Jim,
Going it alone (to apply for benefits) has a lot of merit but needs to be done in a calculated and determined manner. I like going alone. It got me from zero to total in less than 18 months. What i do object to is the VA or any other agency playing games with the vets, not answering the vets questions and concerns and/or making our vets feel unworthy of their requests for help. Pisses me off to no end. I will be in Detroit on Thursday and Friday at the VA. I will be in the face of the VVA personally and will not leave until I have answers even if it means I am taken away in cuffs.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease as they say so always be ready to squeak to high heaven if they do not respond to your needs or questions. Silence to a vets requests for help and ignoring a vets needs is not what this is all about. No one is going to push me off. I will advocate vets rights to my dying day. If you need anyone to help with answering vets questions I would be happy to help. I have run the entire gambit and come out like wounded vets deserve. I am ready serve if you need me to.
Reply:
I appreciate that you are willing to help others. But first, you have to help yourself.
I strongly advise that you do not go to your VVA offices and try to force a confrontation. You have nothing to gain and a lot to lose.
Anger and argument is a waste of your time and energy. Confrontation accomplishes absolutely zero and takes your attention away from things that could help you and others.
The VA system, as well as most VSO offices, is broken. You aren't going to fix it by trying to storm the facility and force your will on everyone. To be honest, that just makes it worse for the veterans who have to follow behind you. Once a veteran acts out on VA or to a VSO, the ones who follow him are always seen as just like that and the services provided get worse as everyone goes into a defensive mode.
You'll hurt all of us if you carry out your threats.
Do you really want to make a difference or is it all talk? If you're serious about helping other veterans, get involved.
I am a VA volunteer. I've done a lot of work at my VA clinic and at my VA Medical Center. I help vets navigate the halls of those places and if they are in a wheelchair or need to be in one, I do that stuff for them. I sometimes drive veterans to appointments if they don't have transportation. I help them complete paperwork that they may not be able to read very well. There are many vets who don't read and write as well as you do.
I hold meetings for veterans at a local church. Look on my web site at http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org for a link to the church and a description of the activities we do for veterans. I promise you that if you look around in your town there is a pastor who would be really happy to talk to you about starting a similar program at his or her church. I'm not even a member at the church I work with and they are always glad to see me and my group of veterans. A big advantage to this is that the church can often help vets who need more than just VA stuff...spiritual counseling, help with social agencies, marriage counseling and so on.
Your local Vet Center could probably use some help. There are a lot of guys there who may need a ride or just a friend to talk to. Look on my web site for a link that tells you about Vet Centers.
Making big talk about taking on VA or any of the Veteran Service Organizations is easy. Anyone can do that. I hear big talkers every day. The problem is that confronting VA in anger is very much like arguing with a stop sign out on the street. You can stand there for days and yell all you want and it isn't going to change a thing.
The really tough guys don't talk much. They roll up their sleeves and get to work doing stuff that produces a result. Helping a wheelchair bound veteran out of his car and into the clinic on a rainy day may not be as macho as facing off with some bureaucrat but it counts a lot more. Assisting an 86 year old WWII vet who has terrible eyesight and doing a good job filling out his forms to get some health care has impact. Being the leader who gets a small meeting started at a church in your town will be what makes you a hero. Getting "taken away in cuffs" sounds brave...it isn't.
It's your call now. Good luck.