VA: C-123 Veterans' Service Connection – NOW!

The C-123 Veterans association is joined by other service organizations in calling on Secretary McDonald to recognize our aircrew and maintainers' Agent Orange presumptive service connection. 

It has been long enough.

Paralyzed Veterans of America Adds Its Support to C-123 Veterans' Agent Orange Claims

Today the Paralyzed Veterans of America joined with other service organizations to voice support for C-123 veterans' Agent Orange claims. This was first through direct conversations with Secretary McDonald, and more recently by PVA leadership approving addition of their name to the list of C-123 supporters!

Thank you, PVA!

Wes Carter, PVA Life Member since 1991

Proposal to Dissolve C-123 Veterans Association

The Last Bag Drag.
Time to file the voucher and head home.
Mission complete.

If things go through this week as VA has indicated, our reason for existence draws to a close. We told VA we'd been exposed to Agent Orange, and at long last the VA will begin treating our Agent Orange illnesses and providing the full range of care and benefits due us.

So there is nothing remaining that is unique to us. We've argued our case and won, and now the proposal for all to consider is simply dissolving our casual association, and inviting all members to affiliate with the Vietnam Veterans of America.

VVA is organized to meet our needs. Their service officers understand the VA and Agent Orange issues, and we share with VVA members the full range of veterans concerns. In particular, we have an abiding concern for veterans of all toxic exposures, something the VVA will fight for on our behalf and with our small number of airmen added to their ranks.

We'd thought of an aviation-focused chapter, but VVA's structure makes that impractical. Because we're spread all across the nation we can't enjoy the fellowship of other veterans unless allied with VVA and other service organizations such as VFW, DAV and the Legion.

Because of some continuing issues such as FOIA suits and Yale's representation of us on important cases, we will continue as an entity until these things are resolved. I'll also continue to blog as the mood strikes me...I've come to enjoy this as something of a focused journal

A note: of all the service organizations, while a couple like PVA and DAV mentioned us occasionally in their publications, our cause was championed by the VVA and the American Legion.

To both, we say "thank you, brothers."

National Veterans Groups Challenge VA on C-123 Agent Orange Claims Obstruction

On June 27, using the letter below, all six major veterans organizations firmly challenged the Veterans Administration (VA) for inappropriate use of a particular consulting firm. The firm represented the VA in a June 16 Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee meeting evaluating C-123 Agent Orange exposure issues. Veterans leaders dispute the consultant's findings, and insist the firm was cherry-picked for its known opposition to veterans' exposure claims, which in this case had been expressed by the firm for years. 

Veterans and Agent Orange experts reviewing the statements and documents submitted by the consultant to the IOM on behalf of the VA complain to the Secretary that the input was unscientific and failed to meet VA's published standards for quality, utility, integrity and objectivity of information released by the Department.

This group letter follows publication in the Sunday Boston Globe of a front page feature article about a C-123 veteran, Dick Matte had a heart transplant, lost his left leg in February and is increasingly ill but his Agent Orange exposure claims were denied, just as with all of other C-123 vets. 

Other news impacting the issue was the C-123 Veterans Association release of a "Casualty List" of ten deceased veterans who flew or maintained these former Agent Orange spray transports. All died after being refused VA care...turned away by VA, the veterans had to do their best seeking medical care elsewhere. 

That's not right! In the many ways VA is wrong in preventing exposed veterans' access to VA facilities , we leave it to the department's Inspector General or the Secretary himself to address.

======================================================= 

June 27, 2014

The Honorable Sloan Gibson

Acting Secretary

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Avenue

Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Secretary,

We write to ask that you take immediate steps to reverse the action of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Office of Public Health section, in retaining a certain outside consultant firm regarding Agent Orange.

Having this particular consultant represent VA at the June 16 public meeting of the National Academies of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Exposure of C-123 crews to Agent Orange is nothing short of reprehensible. As you move forward in your efforts to reestablish the trust of veterans in VA (including the strong united support of the nation’s veterans service organizations), we caution that employing that particular consulting firm will be seen as an inappropriate, anti-veteran choice.

This consulting firm’s decades-long association with the VA and its consistency of obsolete views over the past 40 years, despite all current scientific knowledge, is not what the public expects, as VA meets its own mandate for release of information:

“VA will ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information it disseminates to the public.” (http://www.rms.oit.va.gov/information_quality.asp#Release)

We ask that you review this firm’s unique contractual involvement with the VA and make appropriate decisions.

