green

Keep in mind that spousal income is also considered....

Jimmer, AZ does have a property tax exemption, problem is unlike other states, in order to qualify you need cose to zip in income. You wil need to call your county tax assessor for the details. http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-state-benefits/arizona-state-veterans-benefits.html

Meddac, congrats on your retirement, I'm about a year in back of you. I certainly appreciate your desire to help veterans. We certainly value your perspective and the knowledge you can share.

L, that is fast, I've been waiting 17 months for mine. As they are currently rating my claim I figure it makes sense at this point to wait and push it after the rating.

DevilDog, my claim went from gathering evidence to prep for notification and back 8 times in a 30 day period. It's okay to look at eBenefits but you need to understand the information is lacking and not indicative of the true status. Oh, btw, my FDC is at day 240 and I'm in Prep for Decision *L*

My wife and I have been happily married for 32 years. I'm not saying we haven't had hard times (such as the loss of a child) but we remain committed to each other. I can't imagine what my life would look like had she not been part of it. I just wanted to provide a look from the other side. Green

I just read the linked article and found it very interesting. In particular the General Counsel's decision to look for language that would allow a Vet to have Legal Representation accompany them or allow a vet to record an appointment. The decision was was based on there being no statutory language that allowed/suggested the idea of accompanying representation or the use of a recording device neither could be allowed. They didn't take the perspective that since it wasn't specifically prohibited it could be allowed (which I believe they should have in this situation). Something is seriously broken in this interpretation..... http://www.hadit.com/failure-to-submit-to-medical-examination-insistence-on-the-presence-of-an-attorney-and-use-of-a-recording-device/

I thought the amputation rule was always applied. Does this mean a person with peripheral nerve damage could receive a higher rating than the amputation rule would allow? Note: The amputation rule under 38 CFR 4.68 is not applied in evaluating peripheral nerves of the lower extremity as long as separate evaluations are warranted, as described above. M21-III iv 4 section g, Topic 4

I think it was a good decision to claim the 10 points (disabled vet at 30% or greater). Essentially it places you higher in the line of selection and you are correct most people can't even qualify for fed jobs as they don't accept applications from anyone. There are a couple different Veterans Preference hiring authorities, you may want to research. Some authorities allow hiring a vet without competition, of course the Agency has to choose to advertise the position this way, but some will. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/veterans-authorities/

Through the years I've filled probably 60 positions. There are some managers that see vets preference as a negative situation they must carefully navigate. I've always had very good success hiring vets. Several years back I hired a retired disabled vet who was a LTC in the military. He wanted something to keep him busy so I hired him into a clerical position. After a couple years he was ready for a challenge so I promoted him to a higher graded position with more responsibility, a few years later I did the same thing again. He was one of the best employees I've had. Although I'm also qualified to use vets preference in applying for fed jobs I've never used the preference as I was hired into a trainee position during college (after the military).

Hey broncovet, I found you a picture for your profile

Such a great outcome, sorry to hear it took so long.

If it was a VA Doctor you should be able to access your C&P within a couple weeks by logging onto myhealthevet.gov and pulling up your blue button information (select notes).

If I was a celebrity supporter of this group (and after the controversy) I would certainly want them to stop running commercials with my endorsement...

hmmmm..... well hopefully someone more knowledgeable that me can add to the conversation

Yes, you applied for a re-evaluation and increase. If it was a secondary condition the action would be SEC.

agree, that doesn't seem right

ArNG, are they lowering your govt retirement by the amount you receive in SSDI?

Great News! Happy for you

I'd send a message to the patient advocate explaining your experience. Completely ridiculous..... I sent a myhealthyvet email to a doctor's department head explaining an experience I had and they reassigned me to another doc. I explained that I wanted to let them know what happened before I talked to the hospital administrator.

conla, I'm not aware of any medication that completely eliminates neuropathy pain. At best they help reduce some of the pain.

Considering age and level of disability, industry policies may be difficult to obtain and more expensive. I'd do some checking to see where you can get the best coverage for your $

Your topic is: "Approved for Voc Rehab. But can't figure out exactly how they will assess my stipend?" I believe the links I provided address that question. As for your more detailed questions regarding different educational programs and how they can be used together, in tandom, or what comes first, etc. I think your Voc Rehab Counselor will have to address those. I couldn't find any reference.

You have probably already seen these but here are some links. http://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/serviceconnected/Ch31FactSheet.pdf and http://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/vocational-rehabilitation-and-employment.html#entitlement scroll down to "Additional VR&E Benefits and Definitions" and http://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/vocational-rehabilitation-program-subsistence-allowance.html

It is always nice to hear a good report. Very happy for you Gastone!