Electronic Claims System Boosts VA Efficiency
May 15, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
With 46 of 58 Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices now capable of handling electronic disability claims, efficiency has increased by about 10 percent, VA officials said.
A department official who spoke with reporters Tuesday did not dispute that a 10 percent increase was small when considering the VA claims backlog is about 600,000, but suggested it should improve significantly as more paper claims are converted to electronic files and more new applications start out as e-files.
The VA outlined the new system for reporters during a background meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
The VA has scanned more than 100 million documents for conversion to electronic files as part of its ambitious Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). While that process continues, it has also begun accepting fully electronic claims applications. Those began in February, when Marine veteran Phillip Walker completed the first-ever fully electronic claim with the help of a Disabled American Veteran counselor in Fairfax, Va.
Walker believes his Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease stems from his military service, according to the DAV, which featured Walker in a report on the inaugural e-claim.
Jim Marszalek, deputy national service director for the DAV, told Military.com that Walker’s claim demonstrated the efficiency of the VBMS.
“It was done entirely online,” Marszalek said. “We could track it [online]. A week or so later, we could see it in Atlanta. It was there. That claim is now completed and he has been compensated. ... It was a success story, that’s for sure.”
read more here
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Afghanistan veteran accused of stabbing policeman to remain in custody
Northbridge man accused of stabbing policeman to remain in custody
By Mike Gleason
Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted May 15, 2013
WORCESTER
A Worcester Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that a Northbridge man accused of stabbing a police officer is dangerous and must remain in custody.
Adam Tillison, 27, of 11 High St., was arraigned Monday on charges of armed assault to murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failing to stop for police. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
After the arraignment, Judge Janet Kenton-Walker heard arguments as to whether Tillison posed enough danger to remain in custody.
Defense lawyer Laurel Singer argued that Tillison, an Afghanistan war veteran, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and should be placed with a Veterans Affairs treatment program to receive the proper care.
Assistant District Attorney Michael McHugh, however, said the program would not offer a proper level of control over Tillison.
"I'm concerned by hearing from the VA that, if he went to an emergency room unit and didn't fit the criteria, he could simply walk away," he said.
read more here
By Mike Gleason
Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted May 15, 2013
WORCESTER
A Worcester Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that a Northbridge man accused of stabbing a police officer is dangerous and must remain in custody.
Adam Tillison, 27, of 11 High St., was arraigned Monday on charges of armed assault to murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failing to stop for police. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
After the arraignment, Judge Janet Kenton-Walker heard arguments as to whether Tillison posed enough danger to remain in custody.
Defense lawyer Laurel Singer argued that Tillison, an Afghanistan war veteran, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and should be placed with a Veterans Affairs treatment program to receive the proper care.
Assistant District Attorney Michael McHugh, however, said the program would not offer a proper level of control over Tillison.
"I'm concerned by hearing from the VA that, if he went to an emergency room unit and didn't fit the criteria, he could simply walk away," he said.
read more here
How many names do we have to read before someone is held accountable?
How many names do we have to read before someone is held accountable?
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
May 15, 2013
The branches of the US Government Agencies have been seriously "addressing" suicides since 2008 but for all the money spent, all the awareness they have pushed, the numbers have gone up. That right there should scream someone be held accountable. No one has been investigated. No one has been charged. No one in the press has been demanding answers. No one has asked the President or members of Congress for accountability.
There are too many political shenanigans going on right now and the press seems thrilled they can all just jump on the same stories and spin them whatever way they want. Both sides do it. You know that as well as I do. What we don't know is why there is such a lack of interest on the one thing that should get all reporters on all sides angry enough to demand someone be held accountable. So far all I've seen has been reporting on what the politicians and military brass has to say and they drop the story.
I track stories mostly from small outlets because they are doing the best reporting but while people in their own towns may know these stories the general public does not. They will not spend hours a day searching for the reports.
These deaths should matter to everyone since we in fact are the reasons they decided to serve to protect this country.
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
May 15, 2013
The branches of the US Government Agencies have been seriously "addressing" suicides since 2008 but for all the money spent, all the awareness they have pushed, the numbers have gone up. That right there should scream someone be held accountable. No one has been investigated. No one has been charged. No one in the press has been demanding answers. No one has asked the President or members of Congress for accountability.
Veteran's death casts spotlight on suicide risks, assistance
By Jenn Smith and Laura Lofgren
Berkshire Eagle Staff
Posted: 05/15/2013
People who face any threat to their mental health, be it a traumatic circumstance, an illness like depression or major life change, can become overwhelmed by their emotions, and be prone to having suicidal thoughts.
This matter comes to the forefront in Berkshire County since veteran Marine Corps Sgt. Edward S. Passetto died over the weekend by an apparent suicide that took place on Monument Mountain in Great Barrington.
Passetto, who had seen live combat action and rescued men in a helicopter crash, had been battling post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, according to a fellow Marine and Passetto's own letters and statements.
"When people are depressed and isolated they feel very much alone," Dr. Jennifer Michaels said, speaking generally about people affected by mental health disorders. She is an attending psychiatrist at Berkshire Medical Center and medical director for the Brien Center.
