Jim Fausone
Veterans Disability Lawyer
We deal with VA every day and are at the outer rings of DOD’s activities. Our clients are guys that have been around the block before and know a thing or two about DOD and VA. So I am never too surprised by the stories we are told about delay and incompetency. However, a new report out on DOD tells the story of how DFAS simply makes up numbers, plug numbers, to make its books balance in reports to Treasury. DFAS, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, is the Pentagon’s main accounting agency. We all rely on the DFAS numbers like they are gospel. VA will stick to a DFAS report of pay or benefits as evidence in VA determinations – like hazardous duty pay, flight status, etc. As reported “At the DFAS offices that handle accounting for the Army, Navy, Air Force and other defense agencies, fudging the accounts with false entries is standard operating procedure, Reuters has found. And plugging isn’t confined to DFAS (pronounced DEE-fass). Former military service officials say record-keeping at the operational level throughout the services is rife with made-up numbers to cover lost or missing information.”
I suspect that if Reuters was doing a similar story on VA it may find the same mentality of “plugging the numbers to get the report out the door.” Those inaccuracies end up impacting the lives of real people. Real veterans are not getting benefits or care because of the inability to account for information and resources. I wish it was not so but this report seems to be well done and convincing. What are your thoughts or experiences?
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2215678-special-report-the-pentagons-doctored-ledgers-conceal-epic-waste
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