I think I mentioned it earlier. When I first joined the board, we only needed a doctor's letter that said the person had a certain diagnosis and it's on for more than six months. That establishes a disability under the Pension Act. All we did from that was hold a hearing, look at the documentation, and find whether we could make a link to service. When we couldn't, sometimes we'd weigh the evidence that was before us and we'd assess whether it was credible or not.
You've got to be a Philadelphia lawyer just to figure it out, because the veterans have a higher burden now than they did before, and I don't know why, because the rules haven't changed. They absolutely have not changed. It's the people and the steps.
I think, and this is only a personal opinion, the previous chair kept a tight grip on his staff because he had five years as a board member out in the field, and then he was the deputy chair, and then the chair.
It is unfair to the current chair that he was parachuted into the job with absolutely no experience. I don't think he even had experience in the public service. It's tough to deal with staff, because they're steady, and we're the ones who keep moving in and out.