Gi @ MindSay

Today, history was made.

Just this morning, President Bush signed the new GI Bill into law. Since we are only a few days away from celebrating the 4th of July, this milestone is a fitting way to honor our veterans who have bravely served this nation.

IAVA has led the fight for the new GI Bill from the beginning, and your dedication over the past year and a half ensured that our lawmakers kept it a top priority. Over 20,000 of you called your representatives in Congress, spread the word in your communities and signed the petition at www.GIBill2008.org. Thanks to your hard work, we finally achieved our goal.

Generations of veterans to come will benefit from this bill. Your support in this fight has been overwhelming- very few bills in recent history have received such an outpouring of public support. Together, we can be extremely proud of this victory.

In a few days, we'll let you know more about this remarkable bill and how IAVA plans to help veterans take full advantage of these new benefits.

Thank you for standing with IAVA throughout this fight.

Sincerely,

TRAVELING DOWN OUR NATIONS HIGHWAYS AS MY HUBBY AND I DO MOST EVERYDAY ,I NOTICE ON A LOT OF OUR CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES THAT TRAVEL THE ROADS, THAT MANY DISPLAY A YELLOW OR PATRIOTIC RIBBON ON THE SIDES OF THEIR VEHICLES THAT SAY 'WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS' AND I WONDER JUST HOW ARE THE SUPPORTING THEM? BY DISPLAYING THE BUPPER STICKER? IS THAT TRULY CONSIDERED SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS, OUR VETERANS OUR HEROES? SURELY YOU JEST. I SAY SUPPORT THEM BY DEMANDING THAT YOUR REPRESENTIVES DO THE RIGHT THING, SUPPORT THE NEW G.I. BILL, A BILL THAT  THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE  JOHN MC CAIN ,WILL NOT DO !!! WHILE HE IS  WILLING TO GO TO IRAG AND USE THEM AND IMAGES OF OUR TROOPS TO TRY TO GET HIM ELECTED, HE USES THEM AS  A POLITICAL PLOY ALL THE WHILE, THERE IS A BILL IN CONGRESS  ON THE RIGHT AND HUMANE TREATMENT OF OUR VETERANS HE WILL NOT SUPPORT. SO COME ON AMERICANS AND DO THE RIGHT THING, DONATE TO VETERAN CAUSES, CALL AND DEMAND YOUR CONGRESSWO/MAN TO SUPPORT THE NEW G.I. BILL AND ANYTHING THAT KEEPS OUR TROOPS ALIVE, LIKE GETTING OUT OF IRAQ FOR ONE THING!

updated: January 30, 2008
 
Summary

More than 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.1 30,000 troops are counted among those wounded in action.2 But hundreds of thousands of others have suffered injuries not recorded in the official tally, including the many veterans with serious mental health problems. These veterans are overwhelming the military and veterans’ health care and disability systems.

As a result, hundreds of thousands of wounded troops and veterans are being forced to wait months and even years for medical appointments and disability compensation. Some veterans with serious mental health problems have committed suicide while waiting for counseling, and others have fallen into debt awaiting compensation from the military or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

A major cause of the delays is the maze of paperwork that troops and veterans must navigate to get care or benefits. The military and the VA have separate health care systems and separate disability benefits systems, each with an exceptionally complicated and confusing bureaucracy.

The medical care offered through the Department of Defense (DOD) is some of the most advanced in the world. But some wounded troops are suffering delays in treatment because the military does not use a consistent digital medical records system. Moreover, troops too wounded to continue their service must chaperone complicated paperwork through an arduous and confusing process of medical evaluation. Some veterans’ advocates believe the Army is taking advantage of troops’ confusion to lower disability ratings and save money. According to the Dole-Shalala Commission tasked with addressing the problems faced by troops at Walter Reed, less than 40% of wounded troops say they are satisfied with the disability evaluation system.

For those who have left military service, the Veterans Affairs system can provide health care and benefits. Unfortunately, the transition from the DOD to the VA is far from seamless. Crucial DOD paperwork, including medical records and military service records, regularly gets lost in the shuffle from DOD to VA. Moreover, the transition from top-echelon military hospitals to a local VA facility can mean a reduced standard of care.

Changes to VA eligibility rules have restricted access to VA health care and contributed to the 1.8 million veterans who lack health insurance. But even for those veterans with access to the VA system, delays and bureaucratic hurdles are commonplace. High demand has created a huge backlog for mental health treatment, making care “virtually inaccessible” at some clinics, according to at least one high-ranking VA official.

The VA disability benefits system is also massively backlogged. There are about 400,000 pending disability claims, including 83,000 that have been waiting six months or more. The average wait-time for a disability claim is 183 days, or about six months. For claims that are appealed, the wait-time skyrockets to 657 days, or almost two years. Despite the backlog, the VA’s claims processing staff has not substantially increased. In the meantime, veterans too wounded to work are often unable to support themselves or their families.

The public outrage over bureaucratic neglect and shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center shined a light on the many problems facing wounded troops and veterans. A wide array of recommendations has been made, but whether these solutions will be effectively implemented remains to be seen.

I have now applied 2xs. Once as Depednant Education Assistance as my husband is prior service. At the time of THAT application he was still active duty and the college office on base said I could use his GI bill for college. They were wrong.

I applied again but misunderstood that I had to apply under the Active Duty bit of the VONAPP, so I mistakenly filed under VEAP. Yeah. Wrong there too.

I am now refiling and hope to God I did it right this time. May VE have mercy on my application.

So that's the short version and if you are tired of hearing from me, please give me my money.

 Hey Ya'll!

   This is my first time using mindsay, and it seems quite exciting. I wanna give a shout out to my group of friends, especially Sara, Kayla and Savanna. You guys are awesome and I don't know what I'd do without u. We are like the party girls, and I love that! Can't wait to hang out 2morrow nite! Luve YA!