shannan

Navy4life, mine was somewhat similar. I went in in 2004 and i was also discharged in 2004. I went on a giant drug and alcohol party binge after my discharge for about a year. I became homeless and then went to live with my grandparents and be depressed and not move from bed for about 6 months. Finally after that i began chasing dead end jobs. At this point i had no idea what PTSD was, but surely enough i would have my PTSD moments and either be fired or quit before i was fired for my behavior. Jobs usually only lasted a few months max. Then one day in 2009, my girlfriend's best friend drug me off to the VA hospital. I told him that they wouldnt see me for therapy because when i was discharged i was told that i would have no VA benefits and i believed them. The first VA he took me to sent me right back out the door telling me exactly what i feared: i was not eligible. Then he took me to another VA and a man actually talked to me and explained how i should try to upgrade my discharge so i could be treated at the VA. I aplied for an upgrade online and failed miserably because i didnt have my medical records. They were magically "missing" from the archives. My girlfriend and i ended up moving out of Los Angeles and my symptoms continued getting worse. Her friend again convinced me to go to a VA closer to our house. I found Loma Linda VA. Immediately they took me in for treatment. I went through all of the therapy program (which i swear made things worse). I was there from 2010-2014. Just recently after i began the c&p claim, i was told i no longer had a primary eligibility. That someone had given me eligibility by mistake and it took the VA 4 years to catch it. I know theyre full of $@#!, but i was in the middle of working on my claim with my representative and it was all too much to deal with at that moment. Its a fight im not prepared to deal with at the moment. When my c&p goes through, it will change my character of discharge as well. So then i will be eligible for treatment again. Until then, good riddance.

Thank you Navy4life. I will check into that. I dont much care for my VA therapists. I have seen better outside therapists at a rate of $150 per 50 minute session. Cant quite afford that at the moment. But maybe the VA can

I realize it may seem petty not wanting to fill out this form either again or for the first time (not sure, i'll find out tomarrow). Its just that it took me eleven years to get to this step. As far as i was previously concerned, the government could take their money and shove it straight back up their you know where because it would never change the hell i live in everyday. But when a Marine convinced me that i had to do this out of principle not only for myself, but for all veterans past, present and future who might not be able to speak for themselves...well, that touched me to the core. I worked VERY hard on obtaining all of the evidence. I had to ask friends and family and battle buddies for their statements which is down right embarrassing and degrading. I allowed myself to feel all the demons that ordinarily i keep locked deep down inside. I sat for days writting my statement, allowing myself to flashback sometimes for several hours at a time on what seemed like every other sentence i wrote. I left no stone unturned when it came to every last detail and every last emotion. Working on my claim was mental and emotional hell. I will be darned if some form that may or may not be in their posession negates the fact that the statement and evidence is there. Its not right. Its not ok for them to make us jump through their paperwork loophole hell.

Thank you Pete53 :)

Navy4life, i thought about that after i posted the reply (being two different forms). The statement remains the same though. I wrote somewhere around a ten page statement detailing my entire service, the mst incident, what led up to my awol and what life has been like since. It is ALL covered. I was trying to check my records of forms i filled out for my representative. Im going to get ahold of him tomarrow to see if i did in fact fill out the 21-4138 also or just the 21-0781a. I know that at first i couldnt do electronic signatures on my phone, so i was faxing forms back and forth to my rep. I dont have records of which forms those were. I do see an email between us where he asked me to fill the 21-0781a out and that i could just attach the statement that i already gave him for another form (21-4138?? Possibly). Did VA pay for that outside therapy? If so, How do you go about requesting that?

Chuck75 i just reviewed my ebenefits account. My account still shows each form and statement that my representative uploaded when he submitted my claim. So more i think they "conveniently" just didnt review the evidence submitted lol. I did sign forms for him to be my representative. Also, i received the letter late Friday, so i am waiting until Monday morning so i can get in contact with him to look into it further.

Thank you for clearing that up Mont36. Yes my representative sent a request along with my claim for a character of discharge determination. Is it necessary to fill out a 21-4138 statement of support of claim when i already filled out a 21-0781a Statement of Support in PTSD claim? Could i just call and ask them to use my 21-0781a because thats the same exact statement im going to give them anyway?

