Veteran takes it to VA -- from the inside

Although it has been slow on the uptake, the Veterans Affairs Department wants to use the Web to help improve its image and change the way it serves and interacts with veterans. To prove that, the VA hired blogger and Iraqi war veteran Alex Horton – one of the agency’s most vocal critics, the Washington Post reports.

The 23-year-old, who pens the blog Army of Dude, got the VA's attention and ultimately a job from it after blogging about and condemning the treatment he received as a veteran. Skeptical at first, Horton eventually saw the job offer as a way to help effect a culture of change and his fellow soldiers from the inside – and accepted.

VAntage Point, the blog Horton writes for the VA as part of team, covers a wide range of topics including some of VA's difficulties, such as the massive VA claims backlog. Launched in 2010, the blog gets about 3,000 hits a day, the Post said.