My friend wrote a letter to his Congressman-- in behalf of me.

Here is the letter that my Christian brother/
warrior sent to his Congressman in GA concerning
 my recent problem with the Milwaukee VA Pharmacy.
Thank you, Dirk, for being a fighting American !

I urge my other readers and friends to follow
Dirk's fine support and example, please.

~Tom
**************************************************************************
Dear Mr. Gingrey:

I am continually appalled, upset, and irate at the way our veterans
are treated by the Veterans' Administration.  I have heard accounts
from different Vets about their dealings with the VA.  All have the
same theme - having to fight and wait extended periods of time for
medical treatment or medicines, abuses by staff, and the list goes on
and on. Here is an account that I am forwarding by permission.  Tom
Shuckman is a hero and a friend of mine who served our country in
Vietnam.  Here is his post in his blog, Heli-Gunner Tom
(http://heli-gunnertom.blogspot.com/) on the matter:

Milwaukee VA drops the ball again... Late Meds.

I am using red type this morning for a reason -- I am angry. The
Milwaukee VAMC -hospital pharmacy dropped the ball again [standard SOP
{standard operating procedure} ], and forgot to send my important
medication. The way it works is that some scripts need to be renewed
on a monthly basis and I call [phone] in that particular prescription
about 7 days ahead of time. I don't miss a beat and soldiers know how
to obey orders. What boils my hide is that the VA staff and Pharmacy
are NOT above lying, passing the buck or just passing you off on a
never ending [good old boys] goose chase to tire you out so that you
just want to quit the system.... and that costs the Gov't less money
when you quit or abandon the VA program! Well, today I was expecting
the meds even late as it was, to be delivered by Fed Ex, and when they
didn't come I called up the VA Pharmacy-- 5000 W. National Ave.,
Milwaukee, W|I 53295-1000 [888-469-6614 ext. 46765], and that is when
the goose chase began. Its an old story.... lol.

I got handed over to a female, Lindy W, who wanted to pass me on the
the head pharmacist, but I convinced her that my medications were
already late and I was out of them-- so that she PROMISED to have them
sent to me special over night delivery- tomorrow. Dealing with the VA
system for over 30 years, I have taken notes, recorded things and
surely know their system and tricks. Other Veterans have told me the
same story-- and I like to 'interview' them when I go tothe VA and
wait for my turn. I even give them my 'business card' in case they
want to get back with me and talk about the greand promises of God in
His Word- the bible, and also try to hand out small pocket bibles for
their encouragement --part of my small Christian ministry, as known by
my Journal readers and friends at church,
etc.

When someone gets pissed enough to contact their State or Federal Rep.
or Senator-- things go public and the VA goes into 'Damage Control'
and puts on a little 'floor show' to appease the public out cry, but
in a few weeks after it all dies down they are back to their old
screwed up, sloppy ways of mediocre medicine, service/ teatments. I
have heard that other countries take care of their disabled Vets a lot
better. Don't get me wrong-- there are still some very good doctors
and nurses that want to help the Vets.
Since this happens about every 2-3 months, I guess it's about time to
forward this blog post to my State Reps. Our two big time Lefty Dems
in Wisconsin [ Senators, Feingold, and Herb Kohl] won't even reply to
me as they prob. know that I lean conservative/ Republican, and in
their eyes perhaps that spells 'troublemaker', when in fact this old,
disabled, tired combat Vet of age 59 won't just turn over and die.
Don't worry, I don't think that i will live much longer...dear
Senators... lol. I am getting screwed enough by my own company,
Chrysler even in retirement, so that I will not be pushed around,
abused by the Gov't / VA !!

Your comments, support and help are very much appreciated! I hope that
some of you will take this opportunity to forward this post to your
OWN Gov't Reps.

Apocalypse Now - Helicopter Attack- Kilgore


Thank you.

Thomas G. Schuckman
Union Grove, WI 53182
tschuckman@aol.com


Mr. Gingrey, I think the time is long past where we see real reform in
the Veterans' Administration.  As Mr. Schuckman said, whenever this
issue becomes "newsworthy" to the press, and you and or colleagues
become involved, the VA will put on quite a show until after
everything dies down.  Then it's business as usual.

I realize that we are in a period of transition with the election of a
new President, but this matter is of the utmost urgency.  This segment
of our population, taken for granted and largely forgotten, deserve so
much more and so much better treatment than what they are receiving.
These people have served in our Armed Forces, protected us, sacrificed
for us, and kept America truly the "land of the free".  It is such a
very small price to pay to reform this agency and streamline services
to our veterans.  We all owe our veterans a debt that can never be
repaid.

Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

Respectfully Yours,

Dirk Whittemore
Cartersville, Georgia  30120
tsalagiman1@gmail.com
http://tsalagiman2.blogspot.com/