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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 06/19/2012 10:17:09

Good Morning.

Today is our 3,908th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,009
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,040

We find this morning's Cost of War passing through:

$ 1, 343, 894, 000, 000 .00


It's a little thin on the veteran's front this week, so we'll actually turn to our friends at IAVA for their fine Daily Briefing.

Starting in Washington, there's yet another hearing on military suicides. It's always been an issue, but at no time in our history has the rate been as high as it is now.


A conference scheduled for next week in Washington on suicide among U.S. military personnel and veterans has taken on new importance in light of reports showing active duty suicides to date are outpacing last year’s numbers.

The annual meeting, scheduled for June 20-23, will bring top officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel and others together to discuss the topic.

“The goal of the conference is to provide basic information, research findings and share best practices in the realm of suicide prevention, different interventions, post-ventions and surveillance activities,” said Jackie Garrick, head of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

The Associated Press reported 154 suicides among active duty personnel as of June 3, nearly one a day for the year and 24 more than occurred between Jan. 1 to June 3, 2011.

According to AP and service figures, the Marine Corps and Army have seen a slight uptick, with the Marine Corps having 18, the Army, 80. The Air Force has seen a sharp increase, up 32 from 23 at the same time last year. The Navy has seen a slight dip after experiencing a rising trend in the past few years.

The conference is the fourth on suicide prevention hosted by the Defense Centers of Excellence.


Something as simple as increased services might help with the suicide rate, but after decades of neglect, the Veteran's Administration network of hospitals is badly overwhelmed. There have been some attempts to resolve the issue, but like all government work, it's fraught with overruns and delays.


WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement regarding the construction of the new Orlando Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, which will serve approximately 300,000 veterans and is already two years behind schedule:

“VA has painted a rosy picture for the public and the veterans of Florida for the past two years regarding the construction of the long-overdue Orlando Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. VA’s confidence in the timely and on-budget completion of this project was so great that it devoted ‘bid savings’ from this project for use elsewhere around the country. Needless to say, that confidence has given way to a somber reckoning of serious delays and potential cost-overruns.

“A Contract Cure Notice issued today by the Department of Veterans Affairs has the potential to stop construction at the Orlando site and increase the costs moving forward exponentially, if a resolution is not reached. The Committee was assured by VA officials on March 27, and again on May 18 of this year, that VA was working collaboratively with the contractor to ensure issues surrounding the construction of the facility would be resolved and the new timeline set forth by VA would be met. That was clearly not the case.

“This project has been a multi-million dollar debacle, and a failure of this magnitude deserves accountability at the highest level. Unfortunately, we have seen this pattern before. VA management and oversight of large construction and IT projects across the country has been sorely lacking and fraught with incompetence.

“The current situation in Orlando is inexcusable. Pointing fingers and laying blame will not build the medical center the veterans of Central Florida deserve. I expect answers immediately from VA on the status and cost of this project, and the implication of today’s decision on the delivery of care and services to our veterans.”


But that's only half the problem....when there are actually sufficient services for veterans, there's often confusion and delay. It's gotten so bad at one facility that the local employees are blowing the whistle.


To hear wounded veterans tell it, there are few things more daunting, infuriating or soul-crushing than dealing with the Veterans Benefits Administration, the agency that decides whether they will receive disability benefits for injuries and illnesses incurred during war.

As the inventory of unprocessed claims has grown — to more than 900,000 nationwide — so has anger with the agency. On Tuesday, in what has become an annual ritual, Congress will hold hearings on the V.B.A.’s chronically poor performance.

But in one small pocket of the sprawling benefits agency, a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs, front-line workers are taking the unusual step of going public about the dysfunction within their own bureaucracy, making common cause with some of their loudest critics.

On Saturday, workers from the benefits agency’s regional office in Columbia, S.C., will picket outside their workplace, hoping to spotlight what they consider root causes of their system’s breakdown: lack of accountability, inadequate resources, hopelessly complex policies and demoralizing work conditions.

“We want to take care of veterans; many of us are veterans,” said Ronald Robinson, a protest leader, president of the union local and an Army veteran. “We can’t sit any longer and be blamed for things that are beyond our control.”

