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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Far more POW claimants than actual POWs |
| 2009-04-13 |
| Can this really be that hard to figure out? Remember, the same people who run the VA are going to run Bambi Health Care. Prisoners of war suffer in ways most veterans don't, enduring humiliating forced marches, torture or other trauma that may haunt them long afterward. In partial recompense, the government extends them special benefits, from free parking and tax breaks to priority in medical treatment. Trouble is, some of the much-admired recipients of these benefits apparently don't deserve them. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #2 While I agree that the vast majority are scum impostors, there is a heck of a lot of administrative error as well. Remember the huge military records warehouse fire in St. Louis in 1973? It wiped out all Army records prior to 1960, and all Air Force records prior to 1964. We actually have far more Civil War military records than we do for World War I and II. Add to that soldiers and airmen who were captured by the North Vietnamese, but who were quickly rescued or escaped. And ironically, there are even a handful who were POWs twice. That is, escaped and recaptured. One of the "bravos" of the war was that many of our personnel actually had POW training, based on the Korean War experience, and so were terribly difficult to control. In captivity they continually schemed for escape and communication with the outside. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-04-13 18:17 |
| #1 This is easy to fix. Just transfer the VA back under the DOD. That's where it belongs, as a separate but equal member with the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. The same group could manage the Retired Reserve roster (since they'd know who had requested disability, and whether or not that disability was approved), and deal with other problems. It would put all VA claimants under the UCMJ, instead of only retired claimants. That alone would help reduce the numbers of frauds. I'm considered 70% disabled by the VA. Most of my injuries were sustained (or worsened) by just doing my job. I've known several veterans who have exaggerated their injuries (or plain invented them) to get a higher rating. They usually end up being tripped up by their own actions. Most of the disabled vets I hang around with were people like me that just occasionally did more than we were physically able to do. It's easy to spot the ones who were truly injured in combat. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-04-13 17:36 |