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 Today I completed the required training
I must have in accordance with 38 CFR 14.629 to maintain my accreditation as a Veterans Claims Agent. I completed the Chapter Service Officer training
at the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Florida Mid Winter. The training
was great. The DAV really does provide vast amounts of valuable information and contacts at the VA.
The subjects covered are vast and pertinent to assisting veterans file claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
As far as their training is concerned it is Nulli secundus.
There were a few problems I noticed,
not with the training itself but with the members and the lack of technology. I noticed there were 2 different types of members there, those
who are willing to learn and those who think they know everything, the later is the most dangerous. The other issue was the lack of up to date technology.
I noticed there were only three people with computers in a room of approximately 160 members and there was no Wi-Fi
available in the conference room. I and another veteran used our phones as modems so we could obtain the
internet while taking notes. Most of the veterans their still took notes as if they were still in the 20th
Century. The DAV needs to move into the 21st Century if they want to bring the next generation
into the DAV ranks. If the DAV fails to do so the other organizations such as the IAVA or the CWVA will
take many of the next generation to them. One of the worst things I heard at the conference was form a DAV employee; he ran the computer for the display and
the sound system. When he interjected himself into a conversation I was having with a County Veterans
Service Officer from Saint Lucie County he failed to understand the issues of how Veterans Claims Agents get
their accreditation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and not accreditation from the DAV. He left
angry saying that he had been doing this for 30 years and I could not teach him anything, well I guess he was correct, I can
never teach people like that. Their minds are so closed they can never learn anything new from the next
generation. The worst part is he was a DAV Employee, sad, sad, sad little man (little does not mean physical
stature but as a whole). He even failed to read the hand out they, the DAV, provided to all of the
veterans who attended, it was a copy of 38 CFR 14.629, the requirements for accreditation for Organization Representatives, Agents, and Attorneys.
He walked off before I could show him how to verify accreditation through the DVA OGC website, but then again, as he said, he had been doing this for 30 years, I could not teach him anything. People like that are slowly becoming
rotten, the worst part is they taint all of those around them. The next generation does not want to be
with them and they will slowly go somewhere else. It has already happened to the DAV Chapter #28 in Polk
County and DAV Chapter #28 is no more. The older generation ran off the younger generation and then the
chapter finally closed. No one wanted to volunteer to be insulted and belittled by the older generation
so the younger generation went somewhere else and the chapter lost its members. As long as I am green I will have room to grow but as soon as I ripen all
I can do is rot. Ask yourself, are
you green or have you ripened? As
for me, I will always try to remain green so I will have room to grow. As much information I know that
I have, there will always be something to learn. Sometimes from the older generation and sometimes from
the younger generations. The
best thing I took away from the conference was an idea on distributing claims information, heck we already have a means of
distribution with hundreds of subscribers, the Polk County Veterans Council website. In the future, and I wish other service officers
from the Polk County Veterans Service Office and other veterans organizations would contribute articles, I will be posting
at least once a month something new to the Veterans Claims Issues web page. This will allow veterans an
opportunity to see if some new piece of information pertains to them, whether it is about VA Home Loans or Foreclosure Avoidance,
or Agent Orange information, or Gulf War Syndrome. It may be about presumptive diseases or how to best
get service connection. Anyhow,
this was my rant and rave of the 2012 DAV Conference both good and bad, read in to it as you may, what you get out of it is
up to you. The DAV does a great job of providing training however some of the members sure could use some
training themselves.
It’s funny how the Ledger treats veteran’s
events. On November 5, 2011 the
Polk County Veterans Council had their ceremony, Parade and festivities, which had quite a large number of participants and
spectators, what did the Ledger put in the news the next day? The 10 stupid Occupy Lakeland morons. On December 1, 2011 the Polk County Veterans
Council and Carew’s Crew participated in the 31st Annual Christmas Parade. The PCVC float
won Judges Choice, again, for the 2nd time in 2 years. Out of 53 pictures in the Ledger not one was of the PCVC float, no mention in the article of the Judges Choice, somehow that doesn’t surprise me.
