Probe requested on help for injured at Drum

Probe requested on help for injured at Drum
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 30, 2008 19:03:48 EST

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — New York congressional leaders have asked Army Secretary Pete Geren to investigate a report that the Army is blocking Veterans Affairs’ officials from helping injured Fort Drum soldiers prepare their disability claims, potentially leading to reduced benefits.

Meanwhile, a national soldiers’ advocacy group said it planned to seek an official military Court of Inquiry probe into the situation at the northern New York Army post.

In a letter to Geren, Sen. Hillary Clinton expressed deep concern and said the allegations “should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.”

“If these allegations are true they run counter to our nation’s pledge made to our men and women in uniform,” Clinton wrote Geren. “It is our duty to eliminate obstacles standing in the way of our disabled service members and veterans, not to create them. Our wounded should not have to deal with endless bureaucratic red tape just to receive the basic care entitled to them.”

In a story Tuesday, National Public Radio reported that an Army ad-hoc group investigating military disability benefits — known as a “tiger team” — had recently told VA officers in Buffalo not to assist Fort Drum soldiers with their disability benefits applications.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_disabilityprobe_080130/