Hello everyone
I am a new member, just joined today.
I am also a vet
And yes I too have been victimized by the "system"
I've been reading some of the postings on this board, specifically by McClellanVet (partly because I just started reading today & partly because she has posted often)
I wanted to send a message to all the vets & to McClellanVet.
To McClellanVet I wanted to say I read your post about "Examples of False Process" & a few others and I can certainly relate to what you have gone through because I have experienced circumstances very similiar to your case, and not just with the VA, but with Vocational Rehab as well.
Your story touched my heart because when it happened to me I felt emotionally raped.
We all want to feel validated in life by our peers, family and the government if we have chosen to make the sacrifice of fighting for the freedom of the citizens of our country, knowing full well that it carries a possibility of losing our own life in the process.
That is one of the highest sacrifices any person can make and when we are not validated or supported in exchange for that sacrifice we feel victimized.
You seem to carry with you a inherent sense of humor while you go through your struggles and I am both awed and in high respect of that.
May I ask that you try to never lose that.
That is what will carry you through, because there is a strength in that & comfort to others who are suffering as well.
I know alot of Vets are suffering.
Too many & the numbers need to be reduced..
How to do that is the question.
You also seem to have a very strong mind about you when it comes to the "red tape" that we have to go through as Vets to try to get anything positive accomplished with regards to our VA benefits. In short you sound knowledgeable about the VA claim process and the regulations.
You can be a great help to someone else with the knowledge you have gained.
So please keep your "voice" loud and clear as long as you can. Vets need you. Thanks

To the other veterans who post here, I too am in the claim process, and have had my own struggles with the VA. My struggles have gone on for years.
It's definately a process that can wear a person down.
But I guess maybe that is what they intended all along.
My heart goes out to all of you especially to those who have served in Viet Nam and those who are serving now and have been injured.

I have no answers, but I have learned a few things while attempting to work within the VA's guidelines to attain my own benefits.
What I have learned I am willing to share.
All of you are welcome to email me at anytime.

I do know there is strength in numbers and I think that message boards are an excellent idea, because it allows us to connect with each other.
If we can all meet at certain times, in certain places, and maintain unity, we can all be heard as one loud strong voice.
We can share knowledge and what knowledge one doesn't have another may have.
We can change laws, approach congress, vote certain people out of office, write letters to our Senators, and more.

We need to join together as one.

The way I see it now there are small pockets of veterans here and there crying out to be heard and validated by a system that has truly mistreated them.

Message boards are also an effective tool for venting, and we need to vent because holding it in can cause further illnesses.

I know its extremely frustrating, I am living it, & have been for a couple of years,but we have to be strong and what we are fighting for is not just for our own personal benefits, but the benefits of others who are serving now as well.

I too have had people post things in my records that made me look bad, and were lies.
I've had two of my claims arbitrarily closed without any notification.
I've been mistreated by nurses, doctors, clerks at the VA hospital.
I've had paperwork I submitted to VA not put into the system, that's kin to losing it.
I've had money deducted from my benefits due to government employees error and the paperwork they submitted, on a long term basis, creating financial hardship.
Financial hardship can create illness, because it creates and fosters long term stress, and long term stress creates illness.
I have all the documentation that supports these claims.
I encourage everyone who files a claim to keep their own filing system, and make copies of everything you submit.
I've had "student" doctors attempt to experiment with me and when I denied their experimental care, because I knew that it was detrimental to my health and could cause further sickness to me, I had entries put into my personal health files that sometimes were outright lies, or just omissions of what they attempted to do or what they said that provoked a certain reaction from me etc etc.
The list goes on and on.

But we have to be strong and not give up.
Something positive is going to happen.
It has to because as they say "We can't ALL be wrong".

When I think of how I was mishandled and mistreated in the military the "I'm mad at the world" cycle starts all over again.

So I've chosen to go on with my life.
The "system" is broken and in many many places.
Maybe its necessary to find the head and cut it off.
Kind of like a poisonous snake.

We know who the head is don't we?

Directions and orders always come from the top and trickle down.

As they say in the military S*** rolls downhill.

There are a few in high places with power enough to help change things, but most refuse to help not willing to upset the apple cart because they are not affected, and they feel if they do intervene, their standard of living will be compromised.

I guess that won't change until and unless members in their own family become ill and victim the the same "system" we are.

The people who are willing to help in high places that have the power to change things, to you I say thank you.

To the vets I say let's join together each contributing in our own way and help one another.

To the head I say, shame on you for "alluring" & "enticing" young healthy people into a system under the guise of doing something honorable, knowing that most people want to help others, & promising things you knew you had no intentions on delivering and for using them as guinea pigs so medical students can train, as guinea pigs in war strategies & misallocating funds.

