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Daniel R.

Gaita, MA, LMSW



January 1 2019

Stop Blaming The VA


Take a look in the mirror


Department of Ve
teran
CY 2017 Accountab s Affairs
ility Report
Acco untability Actions take
n 1/20/2017 through
12/31/2017

86

488

Demotion
Suspension 14 Days
or Greater
Removals*

1484

*Removals (does not


include probationary)

Removals (does not


include probationary)
Effective from Januar , Suspensions 14 days
y 20, 2017 thru Decem or Greater, and Demot
ber 31, 2017 ions

Current as of Februa
ry 7, 2018
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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

Stop Blaming The VA


Take a look in the mirror

“Tell me about Normandy”, I asked. “A lot of dead Germans”, was


how my dying grandfather summed up his recollection of World War II.
From October 20th, 1943 thru August 2nd, 1945 he and his brothers
fought through Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Ardennes.
He was badly injured, but like so many others of the Greatest Generation,
he retuned home with his injuries, got back to work, and never talked
about it. They didn’t have a
local veteran's center and
PTSD was not yet on the
spectrum of public
discussion, nor was veteran
suicide. America was busy
fighting fascism and
protecting democracy while
painfully clawing her way out
of the Great Depression. His
generation came home from
war and continued to build
what would become the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), one section at a time. They ran for
their local, state and federal elected offices and passed legislation to
improve the conditions of life for our war fighters. They volunteered in
their communities, churches, sports and other charitable activities. They
also continued to fill the ranks of such agencies as the Disabled American

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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, & the Marine Corps
League. The VA was still in the process of creation via the consolidation of
previous agencies and the GI Bill had just recently been signed into law
while he was in the
combat theatre. His
generation and the ones
prior laid the foundation
for the benefits and
services we have at our
feet today. Therefore the
veterans of today, myself
included, have an
obligation to continue to improve the services and programs of the VA
for the next generation. To collectively look in the mirror and do our part
to uphold, protect and defend the charge of the VA. To do so, we must
each work to identify sub-standard employees and assist in reporting
abuses or incompetence to our Patient Advocates, the Office of Inspector
General, and the newly established Office of Accountability and
Whistleblower Protection . If not us, then who will?

I remember going to the VA Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut as


a young veteran in the mid 1990’s to begin receiving care for my injuries.
It smelled like piss and filth. An asylum like environment. It was dark, cold,
grey and without personality or character. Worse than any hospital I had
ever seen at the time.

Fast forward twenty-five years to today's Veterans Health


Administration (VHA) that now has 144 VA Medical Centers, and 1,232
outpatient sites for care. Veterans today, with as little as a sprained toe
can receive medical care and financial compensation for service

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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

connected injures. While also accessing vocational rehabilitation which


covers college tuition, books, fees and other costs associated with higher
education as well as job search and prep services for free. The
fundamental challenge is accessing these services and knowing how to
advocate for yourself when you're denied, disrespected or obstructed.

Today’s VA is providing some of the best medical care, programs,


services, research, investments, compensation, pension, and education in
the nation, if not the world. The hospitals provide a much more warm and
welcoming environment than prior generations have ever experienced.
Web based platforms for communicating directly with your doctor or
nurse are available. Telehealth options for veterans to receive services
from home are also being utilized. However, many veterans quit before
getting through that door; an observation that is backed up by the data
showing two-thirds of veteran suicides are committed by veterans who
did not use the VA.

Stories of veteran suicide taking place in the parking lots of VA


facilities are tragic. However, nearly all of these cases were avoidable. In
many cases, it was not the VA, but rather a bad employee at the VA who
failed. That typical 10%
(er) who simply shows
up to work, punches in,
and counts the days
until his federal
retirement kicks in.
These are the
employees that hold the
door closed, obstruct
process, and rarely ever

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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

go above and beyond. They have a personality set comfortable in doing


as little as possible to get through the day. I've witnessed these types of
VA employees as a veteran and an advocate.

I've personally accompanied our combat veterans into the


Charleston, SC and West Haven, CT VA Medical Centers where on one
day a veteran could get right into an eligibility office appointment, sit and
talk with a caring and qualified professional, obtain an ID Card, have all of
his records electronically transferred, and be immediately set up with an
appointment with his Primary Care doctor. But then there are the times
when I accompany a combat veteran who has to wait an hour to see an
eligibility person who couldn't give a damn about why the veteran was in
front of him and seems to do everything in his power to obstruct the
veteran from getting through that door for services. This is the problem.
This is why decorated combat veterans like Retired Colonel James Flynn
Turner IV sit on their medical records and kill themselves in the VA
parking lot.

This should
continue to be a
call to action for all
of us that served
our nation, to look
in the mirror and
ask ourselves how
can I help make
the VA better. One
answer is that we each work to identify and hold the 10%(er's) that exist at
every level within the VA bureaucracy accountable when we are impacted
by them. Another is to remember that we are who they are being paid to

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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

serve, they are working for us and we are both their customers and their
employers. We are the ones that need to identify and report these sub-
standard individuals who use their positions in both entry level and
senior management to stifle the intent and purpose of VA programs and
services. Or worse, to harass, intimidate and retaliate against those of us
that do speak out.

It is our collective duty to continue to guide the evolution of the VA


for the next generation,
just as previous ones have
done for US. If you are a
combat veteran that has
been denied programs or
services from the VA, we
want to hear from you.

Join us at Operation
Vet Fit

Contact: dan@operationvetfit.org
About the Author: Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW, the founder, of Operation Vet Fit, a non-profit 501C(3),
combat veterans advocacy agency recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health
Services for his ground breaking research on combat PTSD and veteran suicide.

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Daniel R. Gaita, MA, LMSW

January 1 2019

He is a South Carolina Licensed Social


Worker specializing in Mental Health and
Military Families; a volunteer research
assistant at the Citadel, inducted into the
Phi Alpha Honor Society while a graduate
student at the University of Southern
California, is also a Presidential
Management Fellowship Finalist; a
participant in Military Clinical Skills
Training and research conducted through
the Center for Innovation and Research
on Veterans and Military Families at the
University of Southern California. Dan
earned his Bachelors in Psychology from
combined studies at the University of
Connecticut and Western Connecticut
State University, His first Masters degree
in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga
University with a concentration in Servant
Leadership. He recently completed his
second Masters degree in Social Work from combined studies at Fordham University and the University
of Souther California.

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