The backlog in the disability compensation system has steadily worsened since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, having more than doubled in the last decade. The department defines its backlog as claims that have been awaiting decisions for more than 125 days, the department’s benchmark for timeliness.

Almost no regional office has been immune from problems, with the office in Oakland, Calif., now sending new claims to other offices because its inventory has grown so large. Yet even the Columbia office, considered by some veterans advocates to be relatively good, had a backlog of about 15,000 claims last month and did not accurately process one out of three claims last year, according to a report by the department’s inspector general.


Of course, none of these things will be getting any headlines as we go deeper into the election season. While wars are "sexy" and headline-grabbing, the aftermath seldom is. While neither major party candidate wore the uniform, you can be pretty sure which one of them may want to actually do something, and which one is going to cut services to the bone.
 

52 comments (Latest Comment: 06/20/2012 02:03:43 by Will in Chicago)
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Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 12:56:46
Morning.

Comment by BobR on 06/19/2012 13:04:30
I hope President Obama can make this an election year issue, but somehow I doubt it.

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 13:20:42
Good Morning!

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 13:38:43
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?

Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:07:05
Morning

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:09:51
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

Hiya!



Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:11:20
Quote by Raine:
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?


Saw it on the book of faces last night - very cute

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 14:12:50
Quote by Raine:
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?


Was it sent via the book of faces?



Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:16:23
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?


Was it sent via the book of faces?

Indeed. It is set up as an event.


Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 14:17:04
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?


Was it sent via the book of faces?

Indeed. It is set up as an event.



Then computer says... YES!

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 14:19:09
Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:21:12
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Did everyone get the Party invitiation?


Was it sent via the book of faces?

Indeed. It is set up as an event.


hmmm I didn't get that event to pop up


Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:26:53
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:29:12
Really.. Mitt called it WaWas ?

I need that video. I NEED it.

Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:32:15
Quote by Raine:
Really.. Mitt called it WaWas ?

I need that video. I NEED it.





Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 14:34:40
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?

Comment by Mondobubba on 06/19/2012 14:38:37
Quote by Raine:
Really.. Mitt called it WaWas ?

I need that video. I NEED it.



Is this Mitt being amazed by credit card readers???

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:39:21
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:39:24
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?


Chris was explaining what the WaWa was since R-Money called it WaWa's


Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:39:50
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Really.. Mitt called it WaWas ?

I need that video. I NEED it.



I love you.


Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:40:09
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


I kinda prefer Sheets


Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:41:22
Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:41:25
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Really.. Mitt called it WaWas ?

I need that video. I NEED it.



I love you.



aaw back atcha


The things I can do on my last day off (well and when my bosses are paying attention)



Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:45:17
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


I kinda prefer Sheets

Mittens would probably call it *THE* Sheets

Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 14:48:24
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


I kinda prefer Sheets

Mittens would probably call it *THE* Sheets





Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:49:55
This is a pretty good comparison video:


Comment by BobR on 06/19/2012 14:55:40
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


I kinda prefer Sheets

Isn't that spelled "Sheetz"?

Comment by BobR on 06/19/2012 14:56:51
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.

I kinda prefer Sheets

Mittens would probably call it *THE* Sheets


"I went to the Sheetz yesterday to get a sandwich... Anyone ever get the Sheetz?..."

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 14:58:26
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.

I kinda prefer Sheets

Mittens would probably call it *THE* Sheets


"I went to the Sheetz yesterday to get a sandwich... Anyone ever get the Sheetz?..."
You win!


Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 15:00:40
Quote by BobR:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by wickedpam:
we have a WaWa down in Woodbridge, its a nice little gas station - I would get a sandwich there however


Who's talking about WaWa? Chris?
Mitt Romney called it WaWas...

Plural. This is impeachable to me and others that love WaWa.


I kinda prefer Sheets

Isn't that spelled "Sheetz"?


DOH! Yes, yes it is



Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 15:28:14
Scott Brown is a royal Douche of the first order.
Warren accepted on June 11 and Monday, Brown's Campaign Manager Jim Barnett, sent Kennedy a letter saying they would accept the invitation if certain conditions were agreed upon.

