Military-Veterans Advocacy Report concerning the meeting with Secretary Shulkin. Please “Like” our Facebook Page). Military-Veterans Advocacy Executive Director CDR John B Wells, USN (Retired) and Deputy Chief of Staff Susie Belanger, met with VA Secretary David Shulkin, MD on Friday April 21, 2017. He was accompanied by John Rossie, Executive Director of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association, Mike Little Legislative Director of the Association of the U. S. Navy, his assistant Kyle Derwist and Brian Condon from the Fleet Reserve Association. The subject of the meeting was appellate reform and the extension of the presumption of Agent Orange to Blue Water Navy veterans. Specifically there was a pending rule making request to include Da Nang and Nha Trang Harbors in the exposure presumption. The presence of the dioxin was confirmed in Nha Trang harbor 20 years of the end of the war. Significant evidence reveals probable pathways to Da Nang Harbor. Additionally, contaminated water from the Monkey Mountain reservoir was supplied to ships at anchor in Da Nang Harbor. Discussion at the meeting centered around the hydrological effects of the river waters discharging into the harbor, rainwater wash off, currents and tidal action. The Secretary was briefed on direct exposure pathways via mailbags, equipment and personnel staged onshore but later brought aboard the ships. He was also made aware of the effects of helicopter and Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) aircraft that landed in Da Nang prior to going to the ships. The lack of Navy surface ship experience among those within the VA assigned to this issue was also an important point raised in the meeting. Deputy Chief of Staff Susie Belanger presented the Secretary with a folder containing 32 letters from Blue Water Navy veterans summarizing how they were affected by the VA policy. Prior to engaging in the Blue Water Navy Discussion CDR Wells stated Military-Veterans Advocacy’s opposition to the pending appellate “reform” legislation. The various bills (S 712, HR 457 and HR 611) pending would strip the duty to assist for the veteran after the original agency decision and force the veteran to identify every factual or legal issue in the notice of disagreement. The statute does not allow for the notice of disagreement to be later amended or modified. Secretary Shulkin was presented options that would make the appeals system more efficient and increase fairness. This included electronic filing, implementation of pre-hearing conferences, scheduling orders with milestone dates and a smooth flow of communications. Military-Veterans Advocacy further recommended that the Board members be required to be certified as Administrative Law Judges and that they be sanctioned for an excessive remand rate. Currently 70% of the decisions appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are remanded. The VA welcomed MVA and other representatives. Their protocol office made the delegation welcome and provided a courteous escort to the meeting. It started a little late, but the Secretary gave the group some additional time. The meeting was scheduled for one hour but the Secretary met for an hour and twenty minutes. He was animated, receptive and engaged throughout. He did not rush the meeting but listened until the delegation had completed its brief. Afterwards he was kind enough to pose for pictures. Reflections of Commander Wells: I have had these meetings before with VA officials. Former Chief of Staff John Gingrich, when presented with the Blue Water Navy brief said the policy did not “make sense.” Yet the VA doubled down and continued their exclusion policy. Former VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson told me “We are leaning very closely to your views.” Again the VA continued their exclusion policy. Former Secretary MacDonald promised to review everything closely. Nothing happened. This meeting was different. Secretary Shulkin actually took notes. None of the others did. He also admitted that there was much he had to learn on the topic but that he considered it important and he wanted to learn. Normally VA officials are too arrogant to admit that they do not have a complete understanding of the problem - even when they are clueless. He did not defend the VA testimony at the hearing on April 5 and appeared to be a bit embarrassed by it. He was very interested in the information provided. I might also add that this man strikes me as a “no nonsense” type. He is not a glad handler or a politician. He seems committed to trying to change the culture at the VA. I hope that he is able to do so. I cannot guarantee that the Secretary will do the right thing. I have felt good about previous meetings only to be disappointed. So I am only cautiously optimistic. But I certainly want to give Secretary Shulkin the opportunity to do the right thing. I did tell him that we were not going away. I will be meeting with the Veterans Committee staffs next week and will report on that progress. Please remember that our oral argument on the Blue Water case will be May 5th at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 717 Madison Place NW, Washington DC. The court is located on the east side of Lafayette Park which is directly to the north of the White House. The hearing is open to the public and I would encourage anyone who can to attend. NOTE: To make a tax free donation to help Military-Veterans Advocacy continue their work please go to http://www.militaryveteransadvocacy.org/c…/please-contribute John B Wells Commander USN (Retired) Executive Director