Hanoi Jane Does Montana

Posted on April 17, 2012 by asknod

This from Member Tom (AZJENSMOM). It’s priceless. Would that I could come upon her in public….

This is a great story! The radio station America FM was doing one of its ‘Is Anyone Listening?’ bits this morning. The first question was, ‘Ever have a celebrity come up with the ‘Do you know who I am’ routine?’ A woman called in and said that a few years ago, while visiting her cattle rancher uncle in Billings , MT , she had occasion to go to dinner at a restaurant that does not take reservations. The wait was about 45 minutes, and many ranchers and their wives were waiting. Ted Turner and his ex-wife Jane Fonda came in the restaurant and wanted a table. The hostess informed them that they’d have to wait 45 minutes. Jane Fonda asked the hostess, ‘Do you know who I am?’ The hostess answered, ‘Yes, but you’ll have to wait 45 minutes.’ Then Jane asked if the manager was in. When the manager came out, he asked, ‘May I help you?’ ‘Do you know who we are?’ both Ted and Jane asked. Yes, but these folks have been waiting, and I can’t put you ahead of them.’ Then Ted asked to speak to the owner. The owner came out, and Jane again asked, ‘Do you know who I am?’ The owner answered, ‘Yes, I do. Do you Know who I am? I am the owner of this restaurant and I am a Vietnam Veteran. Not only will you not get a table ahead of my friends and neighbors who Have been waiting here, but you also will not be eating in my restaurant tonight or any other night. Good bye.’ Only in America , is this a great country or what? To all who received this, this is a true story and the name of the steak house is: Sir Scott’s Oasis Steakhouse, 204 W. Main , Manhattan , MT 59741 , (406) 284-6929 If you ever get there, give this fellow a sharp salute, buy a steak, and tip the waitress well.

That’s barely 10 hours from here. Cupcake and I should toodle on over for dinner and an overnight. I hope Hanoi Jane gets preferred seating in Hell when she gets there. I am fondly looking forward to meeting her.

Posted in All about Veterans, General Messages, Humor | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

VA News Release– And Now For Something Entirely Different…

Posted on April 17, 2012 by asknod

Eagle-eyed Joe (average) Vet just sent me this today. It’s priceless. Remember Chevy Chase from SNL doing the newscast with Jane Curtin?  “And now, for something entirely different- today the VA announced that they absolutely, positively, without any more ado, are finally going to fix the intractable backlog…

 “This national deployment, consisting of people, process and technology initiatives, follows comprehensive planning and testing to ensure we have the right recipe for success,” chirped Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey in that cute Alvin the Chipmunk voice of hers.

Over the years, I have heard a litany of something far superior to the blame game emanate from Victor Alpha. Yes, the solutions game.  After all the excuses are filed and the FNGs hired, inertia sets in once again. Recall that member Joe A. Vet just gave us those recent pearls of VA wisdom last week.

https://asknod.wordpress.com/?s=The+boy+who+cried+wolf

So what should our wondering eyes behold today but yet another piece of the puzzle that will complete the picture. In all these years some of the most used tags in their repertoire included ” milestone(s), transformation, bifunctional, trifunctional, multifunctional, cross-functional, cross-check capability, quality review teams, error-free system, national deployment, triage and veteran friendly.”

In keeping with  all the former releases, this one becomes the grand daddy of all of them.

milestone:

“This is an important milestone in our transformation to achieve the goal we established in 2009 of processing all disability claims within 125 days at a 98 percent accuracy level in 2015,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

Gee, I remember back in 09 he said by 2011 when he asked for 3,500 more worker bees.

transformation:

VA’s transformation plan is based on more than 40 measures that were selected, evaluated, tested and measured from over 600 stakeholder and employee innovation ideas.

The 12 regional offices to begin the deployment of the transformation initiatives

 the integrated effects of the transformation plan 

The major components of the transformation plan

Sounds like there’s a whole lot of transformation going on. So, if the system has been broken for what- 25 years- are we to understand that they just now decided to listen to the employees’ suggestions? What were all those suggestion boxes for? Wall ornaments?

Cross-functional:

Cross-Functional Teams, which support a case-management approach to claims

If they are just now putting in telephones in order to promote interoffice discourse (cross-functional) doesn’t that imply that they have been dysfunctional in the past?  By spilling the beans here and giving us the repair order, they are indicting those identified parts of their system as being sub par and the cause of the bottleneck.

quality review teams:

VA has already nationally implemented:

  • Quality Review Teams, which are composed of dedicated local quality review specialists who will evaluate station and individual employee performance and conduct in-process reviews to eliminate errors at the earliest possible stage.

