Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.

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Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.  If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...  The archive of Jim's articles is here...  To find an answer to a specific VA benefits question, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...  And, be sure to use Jim's:  "A to Z GUIDE OF VETERANS DISABILITY COMPENSATION BENEFITS" click here...  JIm's series for new vets, "Welcome Home," is also featured on Military.com. And, you can follow Jim on TWITTER here ...

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by Jim Strickland

NOTE:  Letters in my Q&A columns are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.

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Jim;

This is a very unusual position for the VA to take but this proposed rule is very helpful to certain vets. Too bad it doesn't go a little further but something is better than nothing.

(You can view or download the proposed rule change from the Federal Register by clicking here.)

Reply;

This annoys me on so many different levels it's hard to say which is #1.

First, VA continues to pretend that their own investigation led to this discovery and the truth coming out. The fact is that the week before, on a Thursday, a confidential informant told me of the shredding events in Detroit and Larry Scott and I had a couple of phones calls to plan how to address it. On the following Monday, Columbus Day, Larry headlined the story. The next day, Tuesday the 14th, VA suspended all shredding activity at all RO's because of the VA Watchdog story.  (Complete info on VA's shredded and mishandled documents is here.)

The VA did not simply decide to do the right thing and come clean...they did it only after being exposed. Had it not been for a single VA employee contacting me, the shredding may very well still be going on.

Beyond that, the length of time that this took to make it to the FR as "official" is unconscionable. The shredding of documents had been going on at least (VA acknowledges) 18 months prior to October 14th 2008. This means that a veteran who may have had an application improperly disposed of some 3 years ago has yet to receive any sort of justice for VA's illegal actions.

"Delay, deny, until they die" seems to be a more accepted philosophy of the VA each and every day.

We do not know anything at all of any punishment meted out to those who shredded or condoned such actions. VA chooses silence to protect the rights of their criminals over the need for the veterans they serve to know what the outcomes were.

That word comes up again, "Paternalism". In this instance we're getting a little pat of our head from the wise old dad who tells us that it's all taken care of; "Trust me" says poppa VA.

I don't. I don't have any trust that most people at VA will actually do what is right by the veterans they serve. Trust is earned, not granted. Distrust and suspicion is also earned.

We aren't paranoid when we know they're out to get us.

(Editor's note from Larry Scott:  What's amazing here is that the VA officially announced this as a policy change on November 17, 2008 ... almost a year ago.  More on that here ...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfnov08/nf111808-4.htm
And now they are just getting around to put it in the Federal Register.  The only saving grace is that vets will have one year to re-file from the date the rule becomes effective.)

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Jim;

My daughter has been in basic training and was due to graduate November 20, 2009. Well all that came to a screeching halt when she fractured her femoral neck (hip) and had to have surgery and have 3 screws put in to hold her together. At the time of the injury she was going through training drills. She was running a course with all her gear on and crab walking under barb wire when her leg began to hurt. She couldn't walk and asked if she could speak to the corpsman along the route and was told by her DI, NO!

She continued to finish the 1/4 of the course to completion in excruciating pain. The other recruits were trying to help her and were told to leave her alone. She hobbled to the bus after the drill and was still refused medical. She went back, showered and had the other recruits help her dress, went to her Senior DI and asked if she could please get some medical attention (this is approx 2 hours later) With her leg shaking she hopped into the van and they finally allowed her to seek medical attention.

When finally seen on the base, an x-ray revealed a break. She was then taken by ambulance to a military hospital where she underwent surgery. She is still in the hospital for approx. 3-4 more weeks and then will go back to her unit. At 6 weeks they will do another x-ray and her case will be brought before the Medical Board at which time they will determine $ issues. She has already signed her "Drop" papers and will not graduate. They have told us that she will get a Military ID and most likely be given 18 months of $ and GI benefits and after the 18 months be re-evaluated at the VA. As a mother, I'm concerned! A 22 year old female with a broken hip! How will this play out when she's 40+? The doctor seems to think she'll be fine. The fact that she was not given the opportunity to seek medical help when the injury first occurred really bothers me.

She doesn't know who to talk to regarding this issue and is afraid of the repercussions.

She does not have access to a phone as she is still under strict military rules even though she is not going to graduate. She's worried about what to do with her life now. It's been a very emotional time for her. Do you have any insight or suggestions? Thank you,

Reply;

I'm very sorry to hear of your daughter's unfortunate event.

However, the path she chose is very brutal. She knew that when she entered. The training is harsh for a reason...combat is harsh. If the training were any less than it is, it would be unfair to the recruits as they would be less likely to survive in the reality of military service. Drill instructors push the recruits to the max...that's routine. Her DI didn't know he was dealing with a fracture of a bone so his actions to push her harder aren't at all unusual.

This is what the military is. Every class of basic training in the military will have some casualties who are injured and don't graduate.

I happen to know the military hospital where she is. She is being well taken care of. Those are first class facilities and they take a lot of pride in their work there.

Yes, she is still active duty military and until she is discharged and separated, she will be expected to act that way.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "She doesn't know who to talk to regarding this issue and is afraid of the repercussions".

The issue of what happened seems to be pretty clear...she was injured in training and she's no longer physically fit for military service. She received appropriate medical care and now she'll be discharged. Upon discharge her injury will be evaluated by the laws that govern such things and her disability will be rated. Then, depending on the degree of disability she suffers, she'll be compensated for that.

It's very likely that she will receive a lifetime VA disability rating of 10% to 40% or so. That will entitle her to medical care and other benefits at no cost to her for the rest of her life.

Of course this would have all been better had she been able to complete training and that she hadn't been injured. But in the big picture, this is routine. I don't know why she would need to talk to anyone regarding what happened? What would that accomplish?

If you're suggesting that something was done wrong, I don't see it in what you've related. You would have to have a lot more evidence to make anyone believe she was mistreated somehow.

My advice to her would be to follow orders, do what she needs to do to honorably complete her service obligation and become a civilian...and then move on with her life. You should be proud of her and she should be proud of herself. She did her best and she served. it isn't a matter of how long or what sort of heroics she accomplished...she did a lot more than most of her peers will ever do and that's commendable.

She had a broken leg...many are returning today without their legs. Be proud of her and be thankful she's doing well.

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Jim;

Have you any knowledge of a vet being awarded disability due to exposure to agent orange on an air force base (Keesler to be exact)? My husband was confirmed with diabetes 7 years after leaving the service (at age 35). He’s now 59 years old. He subsequently had a major heart attack at 35, which eventually led to a heart transplant in 2001. He has only gotten sicker and sicker since then. He was responsible for inspecting the storage barrels of agent orange and other chemicals at Keesler Air Force Base to make sure they weren’t leaking. Just wondering if anyone has been awarded benefits for exposure on US soil. We applied for disability for him years ago, but the VA denied it.

Thanks for any info you can give us.

Reply;

If a veteran can prove exposure to Agent Orange, a direct service connection may be established. If you would tell me how he might prove exposure, I'll explain the rest.

Keep in mind that proof of exposure can't simply be his word or a statement like "Everyone knew what that stuff was." You must provide evidence.

(Follow Up)

You got back with me about the evidence. You told me, "My husband's chief has since died, but another friend he worked with knows of the situation. I also came across info about the barrels being stored at that facility and how they were just buried a few years ago. I don't know of any other hard evidence though."

I'm afraid that VA won't accept that. I'll suggest that you refer to my A to Z Guide of Benefits and read the articles about evidence. Until you're able to present something tangible, there just isn't a case that can be argued.

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Strickland, Veterans' Advocate,