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Our mission, goals and values are simple.

We are all about educating veterans. We do that by providing a headline news aggregation service for veterans and their families. We believe that an informed veteran will fare much better in life.

The benefits we earned through our dedicated and honorable military service can often be complex and not easy to obtain. VAWatchdog provides yoy with simple instructions that you can use to manage your VA benefits.

We believe that most veterans should take a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach to handling VA benefits claims. VA does not require that you have a "representative".
The fact is that VA would rather work directly with the veteran to adjudicate a veterans disability claim. Veterans disability claims are often challenging but once
the veteran understand the Veterans Administration rules, the process of managing your benefits is much easier.

Nobody cares about your claim the way you do.

You may be filing a disability claim about obstructive sleep apnea, prostate cancer, agent orange related benefits or you may want information about any of the hundreds of other VA benefits that are available to you. You'll find an extenisve list on our index page.

We don't shy from the more controversial topics like marijuana and the VA or your rights as a veteran to own a gun, pistol or to be given a concealed weapons carry permit.

We avoid rumors. We aren't here to bash the VA. We publish the facts that we believe are the most correct and of the most use to you. That's all.

You're now at the most informative veterans disability benefits site on the Internet.

What you won't find here are people who disguise their identity with funny names.

Most other veterans benefits sites introduce you to "experts" who won't tell you who they really are. They use fake identities like "The Old Gunny" or something equally silly.

We don't do that. I'm Jim Strickland, the webmaster. I'm a vet and if you read the site regularly, you've met my family and you know where I live.

You won't hear us asking for donations or membership fees. You can't give us your money...we won't accept it.

We rely on facts, not rumors. We aggregate and publish headlines you should be reading. We publish how to win your benefits. We play by the rules. There aren't any tricks or shortcuts here but if you'll carefully read our stuff, you'll win your well grounded claim.

So...if you got here by accident, we're glad to see you.

Now that you're here...

Welcome Aboard!  

Since 2006 the VAWatchdog has been keeping an eye on VA...because somebody has to.

The primary goal of VAWatchdog is to educate veterans. It's our philosophy that a veteran should understand the reality of what he or she faces when dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other, similar agencies.

Rather than handing your Power of Attorney (POA) over to a stranger who may or may not have any particular skills, education of training, we believe that you are equipped to manage your own VA claim. All you lack is the information about how the system really works. You'll find that here in the pages of VAWatchdog.

As the site grows, navigation becomes more of a challenge. Finding what you need on any busy site can be a problem. We're working hard to try and make it simpler for you.

You must devote some time to the task. Many veterans believe that they can hand their benefits issues over to a representative and that the rep will take care of it for them. Nothing is further from the truth. The vet who expects a representative to handle their claim is in for a disappointing adventure.

We teach DIY...Do It Yourself. A new veterans claim begins with a VA Form 21-526. Completing that form isn't rocket science. We tell you how on this page.

The quality of your outcome is largely up to you. The time you devote to learning how this works will impact the result when you get the award letter.

If you, the veteran, don't feel capable of DIY, perhaps your spouse can help. We manage another site just for the spouse who wants to be involved. Click over to www.vetsspouse.com to read what Melissa and Polly have for the spouses who help their veterans.

First Time Visitor?

If you've just arrived for the first time, welcome aboard. If you're an old friend and long time reader, welcome back.

The VAWatchdog is known as a reliable source of "How To" data on working with VA and others to secure those benefits you earned. We're also known to provide the latest intel about what your VA has been up to lately.

Growing the site is a blessing. Your support has enabled us to reach out to tens of thousands of veterans who write to tell us that after years of battling with VA, they finally have the benefits that they deserve. Our old friends will tell you that VAWatchdog cuts through the hype and fluff to present you with dependable, decisive and proven methods of pursuing your claims.

Our contributors have fueled the rapid growth of VAWatchdog. We rely on veterans attorneys, physicians, accredited agents and VA employees to provide us with the data we publish here for you.

We present the news about VA without any rants or bluster. All you'll find here are the facts.

To find what you need, look left. Read the major topics in the navigation bar on the left. They're in alpha order for the most part.

Our goal is simple. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand and deal with a system that's as complex as anything else on the planet...the federal government. If you'll do your part and spend the time necessary to read what we provide here for you, we'll do ours. Together, you and VAWatchdog will ensure that you will receive every dime of every benefit that you sacrificed for...nothing more, nothing less.

Thanks for checking in with us. We hope we'll be a daily stop on your Internet surfing.

