Another Reason Not to Reenlist



Vets face more bad news…

It’s not bad enough that most Vets get dropped through the safety net long before they’re ready, or that their needs tend to be ignored, or that they are rated way below the minimum level necessary to assure enough of a monthly payment needed to keep life and limb together or that there are several million Vets whose cases are still somewhere in limbo and on and on….

But to add insult to injury,

we’ve just learned that the VA, our only support group after we are discharged from the service—and one that desparately needs remediation itself-- has recently discovered that all of their offices are missing equipment as if this great revelation was made by some omniscient all seeing prophet. But it wasn’t. It was the GAO….

In fact, it is estimated that up to 25% of all equipment—i.e. computers, tape drives, copiers, etc—have been discovered missing.

Now, to my way of thinking, okay, it could happen in a single office. Yes, that’s possible but to have it happen throughout the country fuels many questions that have not been answered. Is security that lax? How do you rate people that steal from the VA? And other thoughts too dark to mention….

Sure, it could all be another mistake added atop all of the other mistakes that the VA makes…but it does seem illogical were it not for the fact that the VA has so many other problems…

Over the past year or two, the VA allowed computers to leave secure facilities that had vital records. In addition, it had also been reported that more than 25 million Veterans records had disappeared. Later, it was said that the files were returned.

Does that mean that they weren’t downloaded and that we all won’t start getting invoices and solicitations from group’s we don’t even know; or is it possible that some aliens will start to assume our identities. In this age of computer theft and loss of privacy, can anything be guaranteed…. Or is it necessary for us all to sleep with one eye open and one hand on the Glock….

One instance seems to be bad enough, but when 25 million Vets records disappear, it’s time to lock the doors and the man who directed this entire fiasco needs to be reprimanded instead of simply resigning and disappearing from the scene.

This is simply one more slap at Veterans who have given their all to support America around the world asking nothing in return besides being taken care of in the event that they are injured either physically or mentally….

To think that these Veterans now have to worry about their records floating all around in the electronic ether is perhaps more than one can tolerate.

We are disappointed that the government has not issued guarantees and assurances to Vets that they will be taken care of no matter what happens and that they will be insured against records theft no matter what happens in addition to a promise that the government is going to step up security so that this could never happen again!

Les Aaron