MILITARY UPDATE: Disability system still has some kinks to iron out

The pilot for a new, jointly developed Defense Department and Veterans Affairs disability evaluation system that's set to expand from five to 22 military bases by May, does much of what proponents hoped it would.

It allows more injured or ill service members to win higher disability ratings, to see Veterans Affairs payments start faster and, through greater transparency in the process, to feel they have been treated more fairly by government.

But there have been enough kinks and challenges uncovered by the pilot to persuade designers in the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs not to expand so quickly that the program outpaces the additional staff that needs to be hired and trained, particularly at the largest military bases.

Sam Retherford, director of officer and enlisted personnel management in the Defense Department, has overseen phase-in of this landmark disability reform, starting in November 2007 in the Washington D.C. area, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He said nearly 900 disabled service members have been through the improved process. As many as 700 a month will process through the expanded pilot.

The centerpiece of the reformed evaluation system, reflecting recommendations of last year's various wounded warrior studies, is the partnership of the two departments for diagnosing, rating and compensating disabled military members.

The aim is to end the time-consuming and confusing practice of the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs conducting their own disability evaluations, one before and one after discharge or retirement.

Under the pilot, Veterans Affairs conducts the single, comprehensive physical examination while members are on active duty, and prepares a single disability evaluation used by each department.

The military service uses the findings to determine fitness for duty.

Those members found unfit are separated or retired. But the service continues to base its decision and disability rating only on medical conditions that make the member unfit for duty. A rating for of 20 percent or less qualifies for a lump sum severance payment. A rating of 30 percent or higher on those conditions qualifies a member for military disability retirement, which means a lifetime annuity, access to military health care and base stores and facilities.

The VA simultaneously awards an overall rating based on all service-related conditions to set its compensation payment.

In a report to Congress on the pilot, officials last month said the initial reviews are favorable, citing improvement on level of ratings, timeliness and the transparency of the process.

The pilot will expand to 17 bases outside the D.C. area over the next five months, including Fort Carson.

Retherford said these bases will provide more diverse data to better judge the effect of the new system. The D.C. area processes a high number of severely wounded members leaving service from Walter Reed or Bethesda.

The pilot imposes a heavy document workload on facilities and on Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers or case managers. But a consensus among all involved affirms "this is a good thing," Retherford said.

Randy Reese, national service director for Disabled American Veterans, both praised and criticized the pilot. To have Veterans Affairs conducting physicals and awarding ratings for the Defense Department is "a marriage made in heaven," he said. "The results of the decisions are better. They are definitely more consistent," Reese said, and ratings awards before discharge have "definitely improved."

Also Veterans Affairs compensation begins immediately after discharge, eliminating a huge hassle and long waits for disabled veterans to receive payments.

The pilot doesn't address a need that disabled members have for advocacy counseling, either by trained legal officers or by veteran organization representatives, from the start of the process, Reese said.

Army Sgt. 1st Class James F. Babin of Arlington, Va., went through the pilot after recovering from surgery last February for a leg injury suffered in combat in 2003. Babin said he didn't get his disability ratings until late October. Babin, 31, said he was surprised that it took eight months.

He was more disappointed that the Army had left documents out of the packet evaluated by VA which likely resulted in a lower rating.

The mistake was caught by a veterans advocate at Walter Reed.


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