Those are atrocities and they are visible to the whole world & you won't get away with it.

On the contrary, you will have to give account.

It maybe a member of your own family is challenged in an extraordinary way healthwise or it maybe something else.

One question out of many I have is...
What about funds placed in grant programs for states?
Most people don't even have the knowledge on how to go about attaining the grants and why is there so much money given to those programs when it can be better used for people who are sick?

Take my case for instance. I started working at the age of 17.
I had taxes, and social security withdrawn from my checks.
At the age of 21 I went into the military.
I served for 8 yrs and 4 months.
After discharge I worked for 8 years steadily.
While in the military I got sick.
I suffered due to lack of proper care,

(which is negligence or medical malpractice in a civilian atmosphere, & civilians can sue in a court of law for, but convenient to the government, veterans didn't have that same option until recently )(and also brings me to the vehicle the government/VA has chosen to allow the veteran to use to sue, we all know its non effective. It's broken too)

but the consequences did not hit me until after I discharged from military and it was a slow process that gradually snowballed.

When I sought assistance with legitimate claims via the VA, and through social security, I was denied multiple times, even though I have many doctors substantiating my medical condition, and this has been a constant over a period of two years.

It's disturbing. It's like being raped.

And its certainly not hard to see why veterans are so upset because we all had money deducted from our checks under the guise of taxes and social security.

Where did the money go?

If we can't get it, who is getting it?

There are so many questions.

About a year ago I happened to run into a person who is from another country.
Conversation turned to source of income as it always does, and in the process we got on the discussion of disability.
This person informed me that they are living in the united states, collecting social security.
Yet they are from another country.
The foreign accent was very strong, which shows that they have not been in the United States long enough to have become "Americanized" if you will.

????

HELLO !!
I am an American citizen !!
I was born and raised in the United States!
I worked at many jobs here!
I served in the United States Military !
I put money into the social security pot for years !!
But now when I really need help I cannot get it.
Yet.... someone from another country comes here, puts the paperwork in, and gets it no problem !
And all I can say is wow !

If anyone out there reading this post is in a Senator / Congressman / Governors' position this, please re-read this, and find it within your heart to help those veterans who made the sacrifice so that you can come and go when you please, live in safety from threats of terrorism, earn as much money as you desire, & more & fix our broken system !

Many ill veterans are living either close to, or at the poverty line.
Many have missing limbs.
Many have been given the wrong medicine.
Many have been misdiagnosed.
Many have been improperly treated medically.
The list goes on.

I served overseas during high threat times,
& I was one of many who stood in the way of terrorists as a barrier to them getting to our fellow americans back home.
I remember being on high alert many times.


Incidently, I don't even own a car !

I'm not crying about how poor I am, I am asking where is the "just" ness of it all?
I am not asking the government to support me.
Many times after illness, a person has to re-access their abilities in the work place because the things they used to be able to do they can no longer to, and they are forced to work at another type of employment that now "allows" for their disabling circumstances.
We are human beings, not machines. We definately have limitations.
So what I am saying is there are things needed to be able to make that transition and one of them is finances especially if they can no longer go out of the home to work.
I know there are many veterans in this situation.
They don't want to be dependent upon the governments' handouts all the rest of their lives if they can help.
Not a true soldier.
Because a true soldier has pride and that very pride they had that made them be a good patriotic soldier and sign up for military service is the same pride that causes them to want to earn their own living.
Many just need an adjustment in the type of work they are doing and need temporary financial help to make that transition.

We all know it takes money to make money.

This whole issue is multi faceted and has many sides.

Enough to cause a person to rant for days.

But I'm not going to fall into that trap.
With that said, I hope everyone who is struggling stays strong & I hope that those who are in high places who can further help the veterans do so.

To Sgtjwhite,

You sir are a part of the problem. Your statement of "Bullshit" clearly signifies to me that you have taken your 40% SC and now up tow the company line. You sir should be ashamed to call yourself a veteran because apparently you have no problem leaving others behind.

I suggest that you study the history of AO before you make statements that ultimately show how stupid you actually are.

Although, you may have been treated well at you VAMC and are currently 40%, that is great. There are still millions of vets who went to other parts of Southeast Asia and nonetheless where poisoned by one of the various Agent Rainbows that were used their. Our very own government sanctioned the use of these dioxin laden chemicals, when they clearly knew since the early 1940s that this stuff was deadly.

