This answers the questions about EAJA much better than I can:

However,  nobody at the VA has ever been able to answer my question:  If Veterans don’t need an attorney, then why doesn’t the VA fire its 600 or so VA employee lawyers who represent the VA against the Veteran?    That sounds like it would be fair to me..no lawyers for the Vet, none for the VA either.   The non lawyers could “duke it out”.

Im always suspicious of someone who offers me advice…then does the opposite for themselves.  Isnt that what the VA is doing???  Telling Vets they dont need lawyers then use their own lawyers to deny Vets their benefits.   Oh, maybe this is because the VA is “paternalistic”?   If the vA  is so”paternalistic” , then why is an appeal even necessary?

Why do I think the VA LIKES IT when we take a knife to a gunfight by sending an inconsistently trained VSO against a team of VA employee lawyers?