When they are accused of crimes, the names of service members are made public — but kept secret when they are acquitted. For the same reason, citizens are named when accused of crimes — it’s a check against government forces being able to secretly prosecute enemies on trumped-up charges. There is a key public accountability element to transparency, one that augers against overcharging and prosecutorial overreach. Certainly, not naming the acquitted softens the sting of prosecutorial failure.
The misguided attempt to protect those proven not guilty in fact not only embraces anti-democratic practices, it is a harmful disservice to the acquitted. Often the charges against them, typically felonies, are reported on the Internet, and that is the only reference to their alleged activities should an employer, lending agency or other party search their names. That could have a devastating effect on their personal lives — an ironic punishment for being cleared of wrongdoing

A guide to VA’s new mobile apps for women veterans is available at
https://mobile.va.gov/app/caring-4-women-veterans

Mostly everyone is aware of PTSD and that some of our military who served in combat have PTSD but, let’s be honest, we often are at a loss as to how to help someone with PTSD. Following are some guidelines for your information:
The following is co-authored by Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph. D. and Dr. William Gibson:
If you have a friend or family member you know or believe has PTSD, here are some ways you can help them:
Be aware that PTSD can leave sufferers believing the world is fundamentally unsafe and that they can trust almost no one. They behave out of character. PTSD alters people in significant ways that affect behavior. In addition to distressing symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, loss of memory, insomnia, hyper-vigilance, and intrusive memories or images, they often feel emotionally numb and socially isolated, cut off from others and from their own feelings. And they may try to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs or be self-destructive.
As much as you can, do not allow your worry or guilt to co-opt their struggle. You may feel at a loss for how to respond. You may even blame yourself for the sufferer’s experiences or reactions. However, the situation is about the other person’s experience and his or her struggle to make sense of it, not about you, about whether you’re a good partner or parent or friend, or about anything you have done.
You may also feel uncomfortable talking to the person about his or her experiences. Maybe you find yourself saying, well, it wasn’t that bad, or other people had it worse. Maybe you interrupt or change the subject. While you may think you are protecting yourself and the person from re-experiencing the horrific situation, you are likely sending a message that the PTSD sufferer cannot feel safe discussing all aspects of him or herself with you–and at worst, you may add to their trauma by underscoring their feelings of separation and alienation.

It helps to remember that the symptoms that constitute PTSD arise from a normal human defense system triggered by traumatizing experiences. These symptoms are not a sign of character weakness or mental defect.

Statement from VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald
On the Need to Reform the Veterans’ Appeals Process

Last week I presented to the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee the way forward for the important transformation of the Department of Veterans Affairs—what we call MyVA. We aim to improve our care and services to all Veterans. In order to do that, I made clear that we would need Congress’ help in legislating a fair, streamlined, and comprehensive process for new appeals, as well as providing much needed resources to address the current pending inventory of appeals. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to design an appeals process that better serves Veterans.

VA will need legislation and resourcing to put in place a simplified appeals process that enables the Department to resolve the majority of our appeals in a reasonable timeframe for Veterans.

The appeals process we currently have set in law is failing Veterans—and taxpayers. Decades worth of law and policy layered upon each other have become cumbersome and clunky. Most importantly, it is now so antiquated that it no longer serves Veterans well as many find it confusing and are frustrated by the endless process and the associated length of time it can take to get an answer.

In 2012, VA made the commitment to end the disability claims backlog. It took too long for Veterans to receive a decision on their claim. Our commitment has resulted in transformational change. The disability claims backlog has been driven down to fewer than 82,000, from a peak of 611,000 in March 2013. At the same time, we have fully transitioned to a paperless, electronic processing system, eliminating 5,000 tons of paper a year. Last year, we decided 1.4 million disability compensation and pension claims for Veterans and survivors – the highest in VA history for a single year and that comes on the heels on two previous record-breaking years of productivity.

As VA has become more efficient in claims processing, the volume of appeals has increased proportionately. While it remains true that 11-12 percent of Veterans who receive a disability rating file for an appeal, more processed claims means more appeals. This is VA’s next challenge.

The current pending inventory of appeals stands at more than 440,000 and is estimated to grow rapidly. Right now, Veterans who file an appeal wait an average of three years for appeals to be resolved by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and an average of five years for appeals that reach the Board of Veterans Appeals’ (Board), with thousands lasting much longer. That’s unacceptable.

We are applying lessons learned from the transformative change that allowed us to reduce the disability claims backlog. Like our work with the claims processing, the appeals process will need changes in people, process and technology. Upgraded technology will make changes to our mail system and paper records, and incorporate some efficiencies in the way appeals are managed and processed. Retraining and increased staff will be necessary. But they will not be enough. We must also look critically at the many steps in the current complex appeals process used by VA and by Veterans and their advocates to design a process that better serves Veterans.

