TexasMarine

Texas Marine
I am not sure how well this works I never tried it  but if you don't have any more evidence to submit.
''HIT THAT DECIDE MY CLAIM  BUTTON NOW''
in ebenfit's
Calling or Faxing they will always give you the run around.
Hang in there brother   you will eventually win  the only good thing out of all this waiting is more retro.
There just waiting for you to give up..Don't do it.
jmo
....................Buck

Texas Marine, at this point it might be worth a shot to call the Office of Case Management, try this number-(202)-930-5470, they should be able to give you up to date information and speed things up possibly. Did you have a video teleconference hearing before a VLJ? That is a long time, I had my video hearing at the RO in June of 2015, I believe on the 22nd, by the 17th of August I had the decision from BVA. I hope that they can provide some help and speed up the process!! If that doesn't work, it might be time to send an email to the VA Secretary. Best of Luck to you!!

Hang in there Andy, that guy in the mirror is always the hardest critic and most times denies you credit when credit is due. 

Black,
Vets like you are the main reason I avoided ever mentioning MH issues during my regular VA appointments over the years.  That is, nearly a year ago when I nearly blew it all.  You see, I'm not combat experienced or anything, and I knew if Marines like you felt weak, and you been there and done that, I certainly had nothing to speak about.  I've been in therapy 9 months now, and yet have not come to terms that I deserve any of this. 
Semper Fi, my Marine brother. 

Sorry SF03.  I am at the AMC as well, and as far as I can tell, they don't give status reports.
Even my lawyer can't seem to penetrate their cover.  (beware the man behind curtain ;)
Mine has been their since 10/5/15 with no end in sight.
 

Let's not forget that some states waive property tax for 100% SC Vets.  If you avoided $2400 per year in taxes, that's another $200 per month.
How about time spent commuting.  Gas and other expenses associated with working.  You now avoid those costs.
But the biggest benefit I see is (while I'd rather have my health) that I get to spend more time with my family.

Let's not forget that some states waive property tax for 100% SC Vets.  If you avoided $2400 per year in taxes, that's another $200 per month.
How about time spent commuting.  Gas and other expenses associated with working.  You now avoid those costs.
But the biggest benefit I see is (while I'd rather have my health) that I get to spend more time with my family.

IMHO, this is a great site. Keep in mind that we are all volunteering our time and experience. Yes, that funny thing experience.  We all learn, we all grow. There are only two ways we learn, we learn by our own experience and we learn from other people experience.  Of course learning from other people experience is a lot better because they have already fought the battle and has reached back to help others. Because we continue to learn there maybe ways that we can still improve our own claims.  The well known saying is knowledge is power but I always add that knowledge is power but knowledge not shared is lost. If we don't reach back to help others who will?  We all know that VA won't help anyone except themselves.

I appreciate  all the elders here on hadit, they make it easer for the veteran to understand and basically what  information need to win their claims...I see no groups on hadit?
Just some veterans ask certain members for advise Maybe they have a connection or something  or  better understanding  which is fine by me,
  We all read these post or most of us do and that's how we all learn, I had veterans that were just lurkers and pm me  what all the learn just reading hadit.
I Think Ms T has  did a fantastic job with Hadit and she has did everything under the sun to make hadit a great place for veterans to come and get  the help they need anything connected to the VA & Specializing in claims Adjudication.
Most veterans I know won there claims here on hadit by listening to the elder members  including myself.
TO THE OP, IF YOU KNOW  OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT MAY HELP HADIT AND ALL ITS MEMBERS PLEASE PM Tbird and let her know
jmo
..............Buck

Here's what I know, in my current job, my best year, with 20 hrs overtime per pay cycle, I cleared $32K take home, for a family of 4.  I would be way up s@#$ creek with out a paddle, if not for my VA comp check.  When I was laid off, years ago, my then 40% was the only thing keeping us afloat, and that was while draining my life savings...was a rough 9 months.
A couple missed or denied claims from 12-15yrs ago would have changed everything.  I'm grateful for what I do receive, and look forward to the future to when the rest finally comes through.  Then I know my family will not have to worry or count every penny anymore.

Dont forget the free healthcare.  And add that to your 100%.  Thats a bunch.
I know people with no insurance and major medical problems. It ain't a picnic.
My employer pays $18,000.00 and I pay $3000.00 for my health insurance (for my wife) who has MS and is on medicare.
So add $21,000.00 to your 100% and see how close you come to the average income and your ahead...
So, not so bad.
Hamslice
And I am too, having a wonderful life!!! 

