June 18, 2013 by Janice Arnold-Jones • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Department of Veteran Affairs, Eric Shinseki, Janice Arnold-Jones, VA Backlog • 1 Comment
The claims backlog is a national disgrace, and we should demand better from the VA. The changes must start at the top. President Obama can start by relieving Secretary Shinseki from duty and installing a new leader who will bring real reform and results to the dysfunctional VA bureaucracy.
June 7, 2013 by Tim Tyler • Blog Posts, Op-Eds, Press & Media • Tags: Backlog, Center for Investigative Reporting, Eric Shinseki, Post 9/11 Vets, VA Secretary, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, veterans • 7 Comments
It’s a situation that demands accountability and correction—not later, but immediately. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has been slow to act to reform the VA, and that is costing our veterans dearly.
May 24, 2013 by Jane Horton • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Adm. Mike Mullen, Blue Star, Fallen Heroes, Gold Star, Gold Star Wife, Memorial Day, military • 1 Comment
Two years ago this month, one of our nation’s greatest military leaders, Adm. Mike Mullen, spoke in a memorable commencement address at West Point of how in traveling the nation, he’s always impressed with the support the American people show the military. Then he added a key observation: But I fear…
May 22, 2013 by Darin Selnick • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Center for Investigative Reporting, Secretary Shinseki, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Backlog, veterans • 1 Comment
Let me be clear: Digitalizing the claims process is indeed a worthwhile goal, and the VA’s delays in reaching that goal so far are unacceptable. But electronic records are only one piece of the puzzle — the process needs to be completely rethought and re-engineered, instead of simply migrated online.
May 20, 2013 by Kirk Harris • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Claims backlog, Eric Shinseki, President Obama, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Backlog • 2 Comments
When Gen. Omar Bradley, a hero of World War II, headed the Veterans Administration after the war, he set forth a simple standard to remind the agency’s employees who they were serving: “We are dealing with veterans, not procedures; with their problems, not ours.” Bradley’s lesson has been forgotten in today’s U.S. Department of Veterans.
May 17, 2013 by John Byrnes • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Dept of Veterans Affairs, Post 9/11 Vets, Secretary Shinseki, VA, VA Backlog, veterans, Wounded Warriors • 1 Comment
While serving in Iraq a few years ago, I saw firsthand the toll that war can have on a man’s psyche. A friend – I’ll call him “Rich” – began showing symptoms of severe post-traumatic stress disorder after close exposure to rocket and mortar blasts in combat. While on active duty…
May 15, 2013 by Pete Hegseth • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: congress, DoD, MEADS, Pentagon, Political news, Senator Ayotte, Senator Shuster • 1 Comment
If you’ve taken a taxicab in Boston, New York, or another metropolitan area in the past few years, you probably didn’t think twice when, after you paid, the driver handed you a computerized receipt displaying the exact amount you paid. In the real world, this type of exact accounting – and accountability – is standard stuff. But, if you’ve taken a taxi in Washington, DC …
May 7, 2013 by Pete Hegseth • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: Cold War, Department of National Defense, Hagel, Harry Truman, North Korea, Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, World War II • 2 Comments
In December 1945, with World War II at last ended, President Harry Truman focused on the future of the nation’s security. In a message to Congress, Truman proposed a new idea: a unified “Department of National Defense” to more effectively confront the challenges and threats of a post-war world. He emphasized…
April 30, 2013 by Martin Sepulveda • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: President Barack Obama, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Backlog, VA Health Care System, VA Secretary Shinseki, Veteran Affairs • 8 Comments
When the Phoenix branch of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs abruptly withdrew its sponsorship of the city’s Veterans Day Parade this month, many in and out of the veterans community took this action as a slap in the face. To those of us who served in the military, the VA’s abrupt withdrawal of support was an obvious show of disrespect. I’m not sure why we should be surprised…
April 23, 2013 by Pete Hegseth • Blog Posts, Op-Eds • Tags: defense hawk, deficit hawk, Department of Defense, DoD, Pentagon, Post 9/11 Vets • 5 Comments
In March of this year, the inspector general at the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a report detailing $419 million in “improper” Pentagon travel payments over the last fiscal year. Surely you remember that revealing exposé of Pentagon misfeasance. No?
