devils’) to foist this new ‘entitlement’ on Veterans and then hand out 0% ratings after mucho PR hoopla. We, among the VA representative ranks refer to this dog and pony show as the ‘Zeros for Heroes’ program. Trust me, it’s been around since before the War of 1812 and hasn’t changed appreciably since. Promise them untold compensation riches and hand them fool’s gold. Welcome to VA compensation 101.

On Ash Wednesdays (post PACT Act), across our fruited VA plains, many Veterans figuratively discover the valuable Mardi Gras beads (read promised benefits) they were bequeathed the night before in good faith by their VSOs are nothing more than cheap, worthless 0% trinkets. This happens year in and year out. Was it Einstein who opined the definition of insanity is performing the same action over and over in hopes the results will change?

I’m not complaining about Mr. Gang’s book. I merely point out he’s failed to reveal the perfidy of VA’s continuing promises he’s promised which they dangle in front of us like a carrot before the donkey. Where’s the exposé, cowboy? It’s a great book if you’re a newby FNG representative looking for insight on how to cut the VA’s Gordian Knot.  It’s Greek if you’re Johnny Vet. And it’s like reading last week’s newspaper if you’re inexperienced and expecting to receive some Divine Sign from God on how to win a VA claim.

I’ll leave you with this. On the back cover, a review  by Kircus Reviews states:

“Having brought nearly a thousand cases before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the author not only presents readers with a well-documented exposé of VA misconduct, but also offers practical tips to veterans [sic] on how to navigate the labyrinthine VA bureaucracy.”

If you don’t understand VA law-both the old Legacy system as well as the new AMA- how in Sam Hill do you expect to offer practical tips to the great unwashed? And that’s all I’m going to say about that except Veterans deserve the capital ‘V’ rather than the lower case ‘v’. We’ve more than earned the sobriquet in my mind.

P.S. One upon a time, where, Together We Never Served…