TALON II FE

They haven't ever given me anything but Lyrica, and that was a fight. Tricare is the same or worse. When the "rich kids" started OD'ing on Mommy's pills 10-15 years ago, they started this war. As usual, the first casualties are those of us that can't afford to go to someone else.

Good luck, brother!

Mine says about the same, 2018-2019. I submitted several months before yours. Complete BS! I tried in person, and they said my file is "too big" to just print out for me. Meanwhile, I have several contentions which will hit the one year mark since the decision in just a couple months. How can I/we argue what they decided without knowing what they used to make the decision?

service connection

Honestly, I am not sure. I received a disc when I retired, so...I have not requested them from St Louis, I cannot say. Many here have had experience with this, so I would wait for one of them to chime in. Good luck!

I believe that this would establish the SC, and the 'prescription' of the CPAP by the VA meets the 50% criteria, without having actually seen any of the evidence. That shows an in-service diagnosis and a current diagnosis. I think where many Vets run into problems is that they never get the diagnosis to begin with, while in service, so they are forced to rely on 'Buddy Statements' or have to try and tie it in as a Secondary. DEFINITELY order a full copy of your service medical records (if you haven't already) and start gathering any other private medical records, etc. I think you are now in the 'waiting game' stage of the process, and there are too many variables to pin down exactly how long this stage will take you. It varies by location, claim, etc, etc. Next, you should get a C&P exam. Do not get to 'wrapped up' in what Ebenefits says. It is a useful tool, but it does not accurately portray the internal process of the VA, so it can cause a lot of frustration. Good luck!

I haven't read the proposal, but it sounds like they want it to be SC BEFORE they will C&P; so my first question would be who establishes/verifies the SC? Will they need a whole new department now? Sounds like bureaucracy at it's finest once again!

congratulations!

congratz!

No, I think the pilot hammered on the brakes too much, because he didn't compensate enough for the reduced reverse thrust with the #2 engine shut down and rolled it out too long. It was our last flight before heading home. I can hit him in the head with a flashlight, but I can't reach his feet, lol!

I don't normally fall into the role of 'spreading sunshine', but there is a chance the Rater may notice the discrepancy and correct it. I think sometimes seeing the C&P can be stressful, even discouraging. I had it 'all figured out' when I received mine and I see it happen with others over and over again as well. When I got the ratings, over half were different then I expected. Hang tight and try not to get too worked up yet, there is still a chance this works out for you without all of that being necessary. Is there a way you could contact the evaluator, thru his/her office, maybe? Possibly, IF you can get the examiner to review, they may even be able to fix it ahead of the Rater finally getting to your case. Good Luck!

You are right, though I can't remember for sure, I believe it is 30 days for a FOIA. Of course they don't make that deadline and no one seems to care. I am in the same boat. I want to dispute some of my claims and received a similar timeline, mine says 2018-2019. Pretty hard to dispute without "knowing for sure" what they used to make the decision. I think several of mine are actually CUEs, but...how to know for sure without the C-File? It makes you wonder if they are setting dates more then a year out for this very reason, just my feeling on the situation.