We are alarmed that VA had already assumed a position and that the contractor directly informed the IOM of the VA’s position. He made clear he was offering his input as a scientist to insure the integrity of the scientific record. In fact, as his own support documents submitted to the committee make clear, VA contracted with his firm to produce, and then release to the IOM, his reports, some of which targeted veterans’ claims directly.

Whether from Young or from other personnel in the Office of Public Health (OPH), the use of the term “bioavailability” is now being used to deny claims. This is a term in the development of pharmaceuticals that is used to refer to how much and how fast the active ingredients reach the specific part of the body that one is trying to affect. Of course, this has to be measured in a controlled setting. Air missions almost forty years ago do not lend themselves to such measurement. So this is nothing but junk science. If this were the standard used at the Love Canal, NY, or Times Beach, MO, toxic disasters, then one would judge that all those who died were not even sick, as “bioavailability” could not be measured or proven. This is patent nonsense.

This contractor’s reports, regardless of any possible partially factual accuracy they may convey, do not meet the appropriate standards of VA nor of any other federal, science-focused agency. The contractor’s reports yielded to the VHA/VBA agenda, serving VA rather than science and veterans. These reports could never survive peer review, yet VA selected this person to pressure the IOM into preventing the veterans’ exposure claims.

For four decades, this contractor has tried to obfuscate or hide the truth about the deleterious impact of Agent Orange. In fact, he has been paid to hide the truths regarding the negative health effects of Agent Orange and other phenoxy herbicides and organic phosphates used in Vietnam and elsewhere. 

In possible violation of ethics, VA’s contractor failed to disclose his 2009 recommendation to destroy the stored, toxic C-123’s, which was acted on in 2010. He had advised the Air Force, in numerous memoranda, that unless the planes were destroyed, veterans might apply for presumptive service connection because of their exposures. He then congratulated the Air Force for carrying out the destruction in a manner “below the radar.” His opposition to C-123 veterans is anything but “below the radar.” 

The contractor made numerous apparent misrepresentations during his June 16 presentation before the IOM, the most egregious of which was his use of photos of a reconditioned C-123, taken from a civilian owner’s website showing what the plane looks like today after the owner had rebuilt it. The consultant used these photos in an attempt to illustrate the 1972 results of Tail #664 and the other C-123s, claiming them to have been thoroughly refurbished after Vietnam. Actually, the photos he “borrowed” show modern cockpit modifications. The cargo deck photo shows equipment used today by the civilian owner for attending airshows. Certainly, these were not photos of modifications performed in 1972, as his report detailed. Of particular concern is the contractor’s use of the borrowed photos to challenge other scientists’ work, and we are troubled by such apparent deceptions aimed at these veterans.

While we would always rather focus on policies than personnel, in the case of this contractor, personnel is policy. On behalf of our nation’s veterans, we have an obligation to share with you the contractor’s record of positions, quite contrary to VA’s stated position, regarding the deleterious effects of one of the most toxic chemicals ever produced. The consultant’s record regarding Agent Orange is antithetical to good science on toxic exposures. Of grave concern are both his employment and the VA’s use of his “expertise” to construct obstacles to the delivery of care to veterans suffering from the very real toxic wounds afflicting our members and their families.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this contractor and other major problems of vital interest to our members.

Sincerely,

PETER S. GAYTAN

Executive Director

The American Legion

STEWART M. HICKEY

National Executive Director

AMVETS (American Veterans)

GARRY J. AUGUSTINE

Executive Director

Washington Headquarters

DAV (Disabled American Veterans)

Homer S. Townsend, Jr.        

Executive Director

Paralyzed Veterans of America                                 

ROBERT E. WALLACE

Executive Director VFW

Washington Office

RICHARD F. WEIDMAN

Executive Director,

Policy & Government Affairs

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)

Paralyzed Veterans Push for "Common Sense" Disability Ratings

Bill Lawson

National President, Paralyzed Veterans of America

Complex Veterans Claims Require Common Sense Approach

Posted: 12/19/2013 1:08 pm

Veterans with complex medical conditions, whose lives don't fit neatly into pre-determined templates, are often needlessly denied life-critical benefits because the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies far too heavily on disability checklists and rules-based calculators.

Complex medical cases demand human reasoning and judgment to achieve true accuracy. Strict adherence to rules-based algorithms and checklists has already left too many veterans shortchanged in their benefits.

Those of us at Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) appreciate the need for speed in rating disability claims to expedite the delivery compensation and other benefits to veterans, and recognize that VA is focused on addressing the backlog in veterans' claims.

