BRAVO for the article. We can say the same for Obama rather than Shinseki announcing Dr. Robert (Randy) Petzel as new Under Secretary of Health for the VA. He has 35 years with the VA and no good background other than the good old boy network who has done the same thing for 35 years. It’s more of the same and tragic.

Petzel for Top Doc at VA By Bob Brewin 10/13/09 [One Month Ago]

By default, it sure looks like Dr. Robert (Randy) Petzel, director of the Veterans Affairs Department’s Midwest Health Care Network, has all but landed the job as VA’s new undersecretary for health.

The department had eyed three candidates for the job, Petzel; St. Louis hospital executive William Schoenhard; and Dr. John R. Feussner, chairman of the Medicine Department at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

As I reported on Oct. 2, VA tapped Schoenhard to serve as deputy undersecretary for health for operations and management, and on Oct. 9, Dr. John R. Feussner the only candidate outside the VA good old boy network sent VA Secretary Eric Shinseki a letter saying he was no longer interested in the top doc job.

In that letter, Feussner asked he not be considered for the job because during the past few years Veterans Health Administration management functions — such as information technology facilities planning and management and human resources — have become centralized in the secretary’s office.

Feussner told Shinseki he had concerns about this "apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsibility" at VHA and "there seems to be little reason for remaining active in the USH [under secretary of health] selection process."

That left VA insider Petzel the last man standing. 

VT Editor’s comment/question: Readers what are your thoughts, (1) would bringing in a renowned physcian from outside the VA’s good ole boy network benefit the Department and moreso the Veterans that it serves? (2) Would decentralizing Veterans Health Administration functions such as information technology facilities, planning, and management, and human resources outside of the VA Secretaries office not only cut down on manning needs but provide autonomy to each VA region to control their own IT, planning, and human resources commitments? 

Maybe Dr. Feussner was onto something when he expressed concern about "apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsibility" at VHA. Put another way Dr. Feussner’s (who apparently has no ties or loyalties to VA’s ole boy network) saw the apparent uncoupling of the authority and responsiblity of VHA having but one result – VHA gave up any and all aspects of ACCOUNTABILITY. Centralizing these functions at Washington, DC level places all accountablity of failure or success at VHA decentralized levels in the hands of VA officials in DC, who have consistently been in the DEFENSIVE mode for what two decades?

Solution: If Secretary Shinseki no shit understook where Dr. Feussner was coming from and was in a position to ensure Dr. Feussner DC Central Office backing and authority to run VHA anyway Dr. Feussner saw fit, General Shinseki could have worked harded to convince Dr. Feussner to take the job if at all possible. This is not to point fingers at Shinseki or anyone else but just to say that administration officials like Eric Shinseki need to work harder to get qualified people into upper management postions at the VA, especially those most reluctant to take the job.

Ironically, it is usually those most reluctant to take on the systemic problems at the VA who are most likely the most QUALIFIED to do so.

ROBERT L. HANAFIN
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired

Your comment above is the most reasonable yet still as you know what you say remains tied to politics.

That there are indythinkers coming into the VA could be undenable but this is based moreso on change of political regime than any systemic reform. I believe you realize that all the hard work done by Shinseki or anyone else to reform the VA and bring it into the 21 century kicking and screaming could be unraveled quickly by yet another change in political regime that places Veterans on even a lower list of things to do.

"Trying to clean out the political hacks embedded from the previous extremely incompetent administration and slaker congresses is still going to be a huge task."

Point well made here too and historically accurate. When Max Cleland was selected to be the youngest VA Administrator in the VAs short history, despite good and passionate intentions Cleland was not able to accomplish all expected of him by Vietnam Veteran activists back in the day due to the entrenchment of American Legion and VFW chronies then controlling the stagnation or the VA in favor of an older generation over our younger one.

That said, I’ve been receiving and reviewing feedback on the Post 9/11 GI Bill and I’m finding equity issues that favor younger Veterans over older Veterans because not only is it wartime per se, but also because Uncle Sam requires more cannon fodder for the war(s).

One comes to mind is in the realm of education. I’ve been reminded that there is a lack of equity between the older Veterans Rehabilitation and Training Act and the younger Post 9/11 GI Bill than again favors younger Vets, but in the long run harms all Veterans regardless of age unless coverage and compensation for both programs is balanced. More on that later as I do more research on it with Veterans advocates pushing for equity regardless of a Veterans age or war(s) we served in.

Point: is that I realize how hard it is to change the COST SAVINGS over VET SAVING attitude at the VA, but what concerns me is that fixing this goes far beyond cleaning house or a purge of VA employees at all levels with the COST SAVINGS attitude.

Example: Congressman Steve Buyer of Indiana, the God Father of Cost Savings at the VA and Lord of Veterans as Charity Cases is still on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and is returned to office in Indiana by Veterans who ironically feel this way until they need the VA due to job loss or income loss.

Reforms need to built into the systemic changes at the VA so that should Buyer once again become the Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee he and like thinkers tied to the pharmicutical and medical HMO industries desiring to see the VA outsourced into extinction cannot quickly or easily replace VETERAN SAVING once again with the Lord of Cost Savings in order to pay for future war(s).

Caution: If (no when) Obana is brow beat into sending more troops to Afghanistan (and he will be despite good intentions), his administration still needs to pay for that escalation. Where is the money going to come from once our debt to China runs out or they ask for payment of debt? It is going to come from the same place it has been off the backs of America’s Veterans.

Sorry but change in Regime from Republican to Democrat is change in degrees only, and most sadly that change is only temporary and based on political ideology and how the political pendulum swings.

That said, if Obama should be doomed to a one term Jimmy Carter Presidency then it is up to the collective we Veterans Activists to ensure he and his VA Secretary make as many Veteran Savings reforms before the COST CUTTERS return to power.

