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Tests widen for streamlined disability system

The test of a streamlined system for examining and evaluating disabled veterans will be expanded to an additional six U.S. bases beginning in January, the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.

The new locations offering the Disability Evaluation System pilot program will be Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Riley, Kan.; and Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Va., which serves bases in the greater Hampton Roads, Va., area. The expansion, to be completed by March 31, 2010, will bring the total number of facilities using the pilot to 27.

“The decision to expand the pilot was based upon favorable reviews focusing on the program’s ability to meet timeliness, effectiveness, transparency, and customer and stakeholder satisfaction,” said Noel Koch, deputy undersecretary of defense, Office of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy.

First offered in the Washington, D.C., area, the pilot program aims to replace the unwieldy and often slow evaluation system, exposed by the 2007 Walter Reed scandal, with a single exam and disability rating. It was authorized by the Defense Authorization Act of 2008 and stemmed from the recommendations of four commissions.

More than 5,431 service members have taken part in the program since the pilot program was first launched in November 2007, the Pentagon said.