Paralyzed Veterans embraces the notion that there must be a balance between modernized processes, standardization, expertise and common sense when evaluating the needs of veterans. The needs of catastrophically injured veterans are too complex for a standard checklist. Simple yes-or-no questionnaires cannot capture all the nuances of a veteran's life and condition.

A calculator alone should not decide their fate.

VA must enable its people to be... people. VA rating specialists who determine, or rate, a veteran's level of disability and needs must be empowered to go beyond the rules-based algorithms when necessary and use common sense to make sure that America's veterans get what they were promised and have earned.

VA staff should not be required to always insist that severely or terminally ill or wounded veterans submit to additional "C&P" (Compensation and Pensions) exams when the medical record more than adequately supports the claim. For some of our most disabled and ailing veterans, waiting sometimes months to be scheduled for "just one more" test or filling out yet one more lengthy form can put unnecessary delays between them and the benefits they've earned.

For veterans with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), a painful, aggressive and debilitating neurological disease that is almost always fatal, delay of benefits can be equal to denial of benefits. When VA rules-based processes can require these veterans to complete yet another questionnaire despite strong clinical evidence -- such as being in hospice care -- when there is no time and no need to wait for a rating decision. These veterans may die before receiving any benefits -- benefits that could make their final days a bit more comfortable.

When Paralyzed Veterans' leaders recently testified on Capitol Hill, we asked VA to:

• Assign cases involving complex, severe conditions only to the most experienced raters, and empower them to make judgments and recommendations not based exclusively on rules-based calculator results

• Ensure that new raters are properly trained in the handling of severe disability claims, to increase the number of talented VA professionals who can properly handle complex cases

• Empower rating specialists to make common sense overrides, and fully implement and train them about the reasonable doubt doctrine, which requires that when the evidence for and against the claim are equally compelling, VA must resolve doubt in favor of the claimant

• Expand the "acceptable clinical evidence" option to allow VA rating specialists to gather medical information by phone instead of having veterans with severe disabilities forced to report in person for examinations.

In essence, we asked that VA staff be empowered to balance the push for more timeliness in the adjudication of claims with common sense reasoning to ensure complete accuracy, especially in the most severe and complex cases.

We are heartened to learn that some VA regional offices took note, such as in Nashville, where immediately following Paralyzed Veterans' testimony, the regional office announced that it will be implementing several important changes in the way in which it handles ALS cases:

1. Paperwork will no longer be sent offsite for scanning to process the claim (adding unnecessary time to the process).

2. VA staff will undergo intense training regarding ALS cases so they better understand the medical dynamics inherent in an ALS diagnosis.

3. VA will make a decision about the claim within three days of submission.

We applaud the initiative of the regional office in Tennessee in adopting a common sense approach to handling ALS cases and hope that all VA regional offices follow with similar policies. Let's not lose sight of those who need VA help the most. We urge VA leaders to exercise their power to make sure veterans get what they need and what they have earned.

TSA Does it Right for Wounded Warriors!

Thank goodness somebody in the government knows how to do things right, and not just to cause more taxes, or longer lines, or increase their direct-reports, or defend bloated budgets, or figure out how to get more time away from work....folks at the  Transportation Security Agency put together a special program for Wounded Warriors to help speed through airports...kinda like what OJ Simpson used to do in the Hertz ads before he had his "little" trouble with the law.

Just give them notice 24 hours ahead of departure and, if you're qualified, you're going to get the red carpet treatment at last. Curbside assistance, breezing through security with minimal delay, and onto your flight without working up a sweat.

Next time you travel, check out the kindness in action put together by the TSA! Now, if only other agencies could look around and find cheap, reasonable ways to help disabled vets!

Vietnam Veterans of America - doing their job?

Yes, they are indeed!

There has been some Internet chatter this weekend about the usefulness of the Vietnam Veterans of America - some folks feel VVA isn't doing enough for Guam, Blue Water Navy or other non-core VVA populations.

That's not my experience. Rather, VVA was the first to address our needs with their national resolution calling on DOD and VA to treat us right. VVA introduced us to effective allies in the Agent Orange community, without which much time would have been wasted. I have no complaints and each request for liaison or other support has been honored by their leadership.

My only concern is a local one here in Portland, Oregon. VVA lacks a service officer in the Portland VARO and instead utilizes dedicated volunteers elsewhere in the state. With my own claim, I felt I needed a local contact and went with another service organization (State of Oregon) only for that reason...I wish local VVA VSOs had been available as obviously the Vietnam Veterans of America has the expertise in Agent Orange issues.