Contact Us

Email VAWatchdog    <The VAWatchdog@gmail.com>

Email Jim Strickland <jim912@gmail.com>

Fax VAWatchdog    1-888-658-5058

Email Melissa Allen (Editor, Web Designer)  "Melissa and Polly" <theveteransspouse@gmail.com>

Email Polly Strickland (Progressive Advocacy, LLC - CEO/CFO)  "Melissa and Polly" <theveteransspouse@gmail.com>

No Membership or Fees   

VAWatchdog dot Org does not require you to register. There is no membership to use the site. There are no mailing lists. There is no fee. VAWatchdog is provided as a service to veterans.


We don't ask for nor will we accept donations.   

If the VAWatchdog site has helped you, we ask that you pass it forward. Help one other veteran. The veteran who directly helps one other veteran is the best benefit we have. Pass it on.


Fair Use Policy  

We believe that we strictly comply with all copyright and trademark laws, rules and regulations in accordance with accepted fair use policies. We believe that all photographs and other artwork are in the public domain. If you believe we have violated any of your rights to your work products, please let us know immediately.

Read more about Fair Use, click here .

Security  

Your communications to VAWatchdog by email and fax are as secure as we can make them. We will never disclose your name or contact information to anyone other than by an order of a court.


Privacy Policy

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

VAWatchdog dot Org is in compliance with such privacy policies as Google.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here .


No Legal Advice!  

VAWatchdog dot Org doesn't dispense legal advice. There are no attorneys working here. The passages you read here are compiled from the experiences of other veterans and the administrative processes in place at your VA. You should always consult with a trained attorney for legal advice. We can not be responsible for any outcome you may experience as you work with your VA to settle your claim.

About VAWatchdog

VAWatchdog dot Org was the brainchild of Larry Scott. It opened in 2005.

Larry's goals and the mission of the VAWatchdog was simple; He set out to provide veterans with important news and benefits information that weren't being broadcast anywhere else.

While there are many veteran-centric sites on the Internet, Larry saw that too many of them were populated with "experts" who remained anonymous as they gave out information about what veterans should or shouldn't do.

Much of this information veterans were being told was incorrect. Rumors and hype were the standard and Larry decided to avoid all that. He published facts that were supported by evidence.

I joined forces with Larry in 2006. I was appealing my claims with VA, unemployed and unable to work. I'd started blogging and teaching myself how to build web sites while I waited on the VA to make a decision on my claim.

I was unhappy with the process and even more disillusioned with the Veterans Service Organization that (mis)represented me. I wrote to Larry seeking his advice. Not long after that we established a friendship via our email communications. Larry read some of my writing and invited me to send him a column about how to seek benefits.

In 2007 we started a partnership that lasts to this day. I wrote "Jim's Mailbag", a popular Q & A feature published twice each week. As Larry became busier with the politics behind VA and the workings of Congress, I was his point man for benefits issues.

The VAWatchdog site grew in popularity and fame. The reputation was solid...VAWatchdog was the most reliable source of intel for veterans on the Internet. No hype, no BS...just solid data presented in an easy to understand format.

In 2010 Larry became ill. Late in the year he decided that he couldn't carry on the crushing schedule of updating the site, investigating the stories and all the other duties required to run a world class web site.

Larry looked for a new owner. Many readers encouraged me to take over. I was reluctant. I'm not the skilled professional journalist that Larry is. But finally, after months of thought, I agreed to carry on the web site. It took a while to transition the ownership of the site to me. Larry was seriously ill and at times wasn't able to participate in required technical actions.

Technology stood in our way as we transferred terabytes of stored data from server to server, and host to host. We lost much of the 2005 - 2010 data. You can see some of it on The Wayback Machine.

Today, as I write this in November of 2011, we have finally settled all the technology down to make it serve us as it should. The VAWatchdog dot Org site is running again.

It isn't the same site as it was.

Melissa Allen has joined us as editor and webmaster. Melissa is responsible for the VetsSpouse web site and is beginning a major project to update the A to Z Guide. My wife Polly, in addition to her duties teaching at a local college, is CEO of Progressive Advocacy, LLC. She manages the details of how this site stays on the Internet.

We are committed to serving veterans with the news and information that they need to work with their Department of Veterans Affairs. There is no personal or political agenda.

Thanks for joining us and reading the VAWatchdog dot Org.

Navigation

Most topics are listed in alpha order in the column to the left of your browser. Depending on the size of your monitor and the web browser you are using, pages
may display differently or be somewhat jumbled.


Our index page is updated frequently.


Most pages have numerous links that take you to other places within VAWatchdog. A link may take you away from the VAWatchdog site. Once you leave the site we can't be responsible for the destination web site.

There's a lot of data on VAWatchdog. Finding precisely what you need will take effort by you. The VA system can be difficult to find your way around in. If you're willing to take the time to learn how, you'll soon enough understand how to effectively manage your own VA benefits.