en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/659444 Comments by auditory http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjul10/nf071410-4.htm#IDComment86582361 For all the discussion on the role of the Mental Health Professionals, nobody seems to be discussing the fact that adjudicative personnel will be making the determination whether or not the stressor is "consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of (the vet's) service". What sort of training will VA's 25 year-old new hires get concerning the places, types and circumstances of service in Vietnam, Korea, WWII? Wed, 14 Jul 2010 03:18:23 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjul10/nf071410-4.htm#IDComment86582361 http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjan10/nf012310-1.htm#IDComment53485055 Salt Lake City Regional Office uses this "paperless" electronic system for processing original claims for new vets. I see a lot of the awards. They may do them quickly, but about all I ever see 0-10-20% disabilities. I see a lot of 0% PTSD awards!! They may be fast, but the vet is then faced with an appeal that still takes years before they get an appropriate percentage. New equipment-Same old attitude. Also, did this slideshow just re-define "backlog"? It states that there are 179,000 claims in the "backlog", which is defined as over 125 days old. Apparently, a claim is not even in the backlog for 3 1/2 months!! Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:11:06 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjan10/nf012310-1.htm#IDComment53485055 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfdec09/nf121309-1.htm#IDComment47021750 The only 100% "pass" was iIem 10. All the RO's had implemented the "Claims Process Improvement" plan that was supposed to improve proccessing by specializing tasks. I hope somebody in VA's top management will look at this and realize that reorganization amounted largely to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:56:21 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfdec09/nf121309-1.htm#IDComment47021750 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfdec09/nf121109-2.htm#IDComment46766072 VA is ready - just like it was ready for the influx of vets into the new GI Bill this Fall. Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:08:15 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfdec09/nf121109-2.htm#IDComment46766072 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf111309-4.htm#IDComment43026023 What will be the role of these Texas "counselors"? It looks like they are VSO's with no real ability to impact any single claim. This is simply a case of a politician looking to shore up veteran support for his next campaign. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:17:46 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf111309-4.htm#IDComment43026023 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf111109-4.htm#IDComment42754973 The VA has thousands of these debts on its books from the old GI Bill. As more Vietnam era vets qualify for Compensation, Pension or even Social Security, VA will be reducing their checks to pay off these debts. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:45:28 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf111109-4.htm#IDComment42754973 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfsep09/nf091509-5.htm#IDComment34505545 What goes around comes around. In the 1990's the VA jumped on the "Quality Improvement" bandwagon and set up teams to study problems and solve them with data. Most solutions proposed by employee teams involved pay increases, travel to faraway training conferences and setting up things like "quiet time" where the vets and other employees could not bother the staff - thereby increasing productivity. It looks like things have not changed much. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:35:56 +0000 http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfsep09/nf091509-5.htm#IDComment34505545