This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Veterans Issues

  • Wait for DVA disability claims 10% longer

    JP sends us a link to the Military Times article telling us what we already knew – that waits for disability claims at the VA is about 10% longer than it was just two years ago.

    Ill or injured service members now wait an average of 394 days to move through the military’s disability evaluation process, an increase of more than 10 percent since 2010 and well off the goal of 295 days, according to the Government Accountability Office.

    In fiscal 2011, just 19 percent of active-duty service members and 18 percent of National Guard and Reserve members completed the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, or IDES, process within the goal of 295 days for active-duty members and 305 days for Guard and Reserve personnel.

    And at some installations, the average wait is nearly 18 months or longer. At Fort Belvoir, Va., for example, soldiers face an average processing period of 537 days, while guardsmen at Fort Carson, Colo., wait 651 days.

    But, I’m sure that someone will tell us that it’s either better than the Bush years, or somehow it’s Bush’s fault. When I filed my claim in 1995, it took about 90 days, JP says that was his experience, too. So, I don’t what they did before all of these computer things, but if it was better then, than now, something is definitely not working.

  • That crazy vet with PTSD thing again

    So we get this story, sent to us by Tman from some woman named Amanda Crum at a place called WebProNews. It’s the story of a supposed veteran by the name of Ray Miles who forced his way into WIBW-TV in Topeka, KS to convince the television station to air his grievances against his treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs. While he was trying to force his way in, some people tried to stop him and he pulled out a knife and stabbed two in their legs. Here’s the video;

    Now, I’m not defending Mr. Miles or condemning the TV station employees, But, I did notice that Mr. Miles is a bit off-balanced, which means that maybe he wasn’t a veteran at all, because the AP story where all of this comes from doesn’t mention that he’s a veteran. At this point, no one really knows if he’s a veteran or not, but they like to say it.

    In fact, he’s homeless and has been for a while and he was asked to leave the shelter where he was staying for violent behavior, according to WIBW. And he’s assaulted a police officer in the recent past. We all know stories of homeless people who try to convince us that they were in the military, and I don’t see anyone checking on Miles’ status. And it looks like no one checked with the VA even, otherwise there might be a quote from the local VA folks.

    But to me the most egregious part of the story is Amanda Crum;

    While the story is disturbing to say the least, it also rings with a sad truth; that veterans who come home with serious emotional and mental issues are often overlooked or even ignored. Many stories have surfaced over the years of deadly prescription pill cocktails being given to veterans to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and unfortunately that seems to be the case all too often when a member of the military seeks help. While it’s not known if Miles was on any medication at the time of the altercation yesterday, officials are aware that Veterans Affairs did play a part in his agitation. Whether or not he will be treated is yet unknown.

    Emphasis is mine.

    It’s not known for certain if Miles was in the military, or if he was taking drugs, or if he has PTS, but that’s not going to stop Ms. Crum from warning us all that the streets are full of drugged up vets each on the cusp of a violent psychotic break.

    I want to warn everyone that the streets are full of doped up, half-witted pseudo-journalists all just waiting to demonstrate how little they know about everything by arriving at completely irrational and unsupported conclusions.

    Ms. Crum, even a cursory internet search would tell you that veterans who suffer from PTS are not likely to be violent or harm people other than themselves. It’s a myth perpetuated by the ignorant rushing to explain things they don’t understand.

  • Workin’ on the railroad

    Nell McGarity Callahan, who says he works with the Association of American Railroads wrote to tell us what they’re doing for veterans who might be interested in working in our rail system;

    · The nation’s freight railroads have an almost 200 year commitment to the nation’s service men and women. Between 20-25 percent of current employees are veterans.

    · Today, we continue this tradition by especially targeting veterans as we plan to hire more than 15,000 new employees, approximately 3,000 of whom are expected to be veterans.

    · GI Jobs ranked four freight railroad companies in the top twenty of its 2011 “Military Friendly Employers” list.

    · With an average annual salary and benefit package of $107,000, veterans who join the freight rail industry can expect a well-paid job—and one that can never be shipped overseas.

    You may find the following resources helpful as well :

    Freight Rail Jobs Portal:

    Veterans Working in the Industry:

    AAR on Facebook:

    AAR on Twitter: AAR_FreightRail

    Recent News Coverage of Railroad Hiring:

    Thanks,

    Nell

    Just thought I’d pass this along, because I want all of you dickweeds employed and happy.

  • DC brutalizes Iraq vet and then drops charges

    Emily Miller (I’m starting to develop a real crush on this lass) at the Washington Times writes about how Army 1st Sergeant Matt Corrigan, who we discussed a few months ago, was mistreated by the nation’s capital justice system when they busted in his apartment on North Capitol Street after he made a call to what he thought was a veteran help line, but got the suicide hotline instead. When we first talked about Corrigan, I wrote;

    He was awakened at about 4am by someone calling his name through a bullhorn. When he turned on his phone, he found that the police, accompanied by a SWAT Team, were calling him on it telling him to come out of his home. When he did, they cuffed and stuffed him.

