Department of Veterans Affairs |
VA's Under Secretary for Benefits should ensure that VBA develops a mechanism, such as a document that lists known reliability issues with VADIR, to better communicate to federal and non-federal users the limitations of its incomplete data, particularly the unreliable variables on military personnel records from before 1985. (Recommendation 1) |
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Department of Defense |
The Secretary of Defense should work with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop guidance, such as outreach materials, brochures, or trainings, which: (1) makes reserve component members aware of their potential eligibility for disability compensation under various duty statuses; (2) explains how reporting health conditions when they occur can affect subsequent eligibility for disability compensation; and (3) explains the importance of obtaining and maintaining sufficient documentation of duty status and medical treatment received. (Recommendation 2) |
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Department of Veterans Affairs |
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should work with the Secretary of Defense to develop guidance such as outreach materials, brochures, or trainings, which: (1) makes reserve component members aware of their potential eligibility for disability compensation under various duty statuses; (2) explains how reporting health conditions when they occur can affect subsequent eligibility for disability compensation; and (3) explains the importance of obtaining and maintaining sufficient documentation of duty status and medical treatment received. (Recommendation 3) |
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Department of Defense |
The Secretary of Defense should ensure that DOD's reserve components make the guidance on reporting and documenting health conditions for the purposes of disability compensation prominently available to reserve component members. (Recommendation 4) |
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Department of Veterans Affairs |
VA's Under Secretary for Benefits should make the guidance on reporting and documenting health conditions for the purposes of disability compensation prominently available to reserve component members. (Recommendation 5) |
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Department of Defense |
The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Director of ODEI clarifies policies for military service assessments of their reserve component Military Equal Opportunity programs, to reduce medical bias, which in turn could help improve reserve component members' access to disability compensation. (Recommendation 6) |
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