I’ve already gotten feedback from my column today on the Department of Veterans Affairs (“Instead of a check, VA sends widow a profanity-laced screed”). Turns out that Larry Scott at VA Watchdog.org has been reporting on serious problems at the same Montgomery, Alabama regional office since May, after a whistleblower there reported:
“The mail keeps backing up so bad .. there is right this moment a stack of 3000 writeouts (2009) stacking up in Triage. They have been sitting in a unused desk for months. We have 500 pieces of returned mail and a box (6000 pieces) of returned mail-COLA. It has been collecting for months in a box under a table.
“Why do we keep making the same mistakes – because the supervisors / management do not pride themselves on their work / responsibilities or the VA organization. Now, if you ask them to put a table of food together, well then, smiles and dedicated caterers emerge. Character!”
Here’s the link: www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfjul09/nf071509-4.htm
Scott’s website broke the story about VA employees who were caught deliberately shredding veterans’ claims in Detroit. The Montgomery regional office is, he says, “not the worst RO, just one of the worst.”