    He wouldn’t let the police search his house, so they broke down his door, which he had locked behind him when he came outside and searched anyway. One officer was reported to say, when Corrigan denied his permission for a search; “I don’t have time to play this constitutional bullshit”. Yeah, because it’s involving one of those dangerous, armed veterans, and they don’t deserve the constitutional rights the officer would have afforded a gang banger.

    The police found three firearms, a rifle and two handguns. I’m pretty sure the handguns were illegal in the District without reporting and registering them. And that’s probably why he’s facing charges for that evening, after nearly three weeks in police custody after the incident.

    From Ms. Miller;

    In the dark, snowy night, the Iraq vet was an easy target. “I looked down at saw 10 jiggly red dots all over my chest,” [Corrigan] said, looking afraid of the memory. “I crumbled.”

    Miller writes that the charges against Corrigan were finally dropped this week after his case languished for years;

    Sgt. Corrigan, 35, and his attorney Richard Gardiner appeared before Judge Michael Ryan at D.C. Superior Court on Monday. The District’s assistant attorney general moved to dismiss all ten charges against him – three for unregistered firearms and seven for possession of ammunition in different calibers.

    I know Sergeant Corrigan wants to put this behind him, but he needs to punish the MPD for their overreaction before it happens to another veteran, maybe a veteran for whom this would end much worse. I know, if it had been me, with my distaste for bullshit authority, I would have ended up in the hospital for repeated buttstrokes to the head, and there’d be some cops getting rabies shots for the bites to their ankles.

    But you should read the whole article before you comment.

  • I Have a Purple Heart!

    I was an Army brat the first few years of my life. I have vague memories (or memories of memories?) of several Army posts; in Georgia, in Arizona, and another place or two. Then my dad was deployed to some place called Korea in 1950.

    Three additional memories are a bit more vivid – the day we were notified he was Missing in Action and, sometime later, that his remains had been recovered, and finally, his funeral. I wasn’t allowed to go.

    I have a Purple Heart.

    He is buried in our home town, and there’s a small memorial in the city park there with his name inscribed. I visit both as often as I can. Even though I was only five or six at the time and will be 66 in about a month I still miss him. I have pictures and memories, and…

    I have a Purple Heart.

    For many others, like myself, Memorial Day has a face.

    As we near the 50 year anniversary of Vietnam there is a wall FULL of my brothers and sisters who earned a Purple Heart

    So don’t wish me a happy Memorial Day because…

    I have a Purple Heart!

  • Are Social Veteran Organizations Dying?

    Jonn has graciously allowed me to place my soapbox here in front of you a moment…

    To clarify, a social veteran organization is not like the ‘service’ organizations (Think VFW/DAV) which do a lot of work on behalf of the military veteran members. The organization or maybe better put the ‘portion’ of such organizations that I refer are the social aspect of sharing a common bond in service, unit etc and maintaining through real interaction.

    82nd Airborne Division Association

    Here’s the situation that I find myself in with my own chosen organization which is made up of both active duty and veteran service members whom either served with the 82nd or are airborne qualified or glidermen. The organization like many of its kind was formed from the WWII veterans that streamed back into the US borders and had only each other to talk to about the things they’d seen and done.

    Flash forward almost 70 years and while the organization has continued the conflicts have had less troops involved and a volunteer force has changed the face of the military. The core of this group, as with many others, are seeing steep declines as WWII/Korea and even Vietnam era veterans either pass on or are no longer able to maintain a presence.

    The organization has begun to bear the weight of past decisions and indecision to adapt to changing times. I am not sure if this is due to ignorance or just an inability to impact change because they simply do not know how to be anything different than what they’ve been for 6 decades. The hard truth is that it would appear things will get rougher in light of the economy of the past few years on an already burdened system.

    There is hope that the next generation of combat veterans will be the shot in the arm that these organizations need but…

    Can the Organizations wait for OEF/OIF veterans?

    5 years. That is the most common statistic that I have seen that best fits the time that a separated military member spends before they seek out those old ties. Half the time that the current war on terrorism has been going on to simply start to attract the next largest number of combat veterans since WWII. In the same 5 years my organization and I suspect quite a few more have seen thousands of veterans pass on and even more grow old and no longer seek to run local or national operations. Gaps are forming where knowledge is not passed down and whole groups are faced with too few people to maintain a local function.

    Most of the veteran organizations in my opinion fail to market well while members are serving. Don’t get me wrong, those who serve should be concentrating on the task at hand and while they shouldn’t be burdened with dealing with a veterans group they should be made aware that they are not immortal. One day they too will be ‘prior service’ and may be in need of assistance, benefits or simply an ear to talk about darker times nobody around them seems to understand.

    Who will lobby for you in the future?

