Last Wednesday DHS Federal Protective Service (FPS) showed up the VA Mission Valley Health Care Clinic in San Diego in 8 white vans in full combat dress that lacked any identification and, refusing to identify themselves, blocked all access to parking for disabled veterans. Veterans arriving for care were quite alarmed and some were frightened away.
According to a formal complaint filed with VA OIG, veterans on site were harassed and threatened when they took pictures and questioned what was happening. One veteran was even threatened with $10,000 fine and arrest if he didn’t delete a photo he took.
The exercise was for the purpose of “presence deterrence” at a VA health care facility in San Diego. Many veterans’ legal advocates are concerned about what this “presence deterrence” actually means and what it seeks to accomplish for veterans needing care.
Navy Captain Joseph John (Ret), chairman of Combat Veterans For Congress PAC, was not surprised when the report crossed his desk. After a cursory investigation, Capt. John concluded, “Due to [confidentiality] concerns, we can only get personnel in the office of Honoring Our Troops to tell us that the parties who witnessed the exercise [saw. The witnesses included] a retired Navy Chief, employees of the VA Medical Center, patients inside the building, etc., who witnessed armed FPS officers in SWAT gear walking up and down the corridors inside the VA Medical Clinic in Mission Valley.”
Capt. John opposes unannounced police actions at VA medical facilities that resemble “para-military exercises.” His deepest concerns are for elderly veterans with “heart conditions, suffering from PTSD, or elderly Veterans from the WWII or Korean era could be frightened and negatively affected by these [secret police] exercises in the middle of [their medical treatments].” For these reasons, Capt. John believes DHS and its FPS division “should be prevented from holding these para-military exercises at any VA medical Center,” especially during patient treatment and service times during the day.
Since the OIG complaint, HRT received numerous threatening calls to their organization’s volunteers by individuals whom they believed were VA or DHS employees. Callers blasted the organization saying, “VA does not need this type of exposure right now; bringing this up will not help veterans.” Other harassing calls threatened the staff with stalking and investigations into their own personal conduct. According to HRT, the calls were all blocked to hide the caller’s phone number.
A spokesman for the San Diego VA Regional Office, Alejandro Mendio la Flores,verified this FPS police action and stated it was part of Operation Shield for “presence deterrence.” VA claims the official count of FPS officers was only 8, and that the FPS does not owe VA any explanation for its actions or training exercises — even if it affects a VA medical facility or its patients. Nor does DHS-FPS have to give VA any advance notice that these exercises will occur or get VA’s permission to conduct them. Just what is going on here?
VA already has in place a “patient security flag” procedure under VHA Directive 2010-053. Even though this procedure is completely illegal and occurs in secret VAMC staff councils behind closed doors, it is nevertheless the main device VA has created to deal with security issues with any veterans who give them reason to be concerned for potential violent incidents. The VA-OIG made a rather shocking report about this illegal procedure just last year — and any lawyer or judge who reads it would be horrified at the blatant “due process” violations, since veterans cannot know who made the complaints about them or in any way have a chance to refute or defend against false allegations by VA staff. See OIG Report No. 11-02585-129, March 7, 2013.
Veterans should Arm up and turn out in full Combat mode…
The wh is looking for an excuse to impose martial law
Gonna have to call bull$#%&!@*…
IT IS OBAMS GOON SQUAD AND HAD NO RIGHT TO GE THERE
in commiefornia and dhs is nothing more then the nazi waffen ss storm troopers.
Nothing the Administration comes up with surprises me anymore!
I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK…America has never been perfect: but I’ve always felt that “We the People” have always strived for the betterment of ourselves as well as our country; & that our government has fairly consistently worked towards guaranteeing our Constitution & our laws were well served. THIS REGIME FLAUNTS OUR CONSTITUTION AND HAS DONE MORE HARM THAN ANY OTHER 15 PRESIDENTIAL TERMS COMBINED (I include the Civil War Era & it’s aftermath as being a better time than now, because the News Media Was “Not in Love” with Any of Those Presidents & at least the media tried to do their job)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Mccarthy Era is the only other time in our history I have truly been AS ashamed of our government AS I am now: the Mccarthy Era government used the same tactics then as the Obama Government is using now. At that time, the news media was “in” on the Mccarthy Era Communist Party Scare Tactics, they were terrified by their own hype. The Communist coverage they wrote was not due to their love for their non-Communist President: they were not willing to sell their souls to cover up Presidential mistakes or shortcomings…the media truly believed there was a Communist under every bed & they had the duty to root them out. THIS REGIME, THIS OBAMA GOVERNMENT THAT IS RUN BY SECULAR PROGRESSIVE FASCIST LIBERALS JUST LIKE THE MCCARTHY ERA GOVERNMENT, THIS GOVERNMENT IS COMING AFTER US…”WE THE PEOPLE”: NOT ISLAMIST INSURGENTS…”US THE PEOPLE”; “US THE STUPID VOTER’S” THAT PUT OBAMA IN OFFICE…NOT ISLAMIST INSURGENTS…”US”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what this government has been doing to our veterans is an atrosicty!
HE HAS SERVED HIS COUNTRY..
GOD BLESS YOU SIR+THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE..
Each person should do a certify letter or petition to your Congress person and cc: Dept. of Defense, State Dept. and the President and whoever else you can think of that will listen. Its yours, mines ad everybody else Taxpayer’s money along with other’s Federal Fund! No one should ever cut any funding, any assistant, housing, childcare, Health Insurance, low interest rate on loan. WIC, Food Stamps, Jobs, Educations, and nor pay raise from our Armed Forces ever! Give our ARMED FORCES and their Dependent what ever they need, because they gave up so much to Protect their Country! ENOUGH of all the C**p you all go thru!! I’m a suffering Armed Forced family members that we went without plenty— has they served and being mistreated behind close door and some still serving now in the Military! I’m Praying for Divine Interventions for ALL our Armed Forces and their Families, please join in Prayers!