"People shouldn't feel they are responsible to make themselves better if they can't. It's comparable to tending to a broken leg. You can't will that better; you need help," she said.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans age 18 and older, or one in four adults, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
read more here
There are too many political shenanigans going on right now and the press seems thrilled they can all just jump on the same stories and spin them whatever way they want. Both sides do it. You know that as well as I do. What we don't know is why there is such a lack of interest on the one thing that should get all reporters on all sides angry enough to demand someone be held accountable. So far all I've seen has been reporting on what the politicians and military brass has to say and they drop the story.
I track stories mostly from small outlets because they are doing the best reporting but while people in their own towns may know these stories the general public does not. They will not spend hours a day searching for the reports.
These deaths should matter to everyone since we in fact are the reasons they decided to serve to protect this country.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Libertarian Activist With History Of PTSD Calls For Armed D.C. March
Sometimes I hate opening my mail and this is one of the reasons. I know I am going to regret not just passing off this as nothing I really want to deal with but I opened it four times before I knew I had to address it.
When you read it, you'll understand why.
PTSD and gun rights is a huge issue because veterans with PTSD and among gun owners have been avoiding the VA out of fear they would lose their rights. Right now people are working on fixing what Congress did back in 2008. They want to put gun rights into the hands of a judge to do it on a case by case basis and not lumping all veterans in together. Wise move but this man deciding to march on Washington "locked and loaded" has done more damage to normal veterans and it is pretty disgusting.
For the last 40 years Vietnam veterans have fought a huge battle so that veterans would be respected even if people didn't agree with the wars they were sent to fight. They have moved mountains out of the way but there is still so much more to be done. Getting the truth out about PTSD is a huge part of that so that the impression of a "crazy" vet is replaced with the simple fact these men and women cared enough about our country they were willing to die for it.
This stunt will only harm them once again. The impression of the public will once again revert back to fearing the veteran instead of helping them.
I know a lot of veterans with PTSD and they have guns and I have no problem being around them because I know for a fact they would protect me from any harm. They are armed to defend and not to attack anyone. That is just how they are. I just wish people knew what they were really like and then they would know this man is not a representative of them.
When you read it, you'll understand why.
Libertarian Activist With History Of PTSD Calls For Armed D.C. March
By Sarah Rae Fruchtnicht
Opposing Views
Tue, May 14, 2013
Libertarian activist Adam Kokesh, who admits to a history of mental instability and post-traumatic stress disorder, is calling for an armed march on Washington, D.C., to protest against “tyranny.”
Kokesh proposed a march with loaded rifles from Virginia in D.C. on July 4. D.C. police have promised to block the march from crossing into Washington.
“This is now a call for mass civil disobedience on July 4th anywhere in Washington, D.C.,” he wrote on a Facebook page for the event. “We will march with rifles loaded and slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated and cower in submission to tyranny.”
Kokesh, 31, who served as a non-commissioned officer in the Marines and reservist, wrote a 2005 college thesis entitled “Hot, Dirty, and Dangerous: Seven Months of Civil and Not-So-Civil Affairs In And Around Fallujah.”
He mentions PTSD in the thesis, writing “I had a number of anxiety attacks those first few days back [from Iraq].”
read more here
PTSD and gun rights is a huge issue because veterans with PTSD and among gun owners have been avoiding the VA out of fear they would lose their rights. Right now people are working on fixing what Congress did back in 2008. They want to put gun rights into the hands of a judge to do it on a case by case basis and not lumping all veterans in together. Wise move but this man deciding to march on Washington "locked and loaded" has done more damage to normal veterans and it is pretty disgusting.
For the last 40 years Vietnam veterans have fought a huge battle so that veterans would be respected even if people didn't agree with the wars they were sent to fight. They have moved mountains out of the way but there is still so much more to be done. Getting the truth out about PTSD is a huge part of that so that the impression of a "crazy" vet is replaced with the simple fact these men and women cared enough about our country they were willing to die for it.
This stunt will only harm them once again. The impression of the public will once again revert back to fearing the veteran instead of helping them.
I know a lot of veterans with PTSD and they have guns and I have no problem being around them because I know for a fact they would protect me from any harm. They are armed to defend and not to attack anyone. That is just how they are. I just wish people knew what they were really like and then they would know this man is not a representative of them.
Pentagon grapples with sex crimes by military recruiters
Rape is a crime and if guilty, the criminal needs to go to jail. So what's the problem?
Pentagon grapples with sex crimes by military recruiters
By Craig Whitlock
The Washington Post
Published: May 13, 2013
Military recruiters across the country have been caught in a string of sex-crime scandals over the past year, exposing another long-standing problem for the Defense Department as it grapples with a crisis of sexual assault in the ranks.
In Alaska, law enforcement officials are fuming after a military jury this month convicted a Marine Corps recruiter of first-degree sexual assault in the rape of a 23-year-old female civilian but did not sentence him to prison.
In Texas, an Air Force recruiter will face a military court next month on charges of rape, forcible sodomy and other crimes involving 18 young women he tried to enlist over a three-year period. Air Force officials have described the case as perhaps the worst involving one of its recruiters.
In Maryland, Army officials are puzzling over a murder-suicide last month, when a staff sergeant, Adam Arndt, killed himself after he fatally shot Michelle Miller, a 17-year-old Germantown girl whom he had been recruiting for the Army Reserve. Officials suspect the two were romantically involved, something expressly forbidden by military rules. read more here
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