Choosing a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Doing Something Better this time. (Vanity)

Well, Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson has bailed out for the dreaded 'Private Sector'. Did he jump, or was he pushed?

I'd like to believe that he was forced to resign by the groundswell of criticism and complaint by veteran service organizations and veterans themselves. Instead, I suspect that he is deserting a sinking ship due to his consistently inept decisions and policies. His performance as Secretary has been so egregiously flawed that 'on his watch' the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) has become an even 'deadlier and more difficult adversary to the American Veteran than any they have ever faced on a battlefield'. (quote from vnvets.blogspot.com)

Who was Jim Nicholson, and how did he become Secretary of DVA? According to his bio page at Whitehouse.gov, he graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, and served eight years on active duty as a Ranger-qualified Paratrooper, and then 22 years in the Army Reserve. While serving in Vietnam, he earned a Bronze Star Medal, a Combat Infantryman Badge, the Meritorious Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry and two Air Medals(?). While in the Reserve he became a real estate lawyer, and then a land developer. In 1986, he was elected committeeman from Colorado to the Republican National Committee (RNC), in 1993 was elected vice-chairman, and Chairman in 1997 where he served through the 2000 elections. In 2001, he served as US Ambassador to the Holy See, and in 2005, he relieved Secretary Principi at the DVA.

In mitigation of his disastrous performance at the DVA, it is obvious from the above that while not completely incompetent—he did graduate from West Point—Secretary Nicholson simply did not have the executive talent or experience required to run multi-billion dollar department of the government. He was unprepared, inarticulate, and inept in the performance of his responsibilities. While I'm willing to concede his personal good-will, his go-along-to-get-along political experience and skills he previously used were inadequate to manage and control the empire-building Deputy- and Under-secretaries who really run the bureaucratic shark-tank the DVA has evolved into over the decades since WWII.

I should first point out that in my recent experience, the rank-and-file, public contact employees of the DVA have been without exception decent and honorable men and women. Whatever the constraints of the policies of the DVA, they truly feel a 'duty to assist' the veterans they are there to help.

From the beginning the VA, and later the DVA, has been a special case, differing from other governmental Departments. After WW-II, it was almost exclusively staffed by military veterans or patriotic citizens, whose only thought was to provide the wounded and disabled men and women who had served their country in war and peace the benefits they had earned from a grateful nation. Sadly, over the following decades, a certain, well, call it 'pragmatism' began to show up, particularly at the Ratings and Appeals Board level, and at the Deputy- or Under-Secretary, or General Council echelon of Veterans Affairs.

Granted, the DVA, and the Veterans Administration before it, did not become adversarial to veteran's interests solely during Secretary Nicholson's tenure. Because it is directly under the executive branch of government, the head of the DVA has always been what used to be referred to as a 'patronage' job. The position of Secretary is awarded by each succeeding presidential administration to someone who has made themselves especially useful or indebted to that political party or President. Thus, Secretaries are usually selected primarily to manage their departments quietly, and not make waves or embarrass the administration. (They are also expected to catch the flack when something goes wrong) Unfortunately, this administration or its staff have been notably ineffectual at this. (i.e., Ron Brown, Johnny Sutton, Harriet Miers etc., and now to include Jim Nicholson)

In the end, however, Secretaries of the various departments are always 'temporary help', there to serve until replaced by that or a succeeding administration. Consequently, the individuals who actually manage the Department are career bureaucrats, people who have worked their way up 'through the ranks' until they reach the Deputy- or Under-secretary level positions. Usually, these people are college graduates; or perhaps a double-dipping military type, (then almost invariably an officer) or perhaps a lateral transfer from the Department of Transportation, Justice, Education, or the Pentagon, who just happened to be qualified for an open position in Veterans Affairs. Either way, these individuals are careerists who tend spend years building coteries or fiefdoms within the Department, and they are in control of the day-to-day operations of some division. Their driving ambition is to get to the top and retire comfortably with a government pension, and they will do pretty much whatever it takes to accomplish this goal.

The unfortunate consequence of that goal is that, particularly since the end of the cold war and the fall of communism, the best way to get ahead is the ability to hatch various schemes designed to reduce the budget requirements of the DVA. Which, of course, makes the Secretary look good to the administration, and yields promotions or bonuses for the troops. This results in a constant flow of ill-advised efforts intended to either cut benefits, or reduce the number of persons who get them; and these people have generated a number of ingenious approaches to accomplish this.

A Case in Point: The DVA's treatment of "Blue Water" Navy Vietnam Veterans...

