45% Of Vets File Disability Claims

The Veterans Affairs Department said it was getting a handle on its mountain of disability claims...thanks to a new hands-on training program. It said employees were completing 150 percent more claims daily and they were improving accuracy too. So far, the department has trained more than 1,300 staff members. A record number of veterans were seeking the government's help for disabilities caused by war injuries. Nearly a 1 million people — or 45 percent of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — have filed claims. Secretary Eric Shinseki pledged to cut their wait time down to four months.