It appears that the Army National Guard
wants a seat at the table of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, well all I have to say is IT's ABOUT TIME!!!!, and while you
are at it change 38 USC 101 and award the members of the National Guard and Reserve VETERANS STATUS. They earned their
stripes also. The National Guard and Reserve should not have to be activated to Federal Service to receive veterans
benefits, they protect our communities in times of natural disasters, they serve over seas when asked to. They defend
our communities during riots and they have to train just like any other soldier. A seat at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, absolutely. However, the only ones who can change the Law
is not the President, its Congress. 2011-11-10
17:53:03
This is in response to a VAntage blog,
an opinion the VA chose not to post. It was submitted a few days ago. It is just my thoughts and
opinion. http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/5198/in-defense-of-va-2/#respond The VA creates its own demise not the
veterans. The VA, even though by
law (38 USC) is not supposed to be adversarial, it truly is, particularly the VBA. Most veterans do not understand that the Department of Veterans
Affairs (DVA) is broken down into three administrations, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA), and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). When veterans file a claim for disability they are filing the claim through the VBA not through the VHA however because
many veterans use the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) and the VBA uses the health care providers from the VHA to perform
the Claims Exam, many veterans do not see the difference. To the vet is all the VA, and any veteran can
tell you how many of the claims go. They get denied, lost, take 6 months to 2 years, etc… I have a very different view of the VA than most
veterans and do not regard the VA as a whole to be very effective and needs quite a bit of work, but then again it depends
on your disability rating. Here’s a little background so you can understand where I am coming from. I am a veteran myself; I am also a caregiver
for a 100% disabled veteran. I am also a Veterans Claims Agent accredited by the DVA so I see many different
aspects of the VA. Because I do not have any service connected disabilities at this moment, my claim is
heading to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) even though my disability was annotated numerous times in my Service medical
Records, I pay for my medical services from the VA and because I am the caregiver of a 100% disabled veterans I see the quality
of care she receives. I pay for bad service, I pay for poor quality, and I pay for rude employees.
I pay for these services and so do many other veterans. Because my wife is rated 100% she receives very good care and the
quality is top notch. We are BOTH veterans none the less. This may be anecdotal, but
it is my perception is obviously the same perception that many other veterans have also. I can see how
people are treated. Whether I pay for my services or not should not affect the quality of care.
The quality should be irrelevant but just a few months ago I paid $172.00 for glasses which the VA completely messed
up. I don’t know where the poor quality came from, whether it was from the person who measured my
eyes or from the production, I can however say it was not the exam. Why do I say that? Because
I also went to a civilian examiner and they concurred with the VA examiner however the civilians produced a pair of glasses
correct the first time. That’s the difference between civilian care and the VA care, QUALITY.
Civilian care wants your money, if they mess up you never return and they lose money, the VA knows you have very little
recourse and so do many of their employees, and yes I do realize many of them are veterans also. The quality of care makes a big difference to the veteran.
As a veteran with CHAMPVA, I now very rarely us the VA, I get better care in the civilian sector. Does
it cost more? Absolutely, but not just to me but to the taxpayer. Poor quality affects
all veterans, Service Connected (SC) and Non-Service Connected (NSC). The phrase “All gave some, Some gave all” is almost irrelevant in the VA system.
I understand the reason for Priority Categories but once more the quality in category #1 should be no different than
the quality of care in Category 8, the category 8 veterans served also and where as we may need to pay, we should not be paying
for substandard care, and no matter what the statistics the VA wants to show, it is substandard, remember I get to see the
quality my wife receives and I get to see the quality I receive. So it is my perception that the VA causes its own demise, not the veterans. All
served, all deserve quality care. Unlike the new national healthcare, veterans earned theirs; no one gave
it to them.
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