A perfect example of this process is the origin of the "Boots on the Ground" rule, which the DVA has used to eliminate an entire 'class' of Vietnam veterans access to benefits granted by the 1991 Agent Orange Act. (i.e., Blue Water Navy veterans)

The story goes that during the second Clinton administration in 1997, a lawyer named Mary Lou Keener, who at that time was the top lawyer, or General Council to the Department of Veterans Affairs, (GC-DVA) was married to the then Acting-Secretary of the DVA, Hershel Gober. The speculation is that in an effort to make her husband look good and possibly be appointed Secretary, the former Ms. Keener was looking around for ways of saving money in the DVA's budget. After a rather tortured scrutiny of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, Ms. Keener came up with VAOPGCPREC 27-97, which had to do with the DVA being able to deny "Blue Water" Navy veterans Agent Orange service-connected benefits. (Guys who were unable to prove they 'set foot' on the soil of Vietnam, even if their ship tied up to someplace like Cam Rahn Bay Naval Base)

Sadly, this didn't work, and Mr. Gober had to withdraw his nomination for Secretary due to some unrelated shenanigans, and he remained a Deputy-Secretary under Togo West. When Secretary West departed in July of 2000, Clinton again tapped Gober to be Acting-Secretary for the last few months of his administration. When George Bush installed Anthony Principi, Mr. Gober apparently left government service for the dreaded 'private sector'. Ms. Keener left the DVA for the Defense Department, and is currently comfortably ensconced as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Force Management and Personnel, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., no less. Seems like a nice job; however, there is some indication she is in currently assigned to Hanoi, from Googling her name.

Unfortunately, VAOPGCPREC 27-97 was not forgotten. In the first couple of years of the Bush administration, some bright light of the DVA under Secretary Principi used it as the legal basis for the infamous Manual 21-1 'Boots on the Ground' rule. To quote the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) lawyers:

"In February, 2002, in a very irregular manner (that is, without public notice or regulatory comment or input), the VA changed its guidelines such that, in order for a Vietnam veteran to be presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange, that Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine veteran who served aboard ships must demonstrate that they actually set foot in Vietnam. This became known as the 'boots on the ground' requirement."

Almost immediately Commander Jonathan Haas, USNR (retired) was denied immediate and automatic compensation under the rules of "presumption of exposure" to Agent Orange, due only to the fact the Cdr. Haas served in the "Blue Water" Navy. He fought the denial all the way to the DVA's tame Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. To the DVA's surprise, on Aug, 16, 2006, the Court (Judges Hagel, Moorman, and Lance) found in favor of Cdr. Haas and reversed the DVA's 2002 'Boots on the Ground" regulation. The Haas Ruling ordered the DVA to process claims of "presumptive exposure" to Agent Orange not just for Cdr. Haas, but for all "Blue Water" Navy veterans. The Haas ruling supported the argument that, if one had been awarded the Vietnam Service Medal because of their presence within the designated "Combat Zone," then they were "in" the Republic of Vietnam. This ruling instructed the VA to grant compensation to service members who served on ships in the waters offshore Vietnam.

In a clear example of questionable judgment, Secretary Nicholson compounded the original error in policy and elected to appeal that decision. Even worse, prior to their actually filing any appeal and contrary to legal action, the Secretary refused to comply with the Court Order to process 'Blue Water' Navy claims and circulated an internal memo, #02-06-24, instructing all claim adjudicators each Regional Office and the Board of Veterans Appeals to hold off (or 'stay') adjudication of any claims of this nature until the Secretary informed them to do otherwise.

Secretary Nicholson's directive was in flagrant violation of the Court-ordered reversal of the 'Boot on the Ground' policy, and such prejudicial treatment was to cease; because once Court-ordered, the DVA had no legal right to "stay" Blue Water Navy claims without obtaining the permission of the Court. Secretary Nicholson's memo continued the denial of benefits to all Blue Water Navy veterans, even when there was documentation that the claimant had actually 'set foot' on the ground of Vietnam in addition to serving under a 'Blue Water' command. In fact, in many cases where the veteran actually (but temporarily) did work on the soil of Vietnam, their claims were simply added to the growing pile, because doing so was a more efficient method for adjudication officers to quickly table those type claims.

