VA-Friendly Fire?

Veterans have been approaching us for nigh on 3 years on this site and bemoaning the fact that they have filed claims and discovered VA (that would be the Veterans Administration) is an antagonist rather than their “good buddy”.

The VA in its first incarnation as envisioned by President Lincoln, was a novel concept. Not only did they offer compensation or a pension to Northern troops, this same offer extended to injured Confederate soldiers, including my Great grandfather. What a noble endeavor. Unfortunately some ex-servicemen, in collusion with their hometown doctors, conspired to game the system. This forced the VA’s predecessors to require more evidence and corroboration of actual injuries. This was still viable all the way through World War Two as most people are inherently honest. Actually, it was probably true through the Korean War. But around this time Veterans again started to search for loopholes to exploit the system to obtain more benefits that were questionable.

Granted, the Vietnam “conflict” generated a lot of disabled Vets, but there was a new paradigm emerging. President Johnson had inaugurated the Great Society programs which were poorly conceived and woefully unsupervised. It was the beginning of a flood where everyone was a victim and everyone was entitled. This started a new industry- cradle to grave “welfare”. In this setting, the VA became a lot more defensive of its finances and largesse. Vets noticed this disparity soon enough. It became exponentially harder to gain entry into this club.Even if you succeeded, there was not a golden parachute available on the other side. Diseases and injuries that would normally be considered total disability were often rated at less than 50%. This “us against them” mentality has continued through the years and finally met its match with the inception of the CAVC.

Veterans, be they from the Vietnam era discovering new AO illnesses or Iraqi/ Afstan with IED/PTSD fallout, are discovering this dichotomy. How can the VA, who ostensibly represents Vets, be in an adversarial relationship with those they purport to advocate for?

Murphy’s Laws of War in Vietnam were many and very instructional. The first one I heard was Friendly fire…isn’t. We, as Veterans, were given a promise when we signed our compact with the Government. It sounded like a fair shake. It didn’t promise us the moon, but it certainly didn’t sound incredible or unattainable. What, then, to make of the current state of affairs?

Were you to file a claim with your insurance company for an auto accident that wasn’t your fault, it would be adjudicated in short order. What would you do if there was only ONE insurance company in America that was hopelessly overwhelmed and refused to subcontract the work out to overcome the backlog? What if you had to wait for a year for a decision which was invariably adverse because they had poorly trained personnel assigned to your claim? And everyone else’s? If you were dissatisfied with the outcome and appealed the findings, would you be nonplussed to find yourself waiting several years to get your car repaired?

We find ourselves, as Vets, disenfranchised simply because our nation has chosen to fight multiple wars in succession without sweeping up the broken glass in the interim. We are assured that this is a temporary aberration and soon things will be better. Meanwhile we wait. All the while more casualties are piling up requiring yet more claims personnel who are not forthcoming. More promises and IOUs are handed out-again with more excuses for the delay.

The Veterans Administration becomes more and more choked and bloated each year in its attempts to “streamline” the process. At what point will it become a “Veteran friendly environment”? We never shirked our responsibilities when in uniform. To have done so or even threatened to would have resulted in severe discipline. So why is it that the employees we pay for with our taxes are allowed to collect their paychecks irrespective of whether they complete our claims in a timely manner. I submit that the tail is finally wagging the dog.

So, ladies and gentlemen Vets, when you submit your claims in the future, recognize your adversary. He/she will be smiling and sending you all manner of pleasant literature that says you will be accorded great respect. They will tell you that they will attempt to grant you any and all remuneration you are entitled to. The operable word is “attempt” The unspoken reality is the time element. You may even enlist the help of a VSO who will tell you about the untold riches which await you upon service connection. Silver tongued devils all. It has been said that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. You are being subjected to friendly fire and VA is attempting to convince you that it is unintentional.

Murphy’s law of bombs held that Napalm and cluster bombs were incredibly accurate- they always hit the ground. VA’s promise to accurately adjudicate your claim as rapidly as possible is no different. However, the words “accurately” and “rapidly” are open for interpretation and wildly exceed the parameters envisioned by Miriam Webster.