VA's Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Disability Claims Reports

Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) was formed in August 2002 as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization by war veterans who believe that we, the people of the United States of America, are most secure when our country is free, strong, and responsibly engaged with the world. Our mission, based on the pragmatic ideals of the American patriot Thomas Paine, is to raise the unique and powerful voices of veterans so that our military, veterans, freedom, and national security are protected and enhanced, for ourselves and for future generations.

"We owe a debt to all who served and when we repay that debt to those bravest Americans among us, then we are investing in our future."
~ Barack Obama, August 3, 2009

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VCS Adds "VCS on TV" News Clips to Web Site

Television News Coverage of VCS Advocacy

VCS now posts links to television news broadcasts featuring Veterans for Common Sense and our highly successful advocacy efforts on issues you care about.

Disabled Iraq War Veteran with Service Dog Beaten by McDonalds Employee

October 30, 2009, Brooklyn, New York (Courthouse News Service) - A disabled Army captain who was wounded in Iraq claims McDonald's employees beat him with garbage can lids after he brought his service dog to the restaurant. Luis Montalvan says the attack came as he was photographing the restaurant after he repeatedly complained about the treatment he received there.

Deployment at All Costs: Military Arrests Mom, Sends Child to Protective Serivces

Soldier mom refuses deployment to care for baby

November 16, 2009, Savannah, Georgia (Associated Press) – An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.

Fort Hood Fallout: Camp Lejeune Whistle-Blower Fired

A psychiatrist who tried to prevent Fort Hood-style violence among Marines about to "lose it" instead loses his job

November 16, 2009 (Salon) - Last April, two Marines at Camp Lejeune predicted to a psychiatrist that some Marine back from war was going to "lose it." Concerned, the psychiatrist asked what that meant. One of the Marines responded, "One of these guys is liable to come back with a loaded weapon and open fire."

New York Times Profiles VA and Secretary Shinseki

No Longer a Soldier, Shinseki Has a New Mission

November 11, 2009 (New York Times) - It was a sad homecoming of sorts. On Tuesday, Eric Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, returned to Fort Hood, Tex., where he was a division commander in the mid-1990s, to pay tribute to two veterans affairs employees who died in the shootings there last week.

Written by Administrator

Monday, 31 August 2009 13:01

Updated September 6, 2009 - The Global War on Terror (GWOT) disability claim activity reports are official Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) documents summarizing how many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans filed disability compensation claims at VA regional offices. GWOT is the official Department of Defense name for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The claim activity reports also contain statistics about pension claims, education claims, vocational rehabilitation and employment claims, home loan guaranty program claims, and other programs administered by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).

The VA claim activity reports are prepared periodically, and they are shown in chronological order starting with the newest report. However, there appear to be gaps of missing GWOT claim activity reports during the past five years. The GWOT claim activity reports are organized by month and year. For example, “gwot_claims_02_09” is the date of the GWOT claim activity report for January 2009. GWOT claim activity reports contain details about the sources of data and definitions of terms used. Please note the date of the GWOT claim activity statistics is often several months before the publishing date printed on the cover of a GWOT report.