Personal dealing with the VA

These links are about personal interactions and problems I have encountered with the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Mental health failure by the VA. Part I. Most of the backstory from May 2017 until September 2017.

Mental health failure by the VA. Part 2. A letter to my Congressman. September 2017.

A letter from my wife to the VA Care Giver Support Program.

My letter to California Senator Kamala Harris into my continuing VA problems. November 2017.

An angry message to the VA and the usual response.

News reports on Veteran Affairs issues.

‘Arthritis can hit troops and vets hard. Here’s how advocates want to respond.’ Military Times article

The VA refuses to acknowledge some combat zone burn pits were built on former chemical weapon facilities.

This Jarring Photo Series Captures What PTSD Really Looks Like. [Buzzfeed link]

How the Veteran Affairs office fueled the national opioid crisis and is killing thousands of veterans.

Government Accountability Office reports VA denies 80% of Gulf War Illness claims

Veteran Affairs whistleblower facing retaliation. Washington Post article.

Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General report on the death of Charles Ingram and the failures that caused it

Veteran Affairs whistleblower facing retaliation. Washington Post article.

November 2017 GAO report finds the VA does not properly report doctors who fail to maintain ethical and medical standards

2016 Veteran suicide report by the Office of Suicide Prevention on 3 August 2016

Government Accountability Office report on continued failure with VA emergency care benefits despite 2014 report

OIG report between 2014 – 2016 shows 1 million late payments made by VA to contracted health facilities

Iran-Iraq War. The Gulf Wars. Sarin nerve gas and Gulf War Illness. A possible link explained.

Former Vice President Joe Biden addresses possible link between son’s fatal brain cancer and toxic burn pits. PBS article and video.

News link – Another veteran dies after he set himself on fire to protest the VA.

VA Whistleblowers more likely to receive disciplinary actions. NPR article.

VA article – Horrific conditions and rusty surgical instruments

VA article – San Diego VA studying CBD for PTSD treatment. (NBC article)

VA OIG report – Denied Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Claims Related to Military Sexual Trauma

Veterans – The busy empty phones. Washington Post article.

VA News – Court rules class-action lawsuits can be brought against the VA

VA – a small payout of $1,385.08 a day for defective earplugs over 18 years.

Veteran Affairs – 33-year-old Justin Miller committed suicide after being released from VA psych care

Veteran Affairs – Jason Kander on dropping out of politics to address PTSD after 11 years of denial

Veteran Affairs – Fox31 Denver report VA spent $750,000 for a 176-yard bus ride

VA article ‘I knew something was not right’: Mass cancellations of diagnostic test orders at VA hospitals draw scrutiny. USA Today.

Veteran Affairs – West Los Angeles VA misusing donated land intended for veteran rehabilitation. VA OIG report.

Military medicine article – Casualties of the GWOT and future impact on Health Care and Society

Veteran medical – Expanded Medical Marijuana Research Bill Approved by Congress

VA spends millions to guard Confederate cemeteries. AP News article

VA News – “We will start doing our jobs, I guess.” VA to stop dropping Caregivers from support program. NPR Article

VA Health – Ret. Marine Colonel Jim Turner dressed up one final time to send a message to the VA by suicide