Double Jeopardy

"You were a stray before the chip, and you can be a stray again."

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry

--T.S. Eliot

VFW magazine tells us the VA will soon be sharing an integrated electronic medical records system with the Department of Defense, though it could be 2012 before the system is fully operational ("VA, Military to Share Records," April 2007).

I suppose this is good news, but what happens when your records are lost, as invariably happens? Now both can lose your records at once, a double jeopardy of sorts. Next step: they'll put a chip in our asses, like cats at the veterinarian's. At least that won't fall out.

A few observations:

1. Why is this not in effect right now? Veterans have been around for more than a few days.
2. I'll bet good money that this projected system will not be operational within the stated time frame.
   
3. The fact that this system is not on the ground right now shows that the government does not want an integrated system, as it will help to facilitate and increase the number of disability and combat-related Special Compensation claims processed. Short-stopping claims begins with the old records game, which effectively denies veterans the opportunity to prove their claims with official documents.
4. The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense must clarify their language to include combat related injuries that pre-date the CRSC date of 2003. The VA uses "service related rulings" and CRSC requires "combat-related" designators.

It is very difficult at present to fulfill the application requirements for many claims, but of special concern to me is the arcane CRSC determination process. This law needs to be cleaned up by increasing DoD and DVA cross referencing. If they were serious about awarding the CRSC benefit to all who qualify, that is.