Veterans reaching out to VA officials like Secretary McDonald and Under Secretary Hickey have received stunningly fast responses via email, which is a dramatic change from the Shinseki era.
Secretary Robert McDonald took the helm at VA this summer and promised immediate action. Part of that action included canning four senior executives this past week for misconduct.
In a surprise turn, Secretary McDonald and Under Secretary Hickey have been reaching out to regular veterans by email and phone with stunning speed. Today, on my Facebook group, Disabled Veterans – Chapter 31 Voc Rehab, one veteran reported that Under Secretary Hickey responded to him within two hours. Likewise, Ron Nesler, head of VA is Lying, received immediate feedback by email as well.
Something is different in this “new” VA for sure. Perhaps they learned from the closed off nature of Shinseki’s VA and realized closing off officials from the outside would result in dishonest underlings sabotaging careers of their bosses through lies and misrepresentation. I still remember Secretary Shinseki intimating before Congress that he was misled. However, while he stayed locked away in his tower, those lying underlings stood to gain a great deal.
I would like to congratulate Secretary McDonald and Under Secretary Hickey for reaching out to veterans quickly and decisively. Aside from firing evil doers quickly, few other things will convert naysayers then direct contact from VA officials in certain instances.
Here are their emails:
- Secretary McDonald: Robert.A.McDonald@VA.gov
- Allison Hickey: Allison.Hickey@VA.gov
Tell them ‘Hi’ from the DisabledVeterans.org community and Military Advantage for me.
Benjamin Krause is an award winning investigative journalist, attorney, and disabled veteran of the US Air Force, where he served in its Special Operations Command. He wrote his guide, the Voc Rehab Survival Guide for Veterans, after winning his long fight for benefits against VA to help other veterans do the same. Benjamin is a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota Law School using VA Vocational Rehabilitation.
