Separating the bad actors from the good when navigating the VA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Juwon Nichols is a former lecturer at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College. He was previously a program manager for the U.S. Department of Defense and a member of the Air Force National Guard.

I’m an Air Force veteran who spent years trying to process Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims. I also bring firsthand professional experience, having served as a Department of Defense liaison to the VA.

And yet, last week, I got the same answer to my claim that so many of my brothers in arms dread: denied. The life-changing and even life-saving benefits that veterans were promised have once again been locked down behind a maze of bureaucracy.

If even a former insider like me gets a smack upside the head for years on end, it’s no surprise so many veterans feel hopeless and turn to outside groups for help. When veterans are desperate after years — or decades — of mental health, professional and physical challenges, they become vulnerable to people who promise help but instead leave them worse off.

Here’s what my professional and personal experiences have taught me about red flags to look for with some of the not-so-great options available for veterans.

The scammers: Big promises, big payouts (for them)

The scammers usually guarantee big things and fast results. You might see YouTube videos that promise  “all the answers and 100% disability rating guaranteed” (if you just click the link and provide your credit card information) or fees that seem suspiciously reasonable for the payout a veteran knows is owed.

Once the veteran sends money, it will turn out the video has information anyone could dig up for free. Even worse are the scammers who take the first payment and ditch — leaving the veteran in a worse financial spot and waiting for help that never comes.

The scammers’ target is the vet with debilitating medical conditions, who surveys the bafflingly complicated VA claims system, panics, and clicks on the first link promising relief. It’s a short journey from there to an empty bank account, with nothing to show for it.

Accredited actors, minimal results

Legislators want to scare the bad guys out of the market. That’s good, but it won’t get our vets’ claims processed any faster, or more effectively, on its own. What alternatives do they have?

This is where the well-intentioned come in — namely, VA-accredited Veterans Service Organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans. And they are “accredited,” but that does not always translate to “helpful.”

Most of the work these organizations do is handled by overloaded non-expert volunteers and staff. Delays and provider shortages are so common that they’re expected. I paid for a DAV annual membership, but the backlog in the Los Angeles metropolitan area was so severe that after multiple calls and emails, I was repeatedly told to check back in two to three months.

But hey, at least they got it handled in the end, right? If you believe that, I direct you back to the intro of this piece …

Meanwhile, the VFW teamed up with a merchandising company to produce a T-shirt for its “Honor the Contract” campaign. It depicted veterans facing a firing squad made up of “bureaucrats” and “media.” The image ignited a political firestorm on social media and angered some of the representatives our VSOs rely on for support just as an important bill that expands opportunities for veterans to receive benefits across all branches and many types of mental and physical injuries was being considered.

The VFW opposes that bill while DAV and American Legion support it. Once again, the VSOs can’t even get themselves straight on what is good for veterans.

Simply put: Veterans aren’t coming first

At the end of the day, none of these bad actors and accredited-but-less-than-helpful actors would matter if the VA took better care of veterans. I have witnessed service members being treated terribly while every policy and regulation was followed to the letter. Quite legal, don’t cha know. One decorated combat veteran, injured by gunfire and blast exposure across multiple tours, was denied a specialized surgery. This was a story I saw across all branches — infantry soldiers with traumatic brain injuries, medics with spinal injuries, and pilots with severe post-traumatic stress disorder all forced to jump bureaucratic hurdles to get care they’d rightfully earned.

I raised my right hand 25 years ago, right before 9/11. Like most veterans, I had great hope in our system and that it would take care of me if injured during service. Today? No wonder veterans are seeking assistance outside the traditional VSO system. And based on my DAV experience and the VFW’s actions in Congress? There are more red flags than ever, and that’s not good for anyone.