Vets Suffer as DD214 Errors Increase

Vets Suffer as DD214 Errors Increase
Buffalo News | By Lou Michel | February 25, 2008

Christopher M. Simmance helped keep the peace as an American Soldier in the Middle East, but when he returned home and later suffered a breakdown, he was turned away from the VA hospital because the government didn't acknowledge his overseas duty.

Dana Cushing as a Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq and a third in east Africa, but when she returned home, she found herself labeled a "conscientious objector" and also was denied medical care by the government.

Simmance is one local veteran among roughly 2,000 across the country trying to get corrected incomplete or inadequate discharge papers. Cushing only recently got hers corrected after trying for a year. The result is that many now face a bureaucratic nightmare that prevents them from getting the health benefits they are entitled to receive.

The Army alone has a backlog of 1,890 veterans seeking corrections on their discharge papers, and some have been waiting for three years, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Many other veterans probably have faulty discharge papers but don't know it because they have not sought benefits.

Efforts are being made to speed up the corrections on faulty discharge papers, Army officials said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,162682,00.html?wh=wh

into Enlisted Records to make sure a school was added to my 2-1 and the kid behind the counter actually said "that's not my job."
I looked at him with suspicion as I glanced back to the sign on the door, to make sure it was, in fact, Enlisted Records, then to the file cabinets behind him to make sure my unit's name was on one drawer, and to his desk to verify that there was, in fact a typewriter for typing things into an enlisted record, then asked him; "Are you sure? Because I can't imagine anyone being in a better position to update my record in that drawer behind you, using that typewriter in front of you, than you!"
He rolled his eyes, provided me with my 201 file and showed me to a spare typewriter, and reviewed my work when I was done. I thanked him profusely for going out of his way to help me do his job and was answered with a roll of the eyes and some kind of teeth sucking sound.

From that day forward, I annotated, and on rare occasions convinced a records clerk to annotate, every school, award, deployment, and promotion as soon as possible.
The civilian that was responsible for my DD-214 was the most helpful guy I ever met in one of those offices. He showed me a draft of what would be on my 214, I rattled off what was missing, he listed off various items that should be included if I had them, I brought everything in, we reviewed it, and he gave me a final copy and a memo with instructions in case I ever needed to add anything or get a new copy.
Lesson learned: your records are your responsibility; that turd burglar Enlisted Records clerk does not live or die on the accuracy of your records.