    Quality Review teams metamorphose like caterpillars. Do not be surprised if they resemble STAR Teams, OIG Fact-finder Teams, Quality Guaranty Teams,  Regional Office Troubleshooter Teams, Ghostbuster Teams, Compensation and Pension Quality Control Teams, Quality Assurance Teams and more. It’s very crowded down there at the old RO sometimes when they’re all in town at the same time.
    triage:

    The Intake Processing Center, which adds a formalized process for triaging claims documents and other mail,

    The VA’s mail rooms have been doing triage for decades. The process looks for claims or mail asking for advancement on the docket for medical and financial hardship and TDIU. These claims have to be processed within 90 days from receipt. Other items that involve Congressional interest get top triage too. For VA to claim they are adding a “formalized process” to triage, we are to assume they were lackadaisical in the past?
    I am sure, as are my fellow Veterans, that VA has finally affixed a handle on this problem and will shortly make the claims process a smooth, seamless process that ensures little room for error. After reading this article, I realize (as a stakeholder) I will sleep soundly tonight for the first time in years. Victor Alpha has finally heard my prayers. Deliverance is nigh (again).
    When I was framing houses, you knew you were going backwards when you took the sawsall off the truck. VA doesn’t even know what a regular saw looks like. In fact, they’re now preparing to invent their own to cut through this log jam.
Posted in All about Veterans, Uncategorized, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Main Gates in Vietnam

Posted on April 16, 2012 by asknod

From north to south…

Can’t find one for Qui Nhon AB

I’m sure  some of you Veterans

walked through some of

these gates.

Posted in All about Veterans, Milestones, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Footlocker 8

Posted on April 16, 2012 by asknod

This was manufactured one year after my birth for the Korean War. There was tons of it left over, apparently. Enough for another war! The government, never one to waste anything, probably paid 6 times what it cost to make this crap just to store it. I found it in my tool box. I had to take a picture of it to read  the small print. 85% of  you who clicked on this were thinking “of or having to do with another weapon of mass destruction. Yep.”  Well, not exactly. But now I know why I got food poisoning a few times. I never sterilized mine. It was in between my two dog tags. Duh, huh?

I had a thriving trade in Tabasco and A-1 sauce the whole time I was there. My sister mailed it to me by the 12 pack from a restaurant supply house.  Standard barter value? 2 cartons of Marbs. It made C rations palatable, not to mention grilled water buffalo. Remember, that stuff was 18 years old by the time I started eating it – literally. I mean it. Both the C rations and the Buffalo. They  pass away between 14-18 yrs.

Posted in All about Veterans, From the footlocker, General Messages, Humor | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

WGM–Great Nexus letters

Posted on April 16, 2012 by asknod

Member WGM just sent me these nexus letters he used to get his 100% P&T rating from VA. They are an excellent guideline for presentation to the VA. This man has done his homework and then some. Three of a kind is a nice way of telling VA you care to send the very best. It also lets them know in no uncertain terms that you are very familiar with their delay and deny program of justice for Vets. Sure enough, they granted post haste.

Gastro Letter

Gastrodoc Letter

Shrink Letter

P.S. These letters were just for the P&T portion of Dubbya’s fight for his rating. Some may not know that he has a whole blog or 5 dedicated just to his travails over the last several years. Type in WGM on the search bar to the right and read the story. Or click on this wigitawhozee  https://asknod.wordpress.com/page/2/?s=+WGM He has also contributed all his research on jetguns for us as well.

 

Posted in General Messages, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

FED CIR–CHANDLER v.SHINSEKI

Posted on April 16, 2012 by asknod

This decision has absolutely no bearing on HCV jurisprudence. I simply attach it here for the sole purpose of showing the readership what we have in store for us soon. At the top of the decision is the list of appellant’s leagle beagles. Prominently displayed is the name of Meg Bartley. Ms. Bartley is slated to become a new judge at the CAVC soon-Congress willing.

Chandler

Meg has been kicking around over at the National Veterans Legal Services, a consortium of like-minded law dogs with the Veterans’ best interests at heart. They are, for the most part pro bono and dearly beloved to all who seek an ear before the Courts. One can imagine how refreshing this will be when she ascends to the Bench soon. Judge Mary Schoelen, who is another strong advocate of ours, will find herself in good company soon. I do not advocate for an unfair advantage for Vets. I simply beg for an even playing surface. Considering that we get such shoddy justice and surly lip service below, this addition to the Court gives us one more valuable tool with which to curb the excesses of the VASEC.

Vets should find it incongruous that they get such disparate justice in the lower venues. One can readily excuse the lowest echelon (VAROs) as being constrained by a benefits manual that all but guarantees none but the most patently obvious claims will ever reach fruition. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t be perpetuated at the BVA via some blind march in lockstep with the flawed decision from below.

