Suggestion is to serve as a possible general blueprint for eliminating back log.
Dedicate 1-2 Regional Offices in each area (Western, Central, Eastern, Southern) that will work all Vietnam Era and Prior War cases (current and future).
Within each Regional Office there should be 1-2 teams of Claims Representatives and Ratings Specialists that are dedicated to working only 365 day claims. Your more experienced people should be on these teams.
I would look into dedicating Regional Offices to handle all PTSD and Mental Cases. This will ensure the same type of training and minimize bias opinions.
The same concept that was use to stand up the Benefits Delivery at Discharge could be applied with some creativity.
I would attached incentives to weekly, monthly, quarterly goals to the backlog