I love math..I mean really love it.
 
Anyone who complains about the 100% rate isnt really thinking it through.
 
Im married with 3 kids. So thats  $3350 plus free medical...untaxed...
 
I had a job making 60k a week. Thats not high roller status, but above average by quite a bit.  I worked my ass off 43 hours a week to make that 60k a year.
So that should be 5,000 per month which trumps the 3350 from the VA monthly right?
That should be 2500 every 2 weeks or so...
Well the government job paid me 26 times a year instead of 24 times.
That automatically knocked the 2500 every 2 weeks down to 2400.
 
You still with me???
So then theres taxes. With a 60k a year job I got taxed aprox 25%
25% of the bi weekly 2400$ =600
So now Im getting 1800 every 2 weeks after taxes
 
Then there was my medical..300 a month
 
So this put my take home pay every 2 weeks at $1650.00
 
1650 times two payments per month is...
 
3300 a month take home on average
 
So would I rather bust my ass for the same amount of actual in the bank moneye...Or be satisfied with the compensation?
 
I love math and the awnswers quite simple...
 
Even if I had a 75k a year job and took home 4300 a month Id still prefer the 3350 from the VA and spending more time with my family.

Thank you all,
Went in todayfor the exam. It was just an hour and she said it was preliminary and there could be more. It was in fact enough time for her to get some of the general information which they already know and I'm sure is really to see your demeanor, how you dress and groom yourself, eye contact and we just need to size you up stuff.
She was really attractive and was pleasant to talk to. I hope I didn't stare at her boobs to much.  <- I almost never use those emoti-things.
I don't know if it went well or not but that part is over for now. She did bring up SA but I didn't push it.
I'll keep you all posted.

You can have a good life in the USA if you had $3K a month, if you live frugally.  Don't forget, many families of 4 persons live on less than that.
But, yes, I would imagine you could live very well indeed in the PI on $3K per month.  Quality of life regarding hospitals (mentioned above), and simple things like shopping won't be up to US standards.
It all depends on what you're looking for in life.
Have you been to the Philippines before?

I applied for SSDI in Nevada in 2007, at age 46, after not working for six months, with the following diagnosed disabilities:
Bipolar Disorder (Mixed)
Lower Back Pain
Migraines
Bilateral foot pain
After two denials and appeals, in 2007, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) approved my case on appeal, stating that I was approved because I was totally disabled for each disability individually, as well as collectively.
The ALJ had a job-placement expert at court, use their own lists of jobs that I could be  hire to do, but she found none.
The biggest differences between the SSDI and VA programs is that with the SSDI, you must be 100% disabled, but do not have to prove service connection.  With the VA you could be disabled for any given diagnosis at a partial percentage, but you must prove service connection, usually with clear service medical records, or most likely an Independent  Medical Opinion (IMO).
I had used my VA medical notes to prove the diagnoses to the SSDI.  I used the SSDI findings and doctors reports to support my claim for the VA, including my request for Individual Unemployability (IU).
 

11cvolley,
Thanks to the questioning by TexasMarine, I can make a couple of recommendations to you.
I have lived in the Philippines for the past year and half and can say that for the most part I have enjoyed myself and am very happy I made the decision to retire here. My VA Compensation more than covers everything along with my Social Security.
My wife and I live in a western style apartment with rent at about $850 (including electric) per month. This is considered a very high lifestyle and comes at a lot higher price than what else is available. Rents depending upon how you want to live can be as low as $300 to $400 per month or sometimes even less.
Eating regular PI street food can be as low as $250 per month, however we eat a lot better than that. Transportation can be as low as 25 cents depending upon distance.
So the answer is yes you can definitely live on $3000 per month, it is very doable.
Medical is an issue as only your Service Connected items are taken care of at the VA Clinic in Manila…and that is limited. All other medical is cash out of pocket and NOT equal to US standards.
Before I moved over here, I made a few trips as a civilian plus MANY port visits, while I was in the Navy, in and out of Subic. I wanted to make sure this would be the correct move for me. I recommend you take a couple of weeks off to spend over here looking around to see if this move is what you REALLY want to do. Reading brochures about the Philippines and watching you-tube is a lot different than living here; you need to experience the life.
This site is more for VA info and not about moving overseas, so you might want to check out http://www.expatforum.com for more travel information.
OSC

