Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
Something no one has mentioned, and is worth noting, is that the highest person in the FAA's Office of Aerospace medicine is a retired USAF colonel. She is the FAA's Federal Air Surgeon, the FAA's equivalent of the Surgeon General, but specific to aviation. During her 20 years of service, she served as a flight surgeon at Moody AFB, Chief of Operational Medicine at Bolling AFB, Chief of Aerospace Medicine at Pope AFB, and Chief of Aeromedical Services in Saudi Arabia at both Dhahran and Prince Sultan AB. She's board certified in aerospace medicine. She was Head of Delegation to the aeromedical working group at NATO. She's more than qualified, and has a lengthy list of accolades, awards, and associations in and out of the military. She's hardly averse to service personnel.
The Deputy Federal Air Surgeon is likewise a former service member, including four combat tours. He's presently still in the reserves, and has served the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, etc. Not someone who's anti-military, either. His son is USAF, his daughter is in the USAF academy.
The present investigation touching on reporting of disability benefits was not initiated by the FAA, but by the VA. It is also not the only database-correlation dealing with disability benefits, as this has been conducted using the social security database on both coasts as well as state disability benefit databases. This isn't an assault on service members. It's also not a state secret. it's an investigation triggered by an external investigation. As the VA looked at the potential for fraud and began turning up cases warranting further investigation, the FAA was in turn unable to ignore the matter and had little choice but to reciprocate and investigate, although the FAA did so with significant enough reluctance that it was castigated by the VA and associated parties for it's slowness in producing airman records and in becoming involved.
It's not a witch hunt. It's not anti-service. Anyone with a FAA medical certificate is subject to investigation, and it's not been restricted to service members in the past, nor will it be in the future. That the present investigation is a reciprocal one associated with the VA does not mean it's an assault on those who have served.
Do they do the same thing for civilian backgrounds? No. They don't. Unless they've filed for SS disability they'd never know unless self disclosed.. There is no way for the FAA to find out thru a backdoor other than SS disability filings. The FAA doesn't ask you for your SS disability do they? They should, for every civilian pilot in the US theyb should. It's only fair. If you don't have it nothing to worry about right? Yet every veteran that has an SI is getting the letter asking them to submit their VA disability determination letter again. Why?
A servicemember is absolutely entitled to their benefits from service. So what if they fly planes and receive VA disability? You yourself have posted that the FAA knows the difference, yet here we are. Again, so what?
unless you meet one of the big 4 disqualifiers for a Class 1 or 2 medical, then it should not matter. If the FAA wants to tighten up the issuance standards for ALL airmen, then they need to do so. Not target the ducks in the pond low hanging fruit former mil folks who just so happened to serve our country honorably and are merely seeking those benefits entitled them. My brother, who was a USAF pilot, has 8 or 9 pages from the VA ratings. Most of it is stuff he is rated at "zero". He gets no VA $$ for those. Only OSA is paid to him as disability.
So many contradictions between you and rickair here I can't keep it straight. uugggghh.