Posted on Oct 9, 2014
1SG Chris Brown
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The VA has fired four executives over the recent scandals. Is this what needs to be done? Is it enough? Do you think that anything will truly change as a result of the investigations and findings of wrongdoing?

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20141009/NEWS05/310090042/Scrutiny-over-latest-VA-firings-likely-just-start
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Responses: 4
CW5 Desk Officer
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Edited 10 y ago
My take is that it likely is NOT enough. There's a mindset, an environment of dishonesty, that probably was - and may very well still be - rampant in the VA. Changing out a few senior leaders is a good start, but I think it takes more than that.

The folks who were winning awards (or bonuses, whatever it was) for lying about appointments need to be punished, and the whole department needs to be reminded that they're employed to serve Veterans. I think it takes a paradigm shift. Replacing the top dog and some other seniors is a good start, but it's just a start.
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SGT Tad Lawson
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NO!
The Spokane VA is withholding funds from their veterans outreach program and funneling it to who knows where.
I coordinate the 2nd largest standdown in the nation, for north central Washington. Our grant request was filed and accepted in March 2014 ($6000). Last years numbers from our Veterans Standdown was more than 2500 helped.
This year, at the 11th hour, our approved grant was cut down to $2500, to hold a $3 million event. Our numbers this year were only 1347 needy veterans helped. Nearly half as many veterans in need helped.
Were did the rest of the grant money go? We do not know! Only that Spokane VA Finance Office has taken it upon themselves to embezzle the veterans outreach grant funds for other uses.
In short, the VA needs a complete overhaul and Audit.

My thoughts: Cutting the funds, makes for smaller events, which has smaller numbers of veterans helped, then claim that they have ended homelessness in the veteran community, because the numbers are getting smaller.

Simply put they are padding the numbers, to justify the good work they are (NOT) doing. However, all they are accomplishing is signing a death sentence to our brother and sister veterans, that need help, by denying them that help.

The VA is sick--it has cancer--the cancer needs to be cut out ASAP, before it can/has infected/corrupted the entire body.
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PO2 Hospital Corpsman
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NO! I have been a V.A. patient since the mid 1990's, and see the V.A. getting much worse! The left hand does NOT know what the right hand is doing!!!! I have also been in military, and civ. medicine for over 20 years, and I feel the V.A. are NOT treatment vets, and their families right! There needs to be more firings, and somehow revamp of the V.A. health ( and I used the term lightly! ) care system yesterday!!!
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