Bobby Hanafin
The Mustang Major

But it is a good idea to put out a few reminders and sending them to the right eyes. I’m not seeing what once was the regular DC game, for all agencies, happening now in the VA. I’ve been literally amazed at what’s been going on in the VA these last months, Especially in correcting what should have been already taken care of as the previous congresses and administration, under the same label but not ideology of, had ignored while beating the drums of war and occupation and rubber stamping the funding for. I’m not only seeing the actions and quickly trying to push the agency into the 21st century, where it already should have been technology wise, not playing the same game of catch up, which if it had already been correctly funded all these years would be running smoother and cheaper, I’m seeing, as your username suggests “indythinkers”, from Shinseki and those he’s bringing into his administration.

It seems for now at least the Politics and Political Networking have been replaced at least at the VA, lets hope it continues and becomes the norm, and then spreads to the other agencies. But trying to clean out the political hacks embedded from the previous extremely incompetent administration and slaker congresses is still going to be a huge task, they should get the message, stop throwing political crap into the works and start doing the jobs, Shape Up Or Ship Out!!

The hearing, called by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the chairman, focused on both medical treatment and compensation issues.

"The number of troops suffering from PTSD continues to mount. The numbers are staggering," said Akaka, citing a recent RAND study that nearly one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are exhibiting symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Akaka raised concerns about an email sent by a lower-level VA manager "who appears to have linked the increase in veterans seeking compensation for PTSD with a desire to assign a lesser diagnosis of adjustment disorder, an action that alarmed many veterans and others," he said. "One question that was raised repeatedly about this email was, ‘Why would a clinician be so concerned about the compensation rolls?’" He also expressed alarm about another email by a VA official "that appeared to deliberately conceal data on suicides…. As an oversight body, we must know whether the actions of these VA employees point to a systemic indifference to invisible wounds." Akaka added, "We must ensure that veterans receive compensation for diseases or conditions related to their military service. Indeed, compensation is the gateway to many critical VA benefits, such as health care and vocational rehabilitation."

Dunne told the Senate panel that, "The number of veterans submitting claims for PTSD has grown dramatically," from 120,000 in 1999 to 329,000 today. Most are veterans from the Vietnam era, but their ranks include 59,000 from the Gulf War era and 37,460 from the current wars.

"When evidence for combat status is not readily apparent or where the claimed stressor is not directly related to combat, VBA is obligated to search for evidence to corroborate the combat status or the non-combat stressor before the claim can go forward," said Dunne. This can include additional military records and "buddy statements" of individuals who served with the veteran. "In addition, VBA personnel have access to thousands of declassified military unit reports and histories from all periods of war on the Compensation and Pension Service Intranet website," Dunne testified. "These reports and histories document unit combat actions and can serve to corroborate a stressor when the veteran’s records show assignment to a particular unit at the time covered in the report or history.

When VBA personnel cannot find sufficient credible evidence to support a claimed stressor, the case information is forwarded to the Army’s Joint Services Records Research Center for further research. The veteran is "given the benefit of doubt" in all cases where there is an approximate balance of evidence for and against occurrence" of the stress that may have caused the problem, he said.

These difficult benefit judgments will go on for years, facing not just President-elect Obama, Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Eric Shinseki and whoever is chosen as the next under secretary for benefits, but also their successors in future administrations. Obama, announcing the appointment of Shinseki (a retired four-star Army general and a wounded Vietnam veteran) in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, said, "When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have served — higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance-abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate — it breaks my heart, and I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home."

The next under secretary for benefits must be a forceful advocate for veterans new and old. Managing a simplified, transparent claims process and supporting policies to enhance veterans’ benefits are critical tasks at a time when more men and women are returning from combat zones.

Key Relationships – Within the Department or Agency:

Deputy Secretary
Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration

Key Relationships – Within the Government:

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administrator,Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS

Key Relationships – Outside the Government:

Veterans Service Organizations
State Veterans Affairs Offices

Nomination Referred to:

Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs

Current Position Profile:

1. Patrick W. Dunne, M.S. (Confirmed 2008) Retired Navy rear admiral. Served as assistant secretary for policy and planning from 2006 to 2008. Former president of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Commanded USS Baltimore and USS Frank Cable.

Recent Position Profiles:

2.Daniel L. Cooper, M.A. (2002 – 2008). Retired Navy vice admiral. Longest serving under secretary for benefits. Thirty-three year naval career. Former submarine fleet commander, top budget officer for Navy and assistant chief of Naval Operations for undersea warfare. Former vice president and general manager of nuclear services at Gilbert Commonwealth Inc.

3. Joseph Thompson, M.PA. (1997 – 2002). Career VA civil servant. Director of New York regional office, where he began his career as a claims examiner. Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.

National Academy of Public Administration
900 7th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 347-3190 | Fax: (202) 393-0993

VSO Apologist Cover for Rear Adm. Patrick Dunne Who Opposed the Post 9/11 GI Bill

Since taking over the Veterans Benefits Association in October 2008, retired Rear Adm. Dunne has had his hands full with the generous new post-9/11 GI Bill. Although he may not stick around the current administration too much longer, his work on the education package has received strong reviews from vets. "People are fairly pleased that he’s staying in place as undersecretary of benefits," said Doug Vollmer, the associate executive director for government relations at the Paralyzed Veterans of America. "Every two weeks or so, [Dunne] has had either a teleconference or a face-to-face meeting with the [veterans service organizations] about the status of the implementation." Dunne, 59, was previously assistant secretary of policy and planning at Veterans Affairs and president of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Born in Washington and raised in Troy, N.Y., Dunne graduated from the Naval Academy and has a master’s in mathematics from the Naval Postgraduate School.