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The pilot for a new, jointly-developed DoD-VA disability evaluation system (DES), 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 VA payments start faster and, through greater transparency in the process, to feel they have been treated more fairly by government.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Department of Defense (DoD) is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand a pilot program that simplifies the current disability evaluation process for wounded, injured and ill service members.

Too many veterans' disability claims take more than a year to process, the Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general said. An audit showed that a year ago, 11,000 veterans had claims pending more than a year. It said the agency awarded retroactive payments totaling about $43 million for about a third of them. Of that total, it says about $14 million was unnecessarily delayed. Among the worst cases, the inspector general said, was one involving a veteran who was owed nearly $65,000 for a delayed claim, and another in which a veteran waited more than two years for payment, the inspector general said. The report said the veterans agency had made progress in reducing handling claims, but that delays still created too much of a financial burden for veterans.

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo., March 30, 2009 - Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki opened the 23rd annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic here last night, encouraging more than 400 participants he said had found their way "to the top of the mountain in search of miracles."

Time table moves from 2 years to 100 days for seriously injured servicemembers to receive disability benefits.

For disabled veterans, the camaraderie they find in sports brings incalculable benefits that go beyond the physical rehabilitation.

Duckworth, a major in the Illinois National Guard who lost both legs in 2004 after the helicopter she was flying was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, will be nominated to be assistant veterans secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, White House and VA officials announced Tuesday.

Specially adapted homes are being built by Helping a Hero for our severely wounded heroes injured in theater during the War on Terror

USDR - Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees