More Help Needed for Wounded, Disabled

In the wake of news media reports from a little more than a year ago that outlined the plight of wounded and disabled service members, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a statement Feb. 27 hailing the Army’s efforts to improve medical treatment and disability evaluations. But more needs to be done, the GAO states; the Army still needs more liaisons to help soldiers wend their way throughout the often-difficult process. The GAO hailed a joint pilot program conducted in the Washington, D.C., area by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, which would enable the disabled or wounded to receive a VA disability rating much more quickly after leaving the service. The GAO suggested that DoD and VA move quickly to assess the pilot’s efficacy with the goal of ultimately adapting it as standard practice. The complete report is available on the GAO’s Web site at http://www.gao.gov/.