Does VA have Policy Of Retaliation Against Veterans Advocates?
September 8, 2008 by John Allen · 8 Comments
The Official VA Criminal Policy Of Extreme Retaliation Against Veterans Advocates
The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to keep a low profile, and to keep the public in the dark, about the massive corruption in that agency, and how inhuman America’s Veterans are really treated. To reach that goal the Department of Veterans Affairs has had a lengthy "Official Policy" of severe criminal retaliation against Veterans Advocates, and those that speak out against the VA, or expose corruption, or unjust policies.
This Official Criminal Policy is directed by the very highest levels of the VA, including the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the VA Office of General Counsel, who are both political appointees.
The Criminal Policy works like this; the major Veterans Groups, the VFW, American Legion, and so on, have an unwritten deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs. They will fill out papers, and process claims for Veterans, but they will turn their heads, and tightly close their eyes, when they see criminal conduct by VA Officials.
In return, for having a limit as to have far they will go in protecting a Veterans rights, those major Veterans Associations get rooms in VA buildings for their organizations, and the VA does not retaliate against their "Veteran Advocates" in those groups, who really do nothing more then fill out forms for Veterans, and refuse to be real advocates for the Veteran.
However, real Veteran Advocates who are often with grassroots Veterans Groups, with the guts to expose corruption in the VA, and an unjust system, can expect their claim files to "disappear", or for evidence favorable to their claim to either disappear, or be distorted, and falsified, and to be sent in endless circles where it can take 35 years, or longer, for the VA to process their claim.
The VA has a "Policy" of severe retaliation against Grassroots Veterans Advocates, and their dependants, and also against any VA employee that dares speak up, or expose the criminal acts by VA Officials.
Lets look at some cases…….
The Case of VetsForJustice founder Billy Ray Kidwell
Billy Kidwell has been a grassroots Veteran Advocate since he returned from Vietnam.
Despite every doctor he has ever been examined by, since his return from Vietnam, a total of 47 doctors, all agreeing that he is 100% disabled from his Vietnam Service, and despite Official United States Army Records PROVING that Kidwell is 100% Service-Connected, it took the VA 34 years to simply process Kidwell’s VA Claim. And they still stole his back-payment!
The only reason the VA processed his claim then is because the President of the United States personally ORDERED the Surgeon General of the United States to issue a report, which also found Kidwell 100% Service-Connected, and then the President ORDERED the Department of Veterans Affairs to stop their stonewalling, and corruption, and to process Kidwell’s claim.
From the date Kidwell filed his VA Claim on October 8, 1970 the VA completely destroyed his VA Claim File, at least three times, lied to three different Federal Judges claiming Kidwell never ever filed for VA Benefits [The evidence proving the VA intentionally lied to federal judges is here posted http://www.vetsforjustice.com/evidence.htm ].
The Secretary of the VA has denied Kidwell’s son, and wife, benefits by simply refusing to process their claims forms. The motive is to make an example of, and make Veterans fear speaking out against the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is illegal RETALIATION.
Original Story Posted: http://www.vetsforjustice.com/
OH! if the public only knew to what extent the retaliation goes. Having first-hand knowledge of the VA’s corruption and retaliation. It goes as far as an employee reporting to higher ups in the VA, in D.C. and the employee’s (also a veteran) mental health records/information was given to other employees. Not so rare within the VA, l’m sure
. However, the VA eventually was able to have the employee arrested and publically removed from the VA facility–escorted by many through the main entrance of the hospital. The VA’s lied and provided false information to the FBI to have the employee arrested. Charges were later dismissed but s/he had many asleepless nights and a concerned spouse and children. Oh! s/he was “Indefinitely Suspended” from employment because of the charges and the VA refuses to put the person back to work. Justice- which reminds me, it was the POLICE Section that the employee complained to that brought the retaliation.
I can see that happening. I would like to find out more about the case you speak of. My site is http://www.NoAnthraxvaccine.net I learned that IF you go to the VA, you need some way to PROVE what happens, by bringing with you some kind of recorder. I managed to catch the VA lying about me. While it was a VA employee that was yelling and using profanity, while I was trying to temper the situation, the exact opposite got reported by the VA employee.