Just to add, now I have cooled off a little, for perspective; I am 100% with 17 SC disabilities. I went to Bosnia twice(UAV MX), as an aviator, I was in Iraq three times, Afghanistan twice as well as OEF-P on a regular basis later on as I spent 15 of my 20 years overseas clawing to as close to the tip of Spear as I could. In 2006, after a chemical exposure (or a few of them), they offered me 40% medical retirement. I was a SSGT with 13 years at the time, and had only been flying C-130s for a few years (cross-train only, preferably from a MX background). I still had career goals to meet and no idea what else I would want to do, so I fought it and jumped thru the hoops set up for me by the Command SG. I fought my way back up to flight status and deployed 6 days later for my 3rd Iraq deployment. Before I left, I requested Special Operations duty and, after an interview, it was approved. Two weeks after returning from Iraq, I went to 7 month long "advanced flying course". I proceeded from there to fly Special Operations for the next 5 years. My 'office' (MC-130H T2) cost $172 million and was MY responsibility. I travelled to 48 countries during my career, at least 1/2 were third world. I spent enough time in Korea playing with ROKSOF and SOCKOR to get my KDM, probably at least 5 times over. While flying, my wrist started 'inflating' with pressurization on the aircraft. I went to the Navy hospital (Camp Lester, Okinawa), and they did an MRI and I was informed I had an 3.5 cm Sarcoma (cancerous tumor) in my wrist. I went and flew for 3 more months, bouncing from one JCET to another, Joint INTL exercises and missions which would have been canx if I went down from flight status. I never 'made it by' to let my Flight Medicine know. You see, there are only 20ish Talons in the world, and about 38 FEs qualified to fly them, on average. You don't screw your buddies by going down off status in my community! I let my CC and our Ops Super and DO know what was going on and had their support. I went all over Asia during that 3 months, often TDY in my own bed for a night between missions because there wasn't time to 'reset' between commitments. I was in Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, the PI, Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia during this 3 months. End of the road, I am flying missions out of Pnom Penh, Cambodia, doing the first low level flying they allowed us to do since Viet Nam. We were shot at (small arms) by Poppy farmers in the mountains, then we had a prop malfunction and had to shut an engine down and THEN experienced a brake fire on landing that required us to Evac the aircraft and sit there waiting for parts for 2 days.When we finally started heading home, I was in the back (we took 2 crews, one tail) and the med tech that was with us saw it 'puffing up' during the ascent. I never flew again, and I was at 17 years in service. They medevac'd me to Balboa Navy Hospital in San Diego where I spent almost 3 months in therapy and procedures on what turned out to be an AVM (vascular tumor). Unfortunately, my arm was not fully functional anymore and flying again was out of the question. I permanently lost my flight status, fought things out with the DAWG citing a lack of OMB (optimum medical benefit), they wanted to terminate with severance at 17-18 years! Meanwhile, I was medevac'd again for about three-four weeks of medical tests. Good ol' boy network, you said, lol? I fought, got the AFSOC SG to certify me medically to go fly UAVs. That fell apart and I was cross trained to an Education job. I stood up and created an entire IMSO office, dealing with INTL Military Students. I did that for my last 2.5 years, working 60-70 hours a week, sometimes 7 days a week, up to 20+ days without a day off sometimes. Hard to worry about pain and PTSD when you stay that busy. I had hidden/put off many, many medical issues for years and years, since they would interrupt my flight status. Now, it no longer mattered. Within 6 months BEFORE I 'dropped my retirement papers' I had two major surgeries. I had a 3 level c-spine fusion and a Full Frontal FESS (5.5 hour sinus surgery that almost cost me my life). BTW, below are my ratings, first time with lowballs and about 5 things that they did not connect since they did not obtain complete records SINCE service, those will be NODs as well as several of the 0%'s and the spinal ratings were VERY low. They also 'recommend I claim other things, including my scars, deviated septum and PVD. The last one IS a death sentence, eventually for most. By your statements above, you don't think that guys CONTINUE to get battered for years and years? Maybe in an admin job, but those guys have issues from sitting around all the time, too. I will personally be fortunate to make it to 60. And you are hating on retired vets for, in my case, about $1200 after taxes? Seriously? You are a young buck. I have four children, the youngest just turned 7 and the oldest is 20. They rely on me to provide for them, we aren't talking living in luxury here, we are talking enough to get by. Take a look below, I am curious which of my claims was a "BS money grab"? Please let me know! Or is it just that I persevered and 'mostly' obtained my goals in my military career that upsets you? 70% post-traumatic stress disorder (also claimed as adjustment disorder) 50% obstructive sleep apnea 50% sinusitis (claimed as chronic pansinusitis) 30% headache syndrome to include occipital neuralgia (claimed as migraine headaches and occipital nerve impingement) 20% carpal tunnel syndrome, right upper extremity to include lower radicular group and cubital tunnel syndrome post excision of arteriovenous malformation (also claimed as peripheral nerve injury shoulder, neuritis median nerve right arm) 20% status post cervical vertebral fusion C4-C6 to include myofascial pain syndrome (claimed as herniated disc (c5-c6) left, cervical spondylosis) 10% degenerative arthritis of the spine to include lumbago, lumbar spondylosis and myofascial pain syndrome (claimed as lumbar bulging disc l4-l5) 10% left peroneal neuropathy (claimed as deep peroneal nerve atrophy) 10% varicose veins, right lower extremity (also claimed as venous reflux disease) 10% varicose veins, left lower extremity (also claimed as venous reflux disease) 10% seborrheic dermatitis 0% radiculopathy, left upper extremity 0% carpal metacarpal arthritis, right hand (claimed as osteoarthritis right hand) 0% vasomotor rhinitis (also claimed as nasal polyps)  0% lliotibial band friction syndrome, right thigh 0% ganglion cyst, left wrist (claimed as ganglion left/right wrist) 0% meralgia paresthetica, right lower extremity

Get jealous much, young buck? It must be nice to be able to categorically dismiss. You won't be getting any advice from me...go spew that ugliness at that "other site". I guess some of us are more dedicated than others, or...whatever else mean-spirited crap I could think up? I guess I am not YOUR "true countryman". Let me know what country you live in, I'll make sure not to visit.

I agree with the above from Mark and Gastone, with a word of caution: I would highly recommend avoiding any topic matter PRIOR to your service. I think this is what Andy was getting at in part of his post. Even though there is a qualifier which says that a disability made worse by service should be treated the same as one incurred while in service, in MH rating, this does not seemed to be honored as 'frequently'. I have seen many Vets run into problems when they started going into childhood, adolescence, etc. It really is NOT pertinent to the rating, or should it be part of the SC Keep in mind, this is NOT a medical appointment! It is more of a legal fact-finding inquiry. In all honesty, you were enlisted or commissioned being of "sound mind and body", excepting anything found during intake thru MEPS, etc. Unless they noted issues then, you effectively had "no defect" upon entry into service. Initially, I failed the depth perception test. I had just switched to glasses from contacts for the MEPS, so that was the cause. I later switched to a flying gig from busting my knuckles, passed the depth perception test, no problem. BUT, if I tried to claim a depth perception issue, I would have a steep hill to climb. Once you open up that Pandora's box at a C&P, well...it could cause issues. Please keep in mind, a C&P is NOT treatment! In treatment, I would recommend baring it all. You have to put it all out there and deal with it to realize the maximum return from your therapy, BUT I don't believe that a C&P is the place for that. Stick to what happened in service and since you exited, you will be less likely to incur "unexpected" or "unplanned" results, or a lack of results altogether.