I’m sure you’re all familiar with that instructional bit of wisdom. Now supplant VASEC (the VA Secretary) as the young boy and VA’s interminable backlog as the putative wolf.  Our “boy” keeps  crying that the backlog will subside like the tide going out; that a new, smooth, streamlined high-speed ratings system is on the horizon-why! Look up in the sky! It’s an incredibly large bird! No, it’s a plane! Jez, it’s…

Speedupmyclaim@va.gov!

Soon you’ll be able to go online or to a kiosk in your own home town and insert your claim electronically and out pops your rating. Just like that! What could be simpler? All this is just around the corner-possibly by 2011!. We’ve been busy hiring and training new personnel to deal with this unfortunate delay, but soon all that will be a thing of the past. Please bear with us during this trying time. By 2012 we’ll look back on all this and see how it made us stronger, smarter and far more receptive to you, the Veteran.

Member Joe Vet from the eastern part of the U.S. sends us all these delish tidbits so we can rewrite our history books to comport with Big Brother’s recollections. Having made the rounds to all the different Veterans’ web sites, I find a tone of awe at some with regards to the VA. In fact, every Service Officer I’ve ever had verbally capitalized  anything of, or having to do, with VA. VA-friendly sites advocate we all take our protein pills,  hold hands and sing Kumbaya for several years. Asknod. org doesn’t subscibe to the pablum. We, and Joe here, have had a slightly jaded experience and tend to hold their feet to the fire.  Always remember Janis Joplin’s plaint in Me and Bobby MacGee- Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose. What are they going to do? Infect me with some incurable disease that’s bound to kill me for complaining?

I wonder how many people will come to this most recent of

VASEC’s “wolf calls”…where he made promises he did not keep.

Here are a few unfulfilled promises:

2009:http://federalsoup.federaldaily.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12997&title=shinseki-promises-to-cut-va-backlog-hire-staff

Shinseki will “break the backlog” this year…( August 31st, 2010)

http://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/90664/shinseki-backlog-will-end-year

Also in 2010, Vasec was “whittling down” the backlog:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/08/31/VA-says-its-whittling-down-claims-backlog/UPI-68171283295800/

However, the backlog continues to get worse under Shinseki. Must be due to Bush/Cheney (April 10, 2012).

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120410/APN/1204101006

The truth is that it is worse, and now, more promises (March 15th, 2012):http://www.military.com/news/article/va-tackling-mountainous-claims-backlog.html

I have heard the cries of wolf long enough..The VA didnt “break the Backlog” in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and I dont see it happening in 2012 or 2013 either, at least not according to the morning workload reports which continue to worsen. (member Joe)

If you buy these explanations from Uncle Eric and his Merry Band, you’re the eternal optimist. If you complain too loudly and threaten to involve the OIG when you’ve waited 10 years, you’ll discover the OIG involved in you. I complain subtly by repeating the same thing over and over until they read it and actually see it. An occasional  Congressional Inquiry or a Mandamus filing are sometimes another way of voicing your displeasure and being heard loudly.

P.S. I have received three private emails telling me that speedupmyclaim@va.gov only leads to the VA site. Jez, guys. It was a joke. I had no idea the link would lead anywhere!  Please don’t bug VA if you feel the link is defective. People tell me my brand of humor is defective. I apologize.