Dept. Veterans Affairs - Friend or Foe

Pathological, psychologically speaking? That's a joke right? A psychologist making a prognosis based on internet chatter? That's rich. But not surprising for that field.

I am not saying that "any veteran who is getting treatment is scamming the system and those that do not are the 'good guys'." I think "psychologically speaking," you be paranoid.

You think "you are the only one who cares too much." Again, you would be wrong. I am only stating that there was a lot less fraud and phoney claims coming from WWII and Korean veterans, fact, and 2, there are too many frivelous claims coming in soaking up the time and money for their own financial gain instead of looking at their fellow veterans who are really in need. Not all veterans are phoney, money-grubbing whiners. Certainly not the majority. But there are so many claims that are just obscene and ridiculous, and they are clogging up the system for the truly deserving. Unless you think we should just make all veterans millionaires and forget all the other sick, elderly and mentally impaired in this country. Lets soak more money from veterans to pay for veterans who served 2 months, shot up, and now have hepatitis C.

Then you should be protesting the findings of the Department of Defense who state that Agent Orange was only used in very specific places and at specific times. The VA can only grant based on the evidence supplied by the Department of Defense. The VA cannot change laws and decisions made by the Depart. of Defense. So a lot of the "crimes" the VA is accused of is based solely on information or lack of information from DOD. Viet Nam Veteran's need to spend their time to unlock more evidence from the DOD instead of wasting their time fighting the VA.

You would be wrong again. I am off on Fridays and take my job very seriously, which I assume you do as well. OR are you wasting your time and stealing from your employer?

Except when you try to take the benefit away, they file appeal after appeal after appeal, and that would clog up the system more. I think every veteran should be entitled to free hearing aids and care, but not free money just because they want it.

You bet I work for the VA. As do thousands of other VETERANS who see thousands of claims such as described, clog the system and watch as others die because we CAN'T get to them. WWII and Korean veterans are dying every day by the hundreds because of frivilous claims. Newly released Gulf War combat veterans are dying daily because the load is so filled up with garbage. I can make comments not pass judgement, on facts that I see, not on what you would like the real world to be based on.

Nice. IF your cancer is determined to be caused by Agent Orange and YOU SERVED IN VIETNAM, and you have an Honorable discharge, you should be getting benefits now. If not, call your congressperson. But if your cancer is not related to Agent Orange, why should you be paid tax payer money? Because you said so? Should we just say, here, take all the money you need, you served your year. But no, again, you'd rather complain about liberals, John Kerry, Obamacare, gun rights, then do something productive.

A lot more than you ever saw I'm sure, sparky.

Yes, there are thousands and thousands and thousands of veterans that need help and aren't getting it because of the gross abuse of people who want a free ride. Ever been to a PTSD therapy session? Combat veterans WHO REALLY NEED HELP, stop going because of the BS "combat" veterans who only go to get on the PTSD gravy train and shut out legitimate people who need help. Combat veterans who work at the VA and have to read the crap some veterans send in, are actually getting sickr because of these frauds. I'll ask you this. Why, after so much therapy, do none of the veterans ever get better? EVER. Because they'd get reduced benefits. The VA hires thousands of therapists to help the veterans, but they won't get "better" because they want to keep their compensation benefits, because it is OWED to them, whether or not they are better or ever had PTSD. I acknowledge that most ordinary Americans would do the same. What I hate is that deserving veterans are living under bridges and committing suicide because we can't get to them.

Despite the fact that many work fulltime, have happy productive lives, they claim their PTSD symptoms are worse every time they go for review examinations. Then they finally get 70 percent disabled, never have to go back for a review examination, and aftering finishing a 30 year career and retiring, they get to file for individual unemployability, and are paid over $2800 per month, tax free for the rest of their lives. How do you like paying someone that much money because they "were yelled at or humiliated" by their commanding officers during boot camp in Fleabite Georgia? Then, after 3 months of service, they get PTSD payments for life because one of the mickey mouse VA therapists say their "humilitation" scarred them for life.

Combat veterans that are committing suicide is a horrible thing. I have talked to veterans who say they really don't need the cash or therapy and say, "combat veterans need the help, let them go first." Unfortunatly, the fakers and cheaters only think of themselves first.

Ahh, you're literate too. Stop trying to suck benefits out of the government you despise. Let the real combat veterans get a break and the benefits they deserve.

I bet you served on a big ocean cruiser and never set foot on Vietnam soil. That's the only reason you are probably getting turned down. You feel entitled to what every other real Vietnam veteran got. If you served in Vietnam, boots on ground, or your ship actually went into port and you got off, or lied and said you got off, you should be able to get benefits. Changes are whatever REALLY AILS you is due to smoking, drugging or just bad luck.