I Went ahead and emailed Bob and Allison. I let them know that all my forms were submitted on ebennies by my representative. I have confirmation that they were recieved in fact. I also let them know that i believe that careless behavior like that letter need to be fixed. This has triggered my PTSD and suicidal thoughts (dont worry i wont give them the satisfaction of dying. Im just saying i am feeling that way). I also let them know that i am certain i am not the only one who has recieved a similar letter. Its no wonder veteran suicide rates are so high. I asked them to put an end to this behavior from the VAROs.

Fat, a marine at the VA hospital reminded me of that :). And now thats why im on this journey. Thank you :)

Navy4life yes i did fill out that form. I had the rare luck of getting an Amvets representative that is actually a military attorney. He had me fill out everything that the RO just requested again in that letter. I actually prefer more holistic treatment methods such as reiki and acupuncture. Im not a fan of VA meds and the treatment seems to exacerbate my symptoms further.

Berta, yes i have gone to the review board several years ago. I was denied. I didnt know about markers and such at the time and i had not gone to therapy at the VA at that point. Also my medical file was mysteriously missing so no markers could be proved anyway. I wrote to Obama about that and did recieve a reply that they would look into the matter. I try to keep in mind that im not only fighting for myself but all my battle buddies in similar situations. That helps me continue on.

Yes, I had clear markers. My VA therapists note clearly that it is PTSD due to MST in Advanced Training. My markers that i sent as evidence were a pregnancy test performed on base, a suicide attempt, uncharacterized behavior (before this i was a model soldier), attempt to obtain a general discharge for depression from a on base doctor, etc...I also filled out my statement forms as well as I sent in buddy statements as well. I did go through a treatment program at the VA but it is also a well documented fact that it triggers me to be around other soldiers so i dont often go to the VA anymore

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I've been looking through some of your forum for the past couple of months, but this is my first post (so i hope I'm posting in the correct thread). I submitted my FDC in January of this year. I just recently received news that I am in the Gathering of Evidence phase. Please do not judge me for what i about to say. I know many of you served honorably and i only wish that that could have been my case (it haunts me every moment of everyday). I was raped in my Advanced Training Unit and did attempt to exorcise every effort to obtain a discharge to get away from my attacker. My chain of command kept "losing" my discharge paperwork and I was forced to remain around my attacker. I am not pleased to admit it, but after a failed suicide attempt, I decided in my naive 18 year old mind that my last resort was to go AWOL. I turned myself in and was given an OTH. So to my point, I recieved a letter stating that they do not ordinarily grant disability benefits unless it is found that i did serve honorably, although i have severe PTSD, Major Depression, and Dythsmia due to MST (all diagnosed by the VA). The letter is also asking me for all evidence i may have and my statement. They also claim they have no knowledge of me having a representative. They are going to put my claim on hold for 60 days to wait for me to send the evidence. My Amvets representative submitted all of my statements and evidence when he filed my ebenefits claim in January. He also made it clear on official letterhead that he was representing me on this claim. Also, when he submitted the claim, he certified that this is ALL the evidence that I had to submit. Have any of you ever recieved a similar letter? If so, how did you adress it? I dont want to re-send the evidence for fear they will knock me into a regular claim. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I've been looking through some of your forum for the past couple of months, but this is my first post (so i hope I'm posting in the correct thread). I submitted my FDC in January of this year. I just recently received news that I am in the Gathering of Evidence phase. Please do not judge me for what i about to say. I know many of you served honorably and i only wish that that could have been my case (it haunts me every moment of everyday). I was raped in my Advanced Training Unit and did attempt to exorcise every effort to obtain a discharge to get away from my attacker. My chain of command kept "losing" my discharge paperwork and I was forced to remain around my attacker. I am not pleased to admit it, but after a failed suicide attempt, I decided in my naive 18 year old mind that my last resort was to go AWOL. I turned myself in and was given an OTH. So to my point, I recieved a letter stating that they do not ordinarily grant disability benefits unless it is found that i did serve honorably, although i have severe PTSD, Major Depression, and Dythsmia due to MST (all diagnosed by the VA). The letter is also asking me for all evidence i may have and my statement. They also claim they have no knowledge of me having a representative. They are going to put my claim on hold for 60 days to wait for me to send the evidence. My Amvets representative submitted all of my statements and evidence when he filed my ebenefits claim in January. He also made it clear on official letterhead that he was representing me on this claim. Also, when he submitted the claim, he certified that this is ALL the evidence that I had to submit. Have any of you ever recieved a similar letter? If so, how did you adress it? I dont want to re-send the evidence for fear they will knock me into a regular claim. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.