We are seeing more reasoned opinions emanating from the BVA only because they are beginning to recognize a trend coming from above that refuses to go along with the Gomer logic presented. Face it. Most judges would be appalled to have their decisions rent asunder based on false premises or improper analysis of the available evidentiary record. The BVA, being minions of the VASEC and dependent on him for their livelihood, often stick their licked finger up to see which way the legal wind is blowing. Arguably, there are some members whose altruism has not become a casualty to the party line. I commend those souls. We know by reading decisions that some are poorly contrived and pointedly slanted against the Vet. This is why Congress decided to give us a better shot at justice than the rump form we endured for a century and a half.

Nod predicts:

We’ll attain true, unadulterated, meaningful jurisprudence only when the VLJ system mirrors the ALJ one incorporated by the Social Security Administration. That is, a truly independent judiciary that cannot be swayed by their paycheck cum blind allegiance. That’s the rub in a nutshell, isn’t it? The CAVC more closely resembles what true justice could be but obviously can be subtly told to rein in by the 3rd Circus.

We at the Nod factory joyously look forward to the coronation of  Ms. Bartley the sooner the better. In case anyone hadn’t noticed, the CAVC has unceremoniously shut its doors in protest and is waiting for our fearless Commander in Chief  and the Senate to get off their derrieres and restock the Judge pond. Even with the investiture of Bartley and Wong, we’ll still be short one judge. How soon that will be rectified is a mystery. I have heard nothing from Sen. Sneakers-not even a discouraging word about this deficiency. Considering her umbrage with the Army’s PTSD imbroglio, one would think this might rise to the level of a news conference, too.

Come on, Patty. You have the ear of the President. Let’s get with the program or are Vets a lower priority that getting reelected for the umpteenth time?

Posted in All about Veterans, Fed. Cir. & Supreme Ct., vA news, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

FED CIR–TYRUES V. SHINSEKI–GOING DOWN?

Posted on April 16, 2012 by asknod

This is a wonderful thing. Larry G. Tyrues filed an Appeal with the Court back in 2009. Unfortunately he was a little bit late with the NOA. The Court, as is their wont on all matters tardy, declined to hear it. Larry appealed up to the Fed. Circus and was rewarded, indirectly, by a decision at the SCOTUS (Henderson v. Shinseki) that ruled VA was being too harsh in their interpretation.

Henderson–Fed Cir.

Henderson–SCOTUS

Actually, with the wall that separates the two, the Court has their own set of rules as to jurisdictional jurisprudence timelines. The VBA does too, but their authority extends from 38 USC.

The Court has always held that if you were late- more than 120 sunrises and sunsets- in getting your Notice of Appeal to them, then you were SOL. It’s been that way since the dawn of the Court. SCOTUS turned that notion on its head. Remember all the admonitions we are given about how we inhabit a “veteran friendly” judicial system whose aim is a “non-adversarial venue” to present claims where the benefit of the doubt and other valuable considerations are accorded us? The Supremes decided that meant a little more where we are consigned to sub par legal help (VSOs or pro se) until we lose.

We encounter these time constraints throughout our claims process. Following the inevitable denial, we are given a 12 month window in which to file a NOD. Similarly, when filing our substantive appeals to the BVA (Form 9) following the issuance of the SOC, we are constrained to perform within the 60 day window, submit new and material evidence for de novo review or risk watching the claim die. It follows that the onus of 120 days to accomplish this at the Court would be equally unequivocal.

Dave Henderson got the same treatment when he was 15 days late. He decided to take it up the ladder and got a sympathetic ear up at the Big House. They correctly reasoned that the CAVC is a Article I Court and not an Article III. In addition, they correctly interpreted Congress’ intent as creating what can be politely be described as a “closed system” that protects us as a privileged minority. As such, we are accorded  special dispensations that other citizens are not. The practice of laying  a punji pit in our path vis a vis the timeline constraints serves no purpose other than to punish and penalize Vets for their tardiness. It does nothing to contribute to the orderly progression of VA business. In short, it is an unreasonable obstacle to what is rightfully ours. A stiff, unbending doctrine that has no useful purpose is pointless. SCOTUS recognized that-finally. The DVA, in turn, was shocked to learn that Veterans would consider them to be adversarial or defriend them on Facebook.

Larry is going to be the next recipient of this new largesse after Dave Henderson. I find it interesting that this hasn’t been appealed successfully sooner. What’s even more exciting is the prospect that this may have  trickle-down implications at the BVA and the RO. Why not? Explain to a Vet that his claim is dead one day past a sixty day deadline because “that’s the way it is written”. Where, pray tell, is the non-adversarial, veteran friendly nature in that? What can be gained from it? Who wins and who loses? Is the VA in some way harmed or made to go to greater lengths to accommodate a Vet who files late? Is the Vet cheating the system and his fellow claimants somehow?

