Anonymous VR&E ‘Insider’ Sounds Off On Recent VA Rebranding

Many veterans are sounding off on the name change for VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment including insiders providing solid feedback we all must consider.

If you want to get right to the comments from “VREInsider,” skip to the bottom; I wanted to give a megaphone to whoever that is to help veterans understand what is truly driving reforms or branding changes like this one.

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I reported two days ago on the sudden name change impacting the VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program to Veteran Readiness and Employment.

The statutes and regulations remain unchanged. The program will also maintain its nicknames “Chapter 31” and “VR&E.” Use of the term “vocational rehabilitation,” which is a profession that exists inside and outside VA, will no longer be used.

So, the program will still use Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors who provide vocational rehabilitation services including forensic services, case management, and labor market assessments. However, the name will sound more like preparation for deployment rather than the process of what the veteran is doing while using the program.

Informally, I anticipate it will still be referred to as “Voc Rehab,” which is what the program does.

LEARN MORE: Voc Rehab Survival Guide

My critique of the name change was the failure of VA to follow Notice and Comment requirements prior to making the change, as the regulations governing the program still say Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment. VR&E says the branding change is legal even though they have not passed it through the Federal Register.

The reason for the change?

VA apparently paid a contractor to conduct a “Human-Centered Design” research into naming conventions. The agency is using this research methodology when revamping many of its resources and programs including its websites.

SEE: https://www.va.gov/playbook/human-centered-design/

According to a VR&E email, “Through talks with Veterans, Servicemembers, and Veterans Service Officers, we learned that the words ‘vocational’ and ‘rehabilitation’ create stigma and confusion about our program.”

WATCH: Facebook Live On VR&E Name Change

Additionally, as I explained yesterday in our Facebook Group, I anticipate the name is a signal that VR&E will focus on other elements before granting veterans training at a university. Odds are, some within the program will focus counselors on extending reviews into transferrable skills as an additional roadblock to obstruct access to training.

A recently published report by the Government Accountability Office found VR&E encouraged its counselor to direct veterans toward various employment services prior to approving retraining into a new vocational. This new move will likely signal additional scrutiny into transferrable skills prior to approval.

What is VR&E?

Purpose Of Veteran Readiness And Employment

According to Congress, the purpose of VR&E is codified into the United States Code in 38 USC § 3100-3122, which is why it’s known as Chapter 31:

“The purposes of this chapter are to provide for all services and assistance necessary to enable veterans with service-connected disabilities to achieve maximum independence in daily living and, to the maximum extent feasible, to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable employment.”

Generally, the program provides qualified disabled veterans with retraining into a vocation using college coursework, self-employment related services, help to find a job without retraining, and assistance for severely disabled veterans who wish to be active but are too disabled to reasonably complete a program of vocational retraining.

Again, the branded name has no impact on the nature of the statutes or regulations. However, it could be a signal the agency will modify its internal procedures and policies. We are still waiting for the agency to publish its new M28C manual.

With that backdrop, here are comments from veterans about the new name, good, bad, and ugly.

Veterans Sound Off On VR&E Rebranding

Here are some comments from veterans in our Facebook Group, on my Facebook Page, and also here on the website, before I jump into what the anonymous VR&E Insider had to say:

  • It’s like slapping flame stickers on a car and claiming they make it go faster.
  • Certainly it will help. It would also help if the VA renamed itself under the same act to Veterans Adversary. To lessen the stigma and confusion when discussing issues and benefits with veterans.
  • Thanks for the write-up. You hit the nail right on the head as always. Most, if not all, Voc Rehab counselors will leave you in the dark when it comes to continuing your education “training” to attain an entry-level position that requires either a Masters or Doctorate. Unless you read the Voc Rehab handbook, which is several hundred pages long you will never know that Counselors are supposed to include your final goal, or degree, on your initial IWRP. I only speak for experience, but thankfully I was assigned to a different counselor that goes BY THE BOOK and made that correction. Sometimes I wonder if some counselors even know the regulations they’re supposed to follow.
  • Ben, why are they worried about words when they are always denying? “Vocational and Rehabilitation” words create stigma and confusion according to the VA. I do not think so.
  • This is the same as renaming ‘Mental Health Clinic’ to ‘Behavioral Medicine’. Which, has prejudicial overtones. Question, “How are disabled Veterans supposed to be ready? Ready for what? . . . to die needlessly at the hands of totally ignorant and incompetent dumbasses? Then there is the employment part which I know a hellofalot of Veterans are struggling to work with disabilities that prevent them from getting a decent job.
  • This is bullshit. VA counselors do not do their jobs. Instead they rely on staffing agencies. So what in the hell do the counselors do? I wanted a job in the legal field….Indianapolis VA counselors had NO clue as to what to do to assist. Fuck VA and ALL its BITCHES.
  • Over the last 3.5 years the VA has gotten worse. I’m a VSR/VSO and I see it on a deeper level then most veterans.
  • VA has always made its own rules! Our government could careless!
  • There’s a stigma to “vocational rehabilitation?” I didn’t know that.
  • Readiness? ready to get denied? what a joke
  • Yeah cuz changing a name does what exactly?
  • I just gave up on voc rehab its all a lie
  • Because changing a name fixes everything!
  • Same shit, different name.
  • It would be great if they could return calls when vets are in crisis instead of sitting around thinking up new names.
  • It was an attempt to shift the focus from education to employment. I think it was a good idea. VR&E is still in the modernization transition coupled with being shut down for the virus – I don’t believe you can get a true reading of their progress at this point in time.
  • They should concentrate on letting more than 100 Vets per year use the self employment track instead of a silly name change…
  • Name change was so someone in HR could get their good cookie or the VA equivalent of an achievement medal. Who honestly thinks that the name vocational rehabilitation has a negative stigma associated to it? I have no qualms about saying that I am participating in vocational rehabilitation.
  • I have to say that the counselors here in Colorado Springs have been amazing! If I have a question I just email and within days I will get a response. I’m sadden that people have such a hard time but also want to give kuddos to those who do a good job and they certainly have. My original counselor is retiring and she made sure she emailed me with the new counselor copied in the email.