Shortly thereafter in another case, Ribaudo vs. Nicholson, practically the entire Court, (Chief Judge Green, with Judges Kasold, Hagel, Moorman, Lance, Davis, and Schoelen) granted Mr. Ribaudo's petition for extraordinary relief in an opinion issued on January 9, 2007. Therein, the Court held:

One would think that after the disastrous results of the 'Haas' and 'Ribaudo' cases in their own Court, a graduate of West Point would be able to figure out he was in a untenable position and comply with the decisions of that Court. Somehow, Secretary Nicholson was persuaded to appeal 'Haas' to the Federal Circuit Court. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims permitted the DVA to 'stay' Ribaudo, and later subsume the case into Haas for the appeal. The case is on the docket in the Circuit Court, and briefs are being filed by both sides.

We will probably never know whether Secretary Nicholson was incapable of controlling his subordinates in the DVA, or was being leaned-on by the White House; in either case he failed miserably in carrying out his responsibilities to this country's wounded and disabled veterans. At this point the question is moot. Secretary Nicholson will be replaced.

In the last analysis, the ultimate responsibility for actions and decisions made by the Department of Veterans Affairs falls to President Bush. This time, President must not appoint just another political crony, or non-entity. Considering the immigration debacle, the ongoing Walter Reed and Brain-Injury embarrassment, and other publicity disasters, the President would be well advised to look a little harder. Choosing a good DVA Secretary would go a long way in repairing his legacy.

This time, he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by appointing a hard-nosed, highly effective Secretary of the DVA; perhaps to call out of retirement some Flag-rank hard-uh-head. I'm not speaking of someone like Colin Powell, Norman Schwartzkopf, or Tommy Franks. I mean one of those old-school, butt-kicking, lead, follow, or get flattened types. The kind who is willing to do an old-fashioned field-day; to get rid of the self-serving con-artists that infest the DVA, and hoik out thirty years worth of pettifogging rules and regulations designed to make obtaining legitimately deserved benefits nearly impossible.

You know who I mean; the type of individual who stomps in the door like the wrath of god, and snaps everyone to so hard that they're humming like a tuning fork two hours after he leaves. Someone along the lines of General Curt LeMay or Admiral Hyman Rickover, who would kill to spend the last days of their life transforming the DVA's snake-pit culture into one that fulfills its intended mission. Someone capable of sitting in a hearing room and making Kerry or Kennedy, Murtha or Hagel, look like the despicable poltroons they are. Someone Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, or George Stephanopolis wouldn't interview without a really large table and a ten-foot microphone. Someone who will use his authority to do the right and honorable thing, and damn the hindermost. Hopefully, those people still exist, the Pentagon just hid them as well as they could.

The President must appoint someone like this, and then he must support that Secretary to the limits of his authority. He must use his position as President to speak out for, and fight for whatever budget is required to take care of those wounded and disabled in service to our country, in whatever war. If he does not, then we as citizens and patriots must be willing to hold his feet to the fire.

Since they confirm the President's choice, I suggest writing your Senator and the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee if his candidate is not up to the job. In a time of war, we simply cannot afford another political flunky or venal yes-man in this position.

They probably told him during the firestorm over Walter Reed he was was going to be leaving when things calm down- giving him a semi-graceful exit because he once was a heroic Army Ranger.

That’s my guess.

Larry Scott at VAWatchdog.org thinks Bush will appoint Deputy-Secretary Mansfield, and I'm not happy.

Could you ping anyone who might have a candidate more in line of what I was thinking?

The care of Vets is an agenda that has become confused as benefits and the healthcare system are expanded in games of political brinksmanship, instead of common sense.

bump!

>>>>Could you ping anyone who might have a candidate more in line of what I was thinking?

I think that should be surveyed out through the American Legion National mail.

They are the ones that have to process Vet Bennies paperwork. THEY know the admin and procedural history.

How would you have gotten a suggestion in for a Sec of Vets? I guess the request would have to come from that person. To survey the Legions.

How would you have gotten a suggestion in for a Sec of Vets? I guess the request would have to come from that person. To survey the Legions.

I pretty much had in mind writing the White House, my congresscritter, and my Senators. Not necessarily to suggest a name so much, but to indicate the fact I don't want a party wheel-horse, a lawyer, (Sorry Billybob) or a career bureaucrat. I want someone with a real military background who's willing to step on toes as necessary to bring the department back to it's original mission, regardless of political considerations for a change.

Yeah, I know. I said I can't get cynical enough...

You can do the same with the suggestion of surveying the Legion. Point being, they have to handle the benefits applications process.

Unlikely as Walter Reed, being an Army Medical center, is the Army’s responsibility not the VA.

You’re right.

But there is scuttlebut that some of these problems existed at some VA facilities around the country.

I get the feeling we’ll hear more about this when the primaries heat up. This is bread and butter for the Democrats.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.