VA Paperwork Gets Shitcanned by Accident

Whoops! My Bad.

If you ever wondered why you had to file a VA claim 37 times, this might help explain. Numerous original documents filed by veteran claimants were slated for shredding when there was no duplicates on file. From Computerworld:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' undersecretary for benefits has ordered all VA regional offices to suspend document shredding activities after several original copies of veterans' applications for financial benefits were found among those slated for shredding.

No duplicates existed for the documents that had been scheduled for destruction, which meant if they had been shredded, applications would have been lost. The offices process veterans' applications for disability pay, pensions, home loans and other financial benefits.

Had the documents been destroyed, the action "might have affected the fate of veterans' applications," for benefits, the VA said in a statement issued today.

This doesn't sound like some Enron-style creative accounting, but rather just your standard bumbling bureaucracy that we've come to expect from our federal services. It should be noted that we once found a sailor's entire medical record heading for the shredder on my old boat, which shows how the mountains of paperwork you have to deal with in public service can get mixed up like a scene from Brazil. For all you people clamoring for socialized health care, consider this an omen for what to expect.