An open
letter to the Honorable Eric K. Shinseki from Master Sergeant Robert Bowman
Dear Honorable Shinseki,
Good afternoon. My name is Master Sergeant Robert Thomas
Bowman, I am a Veteran of 24+ years of service in the Army, and I retire in
less than a month (1 October 2013). I
have been involved in the VA claims process since 14 February 2013, and today
(3 September 2013) I am writing you to describe to you how this process has
gone for me and how I perceive the VA at this point. I will preface all my commentary by saying
that despite the problems I have had, I am still one of the lucky ones. I am not physically disfigured from my
service, am capable of working, and during my time in the Army I was fairly
responsible with my finances and am not currently in any duress due to the VA
disability compensation program and how slow things are moving. I could not imagine what it must be like for
a young Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine who has served multiple combat tours
in service of their country, cannot work because of their disabilities, has a
family, and is waiting on this process to be completed to be able to pay their
bills. It is criminal that our Veterans are
having to deal with this nonsense, and I hold you personally responsible for
everything they (and I) are being put through by YOUR organization.
I have been in a leadership
position in the Army since 1993. One of
the first things you learn as a leader is that you are personally responsible
for what your Soldiers do or fail to do.
If one of your Soldiers does not show up for duty the leader is
called. If a Soldier is being given
non-judicial punishment, the leader is right there with them. A leader accepts responsibility when their
organization fails, fixes the problem, or is replaced. Leaders in the military are relieved every
day for the failures of their troops. You
have been in charge of the VA since 21 January 2009. That is coming up on four years. You have had four years to fix this mess and
it has not happened. All of my dealings
with the VA have been nothing short of horrible. Nothing has happened in a timely manner. The operators that handle customer service
are surly and rude. The claims handlers
are uninformed, overworked, and impossible to contact. I have been told a different story on how my
case would progress EVERY SINGLE TIME I have talked to anyone from your
organization. Every single time. I could understand once or twice, but every
time? How is that possible? What kind of organization are you
running? My packet has been turned in
for over seven months and I cannot even get an answer on if my packet still
exists!! Unfathomable.
The last straw for me was
today. I turned my packet in to the VA
under the “quick start” program. As far
as I understood and was told, the intent of the program was to get my
appointments with the VA doctors to adjudicate my claims prior to my actual
retirement date in order to receive benefits as soon after I retire as
possible. Today I was told that program
no longer exists, I could not do any of the newer programs (such as the fully
developed claims program), and nothing would be done on my case until 30-60 (at
a minimum) days AFTER my retirement. I
was not notified that I was no longer in the “quick start” program. I was not given any option to enroll in a
quicker process to receive my benefits.
I would have never even known this was happening if I hadn’t of called
the customer service representative to inquire about an inquiry I placed about
my claim on the 6th of August.
In summary, here are the issues
that I have not been able to receive any sort of response from the VA:
1.
Does my packet still exist? I have received nothing from the VA since 18
March 2013, almost six months. I was
told I would be done by this time, not waiting to start.
2.
Why can I not get a straight, honest, and
correct answer about ANYTHING? From day
1 the VA personnel that I have spoken to have been totally wrong on everything.
3.
What happened to the quick start program and why
am I no longer in it? I was when I put
my packet in. I received no notice that
I would no longer be in the program, so what happened.
4.
If indeed the quick start program is gone like
the customer service representative told me (despite the fact it is still
listed on the VA website), why am I not eligible for another program?
5.
Lastly, who is responsible for this mess, and
why have they not been held accountable?
I realized when I started this
process that it would test my patience, but I had no idea it would be this bad
of an experience. I did decide from the
beginning of this process to keep meticulous notes to document my journey. I am going to give you a synapsis of my
experience to help you fully understand what an average service member has to
go through to get to the ultimate goal in this process: a completed compensation
case. I’m sure you believe you know what
this process entails, but I assure you that you do not. Here is my journey, from its start to my
current status.
First week of February 2013: Called
the Ft. Jackson VA representative to set up appointment to start my claims
process. It took several days of trying
to contact Mr. Ferguson on the phone (803)751-6071, as his email address was
unobtainable. The day I was finally able
to contact Mr. Ferguson, it took me 6 tries to get an answer. My appointment was set up for 14 February
2013.
14 February 2013: My initial
appointment with Mr. Ferguson. I had to
come in person despite the fact that my duty station was almost 2 hours from
Ft. Jackson. Once I arrived at Mr. Ferguson’s
office, the appointment took 10 minutes, and everything could have been done
telephonically, which would have saved me almost 4 hours of driving. After receiving the list of documentation the
VA needed from me (which included everything from birth certificates to
marriage licenses to social security cards to bank direct deposit info) I asked
Mr. Ferguson why the VA could not just access my DEERS to get all the
information he needed, and he stated that the VA computer system is incapable
of talking to the DOD computer system to get that info. So despite the fact that I already have had
to document my family to receive ANY of the benefits I was currently receiving
from the Army, I had to do it all over again for the VA. Also, my direct deposit information that the
DOD has had for over 20 years was not good enough. I had to do it again. And an addendum to that, of course when the
data was entered into the VA system, and I checked my EBenefits account, it was
wrong. I had to go in and fix it myself.
