VA’s Operation Stolen Valor
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs claims they’re getting serious about chasing down criminals who impersonate heroes in order to get VA benefits, according to ABC News. I find that real hard to believe.
Someone in one state did a survey of the number of people receiving benefits for being former POWs. The Department of Defense counted 16 in that particular state and the state was paying benefits to over 600 to the tune of $36,000/year/veteran.
I’ve volunteered to do the leg work for the VA, Mary at POW Network has also volunteered, but they’re not interested in busting phonies so badly that they’ll actually look for them. So who do they think they’re fooling?
Busting phony POWs is the easiest thing that the VA can do to erase phonies from their rolls by comparing DoD’s list of POWs to the the VA’s list. How hard is that? But the VA won’t release the list of who they’re paying for being POWs.
I know there are people from the DVA reading this right now – if you’re serious, prove it.
Category: Phony soldiers, Veterans' Affairs Department
I’m telling you, the VA is one huge bloated bureaucracy at its worst, a many headed beast with each acting of its own accord and with seeming unconcern for following ethical standards.
Not only stolen valor, but I’m also sensing an increasing number of veterans claiming PTSD for ‘easy money’ when in fact the most stressful thing they experienced was ice cream missing at the chow hall in FOB whatever.
There was an article in the LA Times not too long ago where an aviation mechanic who did tours in Iraq blamed PTSD when he killed a pedestrian with his car. In fact, it has become almost a cliche to see veterans who get profiled in the local newspaper, whose deployment consisted of office work on a FOB or support duties in Iraq/Afghanistan/Kuwait, claiming PTSD. That is one big sham and a convenient ‘crutch.’
I have a colleague who’s an investigator at the VA. I asked him about this and they don’t do anything to investigate phony veterans’ claims.
He said they are more like the DEA. (In fact, they view their job as a stepping stone to transferring over to the DEA.) They investigate VA patients selling thier oxycodone prescriptions on the streets.
Jonn, you and Mary have done more to expose phony vets than the VA investigators have ever done.
Every person involved with handing benefits to any phony POW should be fired! As John stated it is the easiet thing in the world to target a fake POW. It is not rocket science.
Know more than a few in the R.I. Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association who have service related disabilities with the VAMC for PTSD that never went outside the wire. Some including the pleasingly plump commander brags that Uncle Sam pays him not to work. Even got one in this CVMA who wears a Sea Bee Combat warfare specialist badge that he never earned. He also collects a disability for PTSD after working almost 30 years in the post office. The most action this fraud ever seen is running from a dog while delivering mail.
PTSD has become a joke. If you stub your toe, or are home sick and depressed, or witness one traumatic incident, it’s PTSD. We Vietnam Vets fought three wars, one against Charlie, one against the VA, and one against the protesters at home. We didn’t get any parades, or take our tablets and Androids with us. WE bathed in rash cans, ate C Rats, and still we are here as patriotic as we ever were.
But there are those who want to get on the “gravy train” who did little or nothing to deserve it. We make sure those returning home are cared for so they don’t have to go through what we did. PTSD is a Vietnam related condition that has to do with war related stresses and not just some isolated incident that happened to be traumatic. The doctors and those who fake it ought to be ashamed of themselves because they are both profiting from others misery. They are the worst. And I know a lot of them. I have a Tee shirt that says “we were the best America had.’ And we still are. God bless all my brothers!
I agree with most of what has been said here. As a rider I have seen both CVMA and PGR guys wearing unearned decorations. Not many, but enough to see they don’t take much action to prevent it. As to the DVAOIG, I worked with the local office helping to prosecute a fraud applying for PTSD benefits with a phony DD 214. He was convicted too. the problem with the DVAOIG here in the Northwest is that they only have 3 or 4 agents to cover the 4 state area.