john999

The VA can stop making PTSD DX'es which would put a crimp in getting sc'ed for it. Adjustment disorder will make a comeback. If just being in a combat zone is good for a PTSD claim then every living vet of WWII, Korea,Vietnam, and the Gulf wars could make a claim.

Evidence and persistence!

Stillhere That is a nice junk of tax free money each month. In order to get that from a taxable source you would probably have to earn 5000K. We may be the only ones in America who have decent retirement pensions besides Wall Street and politicians.

I filed a NOD on my deferred claim because the VA would not get off their asses and rate my claim. There were no problems but I did get my rating. You can disagree with the VA's decision to defer your rating. In my case they had all the evidence they needed to rate me, but they just stalled.

Whatever you do don't wait to the last minute to file the NOD. You have a year to file but don't wait 364 days.

Valium is a very strange choice of drugs to give a guy with PS when anti-psychotic meds were available. It sounds like your husband was very badly treated by the military. There idea of psychiatry back then was "find a way to kick him out as having a pre-exiting condition". I know having been through that system at that time. I was SC'ed by the VA within a year of my discharge in 1971. However, the VA made mistakes and I filed a CUE claim. That is why I say to review the file to see what the VA did in first denial.

As far as I know the CAB is a separate award for those who are not in infantry units (CIB) who engage in combat with the enemy. CAR is for Marines only I think. You should google CAB and see what you find. It is combat action badge.

The VA never mentions these things because they don't want to spend money.

20 months is absurdly long time for a DRO Review. You could have gone to the BVA. The DRO process is to divert BVA cases and settle them locally. It does not work if you have to wait two years. Where have you been hiding Commander?

The VA will argue these claims even though they happened in combat if there is not a record. They break their own rules because the vet and his POA don't use this rule you quote.

If you have his C-File you might want to look at the evidence the VA used to deny him in 1975. These old decisions were often horrible. There is a possibility an error was made in the decision. He might have a shot at retro.

All this made me remember a Marine I knew in high school who got a TBI in Vietnam. I don't think he got a penny in compensation. He was telling me many years ago about these headaches he got after he was on an APC that hit a mine. He was hurt bad enough that the Marines made him an MP and took him out of the field. I do agree with Hedgay that I feel like an old shoe at the VA. I don't want to begrudge the new guys. 90% of vets who use the VAMC are much older, and most are from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. There are no signs hanging out to welcome them. I know all the outreach is not for me. There are 2 million OIF/OEF vets and I don't think the VA can handle that load without trying to kick some of us older vets to the curb.

Dolphin That is confusing. I thought if you had IU and 60% above and beyond the IU that you were eligible for the S award. I think independent means independent of the IU award, but I don't know if it means just one disability at 60% or multiple to make 60%. I don't think that is clear, but I would file. When in doubt file!

Medicare is pretty cheap about durable medical items. I got a tens unit from them and I had to really go for it. Here was this little device worth 10$ and I had to beg for it.

Are you talking about SMR's or private medical records? I don't see how they can make any decision without SMR's.

Sid I was saying if you are having hallucinations then you are probably having psychotic episodes. Your judgement is impaired. I think with your GAF and those symptoms the VA needs to get your meds corrected. The best way to do this is to be in the hospital. I do think that with that C&P exam you should be 100% schedular,but it is the rater that makes the call. The VA should not let you out as long as you are having hallucinations. This can be treated. Do you hear voices and see things that are not there? If you respond to these hallucinations it could be dangerous to yourself or others because you are not responsible. However, if something were to happen while you were psychotic the police would throw you in jail. The police don't care if you are crazy or what happens to you if you are in a psychotic state. If you are in the hospital with psychotic symptoms the VA will sedate you until they get your symptoms under control.

If you are having hallucinations you belong in the hospital. No question about 100%. The VA has a responsibility to protect you.

Did the VA diagnose you with PTSD? Forget about going public since nobody gives a damn. Are you claiming the PTSD as direct result of sexual assault?

Very good post! The military did it on vast scale in Vietnam with all sorts of chemical agents orange,white, blue etc. You only here about AO, but who knows what else. The DOD and VA are just waiting for chemical vets to die. Why pay when you can wait them out and bury them. The DOD lies and the VA lies on a routine basis.

Airdale Have you ever tried to get a lawyer to represent you in front of the VA? I think your claim is beyond most VSO's. Most are not up to it. However, it may be possible that since you have a DX of PTSD your claim may succeed. The more time passes and the more complex your claim becomes the more you need expert help. Because you have HIV the VA is probably apt to blame all your problems on the HIV. Your private medical records would be a big help if the VA does not have them. When was your last final decision from the VA? It is natural that the older your claims become the more things can happen to you. The VA looks for the non service connected reasons to explain your disability.

If there is any hint of reweighing the evidence you CUE dies. Reweighing or reinterpreting evidence used in a decision won't be a CUE from what I have learned. If the VA excludes evidence in a rating decision then you may have a CUE. The VA may come back and say that the evidence excluded would have not changed the decision anyway. Reasonable minds have to agree the evidence excluded would have altered the decision. The only reasonable minds considered are VA minds.

Since you have a CUE with lots of potential retro you might be able to get a lawyer to help you. If the CUE is denied by the BVA you may want to take it to the vet court, and for that you need a lawyer. You want the claim to come out of the BVA in a condition that is perfect for appeal to the court. These things can turn into long battles. On mine I have been denied at the VARO, BVA and am headed to the court. The more retro the more tight %$#@# they get.

Airdale has a problem with the fact he got out of service in 1976 and almost 35 years have passed. From what he says he has no evidence in the record of a sexual assault. This will be hard.

What you should get are letters from doctors saying that your injuries and illness are as likely as not the result of your service as documented in your SMR's. You may have the material in your SMR's but what you want is medical opinion that connects all that to your current disabilities. The VA does a poor job of connecting dots. Your doctor should say how badly the disabilites affect your life now. You are trying to make a case to get the highest possible rating. Don't stop appealing until you get what you deserve. If your knees are bad now think how bad they will be in 10-20 years.

Here is a thought: Send every vet an invitation to come in for an exam and enrollment in the VA health care system. There are over 20 million vets out there. I wonder if the VA really wants them all to show up to get enrolled in the system? If just all the vets in my area of Florida showed up the hospital would grind to a stop. Just include us all in the ChampVA system that already exists and let us find our own doctors. I know the VA would screw this up somehow.