Nope. You're just a nutjob who doesn't want anyone else but veterans to get benefits. What, someone turn down your PTSD claim because you got yelled at by your sargent? Other soldiers were mean to you? Try getting a job and not depending on taxpayers to support you.

Bull crap. The reason for the delay is mainly because Viet Nam era veterans file frivelous claims, one after the other and believe they are entitled to sponge off the government for life because they forgot to work, drank and drugged their whole lives, or just have an over-inflated sense of entitlement. The WWII and Korean veterans who served longer and harder than the Viet Nam era veterans never filed claim after claim. They fought and worked to get better. They didn't feel the government owed them their livelihood. The combat veterans coming out of the Gulf War after multiple deployments are getting shafted by the Vietnam veteran's pity party claims. Wah! We didn't get a parade. Grow up.

whine, whine, whine. What, did the VA turn you down for PTSD because you're really just a redneck?

Hysterical, hysterical, hysterical. Keep listening to La Pierre, Limbaugh, Fox News, and you will need to be hospitalized for your delusional thinking.

Another load of crap from an hysterical veteran who feels the country owes him everything for probably, 1 year of service.

Nah. His brain damage is probably from Fox Noise and Rush Limpbaugh

That is total crap. Most veteran only go to one PTSD VA examination and then they get benefits for life. Then they never return to therapy and actually work to get better because the problem is solved, they're on the VA gravy train.

Freeloaders is right. For every veteran that has a well-founded deserving claim, there are at least a half dozen who try to game the system. A lot of the over load is due to Shinseki's stupidity. He opened the gates for every single veteran who ever served in a "hostile military or terrorist area," whether a personal specialist, out on a ship miles from shore, or a cook in Saudi Arabia, or a dog trainer in Thailand, to file a claim for PTSD. We get thousands and thousands of claims from veteran's who claim PTSD because of situations like this: their dog bite them, they fell off a horse once, their sargeant yelled at them, they were made to sleep in the top bunk, they broke their foot and it gives them flashbacks...etc.,etc, etc. Meanwhile real combat veteran wait months if not years. In addition, Shinseki allowed every Viet Nam veteran who developed coronary artery disease to get compensated, regardless is they actually have ischemic heart disease, which is the only heart disease related to Agent Orange exposure. Then every single obsese, drinking, smoking, who forgot to work after discharge from Viet Nam, claim diabetes mellitus and want to be supported the rest of their life. Freeloaders are probably 70% of VA claims, and most are from Viet Nam area veterans. Very few are from WWII or Korea.

Shinseki caused a lot of the problems when he opened up the PTSD flood gates, allowing every single veteran who ever served in an area of "hostile or terrorist activity" to file a claim, whether or not they ever, ever saw any combat. So if they were a cook somewhere in Saudi Arabia, never swa any combat, they claim PTSD, and can get it, when a McDonald-like hack psychologist says they were "scared." The VA gets claims for PTSD for "my dog bite me, I fell off a horse and I'm scared of horses now, my sargent yelled at me, I broke my toe and now I have flashbacks, my wife divorced me while I served in Saudi Arabia, they made me sleep in the top bunk in the Navy while we cruised Thailand, etc, etc, etc." How do you think this makes combat veteran who actually have to deal with these cheats feel? BTW, many, if not most of the VA claims personell are veterans, and if they are not sympathetic, no one will be. However, they work hard and see fraudulent claims every day of their lives.

Then Shinseki said "lets give compensation to every veteran with coronary artery disease that served in an area with known Agent Orange, even though, the government only associated ischemic heart disease with Agent Orange, not all coronary artery disease. So thousands and thousand and thousands of Vietnam veterans are getting compensation with no medical science to support a connection. Most civilians think veterans were massively exposed to AO in Vietnam. Phooey. If a fly boy stepped on the landing field in Vietnam for 10 seconds, he gets all the compensation he wants for diabetes, lung cancer, heart disease, etc, even if he becomes a fat slob, smoked for 50 years and never turned down a six pack. If real combat veterans were the only ones claiming PTSD, it would be manageable. If the VA went with real science and only granted compensation to those who were actually exposed, the VA could handle the claims. If most of the fraudulent claims weren't filed, there would be no problem. Sorry, but the fault also lies with veterans looking for free money when they don't deserve it. It's not just veterans though, everyone if given the chance, would try to get free money. It's the USA Way!