Heck...some of the veterans' organizations in which I have life memberships, such as the Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, never even answered multiple letters and phone calls asking for their leadership and assistance in our C-123 veterans' struggle. I get the feeling too much focus is on fundraising. Specific requests to PVA regarding help needed in Washington DC re: handicapped issues have been ignored. PVA even lost my appeals documents for my claim before the Air Force Board of Correction of Military Records when their staffer left the organization. This happened twice, then they told me they no longer represented members at the AFBCMA! Two years wasted. Yet, years ago, it was the PVA medical director, the late Dr. Bodenbender, who documented my Gulf War injuries for my initial VA claims.

From my experience, we have had all the assistance we could have hoped for from the Vietnam Veterans of America and the American Legion. We hope for a national resolution this summer from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. To all  veterans organizations dedicated to helping veterans stand up to the VA, our thanks. God bless!

Let's stop squabbling, okay?

Wes Carter, Chair, C-123 Veterans Association

Member, Vietnam Veterans of America, American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars

C-123 Veterans DUMPED by DAV, PVA Veterans Organizations!

VFW - thanks for your Nov 6 offer to help!!

We started asking for help last April, when the founders of our Association began uncovering Air Force documents establishing the dioxin contamination of the C-123 fleet. We wrote executives of the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America (correction - offer of help received 6 Nov), and received their powerful and encouraging support in our effort to get VA recognition of exposure.

PVA - REFUSED TO HELP!

But we were totally ignored by the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Disabled American Veterans. Despite helping us, and our individual members, being part of their Congressional charter and for which they work hard raising funds from the public, these three well-known veterans' organizations ignored every phone call, every visit by us to them, every request for a meeting, every email, every letter to their headquarters staff!

I belong to each of these veterans' organizations, paying dues or having already paid for lifetime memberships as with the DAV and PVA. Why are they content to focus on fund raising but not able to take a moment to write to the VA with a statement of support?

Oregon DVA - REFUSED TO HELP!

I have life-threatening diseases which numerous scientists and my cardiologist conclude are due from Agent Orange exposure. But veterans groups aren't persuaded to help? What is your personal threshold for doing something...do you require ten PhD statements rather than the eight already put forward? What scientific evidence do you need to persuade you when I have already won the help from Portland's Veterans Affairs Regional Office which recommended my claim be approved? You weren't persuaded?

Getting VA Benefits - the battle begins!

 VA benefits is often a years-long process, beginning with submission of your paperwork, their denial, your appeal, their award of a small percentage of disability, your appeal of that finding, their increasing your disability percentage...and it goes on.

It takes patience. It takes a motivated Veterans Service Officer (VSO). These individuals are employees of the various Congressionally-chartered veterans organizations like the VFW, DAV, Jewish War Veterans, Blind Veterans of America. Paralyzed Veterans of America and others. Most states also have certified Veterans Service Officers under their State Department of Veterans Affairs, and some states also have county-level VSOs.

VSO's are your pit bulldog. Their mission is to obtain all the state and federal veterans' benefits you're eligible for. No charge to you and it doesn't matter whether you're a member of that or any other veterans organization...they all welcome the opportunity of representing you!

They'll need your DD214, as much other documentation as you may have, and will ask you to sign a power of attorney so they can obtain all your records from the military and the VA, and have the authority to represent you. They aren't attorneys, but they are trained and certified in the complex world of the Department of Veterans Affairs rules and regulations.

Anybody can prepare and submit their own claim. Those folks typically either get denied or, as happened to me, get awarded an insignificant 10% disability rating. It took the dedicated work of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the group I selected to represent me, to get my rating up to the maximum (and even scholarships for my kids!). I cannot over-stress the importance, and the value, and the reassurance, of being represented by somebody who really knows what do do. Often, the VSOs work in the same facility as the VA rating officers, see each other at lunch, walk down the hall to take a break together...and get your case resolved! Remember...this is not your AFSC but it is their career specialty...these guys are good!

Look them up in the phone book, or call the local Veterans Affairs Medical Center and ask for the Veterans Service Organization. They are all easily Googled, and each of their sites has a link to get started with a benefits claim.

But slow down a moment...we're discussing post-Vietnam Agent Orange exposure here. That will be a complex presentation, and will take documents like we've been providing here. At least get the application in, get your Agent Orange Registry exam, and the process has started. Benefits, if eventually awarded, are given from the date your original application is filed.

Final note for now...I've written the president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs for advice on our problems.