For starters, Kennedy has to pledge to remain neutral for remainder of the contentious Senate race for the seat held by her husband from 1962 until his death from brain cancer in 2009. While it is not entirely clear what this condition involves, an endorsement of a particular candidate would almost certainly be out of bounds.

Barnett said that while they accept Kennedy's proposal to have Tom Brokaw moderate, they prefer local journalists to ask the questions in such forums.

"In order to proceed, we need to know that in keeping with the spirit of neutrality expressed in Vicki Kennedy's letter that she will not endorse or otherwise get involved in this race," Barnett wrote. "Furthermore, while we accept Tom Brokaw as a moderator, we prefer debates with local media sponsors, not out-of-state cable networks with a reputation for political advocacy. We are confident that issue can be easily addressed as there are a number of Massachusetts media outlets that would be willing to sponsor a debate such as the one you are proposing for the Kennedy Institute, and I'm sure they would be pleased to have Mr. Brokaw as moderator."


Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 15:37:52
So, My niece is coming back for a visit! She just posted on my wall all the things she wants to cook when she is here...

We are very lucky to have such an amazing young woman as a niece. Mala, hopefully one of the days she is here we can come over and have lunch? I'd love for you to meet her. PLUS, she may be here for the party, and that would mean my sister will be here too!

Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 15:43:27
Quote by Raine:
So, My niece is coming back for a visit! She just posted on my wall all the things she wants to cook when she is here...

We are very lucky to have such an amazing young woman as a niece. Mala, hopefully one of the days she is here we can come over and have lunch? I'd love for you to meet her. PLUS, she may be here for the party, and that would mean my sister will be here too!



That would be cool

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 15:51:54
Well, In the bin of really bad ideas.... How the HELL did this get past Research and development?
http://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/adidas-js-roundouse.jpg


Comment by wickedpam on 06/19/2012 15:56:56
Quote by Raine:
Well, In the bin of really bad ideas.... How the HELL did this get past Research and development?
http://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/adidas-js-roundouse.jpg


are they toddler sneakers? I mean I've chased a parent down when their kid has throw a shoe but I would never think to chain them in.

not sure using My Pet Monster was a good inspiration


Comment by Will in Chicago on 06/19/2012 16:00:20
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Well, In the bin of really bad ideas.... How the HELL did this get past Research and development?
http://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/adidas-js-roundouse.jpg


are they toddler sneakers? I mean I've chased a parent down when their kid has throw a shoe but I would never think to chain them in.

not sure using My Pet Monster was a good inspiration



I thought this was a parody for a moment.

First, I hope everyone is well. TriSec, thanks for the blog that points out that we still have far to go with helping our veterans.

I will be in and out today, but Chris Matthews said something interesting yesterday:
Romney is not a candidate but a speaker system.

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 16:09:16
Today JAck Rice is filling in for Shultz... I gotta wonder if people called about Santos....

Comment by livingonli on 06/19/2012 16:38:34
Good day, everyone. I would have figured Ed would have been back doing his radio show since he did do his TV show last night so who knows what the deal is with the radio show. Well, at least straight from Rachel last night, her absence was due to laryngitis so there were no other issues since you can't do a show if you can't talk.

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 19:00:34
IT is damn hot out!

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 19:04:49
Comment by livingonli on 06/19/2012 19:08:23
Quote by Raine:
IT is damn hot out!

It's going to be up here tomorrow and then roomie will turn the A-C on.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/19/2012 19:15:40
Quote by Raine:
JOE THE PLUMBER: GUN CONTROL CAUSED THE HOLOCAUST

The stoopit, it berns.

Not just stoopid, historically incorrect! One of the major planks in the Nazi platform was to remove ALL gun control laws, in order to allow all citizens of the fatherland to defend it.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/19/2012 19:16:12
Oh and Hellooo everybody! It's been a long tiring day.

Comment by Scoopster on 06/19/2012 19:22:54
Senate GOP whining about 9th Circuit Court's ideas exchange conference

Uhh, can someone please inform them that the budget control for the federal courts does NOT lie within the Senate, but rather in the hands of the Supreme Court..