28 February 2013: When I arrived for my next appointment, Mr.
Ferguson was not there. Mr. Christopher
Briggman was there in his stead. I
turned in ALL the documentation requested and all my medical documentation
(copies of course), and received a handwritten
receipt for what was basically everything that encompassed my whole life. Handwritten.
Mr. Briggman took all my documentation and told me to expect to start
receiving Dr. appointments to verify my claims by July. He gave the following phone # (803)776-4000
to call to check if I hadn’t started getting my appointments by July. Mr. Briggman also told me to expect to see my
updated status on EBenefits in 2-3 weeks.
14 Mach 2013: With my concern
mounting over my lack of any contact from the VA, I called Mr. Ferguson to
inquire as to what I should do next. I
called four times over the course of the day, leaving one message and never
getting an answer or response.
15 March 2013: I called the phone #
Mr. Briggman gave me to inquire about my pending appointments. I got no answer from any of the patient
representatives. The representatives (all
6) didn’t answer or return calls when a message was left. The names and #’s are as follows:
(803)776-4000, ext. 6879 for Michelle Hays; ext. 7570 for Margaret Lockett
(actually she answered and promptly hung up, then did not answer when I tried
again); ext. 6879 for Kathryn Dixon; ext. 7679 for Nat Gentry; ext. 7696 for
Mia Gentry; and ext. 7696 for Evetta Gregg.
I encourage anyone who has a free day to try to call any of these #’s
and get an answer or a response, because I did not.
18 March 2013: Today I received a letter (my only one to
date) from the VA to tell me that they are still processing my application for
compensation. The name at the bottom of
the letter is K. Pfanzelter, and the contact # on the sheet was
(800)-827-1000. Little did I know that
phone # is not an actual contact #, but it is the catch all # for all problems
VA related.
27 March 2013: 28 days after I turn
my paperwork in, and 9 days after I get the letter from the VA, EBenefits shows
I have a claim in. Paper notice before
electronic? What? I also called the # Mr. Briggman gave me to
check on my appointments again (803)776-4000.
I do not get through on the first try.
Second try the operator, an extremely unpleasant woman, put me on hold
for 6 minutes. She told me I am not
enrolled in the hospital there, and transfers me to someone else. After 20 minutes, the line switches to a
voice mail inbox, and the inbox is full and not taking any new messages. Then it hangs up on me. After 30+ minutes I have to start over
again. I call back and this time get a
new operator who has no clue what to do with me, so she transfers me to the
voice mail of Brian Terrell (ext. 7471).
I leave a message.
28 March 2013: Mr. Terrell calls me back. It turns out this is the wrong number to
call. Mr. Briggman gave me the # to the
actual VA hospital in Columbia, who will have nothing to do with me until my
claim is done and I actually need treatment.
Terrell also told me not to expect any appointments until late
summer. Terrell was a jerk on the phone
as well.
5 April 2013: I call the catch all
VA # (800)827-1000 to try to find any possible information about my pending
appointments. I go through the automated
process, pushing option 1, then 0, then 4, which gets you to the compensation
line. It hangs up on me. The automated operator says all lines are busy
call back another time, then hangs up.
Then it does it again. Then I get
through to an automated system that tells me I have the wrong number, gives me
the number I just called, then hangs up on me.
I try again. After 20+ minutes on
hold, I get a customer service rep. She
was pleasant, but told me no way I will see any appointments until July.
6 August 2013: I wait all summer for anything from the VA
about my appointments for evaluation.
Nothing comes and no calls or emails about appointments. I call the 1-800 number several times and just
get the automated hang up message.
Finally I get through and the options are hold 30 minutes or leave a
call back message. I leave a call back
message and surprisingly after about 40 minutes Dwayne calls me back. There is nothing new in the system in reference
to my appointments for evaluation. I ask
why I haven’t received any notification as of yet and Dwayne cannot see why
that would be the case. I ask if there
is any way to even verify if my packet actually exists in the VA system. After all the horror stories about lost
packets I am very concerned about my documentation that I had so painstakingly had
compiled, and was worried it had been lost. As a capper to it all, my case is being
handled by the infamous Winston-Salem office.
Yes, that’s the one that had the structural integrity of the building
compromised by the sheer mass of packets they had on hand. Below is a picture of said office. I think I see my packet in their somewhere!
Dwayne was very helpful
though. He understood my concern and
suggested I try an inquiry to the Winston-Salem office to see where my
paperwork was, and if indeed it did exist.
So I said “Sure, I would love to do that! How do I go about getting one done?” Now here is the kicker. Dwayne says he can initiate one and I should
get a call in 10 working days, and then gives me a tracking number
(130806-001664). So all of those other
times I had called, not one operator suggested doing an inquiry into the
whereabouts of my packet. Not one. They don’t tell you about this in the
briefings.