We are on the cusp, finally, of being given due process in a Colosseum-like environment. No more will the scoreboard read Lions-5, Christians-0. Without the perspicacity of the Hendersons and  Tyrues of the Veterans world, we’d be up Paddle creek without any bathroom tissue.

Larry does the 3rd Circus

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Incredible Viewpoint

Posted on April 15, 2012 by asknod

While I am ambivalent about religion and do not force mine down anyone’s throat, I received this from someone who is not terribly religious. What he did point out is that this is the dogged determination needed to pick yourself back up when your claim fails and have the fortitude to see it through. I agree wholeheartedly. Pursuing a claim with the VA is not for the weak of heart or the easily disappointed. It takes the patience of Job and the farsightedness of Noah to prevail. VA knows this and at some point will concede defeat. The man you will meet in this video has a harder row to hoe than me and he has managed to overcome insurmountable hardship.

Enjoy.

Posted in General Messages | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Posted on April 14, 2012 by asknod

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.

Posted in All about Veterans, Complaints Department, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BVA–NO AO IN THAILAND

Posted on April 13, 2012 by asknod

This is an unfortunate decision for the Vet. He should have done some research on his claim before filing. The fact that he had the MOPH repping him is not going to help. Hell, they should have known better. Cellulitis isn’t even listed in 38 CFR § 3.309(e).

http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/3.309

(e) Disease associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents. If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent during active military, naval, or air service, the following diseases shall be service-connected if the requirements of § 3.307(a)(6) are met even though there is no record of such disease during service, provided further that the rebuttable presumption provisions of § 3.307(d) are also satisfied.

AL amyloidosis

Chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne

Type 2 diabetes (also known as Type II diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes)

Hodgkin’s disease

Ischemic heart disease (including, but not limited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction; atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease (including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable, unstable and Prinzmetal’s angina)

All chronic B-cell leukemias (including, but not limited to, hairy-cell leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia)

Multiple myeloma

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Parkinson’s disease

Acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy

Porphyria cutanea tarda

Prostate cancer

Respiratory cancers (cancer of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or trachea)

Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)

Note 1: The term “soft-tissue sarcoma” includes the following: Adult fibrosarcomaDermatofibrosarcoma protuberans Malignant fibrous histiocytoma LiposarcomaLeiomyosarcoma Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (malignant leiomyoblastoma)Rhabdomyosarcoma Ectomesenchymoma Angiosarcoma (hemangiosarcoma and lymphangiosarcoma) Proliferating (systemic) angioendotheliomatosis Malignant glomus tumor Malignant hemangiopericytoma Synovial sarcoma (malignant synovioma) Malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath Malignant schwannoma, including malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant Triton tumor), glandular and epithelioid malignant schwannomas Malignant mesenchymoma Malignant granular cell tumor Alveolar soft part sarcoma Epithelioid sarcoma Clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses Extraskeletal Ewing’s sarcoma Congenital and infantile fibrosarcomaMalignant ganglioneuroma

Note 2: For purposes of this section, the term acute and subacute peripheral neuropathymeans transient peripheral neuropathy that appears within weeks or months of exposure to an herbicide agent and resolves within two years of the date of onset.

Note 3: For purposes of this section, the term ischemic heart disease does not include hypertension or peripheral manifestations of arteriosclerosis such as peripheral vascular disease or stroke, or any other condition that does not qualify within the generally accepted medical definition of Ischemic heart disease.

Without that, the whole claim falls flat on its face. It makes no difference even if they were spraying it on his food.

The second problem is far more nuanced. The VA is finally beginning to cave in on this but it will be years before a good case pops up at the CAVC-let alone one we’ll be able to use for precedence. This gentleman was in reciprocating engines of which there were a lot of at NKP.  Virtually everything on the flightline was.  VA is only going to give a pass if you were a perimeter guard or had regular business there. What I have a hard time comprehending is how AO stops at the edge of the runway or parking revetment areas and never pollutes further in. If anyone who got RVN red clay on their boots for 30 minutes is a candidate, why not Vets from Thailand? Better yet, how about us disadvantaged Vets who were precluded from even talking about where we were? More AO and AB was used in Laos than any other country over there-and a lot longer.

Make sure it’s on the list and your contemporary medrecs support it:

No AO in Thailand

Just for shits and grin, check out these shots of NKP also called Naked Fanny. Notice the dearth of vegetation inside the perimeter? In fact, note the utter lack of vegetation in some places. It was the same at all bases-be they in Thailand, Vietnam or over the fence.  

The lower picture is  much more recent but the grass still seems to be recalcitrant after so many years.

Posted in AO, BvA Decisions, Nexus Information, Veterans Law, Vietnam Disease Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment