Veteran blows himself up during live broadcast in protest of the VA

SSG (Join to see) - replace Veteran with illegal and Democrats would be tripping over themselves to cry in front of a camera. Instead it is Veterans and the Establishment has written them off.

As a vet and former VA employee, there are two sides to every story. To solely blame the VA is easy, but I can tell you more often than not there is more to this story than we know. The treatment he got was what? Denied something he thought he deserved? Didn't bring in the stuff he needed to have Comp & pen give him a rating? Not have the medication he wants versus what the VA keeps in the schedule? He was in his Late 50's so most likely if he went in before the cutoff date in 1981, he would have some form of benefits if he was honorably discharged, which begs the question was he honorably discharged? Did he earn to much? Another common reason for people being denied is the income requirement. These are things Congress set up, not the VA.

Also is he one of those individuals who thinks everyone knows what the law should be. I dealt with a blue water Navy guy who swore up and down he was exposed to Agent Orange. Now mind you, I am not an admissions person, nor was I. I helped out from time to time when our rural health team was overloaded with applicants. I don't doubt he was exposed to Agent Orange, he was on a Navy ship that got with in a mile of the coast and carried munitions, The rule at that time said you had to step on dry land. He admitted he never stepped foot on dry land. So I suggested he find out where they dropped agent Orange at when he was near the coast (easy enough to do online), get some meteorological reports and you can build a realistic case. Now did he do that, no he didn't. A month later he came in with the same story, crying the blues and had done nothing to improve his case. Guess what C&P did with his file, if you guessed bounced it, you would be correct.

I led the guy to the fountain of info, but if you choose not to use it, well then your on your own. I saw a lot of people that way, or as LTG Russell Honore said "Don't get stuck on Stupid." A lot of vets, not all, get stuck on stupid.

A lot of vets need their discharge upgrade to Honorable, I can tell you the process, but as I was an Emergency Manager, I can't do it for you. You need to go through the process, and you, not the VA, not the Service you came from, have to drive that bus, no one else can.