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Connect With Your VA

 

Jim;  My name is Keith from Pasadena, Texas. I am a Vietnam veteran with
100% disability for depression, PTSD, and unemployable. I make graphics and
send them to websites I think are worthy. Your website is fantastic. You have so
much information for veterans and dependents. Thank you.
Please accept this from me and put it on your website.

God Bless, Keith

229th AHB 1st Cavalry (Airmobile)
RVN 1966-1967
www.hack1966.com
 

Contact Us

Email Jim Strickland
<jim912@gmail.com>

Fax VAWatchdog dot Org
1-888-658-5058

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VAWatchdog dot Org has but one single mission. We inform veterans about VA benefits.

We provide interesting news links for you so that you may be up-to-date with the events that may affect your lives. We try to avoid the purely political rhetoric that serves to inflame and annoy. We have opinions and we express them but we keep that in the background so we aren't distracted and taken away from our mission.

We believe that we provide accurate and timely information about the benefits you've earned. We are not VA bashers, we enjoy our own generous monetary and health care benefits that are provided by the VA. We believe the vast majority of VA employees are good people who want to help but are restricted by workplace rules that don't allow them to do their jobs very well.

We promote a do-it-yourself approach to filing for benefits. The Federal Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) is happy to work directly with you, the veteran. You are not required to have a representative at any time. We believe that most claims are simple and may be resolved administratively at the VA Regional Office (VARO) if the veteran follows a few basic rules. We believe that if an appeal is necessary, the veteran should strongly consider retaining professional representation...an attorney.

Veterans and their dependents are our primary audience. The VAWatchdog is also viewed by VA employees, active duty military, VA executives, Congressional staffers and many attorneys nationwide. All of our guests are welcome to make comments. We answer every email we receive, usually within 24 hours.

Our goal is to be accurate in what we present to you as well as timely in the publishing. VAWatchdog is usually updated each day. Every page is under a constant upgrade and a system of checks and balances to ensure that we get it right for you.

Thanks for being a regular visitor. If you find intel on these pages that helps, please let us know. If you see anything that you don't believe is accurate, we need to hear from you. If we have made any error, we will correct it promptly.





Navigating VAWatchdog dot Org

The VA benefits system is complex. There's a lot of information to cover. Many answers to your questions are simple, a few border on being incredibly complex.

We do our best to organize the data we present to you in a way that will be easy to find what you need and then easy to understand the complex jargon used by the VA.

We also understand that you may arrive here knowing you need some help but not knowing just where to begin. There are over 100 pages of data here, thousands of external and internal links and tens of thousands of words.

VAWatchdog recommends that you stop for a minute and think about just what it is you are looking for. Be precise. Is it about benefits in general or will you need something specific to an agent orange condition?

Take your time. You can't expect to hurry through something as complex as VA rules and regs. This is a process that is likely to have a profound effect on the rest of your life. It's mandatory that you work at it for your future.

Navigation is best accomplished by beginning your search in that column to the left of your screen. We try to organize those links in alphabetical order but some defy such easy categorization. Click on the link that interests you and you'll go to that page. If you feel lost because you've clicked on a lot of pages, the VAWatchdog home page link is always the first of the navigation column.

You may want to use a search engine to find your topic. Learn how to do effective Internet searches by clicking here.

We are always updating these pages. If you find broken links, please let us know.

Enjoy your visit. We hope that the VAWatchdog helps you to receive the VA benefits you've earned.




The Fine Print...Required Reading


Privacy Policy





About VAWatchdog

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

Larry Scott

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 fed 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 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 as I knew how much work it was. But finally, after months of debate, I agreed to carry on the web site. It was months 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.

We decided to build a bridge to keep veterans informed while we worked out the details. Thus was the VAWatchdogToday web site born.

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.

My wife, Polly Strickland, does much of the work of research, layout, design and input of the data that you see on your monitor. Polly is also CEO of Progressive Advocacy, LLC. This is her business that reflects her degree in social work as well as her masters degree in adult education.

Copyright laws are being enforced and lawsuits are everywhere. We must use great caution to prevent the "sue and settle" types from assaulting us.

The pages are designed on a more modern platform and are designed to load quickly even for those who use dial-up modems. That means fewer graphics, less Flash and so on. We want the site to be accessible to everyone.

Larry isn't contributing to the site. His illness won't be improving and he simply isn't able to do any part of this. He isn't taking emails or calls but I happen to know he appreciates your best wishes for him in the comments on the Home Page.

The goals today are the same as the goals Larry established. We will continue to provide you with the best information that is available today. No hype, no BS and you know who the information is coming from. I'm not an anonymous stranger.

You see me and you know who I am and how to reach me. Like Larry before me, I put my credibility on the line every day.

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.

It's that simple.

Thanks for joining us and reading the VAWatchdog dot Org.