VETS NEED TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

Listen up, all you local veterans who don't want anything to do with the Veteran's Administration.

Your buddies over at the Sepulveda VA say they need you to watch their backs for just a couple of minutes.

They need you to let the government know you're living here because that's how the VA knows where to spend federally mandated veterans' funds.

``If we don't show the numbers, we lose the money. It's as simple as that,'' says Steve Palmer, president of the Veteran's Advisory Board, which is trying to make the Sepulveda VA whole and vital again.

Every since the facility was damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the powers that be in the VA have been squeezing the life out of it - shutting down programs, laying off staff and shifting primary-care facilities over the hill to West L.A.

The only way to stop the hemorrhaging at Sepulveda is to fight. And the only way to fight is to raise your hand and let the government know you're here because there's power in numbers.

``We need the Vietnam-era vets - and all the younger veterans who don't use the VA or think they need it - to help the guys who do,'' Palmer says. ``We need their numbers to get back the services and benefits we've lost.''

David Bayard, director of public affairs for the western regional offices of the Department of Veteran's Affairs, paints a pretty bleak picture for urban VA facilities like Sepulveda.

``When you look at the demographics of large urban areas in the United States, including Los Angeles, these areas are going to be hemorrhaging veterans in the next 10 to 15 years as we lose a lot of the World War II and Korean vets,'' he said.

``So it's good if the younger guys get counted now, and associated with the VA, even if they don't use us, or think they'll ever need us,'' he says.

``They may be doing fine now, and have a company or private health-care plan they're satisfied with. But a year or two from now, who knows?''

Think of it this way, says Brad Fagerstrom, department commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Freeways and streets get built based on the estimate of the number of cars that will be driving over them in the future. It's the same with people, he says.

``The VA doesn't know how many veterans it has living in the San Fernando Valley and outlying areas now, and unless these vets register and let them know, there's a good chance a lot of the services and programs won't be available for them in the future,'' says Fagerstrom, a Vietnam vet.

``A lot of the Vietnam-era guys are not prone to sign up for anything dealing with the VA, but in 10 or 15 years they may need these facilities so it's important to put the pressure on the VA to start planning and building now.''

In today's private-sector economy, where even major companies are feeling the health-care squeeze and cutting back on medical plans, vets would be foolhardy to rely on today's promises in the future.

``Nobody can guarantee a company's health-care coverage will be there for you in the future, but we can guarantee the VA will be there,'' Fagerstrom said.

But it may be an entirely different VA if more younger vets don't start raising their hands now to be counted, says George Dixon, a veterans benefits counselor at the Sepulveda VA outpatient clinic.

``If they don't, the government may well find it cheaper to shut down its big VA medical facilities and go with smaller private contractors offering less service,'' Dixon said.

It's like Palmer says. If we don't show the numbers, we lose the money. It's as simple as that.

To be counted, stop by the North Hills VA facility at 16111 Plummer St. for an initial intake interview, and register for a Veteran's Universal Access Identification card.

``You're not signing up for anything,'' Fagerstrom said. ``You're just letting them know, 'Hey, I'm here. Plan for me.'''

Do it for Palmer and all the vets fighting to make Sepulveda VA whole and vital again.

The guys aren't asking for much - just a few minutes to watch their backs.