A new appeals process would provide Veterans with the timely and fair appeals decisions they deserve, and adequate resourcing that permits the VBA and the Board to address the growing inventory of appeals.

The Affordable Care Act requires most U.S. taxpayers to declare they have minimum essential health coverage on their federal tax form. In December, the Department of Veterans Affairs began notifying all enrollees and beneficiaries of their VA health care coverage period in 2015. The notification letter includes IRS Form 1095-B, “Health Coverage,” detailing VA health care coverage for the previous year. Veterans and beneficiaries should use this form to complete their 2015 income tax forms. As required by law, VA will also notify the Internal Revenue Service. Mailings are expected to be completed by the end of January 2016.

To date, VA recognizes 4 categories of conditions potentially eligible for compensation.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – a condition of long-term and severe fatigue
Fibromyalgia – Wide-spread muscle pain
Functional Gastro-intestinal disorder – group of conditions marked byu recurrent symptoms
Undiagnosed Illnesses – symptoms may include but are not limited to abnormal weight loss, cardiovascular disease, menstrual disorders, skin conditions

Public Law 113-146, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act (VACAA) of 2014, established a “Commission on Care” to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and make recommendations for change. The Commission is composed of membership selected coequally by the President and House and Senate leadership.

The Commission has completed its fourth meeting and has issue a statutorily required interim report. As a partner organization in the Independent Budget, DAV has been invited to meet with the Commission on Care staff and to submit our views on the future of VA to the Commission. In its public sessions, some members of the Commission have made statements about the advisability of moving VA from its current status as a direct provider of care to that of insurer.

Meanwhile, VA has released its plan to consolidate all community care programs into one plan for referral and payment. These existing seven programs, including the “choice” provisions from the VACAA, operate using different rules and procedures related to both eligibility and utilization. In order to consolidate these programs, VA will need authorizing legislation. Congress is considering VA’s proposal at this time.

DAV is closely monitoring these events to ensure that the rights and benefits of wounded, injured and ill veterans are protected.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/4kkcV7ActrJqMcfL8Twd2w

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet hopes a pair of studies due in 2017 will give lawmakers a better view of how the Army is treating its troops.
The reviews by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General will examine whether the Army improperly discharges soldiers for misconduct driven by war-caused mental illness. The GAO report was ordered last year after a series of Gazette stories revealed that the Army was discharging wounded and mentally ill soldiers with other-than-honorable discharges for minor misconduct.
The latest study was ordered this month by the Army after Bennet, D-Denver, and other senators demanded an investigation after new media reports including a Gazette investigation that revealed the services increasingly use disciplinary measures to downsize. “We are still hearing a lot of concerns about mental health discharge issues,” Bennet told The Gazette this month.
Bennet said he expects the reviews to show whether Army leaders purposefully kick out mentally ill soldiers with benefit-denying discharges.

Evidence is mounting that veterans are suffering from pulmonary disorders related to deployment to the Middle East, but little is being done to diagnose and treat these illnesses, say researchers who are proposing new guidance for treating affected troops.
Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan vets have respiratory problems that affect their daily lives, but few of them — or their doctors — know enough about war-related lung conditions to seek care or diagnose a disorder, says Dr. Anthony Szema, an assistant professor at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and adjunct professor at Stony Brook University in New York.
“Despite the fact we have been doing this research for a handful of years, no one knows about the incidence of lung disease in the military,” Szema said.
In an article published online Tuesday in the American Journal of Men’s Health, Szema and colleagues argue that deployment-related lung conditions, which they call “Iraq/Afghanistan War-Lung Injury,” are found in thousands of troops and veterans, the result of one or more environmental or combat-related factors within the U.S. Central Command area of operations.
Reported symptoms range from wheezing and chronic cough to asthma, low blood oxygen levels and debilitating fatigue related to an inability to take deep breaths.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee approved two pieces of legislation in December containing provisions designed to improve veterans health care and benefits and to improve accountability with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Specifically, the Veterans Homeless Programs, Caregiver Services and Other Improvements Act of 2015 (S.425) contains measures to:
Phase in expansion of eligibility for VA’s family caregiver program to veterans of all eras
Expand the VA definition of homeless to include those fleeing domestic violence
Provide legal services and expand dental care for homeless veterans
Improve opioid safety measures at VA
Expand eligibility for the Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program
The Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act of 2015 (S.290) calls for reductions pensions for VA executives convicted of felonies, reforms VA’s administrative leave policies and establishes new performance standards for employees placed on probation.