Comment From Anonymous VR&E “Insider”

This feedback from a VR&E insider is useful for me and other veterans to better understand what drives changes like this. It may have more to do with a senior official getting a kudo versus a substantive change veterans need. The comments are in italics below:

Great insights, Ben. Let us know how much it costs when you find out.

You only touched lightly on one of the biggest drivers of the name change: In the last 15 or so years agency heads have been getting rewarded for figuring out creative ways to reduce benefits to Veterans. While benefits under VR&E are technically entitled by law and under the fair application of that law should never come under the constraints of budgets, senior officials have been rewarded for slashing benefits without going through any of the required legislative changes needed to change the program.

The name change is a veiled way to deny Veterans more benefits under VR&E. By using the term “readiness” the agency can use Veteran’s disabilities against them to require additional periods of medical or psychiatric care prior to participation in Chapter 31. A Veteran with PTSD or TBI, signature disabilities of the GWOT (Global War on Terror) can easily and quickly be declared “not ready” for participation in training or employment and be denied benefits. This sets up as an advantage for the agency to focus on those Veterans who are “ready” to participate, and thus are less costly to rehabilitate (oh, a term no longer used, sorry). Senior execs smile all the way to the bank with prestige, promotions and bonuses for operating the program with less money, while the most severe Veterans who are most entitled to benefits are denied participation simply because they require more services.

Additionally, I should add that the term “Vocational Rehabilitation” is a technical term that has been around a long time and applies to getting injured people back to work in private, state, worker’s compensation, and federal arenas. There are national certification bodies that insure the credentials, training, and ethics of counselors are standard across different agencies. For the VA to take Vocational Rehabilitation out of their name further signifies the shift away from helping veterans with disabilities to overcome barriers to employment, and more toward a focus on the most “ready” veterans who can reach employment outcomes (agency statistics support bonuses) more quickly. It’s all geared toward the VA looking good at the expense of the Veteran.

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31 Comments

  1. Ben, the VA must have reviewed your blog. An email showed up in my email from the lady VA under secretary. Ben I do not have to be in a group of women to speak. Trust me. I am solid and strong. With how the United States Navy falsely or intentionally interpreted me as a member of the Cryptology community was horrifically wrong. They took me out for incorrect reàsons so it seemed. I never understood why they said what they said. Let me back up to the period of time during the 1st Gulf War of when my mom’s brother was shotdown as a POW in the Marine Corp. He was one of the Marines who had made 5 trips to Vietnam and retired from the Marine Corp as a CW-5 after 33 years of active duty. After arriving back from Rota Spain back to Scotland with having been sent to a 3 week Level III Refresher Alcohol Treatment program at the Navy Hospital, I was followed by a CTI Master Chief who was a recovering alcoholic and who ran the Aftercare program on the Naval Security Group Activity Command in Edzell, Scotland.
    I was stationed in Scotland for over 3 years. Ultimately, we were under his guidance. The degree of pain that I had been in that landed me back into treatment was horrendous. Ben, the cesspool was back then as well but not as out in the open as it is today. When people are misinterpreted and harmed due to misinterpretations, this is what causes problems for everyone. The VA of today had no idea and even the Navy Managers of the Navy Alcohol and Drug program had no idea how hard it is to work to stay sober while being surrounded by a cesspool. Ben, you have no idea. In order get beyond the mental obsession and physical cravings, I substituted to replace the states. For the mental, I replaced the thinking with positivity that included transforming the thoughts themselves. When I say the thoughts, I mean the content of the thoughts. The content included medical knowledge that I was exposing myself too. I would take the trains to the University of Dundee and to Edinburgh University to hang out in the medical libraries. Plus, at the University of Dundee, they allowed me to come into their labs. This is how people overcome adversity by using resources that could be available to them wherever they are at. It is called improvising. This is how people overcome or I would say work through or start working through the building blocks to come out the other side. To replace the thoughts or to replace the drinking thought by the medical knowledge thought, the drinking thought by the medical knowledge thought and continue to replace drinking thought with medical knowledge thoughts. This process continues and continues. Recovery is practice. I practiced it like my tennis game. One builds and builds. Of course, this was one of my tools that I used to help me grow in my recovery while on active duty during the early recovery. Of course, we all went to AA meetings and AA conventions. We had little AA meetings during section changes. We met on the base in Aftercare group with the Master Chief. Now I will shift to the Navy environment that was surrounding us. The amount of alcohol consumption at that overseas command we were surrounded by was thru the roof. Oh my gosh… Hail and Farewells… Senior personnel and lower personnel…Booze and more booze…among people with security clearances. I believe my life became worse due to working a program of recovery because I and others who were also in recovery were ostracized by the Navy active duty military members who were still drinking heavily. Could not get away from it at all. This had alot to do with my taking the trains to the universities to use my time productively. The Scottish are wonderful people. We would go to AA Conventions on the Isle of Skye. I had a couple of Scottish AA sponsors. Back then the AA rooms were smoke filled and lots of coffee pots. The AA Recovery in Scotland that I experienced was beautiful. The Isle of Skye is surrounded by the ocean. On the other side of Scotland is the North Sea. At the conventions, they had the Waltz dances and speaker meetings. The culture back then did not consist of all this hate Ben. Anyway, during this time, I applied for the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program and I was recommended. I had worked very hard to turn my status around. My evaluations were good. I had applied to the MECP because the Cryptology rate was closed for women. The multiple for the CTT exam was high and women could not get promoted. Limited areas for women to serve. I actually applied twice. One on Scotland and one on Diego Garcia. I was transferred to DG after Scotland. The Cryptology command was supportive of the MECP application. Now, the NETC Diego Garcia Command was not. Yes they approved it and recommended it but I was in so many words slammed for the interest in the MECP. I was reenlisted by a USN Nurse Corp Officer. They Cryptology command in so many words retilated against me because I chose the Commander Nurse to reenlist me. So I knew I was going to have to work to ultimately be selected for such a program. So meanwhile the option to becoming an Alcohol and Drug Counselor was feasible. So I applied or submitted a package to Special programs. Working as a counselor would have been a good tour in helping others. Could have served as a stepping stone to make chief or to maybe be selected to the MECP. So yes I was approved and cut orders to NDAC at NAS Mirmar. Rotated to NAS Mirmar and started school. Entered school and it started. This is what I never understood. They used me as a guinea pig for the why???? I have no idea. I still do not know. They opened me up and left me without a support system. During this time before leaving me without support system, my thinking became not connected to my speaking. Experiencing tactile hallucinations at night in barracks room while still in school. Experienced visual hallucinations and experienced delusions. The intensity of the feelings is what led to the psychosis. And the psychosis happened due to the impact of the forced opening up by the NDAC counselors. So in the school, since I became to the point I couldn’t speak, they disenrolled me. And they made the comment of self learning. I was not there for self learning. Early on this was how I built up my sobriety. I mean early on of when I had been stationed at the Scotland command and had used replacing the drinking thoughts with the medical knowledge thoughts. Above all, after being out of the country for close to 6 years, the Navy Medical Command continued to overseas screen me to isolated duty when I had become not functional. After they did their guinea pigness, they did not bother to provide some closure to what they did. However, they blamed it on self learning which was never the case. I had the correct amount of sobriety entering the school and there was not any alcohol usage during that school that contributed to what happened at NAS Miramar. They had totally misunderstood my efforts early on with the thought replacement. Even the CTI at the Naval Security Activity knew exactly what I was doing and was part of the process. So all the bullshit that I have experienced from people who arrived in the future was entirely uncalled for and this includes members of the VA too. In this post, I included all up to the school and during the school. This CTI could be still living. Best.
    The way the culture has changed is sad.

    1. Just like with what is happening today. Tyranny obscures the truth.
      In other words, suppression of expression obscures the truth. What happened to me at NAS Miramar was unethical. They had the power to choose. The Navy at this particular command chose the unethical path. I never understood why they took the actions that they did during the school. Abuse of power. From my side of the street, what they did was uncalled for.
      This command though was of the Regular Navy. This command did not function like a Naval Security Group Activity Command. Best.

  2. I personally believe the VA is not truthful to the President in many situations. Ben, I still may stand up to the VA in regards to Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation. They may not call it Vocational Rehabilitation but I am. Free speech. In my opinion, the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment words signify hope and purpose.
    Sorry VA I disagree with you.
    I guess VA loves to present oppression.

    1. Yes, I say thanks to the insider as well. Finally, I have a chance to come back to your blog to explain or connect my bits and pieces of comments. First, I do need to say this and this is off this topic somewhat but my statement is related to the situation in this country. The United States of America was not founded on slavery. I do not care what the current educational institutions and Democrats claim. Most of the veterans who have been around for awhile know this. It is the younger generations who have not been fully educated with the truth. Our founding is based on freedoms, god given rights, and basically life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Pursuit of happiness has to do living a LIFE of worth and being worthy of the best that life can offer to each and every one of us. We have the Bill of Rights which were written to protect the a American people. We have the United States Constitution which was written to serve as the law of the land. Our country was not founded on slavery. This is why later we had the Civil War 1861 to 1865.
      The Declaration of Independence asserts that government is legitimate only when the people consent to it. The election of 1800 demonstrated the legitimacy of the American government system because the people were able to assert their will and change to the government, according to the strictures of the Constitution. With the election of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, the American people effected a change of government without firing a shot,

      Progressivism is a political philosophy that seeks to replace Founding Principles such as equality, consent of the governed, and separation of powers with the belief that all ideas are true only in the contexts in which they develop. As a result, progressives believe the universal and timeless claims of the Declaration of Independence, which serve as the foundation of American constitutionalism, are no longer true or relevant today. Does the Founders’ Constitution enable the American people by means of its system of representative government to meet the new and pressing problems of today without compromising principles?
      Problem with big government is the principles have gone out the window. Look at the crap at every turn.
      We are not a Democracy like the Democrats claim.
      We are supposed to be a representative government; but, in past administrations our representation has almost been thwarted. A Democracy is just as capable as a monarchy of becoming tyrannical. We have been seeing the minion petty dictators at every turn. With these masks and the list continues.,,
      Ultimately though the Founders designed the Constitution to enable the people as much as possible to make well reasoned laws that are beneficial to the common good.
      What has been happening is the progressives reject the constitution period.
      They want power and control and that is it. They do not care if the veterans and the African Americans and any of the every day American citizens have the opportunity to earn degrees, have jobs, have homes, or have any possessions. They hate borders and they hate laws period unless they are used to their advantage. Return to explain my comments Ben about the other previous posts.,, They do pertain,,

    2. Ben and all, the only positive to this decision is the elimination of regulatory authority. Because the VA and even the Federal government is so big and over regulated that it strangled itself and the veterans too. However, if the VA really wanted to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs they would streamline the hell out of their regulations. Right now the VA sinks many veterans with just the procedures alone. This is even after the President has supposedly did the executive orders and new policies and improved some. I guess. I honestly don’t for sure know the truth about the new legislation.
      However, in regards to the Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation program, changing the name does absolutely nothing in my opinion. Plus, Vocational Rehabilitation are not stigmatizing words either. They are just trying to attach adversity labels to words that are not consistent with the reality of the veteran population. I just do not believe the VA claims are credible. I just don’t. Plus, the Human Centered Design more than likely is software designed to predetermine whatever based on what the VA wants anyway with eliminating the veterans choice. Veterans all have brains and some are sick and some need guidance and hospitalizations at times. Ultimately, in the end I do not care how sick the veterans are, the right to choose should always be honored. This is where the VA and I differ. Democrats are about group think to eliminate individual choice and objectivity. Ben, nothing on this earth can exist without objectivity and uniformity cannot either. Uniformity among people is not a realistic. I do not care how much the Marxists want to control and dictator. Always dictating goes against human nature. People have brains and cannot be forced to think alike. Even in group think, there are differences. Sorry but true. China wants to be the world’s largest power. I do not see this ever happening because of what they stand for. Innovations, successes, and prosperities do not originate from Communism, Marxism, Socialism or whatever other ism ideology there is besides Capitalism. Ben, control and group think defeats itself. We as in the United States of America are what we call American Exceptionalism and we are the freest country in the world. And many Democrats hate this. The reason why many of the elites are elites is because of Capitalism. It is the individualism and self reliance that made this country great. It was not the dependence on government.
      It is the freedom of thought and the freedom of choice and the freedom of opportunity that generates success. Comparing today’s educational system to back in the 80s, people could actually achieve a college degree and owe nothing. This was under a full fledged capitalist economy. I personally did not have the Pell Grant. Back then there were not child tax credits and there was not maternity leave at all. Back then and on and on in the past, if people did not work they did eat. There were little resources in the way of food stamps or whatever of government assistance. Moving to the educational system, the tuition costs are too high. Why go into major debt to earn an education in order to become employed when one will be spending his or her own whole salary just to pay off the debt. Ben, yes the VA paid for your law school. The amount of money that had to be spent for you to become an attorney is insane honestly. I am not saying you are not deserving because you are and you have earned it. My point is it should not cost so damn much just to get the credentials to become employed in professional employment. The whole system needs to be improved. Colleges and universities have millions in endowments but yet they continue to increase the costs of earning higher education which should not be happening. Some of the schools have just ripped off the veterans left and right with their GI Bills and even Chapter 31. I am referring to the quality of education that it takes to arrive into some careers. Getting back to the name change, readiness entails hope and purpose. Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation is about hope and purpose. One does not reach readiness without hope and purpose. Hope is the precursor to health and well-being. With the health and well being, one can then live their purpose. The VA misses the boat on this aspect. Sometime, look at all the jobs and careers. It does not matter what job it is of today there are certifications and or licensure and or degrees and or experience that is required to apply and to be hired. Companies are looking for specific skill sets. Just having transferrable skills does not land one to be hired into a company. I do not care how low level the job is there are competencies that have to be met. Ben, even in the process of applying for an apprenticeship, the person has to have already spoken to the employer to be hired into the apprenticeship. This is if the apprenticeships are through the educational system into the employer. Ben, the VA thinks they can just go hire another contractor to save money. Probably the money being saved is arriving to the VA employee instead of training the veteran. The federal government cannot see and neither do many of them even care that the requirements of all the statuses just to be able to do something are sabotaging and defeating what they are claiming to do. I do not what the VA says about readiness one cannot just walk into a company without being required to show something identifiable. In other words, competence levels which deliver the deliverables. I have often spoke about how Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation should be improved to where it could include more veterans becoming more ready to reenter the workforce into employment of their choosing within their limitations. Put a bridge from the independent living to the Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation program. I guess Ben they are trying to not discount many veterans of their rights. After one gets injured, I do not care what the injury is it takes time to recover to regain the functional state. As for veterans with mental health disabilities and or mental health issues, these conditions can take even longer to develop the compensatory skills that are necessary to attach back into the paid employment mainstream. Ben, some may can and some veterans may not can recover to this point. One point about the VA is it defeats itself. I know Mr. Wilkie is doing a decent job most of the time so it seems. I will say this even with my situation still thrown to the wolves. Ben, I have already gotten my own self employed. I just do not have the skill set to be hired into a specific employment position. Now if the more specific companies opens their doors to hire and allows the time to earn or acquire the certification or the more in depth competencies, then this would be ideal. Ben this is even without a new updated degree. I do not care what the VA says the skill set has to be met in order to deliver to the company and to the consumers. Thus, it looks like they are yes removing barriers by eliminating regulatory authority; but,
      at the same time reducing the quality of training unless the companies are going to take responsibility. As for the Human Centered Design, I do not have an opinion honestly. But I guarantee you the human centered design surrounds the problem solving process with an ideology that restricts the veterans own problem solving freedoms. Best.

      1. Typo, I meant to say I guess they are trying to discount many veterans from being able to move forward into education to employment or certification to employment or whatever to employment if the veterans can or become able to do within limitations. I am speaking for other veterans. As for myself, I just cannot take them at all. I had rather continue myself to do what I can do.

    3. All of this stems from an Executive Order that the President signed. He signed an Executive Order for both the Federal Workforce and the Private Sector to put the priority of the skill level ahead of the college degrees. This is exactly what I have been raising hell about. The status that has been forced down people’s throats for them to be able to just do anything. This right here is what has led to many people becoming homeless, in debt, and just thrown under the bus. The educational system has become a system that is being abused and taken advantage of by tenured Professors, big banks, and government elites. This has a lot to do with why the vast amounts of student loans. Many students in debt up to their necks. Back in the day under a full fledged Capitalist system without all the government over reach, people were able to earn a college degree without acquiring all the damn debt. Back in the day, I did not have the Pell Grant or any government anything. Back then, the child tax credit did not exist. Back then, maternity leave did not exist either. Back in the day and on into our history, people did not eat if they did not work. Not that people do not ever need assistance at times and it is good if the resources are there but ultimately what has happened is the federal government has used it as a way to hold people down or to keep them stuck or to make them beholden to the federal government for life due to debt. This even applies to the VA Home Loans. The big government has loved to keep people down particularly the Democrat party. If the colleges and universities were delivering quality education and was preparing people for the workforce, it would be a different story. Plus, if the tuition was not so costly. Why pay to be lied too? When a student stands up to the instructor, the instructor still strikes back and the instructor has the upper hand to force the position of the instructor even if the student is correct.
      Let me give you an example;
      In Calculus in the world of limits as when the left side of the limit and the right side of the limit do not agree, the limit does exist. DNE. In this case the function would be defined at one of the points.
      Difference is when they are used. DNE VS Undefined. One has a line with a hole at x=0 in it which means it is not defined or undefined. Plug in a zero in the denominator makes it undefined. Function undefined at one point;
      but the limit exists in the second example.
      In my first example, the limit does not exist but the function is defined at one point. The two terms are not equivalent in Calculus problems. My point of bringing this up is I had a question on a Calculus quiz and the problem pertained to limit that did not exist and the function that did exist. The answer to the question as per the instructor was that it was labeled as undefined. Well, the problem did not meet the criteria of being undefined. The problem met the criteria of the limit not existing and the function being defined. I pointed this out and the instructor did not acknowledge the difference. She stuck to her own answer. This is what I have been running into sabotage in these Democrat run schools. Not only this but Internet provider decides to update their email suite without notification to the consumer. Well, I had a Calculus exam the next day when they did this and had to spend the whole evening trying to get up my Internet. So therefore not totally prepared for the exam. Another time college joining in on inciting unrest with another university. Sending emails to the students in which I disagreed with all of this crap because it was political and control. However government loves to sabotage. See Ben this is not even history or civics of which the one sidedness can be inserted. This was damn Calculus. It does not matter which Institution in this country, they have all been politicized. And if a person has a label stuck to them and if they are drawing money from the government, you can bet they are not being allowed to moved forward on anything. Predetermined self filling prophecies. No situation stays black and white. Zilch. However with the way the system has been developed it takes a damn lifetime to accomplish anything. And when one has been injured in the past, the more loss of life that occurs to the person. Person cannot pick up the pieces while having a bureaucracy holding them down and make headway into the private sector at the same time. Do you see this? What I am describing here is some of the reasons for all the rioting, looting, and the injustice. This is big government that takes down the veterans. This is not what the Founders meant for this country. This country was not founded on slavery. It was founded on principles. However, I agree with the President on eliminating some of the requirements in the job descriptions pertaining to all the degrees when the students are being sabotaged in the educational system anyway. Do you see this? Many people may can do the jobs without some of these useless degrees. Best.

    4. The oppression has to with thwarting the education and training benefits to where the veterans cannot access resources that are available to pursue whatever. The VA has its evaluation process that it uses and has to have the physicians’ approval before any veteran can move along. However, many times the physicians hands are tied due to the dinosaur system. The VA providers do not have a way to determine sustainability so this is what they claim. In all honesty, sustainability cannot be determined when it comes to human beings. Look back a few years ago Eli Lilly invested in and funded many people with educational assistance to help them reintegrate into society. Bachelors to PhDs. These are people who have been diagnosed with certain mental health disorders. Private sector of course. Did the VA ever do this? Hell no and hell no. In our society, people who have had any type of mental health issue many times have been just written off and stashed away in assisted living facilities and in state mental hospitals. I would say when government is involved many people are just hung. People land where they land like I landed where I landed due to the state I was in.
      Back to the VA physicians, they may say this is due to protecting their own jobs and not wanting to waste VA money. I am not so sure they are really about protecting the veterans. There are many decent VA providers; but, there are also many who just do what the VA leadership and the Congress orders.
      VA leadership just turns their heads and looks the other way that is for those who deny their consciences. In regards to sustainability, why would the VA physicians and medical folks and VR&E counselors be so concerned? Because many veterans were harmed by other means. Just remove the VOC Rehab out of it. Veterans are still being harmed intentionally. Now I believe Secretary Wilkie did a good job with the Coronavirus just in the efforts alone. Many VA employees did become sick and some died. When veterans say to VA providers about veterans being screwed, most of the time the situations are out of their realm. This goes with the service officers too so they claim. Like I have mentioned many times before, correcting any situation and or improving any situation involves the leadership at the top and many times the issues do not reach the top. Passing through all the hands the situation changes it’s tone full circle. Have a VA physician do a consult. Consult reaches the clinic and the clinic cancels the consult. See this muck around. This causes delay in treatment and delay in veteran conducting his or her business of the day that could be school or work or taking care of to do lists. I do not disagree with utilizing an evaluation process; but, however, not even an evaluation process can predict change. It cannot. This goes with saying a lady young in life and who is pregnant and who smokes. Well, person arrives later in life, and now the lady hates the smell of smoke. And she for sure hates cigarettes. So here you have it VA. VA cannot predetermine to maintain whatever. However, Mr. Wilkie may have shifted from some of this. More.

      1. Bottom line is nobody is perfect. People can only do what they can do when they care. This is includes VA Secretary, VA leadership, VA employees, the President, the Trump administration, Me, you, and everyone else. Only so much people can do no matter the amount of effort put in to the process. Best.

    5. Guess who the biggest frauds are!!! White and Black on the left. All of you Marxists pigs tell us how you eat? It is called Capitalism. As for the VA rebranding itself, I think this is honestly a pile of shit. Why don’t you do some real reform and act in the best interest of the veterans for once instead of cheating them blind? Think where all the leftists wealthy frauds live. Most certainly not in the areas where they are claiming systemic racism. Do you see Obama helping or Lebron James or anyone else really standing up to help less fortunate people. No and hell no. As matter of fact, the people who Obama claims to stand with he does not live anywhere near. Obama lives in white leftists neighborhoods. And these frauds has a lot to do with throwing many older Americans under the bus. As for the older Americans, if they did not have people in their near circle to assist them, they would be shit out of luck. I know because I have had to straighten it out and pick up the pieces to where the white and black marxists are trying to sabotage the older people just like Governor Cuomo. I do not think changing the name solves anything. I think the VA should step up to the plate and train the veterans the way they should be trained. After all, they are the ones who built your gold mines. All the fake crap from the media. Less 0.26% mortality rate for Coronavirus from the CDC data. Data is for people younger. People who have died are mostly those who were living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Democrat run states. The President had zilch to do with any of these deaths. Cuomo needs to be held accountable. Sorry, President Trump is not the problem. Identity politics in the Democratic Party. All the people who are claiming the revolution maybe they should go live and experience what disadvantaged people are experiencing? As for my dated college degree, this was not paid for by anyone else’s taxpayer dollars. Trying to update what I have and the white leftists trying to take me out all the way. Oh maybe I should go into all of it. Once you hear it, you might see the truth. And the Navy might just look like fools just like the White Marxists are looking like. Gender discrimination. Female discrimination. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has become a narcissist. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has used his position to destroy the Constitution from within. Very sad.

      1. I meant to say this 4 or 5 posts ago. The Human Centered Design in my opinion Ben is all social engineering which is what George Soros has been trying to do with funding the Democrats. In my opinion, this is not about training veterans at all in the appropriate manner. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts burnt down the rule of law in this country as in the Constitution. Ben, these people believe it is all about them. I am referring to the people who are doing their best to destroy the country as we know it. I see the situations and actions as being very sad. People who are not even connected to any of their actions and positions that they are imposing on people who are not in their elitist
        group. Truly inhumane.

      2. Such a damn lie. Monuments are not racist. Abraham Lincoln was the Republican President who is responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation. We ended slavery with the civil war. These people are full of bullshit. There is no Confederacy. All you dip sticks get out of my face. Ben, finally got my front pump seal replaced on my car and finally got my air conditioner seen about temporarily. I used the stimulus to pay for the transmission front pump seal. Now, maybe I can go to a job interview not soaked with sweat. Plus, I had to purchase a different phone so my hand would heal. I purchased from a different company. Not that any of what I have been saying is important to the voc rehab topic. Just paints a picture.

    6. Ben, rebranding!!!! Could be dumping more money into more expensive failures instead of doing what they are supposed to do. Like I have mentioned already is eliminating some of the regulative authority is the only positive that I see. Just like they keep dumping money into the K-12 school systems and they continue to fail in some states. Dumping more money into the university system that is landing the students into major debt. All centered around politicians Ben. Doing the same thing and expecting different results.

  3. First, thanks go to the VRE Insider who had enough courage to take the bullhorn and sound off. The level of revenge within the VA Staff is known to be quite high and rears its ugly head in the form of revenge.

    Second, With all of the systemic incompetence among non-professionals, why are they focusing on “re-branding” which candidly is a trivial issue compared to the problems that exist and NEED to be fixed. Let me give you an example: This past week I was notified that I had an appointment on a particular day at 0930 hrs. Unfortunately, the notification arrived via email 35 minutes AFTER the appointment was scheduled to begin. When I called to inquire about who the appointment was with and where it was to be held, the response I got was that I had made the appointment and therefore should know who it was with and where it was to be held. When Informed that I had not made the appointment and had no knowledge of it until 35 minutes after the fact, the finger-pointing began and if you got in the way of that (interrupted) you were likely to get injured by that finger-pointing effort. By the way, that was after waiting 38 minutes on hold to speak to someone. All of this after they keep repeating that their mission is to provide the best possible service to Veterans. I would hate to think about the possibilities of the worst possible service.

    Third, I may be wrong about this but would be willing to bet that the contractor they hired to “Humanize” the naming conventions has never spent a day in Military Service. I say this because those who have, know that the term Readiness applies to active and Reserve Military personnel and NOT to veterans.

    1. @Paul, reading about your experience is one example of many which prevents veterans from moving forward. Paul, you are not alone.
      Ben, when I often speak about the VA sabotage, Paul’s experience speaks to many of my own similar situations that I have had when dealing with them.
      They love dysfunction.
      Best,

  4. Heads up!
    This half hour vid explains A LOT! Please, watch the entire vid. As always, do your own research for the truth.
    Is your City/State a “sister” City/Province with the CCP? Manipulating America: The Chinese Communist Playbook | In-Depth Report | NTD NTD 35m”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-GOUilgoJ8″. I am profoundly grateful that our Federal Government is on top of this. It is high time the Universities/Cities/States Governing bodies spine up and get real. I can’t help but paraphrase Paul Harvey here, ‘Now you know, the rest of the story!’ You young’uns out there, there’s good stuff in his stories!

    As a side note. This morning GMA reported that Trump has asked SCOTUS to scrap ObamaCare.

  5. Here’s an interesting article on how 80 vets in a nursing home (in Massachusetts) were systematically put to death by someone who, quote: “…was not qualified…” to run the place!
    *”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/25/report-baffling-errors-vets-home-amid-deadly-outbreak.html”*

  6. The American Global corporations are still working with China according to Michael Pillsbury at the Hudson Institute. As you can see when the President suspended H1B Visas, Americans can see for themselves that they have been on the chopping block from American Global CEOs for some time. What I see the VA doing is trying to keep veterans down. More to come.

  7. Whatever happened to Independent Living? As I understood it- if you weren’t ready for university or technical school, you went to IL instead. Last I checked, it was still a program, but none of my clients or anyone I’ve known has been able to get approved for IL & I’ve heard every excuse under the sun even towards those rated @100. They (VA) even tried to tell me it’s a grant for handicap ramps…. what gives?

    1. Molly Marine, it is a program. I was approved for it back in 2005-2006. This was before the Obama administration a time when in my opinion the VA became a disaster. I am not sure today as I left in 2015 shortly after I was denied Chapter 31 after participating in a year long extended evaluation. Best.

  8. Facts, not designer impressions, should propel the VA forward. Rehabilitation is the core of VR&E and attempts to change the name speaks loudly of forces attempting to end that mission.

    People should be insulted because all of this bluster is nothing but tax dollars that were not invested in improving service to veterans.

  9. Have y’all noticed when asking a VA employee anything related to how vets are being screwed, their answer is always: quote: “I DIDN’T [OR DON’T] KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!”
    It’s as if they’ve had their heads buried since birth!
    Are y’all aware, Pelosi brought George Floyd’s brother to Washington and presented him with a “presentation flag” in honor of his dead brother?!

    1. Yep, Pelosi is so intellectually and emotionally dishonest.
      Ben and all, the Democrats have destroyed and are trying to continue to destroy the educational system. My point is some of these schools are waste of money. The VA is truly in left field with their views of the veteran community. Ben, remember the comments you made about certain career paths being expensive and the VA being reluctant to pay for it. There is more to this than being expensive. The Department of Veterans Affairs is not objective at all.
      If you look at it, they present with demeaning attitude towards vets.
      Ben, there are alternative perspectives and solutions to the situation which are the opposite of your own Chapter 31 experience. Remember, in your last article Ben when you brought up service officers, do you remember the DAV official giving itself a 30% pay raise which resulted in a half a million dollar salary? $500,000…This was more than a physician. Did the VA ever consider the veterans may not desire to receive services from them? They claim veterans have been reluctant to apply their program. Why do they care? I had mentioned in your other article that I might reapply. I really have had no interest. I already have a full plate. President Trump claims 91% approval rating with the VA. From what I have seen, I do not agree. Yes, Secretary Wilkie has worked to improve the VA; but, I do not see it having a 91% approval rating at this time. Best.

  10. Military.com has a couple articles on today concerning the VA. Looks like they’re wanting us to forget about how they’re screwing veterans, and possibly violating the laws, by giving us a “bone”! For example:
    Here’s the first one:
    *”https://www.military.com/benefits/veterans-health-care/2020/06/24/va-now-offering-remote-hearing-aid-adjustments.html”*

    I’ll post another one soon!

    1. Here’s #2.
      *”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/24/senate-passes-bill-give-millions-more-veterans-free-lifetime-entry-national-parks.html”*

      1. Even though this article is for “active duty personnel”, it will probably filter down to us:
        *”https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/24/pentagon-quietly-moves-make-cbd-use-criminal-offense-troops.html”*

        One has to remember, hemp is still illegal for government persons – whether they are “active”, retired or with the VA. If your tested for “pot” and turn up positive – you could lose any and all of your benefits!

      2. @Crazy Elf, the National Parks benefit has been available to veterans. I guess you are saying what they passed is making it available to many more veterans. Best.

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