Comment by Scoopster on 06/19/2012 19:37:06

Wow.. talk about extreme measures!

Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 20:39:55
Quote by Scoopster:

Wow.. talk about extreme measures!
Well played Troy!!


Comment by Raine on 06/19/2012 20:51:07
Ok, this really really pisses me off.


Perhaps most damning are the documents showing that the CIA had Bin Laden in its crosshairs a full year before 9/11 — but didn’t get the funding from the Bush administration White House to take him out or even continue monitoring him. The CIA materials directly contradict the many claims of Bush officials that it was aggressively pursuing Al Qaida prior to 9/11, and that nobody could have predicted the attacks. “I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released, because they paint a picture of the CIA knowing something would happen before 9/11, but they didn’t get the institutional support they needed,” says Barbara Elias-Sanborn, the NSA Fellow who edited the materials.



Now correct me if I am wrong here, but didn't a ton of conservatives say that the President should give credit to Dubya for getting Bin Laden?

Comment by Will in Chicago on 06/19/2012 21:58:31
Quote by Raine:
Ok, this really really pisses me off.


Perhaps most damning are the documents showing that the CIA had Bin Laden in its crosshairs a full year before 9/11 — but didn’t get the funding from the Bush administration White House to take him out or even continue monitoring him. The CIA materials directly contradict the many claims of Bush officials that it was aggressively pursuing Al Qaida prior to 9/11, and that nobody could have predicted the attacks. “I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released, because they paint a picture of the CIA knowing something would happen before 9/11, but they didn’t get the institutional support they needed,” says Barbara Elias-Sanborn, the NSA Fellow who edited the materials.



Now correct me if I am wrong here, but didn't a ton of conservatives say that the President should give credit to Dubya for getting Bin Laden?



They did, but they will ignore this and other inconvenient truths.

Sadly, I won't be able to make the big party. If I do move out East, I would love to spend part of spring break in the DC area.


Comment by Raine on 06/20/2012 00:17:46
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Quote by Raine:
Ok, this really really pisses me off.


Perhaps most damning are the documents showing that the CIA had Bin Laden in its crosshairs a full year before 9/11 — but didn’t get the funding from the Bush administration White House to take him out or even continue monitoring him. The CIA materials directly contradict the many claims of Bush officials that it was aggressively pursuing Al Qaida prior to 9/11, and that nobody could have predicted the attacks. “I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released, because they paint a picture of the CIA knowing something would happen before 9/11, but they didn’t get the institutional support they needed,” says Barbara Elias-Sanborn, the NSA Fellow who edited the materials.



Now correct me if I am wrong here, but didn't a ton of conservatives say that the President should give credit to Dubya for getting Bin Laden?



They did, but they will ignore this and other inconvenient truths.

Sadly, I won't be able to make the big party. If I do move out East, I would love to spend part of spring break in the DC area.
We'd love to have you, Will.


Comment by livingonli on 06/20/2012 01:57:51
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Quote by Raine:
Ok, this really really pisses me off.


Perhaps most damning are the documents showing that the CIA had Bin Laden in its crosshairs a full year before 9/11 — but didn’t get the funding from the Bush administration White House to take him out or even continue monitoring him. The CIA materials directly contradict the many claims of Bush officials that it was aggressively pursuing Al Qaida prior to 9/11, and that nobody could have predicted the attacks. “I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released, because they paint a picture of the CIA knowing something would happen before 9/11, but they didn’t get the institutional support they needed,” says Barbara Elias-Sanborn, the NSA Fellow who edited the materials.



Now correct me if I am wrong here, but didn't a ton of conservatives say that the President should give credit to Dubya for getting Bin Laden?



They did, but they will ignore this and other inconvenient truths.

Sadly, I won't be able to make the big party. If I do move out East, I would love to spend part of spring break in the DC area.
We'd love to have you, Will.

I didn't get an invite. Granted, don't know if I could go anyway since my financial situation is still a mess. And soon my living situation might be back in flux.

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