DO NOT GO TO THE VA WITHOUT SOME WAY TO EMPIRICALLY PROVE WHAT IS HAPPENING.
Comment and Question:
I applied for service connected benefits in 1977, 1988, 1990, and 2000. I was never apprised of the disposition of the first three applications although the VA records indicate that I was. On my last application, in the year 2000, I was turned down with the closing statement being that my life long problems were the “result of wilfull misconduct.” I won on appeal in 2005, only after having the great fortune of a sympathetic , tenacious and competent attorney. This attorney was able to obtain affidavits, medical records, and statements from medical professionals which essentially won my case after nearly thirty years of trying. I am in reciept of 100% Service Connected Compensation now.
However, There were two suspicious attempts to cut or reduce my percentage based on the false claims that I had been convicted of a felony after recipet of benefits. The Regional VA Office ignored the documentation I mailed to clarify the mistaken claim of a felonly conviction. However, in both cases they proceeded to make what they called an “incarceration adjustment” and demand back funds. Again, it was only after the pro bono advocacy of the same attorney that the Regional VA Office withdrew thier attempt to cut my SC percentage. To make matters worse, while volunteering as the group leader of a Veterans Advisory Committee for Peer Support Services, one week before our group, The VICTORS, was to be formally installed and recognized, the Local Recovery Coordinator began filing false criminal charges against me and I was officially “baned” from attending the group I had formerly led. Again, only through the intervention of the same attorney I was vindicated and the VA Police clearly determined that all five of the Police Reports were unfounded. I had also been threatened “not to cause trouble for the people who could change” my SC status. I was also told by a VA Med Center Executive that the VA could “ban” me from “stepping foot on any VA Facility without a court order”, and further told that “we’ve done it before and we can do it to you too.”
QUESTIONS: How can I prevent furher retalitations? How can I file effective complaint against the Local Recovery Coordinator for making false police reports? How does my ex-wife, daughter and son be compensated for a father who lost it because of events in the service which went ignored, untreated for years and left them in the lurch?
Fighting for benefits now over 26 years of corruption. The way they do this is misstate the facts of your case for the Courts will not address facts or law applied to facts. This keeps an entanglement going. Just recently the VA not addressing my arguments, ruled on the same issue that was pending at the CAVC Docket 05-0859 and they attempted to whitewash the error by stating it was “new and material to reopen” however, the issue has never been finalized to reopen. So this action by the VA Dept. caused another Board Decision on the issue that was appealed to the CAVC and Docketed 08-0314. Here is the thriller of it all. The Facts of the case in the Board decision is misstated and completely different from the actual true facts listed in the Federal Circuit Order from the appeal in Docket 05-0859. Now and behold, the VARO granted the veteran’s mother a claim when she did not even have an open claim and only did this to deny my claim because they are not going to grant 2 people DIC. So the RO had a field examiner’s report done which was not done by the rule of procedures. I asked to have it removed from the record and appealed it to the Chairman of the Board. He wrote me a denial letter and I appealed it to teh CAVC Docket 08-0465. Then the VA tells the Court the VA has not made a decision on this. But at the same time, the Board considered this report and denied me again causing me to have the same issue at the CAVC in two different dockets. Now the CAVC upholds the decision from the Secretary stating that he had not made a ruling on removal of the field examiner’s report and asked for a dismissal at the Court which the Court dismissed not addressing my arguments again. Now at the Federal Circuit their ruling comes down affriming this decision and uses a Case for dismissal as Winsett v. Peake 08-210 which is an open case at the CAVC and where the VA asked for the Motion to Dismiss he first filed to be recalled because he had misstated the issue on the docket and he filed another which again, he filed a Motion to Dismiss but the Court did not dismiss. But now the Federal Circuit has refused to redress this ruling becuase of this erroneous ruling Winsett v. Peake 08-210.
There is no justice in this system for our veterans, widows and orphans.
Any suggestions as to how to fix it.