My questions are:
1. Wasn't I supposed to receive the SOC? When you file a NOD, you have two paths you can take. A traditional path to the BVA without a DRO review or 38 CFR  3.2600 (DRO review) The traditional path will send you the SOC ( usually 16 months) and you have 60 days to file the VA 9. The DRO path will result in a de novo review and either the granting of the claim or the issuance of the SOC. In some cases, you win some of your appeal issues and the SOC is issued for those denied.
2. Will I receive an SOC regardless of the outcome of my DRO hearing? Yes.  If they grant all your claims but there still is a higher rating available that was not granted, then the claim remains in contention. AB v Brown (1994) said that a Vet is seeking the highest rating possible and therefore the claim remains in appellate status until you quit fighting it or you win all that is possible to win. 
3. When I filed out the VA21-0958 one of the questions specifically asks the Veteran to list the service connection and % the Veteran feels warrants the service connection. Obvisously this is what I feel I deserve but is this actually something the DRO reviews and considers? VA must grant any and all benefits to which we are entitled to by law and which they have the power to grant. If you have hammer toe and ask for a 60% rating for it in the 21-0958, you're not going to win regardless how you feel on the subject. The ratings schedule is set out in Part 4. You can ask for the moon but if the rating doesn't go that high, they cannot award it. 
4.  Since I never received the SOC is that any violation of my rights? No. You cannot receive the SOC until the DRO makes a decision on what to grant and what to deny. You usually receive two documents after a review. One is a new rating sheet telling you what you won or lost and the other is the SOC explaining why. At that point you have 60 days to file a VA 9 or the balance of the year from the day you received the initial denial you filed the NOD from.
By law, you can rebut the SOC with new and material evidence. If you do, and VA still denies you, they send out a SSOC explaining why (or they grant the claim). If they continue the denial in a SSOC, you have 30 days to rebut the SSOC- or file your VA 9. Remember, once you file the VA 9, the VA begins the process of wrapping up the appeal, certifying it with a Form 8 and preparing it for transmittal to DC to the BVA. No more action will be taken on the appeal at the RO once the VA 9 is submitted. My world record was in 1991 with a SOC rebuttal followed by two SSOC rebuttals before I filed my VA 9. If you do this, time is of the essence in making sure you do not blow the suspense date(s). Green cards and snail mail are de rigueur when doing this nowadays. No eBennies or electronic filings. I delivered mine to the Seattle RO and had them hand stamped. And yes. I still lost.

I applied for SSDI in Nevada in 2007, at age 46, after not working for six months, with the following diagnosed disabilities:
Bipolar Disorder (Mixed)
Lower Back Pain
Migraines
Bilateral foot pain
After two denials and appeals, in 2007, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) approved my case on appeal, stating that I was approved because I was totally disabled for each disability individually, as well as collectively.
The ALJ had a job-placement expert at court, use their own lists of jobs that I could be  hire to do, but she found none.
The biggest differences between the SSDI and VA programs is that with the SSDI, you must be 100% disabled, but do not have to prove service connection.  With the VA you could be disabled for any given diagnosis at a partial percentage, but you must prove service connection, usually with clear service medical records, or most likely an Independent  Medical Opinion (IMO).
I had used my VA medical notes to prove the diagnoses to the SSDI.  I used the SSDI findings and doctors reports to support my claim for the VA, including my request for Individual Unemployability (IU).
 

Congratulations Green.  And thank you for sharing your time with us.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/04/17/newt-gingrich-veterans-administration-grievously-sick/
I'm not real in-tune with the VHA side of things, but I do know that it is severely broken. On the VBA side of the house I agree that the Appeals backlog is huge as reported in the story. If VA shifts resources to address it then the claims backlog will once again skyrocket. The see-saw of priorities goes on and the taxpayers are funding it.
In the VA they literally refer to all of this type of news as "job security", and it really is just that. The Union protects employees, but too often it's the wrong employees. The internal process is so far gone that I don't think it can ever recover. Not even a complete sweep of management will solve the VA's problems because it goes much higher and lower than that.
I could spend all day on this forum trying to educate, inform, and expose.....but I don't want to be on some TV show with my wife telling the world how I failed to get stuff done around the house!! 
 

Very Wow! 
Congrats to you.
And to TBird, a proper salute, Ma'am.
 

Very Wow! 
Congrats to you.
And to TBird, a proper salute, Ma'am.
 

Very Wow! 
Congrats to you.
And to TBird, a proper salute, Ma'am.
 

I hate Ebennies it's a click away and when it changes you get so anxious you can't stop checking Why did they invent the internet for phones?