    Many fine organizations offer services to veterans and support to the active military but I cannot help but speculate that as the ‘social’ members fall off, the percentage of individuals who volunteer and do the business of these organizations will diminish to such a degree that the future of the organization could be in jeopardy. The tragic result of this being that there may be a many more veterans who are fighting at home for benefits they deserve but doing it on their own.

    Valued Resource

    One thing I believe has been lost is the value in these organizations. Too many veterans feel that time on facebook or on various website forums is enough to cover those bonds. I find it funny that some of the strongest of these website groups are ones which have elected to get together at picnics or local gatherings yet many do not interact with organized groups. Is the value of the larger groups so far gone that veterans do not believe they can have that connection? Do younger military members feel that they do no need to band together after service?

    If you’re a leader in any of the veteran groups let me just say that you should be fighting for change. Your future leadership has changed and if you are not already making the changes to keep locked in, you may just find yourself in a dead mans group and the last guy out the door will simply shut off the lights.

    Change or die… so which is it going to be?

  • Oh, good another Biden

    As if one Biden wasn’t enough, now his son, Beau, a member of the Delaware National Guard, is campaigning for the President and he started in Norfolk, the heart of Veteran Country in Virginia, which, according to WVEC is home to 823,000 vets;

    “We’re a group of veterans who believe very strongly that the president should remain our commander in chief. They think he’s been an exceptional commander in chief. I’m one of them. I served in Iraq a couple of years back, and this is a president who understands what it means to be commander in chief,” declared Beau Biden.

    If the presidential candidate can get veterans on board, he has a pretty good shot of winning Virginia’s 13 electoral college votes in November. But not all Hampton Roads vets agree that Obama should be re-elected.

    “I didn’t think he was qualified to take the presidency to begin with, and that was four years ago. And I don’t think he’s gotten any smarter. He’s gotten slicker or slyer, but not smarter,” said retired Naval officer Chris Vatidis who also is not happy with the Obama administration’s proposal to increase Tricare medical fees for vets.

    Biden calls that change “modest.”

    Yeah, if I was rich like the Bidens, I could call the increase “modest”, too, but who’s going to tell those veterans who depend on their meager pensions and live from check-to-check on disability that the increase is “modest”? And any amount of an increase is a broken promise to veterans, no matter how modest.

    “Tricare hasn’t increased in over 16 years. At a time when health care costs are skyrocketing, there’s been no increase in Tricare,” Biden stated.

    That’s why we invested 20 years of our youth into the military system, because we thought it was a good deal. Now that you’ve decided that it’s a good deal too, it’s fine to pull the rug out from under us…all the time smiling and telling us how Obama is doing us a favor. F*ck you very much.

  • Injured vet loses guns to DC thugs

    ROS sends us a link to Emily Miller’s article in the Washington Times about Lt. Augustine Kim who was traveling between his parents’ house and his own home in South Carolina when he stopped at Walter Reed for an appointment two years ago when Walter Reed was still in DC.

    Apparently, there was a clerical error in regards to his driver’s license that he straightened out over the phone the next day. But the officers asked Kim if they could search his car;

    The lieutenant agreed because his guns were properly locked in a case in the trunk, in compliance with federal firearm transport laws. Mr. Kim was handcuffed and told to sit on the curb during the search.

    He recalled that the officers inspected the collection and “were upset about the fact that I had the AR-15, which D.C. considers to be an ‘assault weapon.’” The model of rifle is illegal in the District, but not in his home state.
    The officers then told Mr. Kim he was in violation for the carrying firearms outside the home (in his vehicle) in the District. The nation’s capital does not acknowledge the right to bear arms, so there are no carry rights.

    “I told them I had been under the impression that as long as the guns were locked in the back, with the ammunition separate, that I was allowed to transport them,” Mr. Kim told me in an interview. “They said, ‘That may be true, however, since you stopped at Walter Reed, that make you in violation of the registration laws.” It is illegal to possess a firearm anywhere in D.C. other than the home.

    So they hauled his ass off to jail facing $20,000 in fines and up to 20 years in prison on the four felony charges;

    The veteran spent a “few hours in the drunk tank,” then was moved to the central jail. It was cold on the steel slab, so he asked the police guard for a blanket. “He was surly with me and sarcastic. He said, ‘Oh you want blankets? Well they’re back ordered,’” Mr. Kim recalled. “I remember thinking, we treated detainees in Afghanistan better than this.” He didn’t get much sleep that night.

    So, for some reason, the prosecutor offered Kim a deal and Kim accepted one misdemeanor charge of one unregistered gun. But the MPD won’t return his guns to him;

    On Monday, MPD spokesman Gwendolyn Crump said the department “notified the respondent’s attorney last week of his right to a hearing concerning the return of weapons.” Mr. Gardiner said that he did not receive a letter. The spokesman did not respond to my inquiry about the date the letter was sent.

    Why does he need a hearing? The prosecutor released the property, so it’s not theirs. They need to just give back the injured veteran’s property, that they confiscated wrongly in the first damn place.