2025: Every Which Way but Loose; Happy Birthday America
Secretary Collins spent his 2025 on a victory lap. Meanwhile, Veterans ‘Guardian’ was the recipient of a class action certification for New Year’s! We can thank the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina for that. 2025 was an interesting time by VA standards. Heck, while Secretary Collins was touting how low the backlog was, the Veteran’s Court literally had a Y2K moment when it received so many appeals—the filing system just went kaput.
What Backlog?
Right before Christmas, VA leadership sent out a system-wide e-mail, a thank you. The backlog was finally below 100,000. According to the e-mail, as of 11:59 P.M on December 19, 2025, the backlog stood at 99,946 claims. For reference, VA defines a backlog claim as one that has been pending for more than 125 days. Where this mystical number came from, why it has always been the gold standard, I do not know, but at least we know what is considered a backlog to begin with. In a somewhat talking from both sides style, the e-mail goes on to declare “reducing the backlog is not just about a metric. It represents Veterans and their families receiving decisions sooner and receiving decisions they can trust. It reflects our shared mission and the seriousness with which we take our responsibility to serve those who served.”
Secretary Collins Victory Lap.
Transparent v. Translucent
Translucent: a material that allows light to pass through but scatters it, so objects on the other side are blurry or indistinct, unlike transparent (clear) materials. Man, this just fits the situation perfectly. Smoke and mirrors. VA also recently announced that it no longer publish monthly data concerning PACT Act claims. Instead, VA will move to quarterly reporting. In other words, we will now move to less data concerning VA accuracy, processing times, etc. I digress, back to the backlog. “Veterans and their families receiving decisions sooner and receiving decisions they can trust.” The problem? Reality doesn’t match up with the reduction. Sure, the VA has cranked out thousands of decisions and reduced the backlog in doing so—but they have simply created more appeals, and I brought the data to prove it.
Y2K at the Court
For the first time in history, the Veteran’s Court received not only a record number of appeals, but over 10,000 appeals. Prior to this, the Court had never broke five digits.
Pictured: Dan Bullock, who forged his birth certificate to enlist and serve in the Vietnam war. Bullock was KIA in June of 1969 at the age of 15. His grave was not given a proper marker until 2000.
The Court’s docketing system isn’t hard to understand. yy-00x. So, 25-9999 represented the 9,999th case opened in 2025. As of this writing, the Court made it to docket number 25-10526, or 10,526 cases opened. Soooooooo, you have to ask yourself. If the VA is giving out “decisions [you] can trust,” why so many appeals? Shouldn’t the Court only be open 3 days a week by now? Is there even any work to be done at the Court?
Anyhow, when we got to 25-10000, the system just went kaput. It didn’t know how to process it. It was so bad, folks couldn’t pay filing fees, so the Clerk’s office had to do some manual work while the IT monkeys studied the rubix cube. A real life Y2K.
If we want a real metric to measure VA success, I am here to say it has never been and will never be reducing the backlog. Success is measured in the number of claims put in compared to the number of appeals filed. When we see appeals decrease, we know VA is actually creating quality decisions. Not just rubber stamping C&P exam ‘opinions.’ Until we change the metric, going on TV and saying look at what we done will just be for political points. It is just shifting the backlog data to the pending appeals data. Speaking of things that are quality…
C&P in a Box
With all the celebration of the backlog reduction, little attention is being given to things that matter, and here is a perfect illustration. Since VA went hell’s bells—contracting out as many exams as possible—the quality is…just terrible. Sure, exams have always been bad, but at least back in the day during your IBS exam, you were being bent over by an actual VA doctor. Now, the VA has kindly outsourced the bending over to a trailer in a shopping mall parking lot, ran by a NP who likely speaks little English and has never stepped foot near a hazardous pay duty station. Disconnect doesn’t do the description justice.
The VA has tasked this kinda guy with deciding if all your GI ailments, migraines, and lung disease are somehow related to drinking water from 110° plastic bottles while stirring computers, medical equipment, and human waste with diesel into a hot desert hole. To say there is a slight disconnect and lack of understanding would be an understatement. But hey, don’t blame him—he is just doing a job the VA hired him to do. You have to first ask yourself why the VA finds it acceptable in the first place.
