Veterans Administration Needs to Take Charge and Become Advocates for Change

– President Obama: “Whether you left the service in 2009 or 1949, we will fulfill our responsibility to deliver the benefits and care that you earned. That’s why I’ve pledged to build nothing less than a 21st-century VA.”

– Dane County (Wisconsin) Veterans Service Officer Michael Jackson: Vietnam-era and earlier veterans ‘will be coming out of the woodwork, grasping at straws,’ and unrealistic claims will be denied.

What Jackson the POS VSO means is: Die already, older veteans!

The question is which way forward?

From Salem-News.com:

If our nation rescinds its promises and ignores its obligation to those who have fought to preserve freedom throughout the world, we compromise the right to ask our men and women to serve and defend our national principals.

Soldiers enroute to Iraq, photographed in 2008 while awaiting transport from a military airport in Georgia, by Tim King Salem-News.com

(GARDEN GROVE, Calif.) – Veterans-For-Change, an advocacy group for Veterans rights, benefits, and treatment, would like to bring to your attention the ever-increasing problems affecting veterans and their families every day.

President Obama has clearly stated, “Whether you left the service in 2009 or 1949, we will fulfill our responsibility to deliver the benefits and care that you earned. That’s why I’ve pledged to build nothing less than a 21st-century VA”.

Supporting the President’s position about Veterans benefits and care, Secretary Shinseki of Veterans Affairs, has accepted the “solemn responsibility to uphold our sacred trust with our nation’s Veterans”. According to the website, /news/story.asp?id=123198485″>af.mil”>/news/story.asp?id=123198485Secretary Shinseki stated, “We are going to break the back of this backlog this year…” The article states that, “Once the paperwork is intact, VA reps then will ‘work with the veteran to put together the best and strongest argument to win the case,” quoted Shinseki. “This is VA going to bat with itself…”

Perhaps that is what NEEDS TO BE DONE. The VA needs to go into a paper work and computer generated war to battle with itself. It is an issue and a battle that every Veteran who files a claim must continue to fight…battle…fight…battle, like a hamster or a guinea pig spinning along a cage – getting nowhere in a hurry!

Secretary Shinseki stated in another article quoted, “Since my confirmation as Secretary, I’ve often asked why, 40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, we’re still trying to determine the health consequences to our veterans who served in the combat theater. Veterans who endure a host of health problems deserve timely decisions”.

Perhaps you, Secretary Shinseki and President Obama are not aware of the problems affiliated with the VA and Veterans Benefits. Veterans-For-Change would like to address the following problems/issues:

AO, TCE/PCE, Benzene Contamination (CONUS, Including Alaska, HI, and Canada, Panama Canal):

Every day, thousands of veterans who served in Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and CONUS are denied benefits they are entitled to for exposure to dioxin from Agent Orange and other defoliants.

In addition to service overseas, we have countless thousands of veterans who served on many military bases stateside who were exposed to TCE, PCE, Benzene and approximately 35-45 more harmful chemicals, never provided safety and use instruction or equipment, and are now just as equally ill.

In both S.E. Asia and CONUS Agent Orange was used as a defoliant. In S.E. Asia, the chemicals were used to protect our troops and prevent the enemy from hiding in the foliage to kill many more of our fighting men and women. (Est. time frame of 1962-1966)

In the CONUS, these harmful, debilitating exposures were used to keep surroundings of various military buildings free from unwanted vegetation growth and keep it clean and neat looking.

On all military bases, on board ships, everywhere mechanical components were cleaned and re-used TCE was the chemical of choice as a degreaser. PCE is the chemical of choice for dry cleaners, again never used with any protective gear.

Veterans who served in Korea and on the DMZ are denied benefits due to erroneous reports about where these chemicals were deployed and that there is no “residual life” of Agent Orange Dioxin which if it were true then why are we in Viet Nam helping the Vietnamese government to clean up the land that was contaminated some 40 years ago?

According to the reliable website, publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/“October 13, 2009 Secretary Shinseki decided to establish service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with B cell leukemia, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease. This is based on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine showing an association with exposure to Agent Orange. Vietnam veterans with these diseases may be eligible for disability compensation and health care benefits.”

Veterans-For-Change believes exposure to Agent Orange is truly exposure to a deadly chemical, regardless of the location where it was deployed. There have been far too many reports of illness, including cancers, Diabetes, heart disease, and many, many more – all related to service or tour of duty in a combat zone, or in a contaminated zone!

One of the chemicals in the Agent Orange herbicide combination contained contaminating traces of TCDD (dioxin). Dioxin has been shown to cause a variety of illnesses in laboratory animals.[veteransinfo.tripod.com/Background_on_Agent_Orange.pdf] Studies also suggest that the chemical may be related to a number of cancers and other health effects in humans. publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/health_effects.asp

The research data speaks for itself – Agent Orange was and is a deadly, toxic chemical, destroying the health and lives of many Veterans, including those who served in Korea and on the DMZ.

Many of these Veterans are continuously denied as the missions they served on were, and still to this day remain, classified by the DoD even though former President Bush signed executive order 13292 on March 28, 2003 directing classified missions beyond 25 years be declassified. Veterans-For-Change, as an advocacy group, has as its mission to broadcast and inform all veterans about their rights concerning Agent Orange, regardless of when and where the military veteran was exposed. You, the legislators of our proud, and courageous country owe a debt of gratitude and benefits and care to our veterans. Please take a stand and help us to provide the best care for our veterans. Take action today!

Veterans-For-Change expects members of Congress to uphold the promises of decades to care for those who fought to defend our Country, and to practice what was established by the Continental Congress in 1776 — “the United States has the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans for any nation in the world.” Now, in the Twenty First Century, it is time to draft, sign, and present legislation to correct wrongs from centuries ago. It is time to practice what was created and promised to motivate, service and care for our veterans. It is time to take the Veterans Administration INTO the Twenty-first Century!

Medical Misdiagnosis, Malpractice, Poor Care:

There are various reasons as to why a misdiagnosis can occur including errors by doctors, specialists, and laboratory tests. The patient can also contribute to an error in various ways.

There are various types of misdiagnosis ranging from a totally wrong diagnosis to a partial misdiagnosis as to the wrong subtype, underlying condition, medication causes, related conditions, or complications.

Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient. Standards and regulations for medical malpractice vary by country and jurisdiction within countries.

Poor medical care can range from medications not being given on time, food service not being given on time, lack or slow response time to veteran patients needing attention, to physical and mental abuse in our veteran nursing homes.

In addition a contributing factor is medical professionals not being required to be licensed in the state in which they practice, or even required to be licensed at all.

Another contributing factor as recently brought out in major media is the lack of proper cleaning of equipment and instruments.

Veterans-For-Change respectfully requests that a full scale IG investigation and inspection be conducted of all VA Medical Facilities to address these problems, and propose immediate correction.

Veterans-For-Change expects members of Congress to uphold the promises of decades to care for those who fought to defend our Country, and to practice what was established by the Continental Congress in 1776 — “the United States has the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans for any nation in the world”. Now, in the Twenty First Century, it is time to draft, sign, and present legislation to correct wrongs from centuries ago. It is time to practice what was created and promised to motivate, service and care for our veterans – ‘nothing less than a 21st-century VA.’

President Obama has said: “We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America, a commitment that begins with enlistment and must never end”.

If our nation rescinds its promises and ignores its obligation to those who have fought to preserve freedom throughout the world, we compromise the right to ask our men and women to serve and defend our national principals. The choice is yours. With the election of 2010 in mind, please take action to defend and serve our country and our proud and deserving veterans today!

Take a stand to stop the endless spinning wheel of a hamster or guinea pig. Take a stand so our Veterans are treated as human beings, not pin cushions, or undeserving human beings. Veterans served our country with dedication to duty. Isn’t it time America and the VA treated our soldiers and veterans with the respect, and the benefits so promised.

Veterans-For-Change has been crying out to all 535 members of Congress now for four years as of April 2010, as President Wilson said, a leader’s ears must ring with the voices of the people! Veteran’s voices will be ringing in the polling places come November! Do you hear us?

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Special thanks to Jim Davis at Veterans for Change