The following article was written by Eric Hannel with the Washington Post on Aug 22, 2017. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was challenged Monday by a VA whistleblower who asked why he was still facing retaliation by the department, even though VA policy prohibits actions against officials who highlight problems within the agency. Shulkin met with …
Continue reading Veteran Affairs whistleblower facing retaliation. Washington Post article.
Authors note I will turn this into a section of a multipart story, for right now though I was so blown away by the response of the VA personnel. I think it is important to have an understanding of this long-standing situation, otherwise, I just look like a psycho with an angry late-night message, which …
Continue reading An angry message to the VA and the usual response.
A report released June 2017 revealed the VA denies 4 of 5 disability claims for veterans claiming disability for Gulf War illness despite evidence showing over 40 percent suffer from it. The Government Accountability Office released a report analyzing Gulf War Illness (GWI) claims of veterans from 2010 to 2015. Of the 102,000 claims received, …
Continue reading Government Accountability Office reports VA denies 80% of Gulf War Illness claims
As of Feburary 21, 2019 no response has ever been sent by the Senators office. I think I might try it again, just another example of a tangable problem. Sen. Harris, I joined the Army out of California in 2005. This was right after my high school graduation and a little over a year …
The following letter is from my wife to the Patient Advocate for the Columbia Missouri VA health care system. The response we would receive from this letter is that we need to just deal with the nurse because there is no one else to take her place. I was told that she was "rough," to …
Continue reading My wife’s letter to the VA in Missouri circa 2015.
"Though the US government disputes it, new evidence shows a link between service in Iraq and Afghanistan and cancers and untreatable bronchial illnesses." The health risk of this is astronomical, and the combat veteran community is losing people to this important factor that the government is refusing. Imagine you go to a concert, and hundreds …
I have had to deal with almost being killed in flight several times. One of the problems with a particular helicopter was that a mechanic did not install any of the fasteners on many of the flight controls on the UH-60. Now they have redundancies, I know that. But someone who fails to do their …
Continue reading Inside the Vultures Nest – As the helicopter gently crashes.
Today, the number of patients affected by the VA’s swinging opiate pendulum is staggering: 60 percent of veterans who fought in the Middle East and 50 percent of older veterans have chronic pain. ...leading to swift, mandated cutoffs regardless of patient well-being and with virtually no evidence that it’s a safe approach. VA fueled the national opioid crisis article link It …
This is just as impactful to me now as it was back when I first saw it. The one that is the worst for me is the divorcing couple. They know the problems with PTSD, but they simply cannot take it. I do not believe it is possible to understand the trials and pain that …
Continue reading This Jarring Photo Series Captures What PTSD Really Looks Like. [Buzzfeed link]
The following article is written in the viewpoint of my wife. Caregiver Support first application (2015) Texas - 2014 through January 2015 In Killeen, Straight Jacket Material (SJM) contacted the Veteran Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation about his education options with his disability ratings. SJM met with a counselor and they went through several options of career …
Continue reading A letter from my wife to the VA Care Giver Support Program.
