VA Tightens Protections for Veterans Paperwork

October 16, 2008


Peake: Lapses “Unacceptable,” Procedures and Accountability Tightened

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake vowed swift action after a handful of documents related to veterans’ applications for financial benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) were found among documents identified for shredding. The documents, which were not duplicated in government files, could have affected veterans’ eligibility for benefits.

“I insist on the highest possible standards for processing and safeguarding information in VA’s custody,” Peake said. “It is unacceptable that documents important to a veteran’s claim for benefits should be misplaced or destroyed.”

Peake said VA’s Office of the Inspector General (IG) is investigating the misplaced documents, and anyone who violated Department policy on protecting documents will be held accountable.

The documents were discovered by employees of VA’s IG office during an audit at three of VA’s 56 regional benefits offices, which process applications for disability pay, VA pensions, educational assistance, home loans and similar financial benefits.

IG auditors found a handful of documents waiting to be shredded, which might have affected the fate of veterans’ applications. The documents were returned to the proper offices for processing.

Retired Rear Adm. Patrick W. Dunne, VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits, immediately directed all of VA’s regional offices to suspend all document shredding while IG and VA officials determine whether the problem is more widespread. Directors of the regional offices will have to certify in writing that no original copies of key documents or records from veterans’ cases under consideration are being destroyed.

VA has procedures for determining the disposition of paperwork. Original copies of discharge papers, marriage certificates and death certificates are returned to veterans or families when no longer needed. Duplicate copies of paperwork no longer needed are appropriately destroyed to protect the privacy of veterans and their families.



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PTSD: What You Need to Know

By:

Brad Johnson | November 03, 2005

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071429565/militarycom/

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wear on, hundreds of thousands of veterans are at significant risk for a particularly distressing and impairing mental health syndrome: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. First documented in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980, PTSD becomes a serious risk when a service member experiences, witnesses, or is confronted with an event involving actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others -- welcome to any day in the Global War of Terror.

What does PTSD look like? As members of the military community, each of us should be alert to the following key symptoms among the combat veterans we care for:

* Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts and perceptions (seeing a comrade's dead body or experiencing flashbacks of the sounds of explosions and screaming)
* Recurrent and distressing nightmares of the traumatic event
* Intense psychological distress when exposed to cues or reminders of any aspect of the trauma
* Extreme physical reactivity (e.g., racing pulse, sweating, intense fear) when exposed to any cues or reminders of the trauma
* Persistent avoidance of any reminder (e.g., conversations, thoughts, activities, places, and people) of the traumatic event
* A general numbing in responsiveness; the person feels detached and estranged from others and may have little range in emotion and few strong feelings
* A sense of a foreshortened future; having come close to death, the person sees it as immanent
* Hypervigilance (constantly scanning the environment for danger)
* Exaggerated startle response (especially to sudden movement or loud noises)
* Poor concentration
* Irritability/anger
* Disturbances in one's ability to sleep

Keep in mind that not all of the symptoms will be present in every case, and veterans may mask the symptoms through nondisclosure or self-medication with alcohol and other drugs. Further, some service personnel are at greater risk for developing PTSD than others. Beyond the severity of the traumatic event itself, key risk factors include poor social support after the trauma, additional life stressors, adverse childhood events, lower education, prior traumatic exposure, and gender -- women are at greater risk. One particularly malignant feature of PTSD is a sense of shame or guilt associated with beliefs that one should have or could have done more during the traumatic period. If comrades died, then survivor guilt can add powerful fuel to PTSD fire.

PTSD SOLDIER

here is a few web sights that can help:

http://suporttroops.blogspot.com/

http://PTSDHelp.synthasite.com

http://www.myspace.com/ptsdsoldierhelp

http://pounderthis.synthasite.com

http://iamasoldier.synthasite.com

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/post_traumatic_stress_disorder_symptoms_treatment.htm

hope this helps some and feel free to comment on any help you can give.

Help for soldiers having PTSD

Hi i am SFC Linam a soldier that just returned from Iraq I was not able to sleep for more than 4 or 5 hours. I couldn’t keep from remembering past events. The doctor said that I was just stressed out and told me to wait for about 3 weeks and if I still had these symptoms to return. So I did just that (luckily) I was still on leave. During this time I started not being able to remember short term things and some long term things. Sometimes I would be in the middle of a sentence I would forget the subject I was on. My attitude started to change I was angry about everything. My wife and children started walking on egg shells afraid I would blow up. I stayed away from everyone to include my children. I was startled by loud noises or fast moving people. I had overwhelming guilt feelings for things done in Afghanistan and Iraq. I was depressed all the time and felt I could do nothing right. I went to my doctor and she put me on anti-depressants. Two weeks later I decided to go to the VA and get signed up. I did just that and had my 1st appointment 5 days later. To my surprise things ran very efficient. 0900hrs psychologist and 1100hrs primary care doctor. After the 0900 appointment I felt scared that something could be wrong with me mentally. The 1100 appointment didn’t go well either. They found disk problems in my back and said I could have TBI. Yes, x-ray, x-ray, x-ray, and a MRI. I felt helpless and scared that I couldn’t support my family anymore. This helpless feeling mad me mad with myself and anyone in the way. A week later I went back to my psychologist and was told I had PTSD and mild TBI. I went to the federal VA rep and filed for disability. The next week I was sent to 3 outside doctors and evaluated. The doctors all said that I had PTDD Mild TBI and back degenerative disk problems. 3 weeks later I received a letter from the VA and it stated that my disabilities needed more investigation and they would let me know when it was finished. So, here I am can’t work and no job and no disability. I started to find other people that would help me to get on my feet again. Sometimes I feel week for being this way. I use to be the guy that said suck it up and finish the mission. Guess that bit me on the ass.