Veterans_Affairs

Somewhere between 1991 and 1995 I had a Travel Board hearing. The Travel Board judge said I had the right to
bypass local and have Washington make any and all decisions regarding my case. He gave me the form to fill out and
sign, and I did so. I referred to this several times over the next number of years. In the 2000 remand more than just
PTSD was remanded with an order for local to make a decision on all of the issues and give me a statement of the case
so I could appeal. Local did nothing. Circa 2003 the Washington Board called for my file again and re-issued a remand
with orders for regional. At all times, I have disagreed with Regional VA decisions and what Regional says is the issue
and/or issues.

When my last regional hearing was sidetracked to an informal review, the male service officer I spoke with admitted that
he saw several issues that had gone un-addressed. He also said he saw and understood the problem created by my
file being passed from one service officer to another. He promised he would keep, and insist on keeping, my file in his
possession. He promised he would see to it that every issue was addressed so that I could turn my case over to an
attorney to file suit. The letter and statement of the case came signed by a female service officer.

When I got the letter and statement of the case Regional VA, once again, pulled its normal trick of claiming there is only
one issue on appeal. There are several issues on appeal. I gave regional and Washington a list of approximately 28
issues. Among them are the medical issues that were designated not service connected in the 1991 rating decision. All
of these should have been service connected. There is also the issue of back pay to date of discharge for the wrongful
determination and classification of neck strain with pain on Motion when that error has been admitted and reclassified
with a 30% rating. The rating should be higher and I should have gotten my back pay. These are two more issues on
appeal. The fact that I should have gotten money for my wife and three children is an issue on appeal. The fact that I
should of been 100% disabled from date of discharge is on appeal. The fact that I should of been reimbursed for 35
years of medical expenses is on appeal. The fact that I should be given something for a number of homes lost and the
hell I’ve been put through due to VA's failure to fulfill their fiduciary duty by giving me proper medical testing and proper
medical revue; is on appeal. Everything else on the list that has been submitted several times is on appeal.

Further VA failure is demonstrated by the fact that my right to have local bypassed and get Washington to decide
everything has been ignored and stonewalled for over 10 additional years.

V.A. STONEWALL TACTICS

1. When my case started I applied for upper and lower back, numbness in the extremities, hearing, nerve damage,
stress, and everything else. V.A. took unreasonable and enormous amounts of time to send me notices for the next
step in my case and sent those notices to addresses where I no longer resided: then they would blame me for things
not done. I always acted immediately and kept the VA informed of my current address. When this was pointed out and
proven they switched their tactic. (1970-1973)
2. The next maneuver was claiming my records were burned in the St. Louis fire and I had to give them all of my
originals and everything I had to rebuild the file. (1973-1975)
3. Next on the agenda of stonewall tactics was refusing to give Dr. requested tests so that a proper rating
determination could be reached. (1975-1980)
4. When I was able to get some tests done via the welfare system the next ploy was to claim:
A. Records were burned in the St. Louis fire; which was defeated by the fact that I had rebuilt the records and the
infamous fire took place before my records would have been there.
B. Records were lost and could not be found so we had to rebuild them using my copies. At first they wanted the
originals until we showed them this had been done so they settled for my first generation copies. They tried to go with
one issue only; the cervical spine they decided was chronic neck strain later. (1980-1985)
5. The next ploy was to claim my records were checked out and they didn't know where they were combined with the
refusal to give requested testing for proper diagnosis and asking me to rebuild the file again. They also got stuck on
one issue of chronic neck strain with pain on motion. (1985-1991)
6. The next maneuver was to give me a low rating of 10% while continuing to ignore all the issues I had raised from the
beginning. Looking at the cervical spine (neck) only and calling it congenital fusion, as the VA had done from the very
beginning and granting “neck strain with pain on motion”. They made a small pittance payment and ignored back pay to
date of discharge. (1991-2000) This has been mixed with ignoring my right to, and requests to, bypass local and have
Washington decide everything.
7. The next ploy is mixed with the above, ignoring requests and demands; ignoring notices of disagreement and losing
papers so that all the notices are not in the file and Washington gets a partial file instead of a full file, AND THEY HAVE
ADDED TO IT IGNORING WASHINGTON AND THE WASHINGTON BVA ORDERS OF 2000 and DECEMBER 2003!
WE'RE NOW ENTERING YEAR FOUR IN THE SIMPLE TASK OF 'MAKING DECISIONS ON OTHER ISSUES SO THEY
CAN BE APPEALED' AND 'ISSUING A STATEMENT OF THE CASE'! (2000-2004)

They have also used 'make a pittance payment and claim the veteran has to start his appeal from square one again',
as was done in my case more than once. What has been done to me has been done to several hundred, if not
thousands, of other veterans. If it does not stop and the people doing it receive punishment our nation will find itself
without enough soldiers to win the next war. If this happens World War III could be the end of America.

BY COURT ACTION OR BY ACTION OF THE LEGISLATORS THE ABOVE PRACTICES MUST CEASE AND
PERPETRATORS SHOULD BE PUNISHED!
PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO STOP THE LATEST STONEWALL TACTICS!!!

Sincerely,

Noel T. Benoist