This dioxin settles in a person's fatty tissue and can sit there for decades until it is released in ones blood stream. Then once it is released then ones health rapidly begins to erode. In most cases it is very painful. The military knew this and the large chemical companies knew this. It is easy, to pay off a few like you, then compensate all of the vets that were exposed. None the less the "Bullshit", is coming from someone who is extremely uninformed and ignorant of the full effect of this heinous poisoning. I recommend that you do some research on the matter before you start screaming "Bullshit" when someone made to pay for nothing more then trying to serve is country in a time of war.

I tell you what Sgt. and this from one Sgt to another. In the morning when I am trying to get out of the bed so I can make it down stairs to take my Percocet and Lyrica (painkillers) so that I can at least walk upright. I only wish that you would get in face and call it "Bullshit". I can almost guarantee that, it would be the last time you would have the opportunity to utter that term.

I is because of people like you that I will never salute the flag of this country ever again. Because it is people like you who are not worth defending.

To Jim P, Thanks for your encouragement. The system however has proven to be a more serious problem. Thank for your words of encouragement, but time for me is running out.

Sounds like bullshit to me. I've been treated well at my VAMC and I;m currently 40% SC.

WGRIFF, sorry about your problems, and I know what you are going through with the VA. When I left the army in 70 I too was given a clean bill of health,in the 90's I began to have all kinds of medical problems (AO) it took me untill 98 for the VA to give me compensation, don't give up that is what they want us to do, you might have to get a lawyer to help you out. Good Luck

Working within the system, is extremely frustrating and taxing on anyone who has the miss fortune of having to do it. My frustration come with those supposedly "Christians" who claim all the time that this is a "Christian" nation. I am a Vietnam Vet, I served six years in the Air Force and when my enlistment was up, I was given a clean bill of health and sent on my way. I went back to college, received a BS in Secondary Education and History, with a minor in Sociology. I taught school for five years and when I got married, I gained employment with the US Treasury department as an Auditor/Accountant and then after five years I accepted a position as a Supervisory Program Analyst for the remaining twenty years of my government career. So for all practical purposed I am not a "Bum" looking for a handout.

I have paid into Social Security since I started working at the age of 16 and had never applied for welfare or food stamps ever. Ten years ago I started to develop these strange illnesses. First it was diabetes, then eight years after that it was neuropathy in my legs, hands, arms and neck. Further diagnosis showed that I was experienceing a growth spurt. At age 57, my body was growing, but only on my right side. An MRI in January 2007, revealed a degenerative spinal condition where my bones in my neck were growing a crushing the discs in my neck, it also revealed a tumor in my pituitary gland and a tumor in my brain in the area where the spinal fluid is stored in the brain.

I have no family history of any of these illness, but through research I have come to the realization that all of these "mysterious illness" most like was cause by exposure to Agent Orange, while serving in Thailand with the USAF from 1973-74. I had been carrying these dioxins in the fatty tissues of my body for all these years and no one in the DOD or the VA had the decency to warn me about the effects of being stationed in an area which had been poisoned by my very same government.

Now, at age 58, I am in so much pain that they only medication that my doctor can prescribe for me is medicine for the diabetes and pain killers which I take as needed. I have work all of my adult life since leaving the military, I bought a nice house for my family, and now after one year of retirement for health reasons, I am about to lose that and most likely be living on the streets. I have dealing with the VA system for the past four year looking for compensation for several of these illnesses, but up to this point they have denied me three times. There is no love lost for this nation. My life has been totally destroyed by the very same country that I was led to believe was so wonderful and the greatest country in the world to live in. It has turned out to be just the opposite. Greed and Dishonesty has destroyed this country and the way it stands now...it is no longer worth fighting for. You can believe me when I say this, there are some in this country who are not worth fighting for and trust me I never will not will my children ever wear the uniform of such a heinous country.

Various means of torture is used against vets who dare complain against injustice by the VA Hospitals and in Washington. Harassment, intimidation, physical and emotional abuse, refusing vets medical care, distorting vets progress reports, making false statements against vets who file complaints such as the vet threatening to physically harm staff when this didn't happen, destroying administrative files where the vet made complaints with the Chief of Social Services, accusing the vet of carrying weapons, being drunk, abusing drugs, and sexual harassment. The hospital director can order staff to refuse the vet medical care even if the vet had a previous stroke, bleeding on the brain, heart attacks, and is once again experiencing numbness in his head and face with low blood pressure. The torture is policy for vets who dare complain and who are not afraid to tell the truth. It sickens me to see our dear compassionate and caring politicians on TV in a prayer circle supposedly praying for our nation and portraying themselves as being Born Again. They're the new men and women of faith! Yeh,right! They're only concerned about getting re-elected or nominated as they prey upon the hopes, fears, and dreams, of the potential voters. I have nothing against Christianity, just bold faced liars who turn their backs on vets who have risked their lives for their country and then get the shaft by these swine.