[Question]

can someone answer me this question .today i got a letter from my local va

and it states as follows .we are still processing your application for COMPENSATION

we aplogise for the delay you will be notified upon compleation of processing.

what does this mean for me? this letter was dated feb20 07

thank you

mark.

fyi i had help from my local A.L.

[Letter From Md On Service Illness]

Your unit might have a web site where you could possibly find someone to give you a "buddy statement"- an eye witness account that put them and you there and then.

It should be detailed and they should tell VA in the statement of their MOS and describe what happened with date and place.

If their MOS is not same as yours they should tell VA why they were there.

There could be a log of the work detail -or maybe your inservice personnel record might offer some help as to names of anyone who witnessed this also-

Also many vet sites and veterans magazines have a "looking for" section where you can place an ad to attempt to find someone to corroborate this.

I helped a vet find some buddies through the VA itself-

it worked-

If a vet is enrolled in VA health care, and if you wrote to the VARO you deal with asking them to help you contact a veteran for a buddy statement- they will do this-

(of course they need name of the buddy and the Unit info, the vets MOS, anything to help identify them)

You need to send the buddy a letter asking them to reach you and give your phone number, email addy and address and a brief message-put this into an unsealed envelope with your return address and postage on it- enclose it with a cover letter asking the VA to help you reach this vet-

If the VA has this vet on their enrollment (they check the whole data base in the VA) they will send the letter to the vet and it is then up to the vet to contact you.

The vet I helped found 4 or 5 men in his unit- he used other means of finding them too-

but the VA did help find 2 or 3 of them-

he was able to send them info on awards they got from the Vietnamese government-which they never knew they got-

and he- due to my daughters help too- got the Distinquished Flying Cross-2 years ago-presented over thirty years after service-long story- all of these vets got awards they never knew they had-

not a buddy statement for a claim- but this shows that the VA will really help on finding vets if they can.

Another vet I helped -just by giving the above advise to-

contacted me in a few months to tell me that not only did the VA find the vet he was looking for- the vet also had PTSD from the VA for the very same stressor.He said they talked for hours on the phone and even were going to get together that summer.

The Buddy vet in his statement told the VA the whole story and gave them his c file number and many details as to what happened.He even remembered names the other vet had forgotten.

He got his signature notarized and gave the VA his phone numbers and email addy too if they had any questions at all about his buddy statement for this stressor.

The stressor-consistent with the ops involved and the detailed buddy statement

helped the vet get a PTSD rating.

It is a lot of work someimes to get corroboration for a stressor but -without it- the VA will deny a claim based on something they have no proof on.

i am in the same boat my unit has just been recently retired and i did not have any quote un quote

buddys. i realy didnt get along with any of them and i did try my old units web site. and got no where so i am beetween a rock and a hard place!

[Have Or Not To Have A Medical Exam By Ssa]

They turned down my SSDI and never sent me for a exam.

i would find out who the dr that handles ssa there are drs for this.

i had to go and see one myself that was back in 96 i now get 100% ssdi

and i am strugging with the va as we speak. but this is just based on my experince

i also had to see a psycoligist for ssa that i had to go see as well. if i did not go i would have got

nada. so i thank my lucky stars that i did.

[Filing A Claim For Mirgrains]

i am in the same boat i too do suffer from severe migranes i get them almost everyday ever since i got out of the arng which was more than 25 rys ago i am getting ssd for them because they keep

me from working plus i do have a back condition that occured in the arng. i have been on all the drugs out there even rx ones. i also get 100% ssd.

[Some Help Please!]

Sounds like their generic form letter-

do you have the exact wording of their last denial?

there last denial was back in 1992. like i said i just reopend my file with them.

and the recent letter i got was jan.2007 and my claim is beening looked at right now

[Some Help Please!]

According to the VBM page 31, 2006 edition

National Guard and Reserve duty are not considered active 'service' unless an individual performing this duty was disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

"Reserve and National Guard members who served on active duty are eligible for the same VA benefits as other veterans." 38 USCS 101(24) , 38 CFR 3.6 (a) 2006

Active service is defined as

1. active duty

2. any period of active duty for traning during which the individual was disabled or died from a dsease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty-

and

3. Any period of inactive duty training during which the individual was disabled or died from injury incurred or aggaravted in the line of duty.

This is just a brief overview because there are also considerable other definitions of "active duty"and these are all found with 38 CFR 3.6 ( © and (d) -there is a link here at hadit to 38 CFR.

Is the injury you got in service documented in your SMRs (Service medical records) and was it noted on your discharge physical?

Why did the VA deny your claim in the past?

Do you have the exact wording of that decision?

:

i did not have a physical for my discharge

not enough evidence but then they sent me another letter telling me that.

i did not need to take anymore action and that was the last time i heard from the va

i recently got a letter saying that they r looking my claim over as we speak

but there might be a delay.

[Some Help Please!]

Mark,

Welcome to hadit.

I can't really answer your question about veteran status, because there are different rules for different periods of service, I would have to do some research before I could answer with confidence. Also is sould like you only had national guard duty, where you activated for the present war?

Just because you have Social Security disability does not mean you will get va disability. The VA is required to review your ssd file but they do not have to grant va disability based on the file.

Have you put in a VA claim? if so can you be more specific as to the type of medical issue you have.

I am sure others will volunteer information as your questions become more clear.

no not the present war. but my unit almost went to grenada. but we had to stand down because the seabees were overthere already. yes i did already put in a va claim. one in 1992.which got closed and i did reopen it now.2 that was just a question about ssd i already know the rest.

im just trying to get as much info as i can get. sorry for the confusion

[Some Help Please!]

hello to all u vets on this forum. i am new in here.id like a little help from someone?

i was in the ct national guard 242 engr bn in stratford ct but now i reside in maine.

i did get a honorable discharge. and i am trying to get my vet status going. i was injured.when i was

in traing. i did go to ft dix in nj only for 2wks i was sent home because i did not meet the armys

weight requirements. i did all i could to gain it but no luck. i did not have any active duty. but i was

in for 2yrs 8 months and 24 days thats what my seperation paper says i did achive the rank of pvt

id like to know if this still makes me a veteran i have had a lot of lawyers tell me that i am and one told me thank you for sevrving my country. i myself have been to the va here in this state i just recently got my paperwork going .i did have it once before but i guess i was listening to the wrong ppl

i have been through my local congressman.and he can only do so much. im hoping i can get atleast

10% but that might look iffy. i am hopeing that because i did not have any active duty. that i might not get anything i am on disability from the social securtiy am i am getting 100% benifits from that.

this might be relted to the injury i got whiel i was in the guard. yes i have been to alot of drs.

but does anybody know if i will have to go to the va?which here it is called togus i hope somebody can anwser this question i have. i also wonder if i get any ribbons or anything i know i can get one for haveing the honorable discharge. plus i can get the vet plates for our car. but i need to know if there is anythign else. thanks abunch any help would be very gratefull.

mark