3 September 2013: No call from the Winston-Salem office yet, so
I subject myself to the 1-800 line and the merciless automated hang-up
operator. She (It, I guess) hangs up on
me three times before I get the chance to hold 30 minutes or wait for a call
back. I leave a message for a call
back. Now you have to understand the
problem with the call back system. After
all the pain you go through just to get in the cue for the call back, the
stupidest thing you could do is go about your business normally and wait for
the call. That would be tempting
fate. If you miss the call you have to
go through the whole process again. So
that means if you do get through and on the list for a call back, you don’t
move (you may accidentally encounter a cell dead zone and miss the call), you
don’t take any other calls, and you don’t surf the internet in fear of candy
crush possibly making you miss a call.
You sit quietly and wait. Once
again, the call came in at about the 30 minute mark of the wait. I did not get the name of the operator, but
he was not as nice as Dwayne, and his news wasn’t as uplifting either. Turns out my inquiry got cancelled. That is why there was never any call from
Winston-Salem. It got cancelled because
the “Quick Start” program got cancelled sometime while I was waiting for the
call back. The quick start program is
(was) a program to get a service member done with all of their appointments
prior to the date they are actually out.
Well at some point in the process over the summer, the customer service
rep told me the program had been cancelled.
Now my case will not even be looked at until after I am actually retired
(1 October 2013). He said not to expect
anything until a minimum of 30-60 days after I am officially retired. There are other new programs in place that
are intended to speed up the process, like the “Fully Developed Claim”
program. Well the customer service rep
said I am not eligible for any other program because my claim was already
turned in. So I went from initially
expecting a call 3 weeks or so after I turned my packet in, to sometime in July,
to late summer, to who knows when. Not
only that, but the rep could not even tell me if the Winston- Salem office
actually had my packet. He said there is
no system in place to get that information, and I have to wait 30-60 days after
my official retirement date before the time to worry about the packet comes.
So here we are today (3 September
2013) and I am out of patience. The VA
cleverly hides any real way to contact anyone who can possibly help me with my
claim. The VA website also says that
BDD, or quick start program (contrary to what I was told), is still a method of
submitting a claim.
Why did the customer service rep
say something totally different? I do
not understand and cannot seem to get a straight answer from anyone. I also cannot get a response from anyone at
the VA who can actually help me or tell me what is actually going on with my
claim.
Honorable Shinseki you are the
leader of the Veterans Administration.
You are responsible and beholden to ALL of the Veterans out there whose
trust you have violated. If the VA was a
unit you would have been relieved years ago.
The Veterans did not decide to send us to war. We just fought it. You were the Chief of Staff of the United
States Army when these latest wars were started. We put our trust in you as our Chief of Staff
that you would know the best way to take care of us, both during the wars and
after them, and that did not happen. As
Chief of Staff of the Army you should have insured there would be systems in
place to take care of our Veterans when they returned from fighting our
countries wars. You did not do
that. The VA has been overwhelmed from
the beginning. There is a lot of
attention given to what is being done now (belatedly) to fix this Gordian knot
that is the backlogged VA claims, but virtually no questions have been asked as
to why the system was not prepared for this when we went to war. Who is responsible for the Soldiers not being
adequately taken care of? The Chiefs of
Staff sent us to fight, but they did not make sure the government organizations
that are supposed to support us after the wars were over were adequately
prepared for what was coming. That was
your job as the Army Chief of Staff, and you did not do it. Then you were placed in charge of the very
organization you did not prepare for the tremendous task they would have of
taking care of the millions of returning Veterans. Nearly four years later and the problem is
still mind bogglingly huge. I keep
reading how the backlog has shrunk over the last few months and the expectation
is that belated progress somehow makes up for the mismanagement of the previous
three plus years. You are ultimately
responsible for this mess, starting when you were still on active duty, and
continuing now with the most grossly mismanaged government organization our
country has. The IRS handles many, many
millions more people in a year than the VA does. Perhaps you should look into
how they manage to handle over a hundred million returns a year in such a
timely manner. I usually get my return
back in two weeks. I wish I could say
the same for my compensation claim.
While I am no hero, and certainly no Audie
Murphy, I am a solid, dependable senior non-commissioned officer, the kind of
guy who has helped keep the Army functional during all these years of conflict.
All Soldiers deserve better than this.
Your organization has let down a generation of our country’s finest, and as the leader of that
organization, you have done the same.
There are only two honorable options for you in my mind, and you have
had nearly four years to fix this problem, and have not done so, so that option
is out. That leaves you resigning from
your position as Secretary of Veteran Affairs, and then apologizing to all the
great Americans out there that have been affected by your inability to fix this
God awful mess we are now in.
So to sum it all up, today I found
out that not only am I no further along in my VA process than I was 200 days
ago, I am actually BEHIND where I thought I was the day I turned my claim
in. So congratulations to you Mr. Eric
K. Shinseki, because while you have had no luck in helping the hundreds of
thousands of service men and women who are waiting for a resolution to their
claim, you have apparently been successful in inventing some sort of evil time
machine whose sole purpose seems to be to completely crush the souls of all the
Veterans out there who were expecting an expedient resolution to their VA
claim. Bravo! My number is on file if
you need to contact me.
P.S. I hated the beret.
Respectfully,
MSG Robert T. Bowman
USA, Infantry