The VA has again filed a record on appeal in Docket 08-210 and did not follow the correct rules of procedure and filed – get this 11000+ pages which cost approxiamtely $150 to mail and it is WRONG. But the VA can waste our taxpayer’s money and continue to waste it fighting us for they have the funds appropriated to do so. They sit back and laugh at us for fighting them.
The bottom line is the VA’s motto in their believe is WE THE VA DEPT. IS ABOVE THE LAW!
Our hats should be off to this new President if he can fix this VA System
There are a few of us at a VA facility that think we have been the vitims of misappropriation of our monies. We are scared of retaliation because this is where we live. Need to know who we can talk to.
I have been fighting for my rights for 27+ years now. The VA has abused my due process rights and the Courts have let them by with doing this. I have asked for help from Senator Shelby’s Office in Alabama and his aide tells me that they will not submit a private bill on my part. A private bill is the only way I can get justice now that I have exhausted my means in this corrupt system.
The Phoenix VARO,in a letter to the undersigned,dated 16 Sep.2009 based on a claims decision dated 23 Apr ,1990,denied the undersigned’s claim unless new and relative evidence was cited. Other claims by the undersigned for service connected disability were also denied by the Phoenix Varo,St. Petersburg Varo and the San Francisco Varo during the periord 1 July,1965,to the present.a first decision in 1965 denied a claim for service connected arthritis awarded by three Dept of the Army Medical Disability Boards and the staffs of two Army military hospitals.Since San Francisco Varo’s first decision,no Varo has reversed the finding. In nov ,2002,the undersigned submitted a claim for cervical and lumbar arthritis which was denied by the Phoenix Varo on 1 May,2003. On 4 Dec,2003,The Phoenix Varo sent the undersigned,at his request copies of allhis entireVA claims File including all communications,referrals,and awards.The records received did not contain my military medical records for any period of time treated/and or hospitalized by the Noble Army Hospital,Al,and/or the US Army’sValley Forge General Hospital,Pa. A queryy to the US Army’s Retired Branch resulted in a response,dated 9 Jan,2004, advising of shipment of the undersigned’s medical records from Valley Forge in 1964 to the VA Regional Office,2030.W Taylor,Chicago,Ill. Following the the U S Army’s advice,the undersigned requested copies of his military medical records from the Chicago VARO:on Apr 3,2004,the Phoenix VARO sent the undersinged copies of his military medical records which had remained in the Chicago VARO since 1964. All Veterans Administration VAROS ,which had rendered claims decisions since 1964 on the undersigned, had done so without including and evaluating critical and applicable military records evidence which the VA is required to obtain in contradistinction to ignoring applicable evidence in the VA’s possession. My Nov2002 claim,although remanded,remains yet to be resolved while I am 85 years old and aging with the claim
I see that I am not alone. 26 yrs since my husband’s suicide. It took me 17 yrs to get his file, the one I was told was lost, burned in St. Louis, taken by him when he left active duty, etc. I used state VA and was stunned to find that the local office I’d been in had a copy of his claim’s file from when he’d applied for benefits in ‘76 as did the N.O. VARO.
In the file I found numerous requests for his service records from ‘76 and ‘77 covered with unable to locate file notices….and I’d made dozens of requests in the ensuing years as well.
I made it to the BVA and it was remanded to AMC who sat on it for two years and then denied the claim, reversing the judge’s ruling on new and material evidence and failing to obtain specific files and/or provide documentation about their attempts to obtain and a letter detailing this with the explanation that the file could not be found. The letter contradicts itself and violates some of the very law it quotes!
And, there were threatening tones implying I didn’t have legal standing to pursue this! I am contemplating posting it all on the internet and said so on the phone yesterday. Last night, internet service went down, but modem showed it was on and running and provider could not electronically detect service.
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from AMC telling me that it was important that I respond to a correction they made, but there is no indication what the correction was and the end of the letter told me I didn’t need to respond. I called the AL contact who asked me something about whether or not there were any problems with the marriage!!! My husband’s divorce papers from his first wife and a copy of our marriage license are in the file!!!!
In any event, thank you for sharing; I was wondering if I might face more retaliation. Now I know.