Exam centers like this aren’t rare. Contracting exams with the VA has become a multi million dollar business. It is better than the traveling fair. For example, in Key West, they deploy these things once a month. Only they send a one man band. Because he only comes once a month, he is cramming about 30 plus appointments a day. Often times, you are being seen for 2-3 things. Think knee, back, and ankle. That is 3 exams. Each are supposed to take 30-45 minutes.
Instead of getting a quality exam, you are seen in a parking lot for about 5 minutes, sent on your way. Don’t worry though, the doctor, since he is a traveling salesman medical expert, he will never see you again. So, he kindly smiles in your face, tells you he will give a good write up to the VA, and sends on your way. It really is the perfect system. Ride to the next town for another round of fresh meat Veterans.
But hey, at least the backlog is down. You will here about his report much sooner! Surely we didn’t just crank out tens of thousands of rubber stamped denials based on an exam that lasted 5 minutes?
Too Cool for School
That’s enough bad talking the VA for one day. I’ve got all year to do that. My New Year’s Resolution is to find some things to smile about, and boy do I have 250 reasons to do just that. Someone has a birthday this year—a damn big one—the big 250. That’s right, the good ‘ole U.S. of A, baby. July 4, 2026, we turn 250 years old. That is just too cool for school. What is interesting to me is that none of this would be possible without Veterans, and I get to play a small role in, shall we say, gently nudging the government in the right to direction; helping fulfill its promise with the American Veteran. I am pretty proud of that, and in no other place on Earth would I have the opportunity to do something near as awesome as that. So, hats off to the USA baby, we’re turning 250.
Be proud of that. Love and cherish our great Nation. Remember, we are the only place on Earth you can live in, get up in front of a TV, talk about how bad this place is, how much you hate this Country, and not get stoned to death in the process. Try doing that in some other craphole. You’ll be reading this on your way up (or down?).
Court Guards Veterans from Veterans ‘Guardian’
Some more good news. This is something I am delighted to report on. You see, given the quality of those C&P exams, it is difficult to blame Veterans for seeking help in all forms possible. Some of you physically can’t work, bills are adding up, the bank is calling. So, you turn to a company for help, say, Veteran’s Guardian. The only problem? They aren’t authorized to help you in the first place.
Copy of Class Action Certification.
For some background on why that is, I’d encourage you to check out my prior posts, here and here on the matter. But, in short, what these companies do is prohibited by law, since there is no oversight to their fees charged. Thankfully, I can say that out in open air now without the threat of a defamation lawsuit, since an actual federal court has said so.
Pretty good way to kick off the year. So, if you are a Veteran who used this company, you just may be getting a refund!
Every Which Way but Loose
I’m not talking Clint Eastwood with Clyde the orangutan. More like the saying “boy I’m gonna turn you every which way but loose.” To me, it sums up the current state of affairs for Veterans. The pressure to ‘zero out’ the backlog has shifted the focus from quality to quantity. When you prioritize clearing a queue over the needed review of medical evidence, the result is a wave of lackluster decisions. Veterans aren't getting the benefits they earned; they’re getting a "no" delivered at land speed records. The proof is in the pudding. While the VA celebrates fewer pending claims, the Court is drowning. A lackluster decision isn't just a clerical error; it’s a life-altering delay. By focusing on the optics of the backlog rather than the integrity of the decisions, the VA is creating a bottleneck at the judicial level. It’s a shell game—moving the problem from the VA’s desk to the Court’s desk, while the Veteran waits years for the Court to fix what the VA should have gotten right the first time. Oh, consider this. The Court sends back nearly three-fourths of the VA’s decisions. Appeals will continue to be filed, the Board will continue to issue decisions. Those decisions will be appealed and sent back to the VA by the Court—on top of what is already being sent back.
You see, reducing the backlog will never been the solution. It is a “teaspoon solution to an ocean problem.” Reducing appeals will be the only true metric we can decide VA quality with.
Until then, you are left hangin’ every which way but loose.
Godspeed.
P.S.: Fellow Veteran’s advocate Chris Campagno is looking for help to finish up his PhD, and it comes with a $25 gift card. Drop a dime and leave him a line.
