Mikey33T

Winston Churchill once said “Never give up, never give up, never, never, never.” This holds true for those that have the invisible wounds of war. Sixteen years after my retirement I received a letter that outlined possible VA presumptions. The letter explained many challenges I experienced and encouraged me to apply for VA disability and the beginnings of denial. I received a 60% rating in 2017 with a service connection date of Aug 2014. However, my main challenge (PTSD) was denied. The denial was because I didn’t have a therapist confirming my condition; they agreed with the stressor. Since I am retired and use Tricare Prime, I went there for therapy and appealed. I was again denied because the therapist was not a certified therapist. How would I know? i was headed to an appeal with the BVA and my VSO (Virginia Department of Veteran Services), specifically Caleb Johnson, helped me get two independent evaluations from a university and a therapist. I entered the RAMP program and received a 50% PTSD rating in 2018 but with a service connection date of Dec 2017. I appealed the date and for an increase in Nov 2018 and yesterday (19 March 2019) received a 100% P&T with SMC (S-1) with a service connection date of Aug 2014. Below is my HLR Ramp timeline: 1.. 1/17/19 CR 26 Apr 19 - 10 Aug 19 2. 1/28/19 PFD 25 Feb 19 - 1 Apr 19 3. 2/6/19 PDA 6 Feb 19 - 10 Mar 19 4. 2/7/19 9 PFN Feb 19 - 11 Feb 19 5. 2/11/19 PDA 26 Feb 19 - 15 Mar 19 6. 2/19/19 PDA 6 Mar 19 - 23 Mar 19 7. 3/4/19 PFD 1 Apr 19 - 6 May 19 8. 3/5/19 PDA 20 Mar 19 - 6 Apr 19 9. 3/5/19 PFN 7 Mar 19 - 9 Mar 19 10. 3/6/19 PDA 21 Mar - 7 Apr 19 11. 3/8/19 PFD 5 Apr - 10 May 19 12. 3/11/19 PDA 26 Mar - 12 Apr 19 13. 3/13/19 UR 10 May - 23 Jul 19 14. 3/15/19 PDA 30 Mar - 16 Apr 19 15. 3/18/19 PFN 20 Mar - 22 Mar 19 16. 3/19/19 Complete As you can read above, there was a lot of bouncing back and forth. Yes, I watched eBenefits more than I should. This site was a source of support throughout my painful wait. This is what I learned: 1. Don’t quit! 2. EBenefits does not accurately demonstarate the RAMP stages. You may see the progress in EBenefits but the stages don’t apply correctly. 3. It is futile to tell a veteran to stop watching EBenefits. What else are they going to do? 4. If you feel like you must call EBenefits (Peggy), they cannot tell you everything they see but some will tell you more than others. I called several times till I at least got some type of information I thought was the most they could give. 5. While I had success with my VSO, it was with Caleb and not with the other people that worked there. So, sometimes you have to ensure your VSO cares. As a matter of fact, after receiving the 50% PTSD an idiot at that office told me to be happy with it. I submitted the HLR RAMP on my own. I didn’t bother to complain to Caleb but he found out and that person’s supervisor called me to apologize. The moral is that you are ultimately accountable for the outcome so don’t give up!

Winston Churchill once said “Never give up, never give up, never, never, never.” This holds true for those that have the invisible wounds of war. Sixteen years after my retirement I received a letter that outlined possible VA presumptions. The letter explained many challenges I experienced and encouraged me to apply for VA disability and the beginnings of denial. I received a 60% rating in 2017 with a service connection date of Aug 2014. However, my main challenge (PTSD) was denied. The denial was because I didn’t have a therapist confirming my condition; they agreed with the stressor. Since I am retired and use Tricare Prime, I went there for therapy and appealed. I was again denied because the therapist was not a certified therapist. How would I know? i was headed to an appeal with the BVA and my VSO (Virginia Department of Veteran Services), specifically Caleb Johnson, helped me get two independent evaluations from a university and a therapist. I entered the RAMP program and received a 50% PTSD rating in 2018 but with a service connection date of Dec 2017. I appealed the date and for an increase in Nov 2018 and yesterday (19 March 2019) received a 100% P&T with SMC (S-1) with a service connection date of Aug 2014. Below is my HLR Ramp timeline: 1.. 1/17/19 CR 26 Apr 19 - 10 Aug 19 2. 1/28/19 PFD 25 Feb 19 - 1 Apr 19 3. 2/6/19 PDA 6 Feb 19 - 10 Mar 19 4. 2/7/19 9 PFN Feb 19 - 11 Feb 19 5. 2/11/19 PDA 26 Feb 19 - 15 Mar 19 6. 2/19/19 PDA 6 Mar 19 - 23 Mar 19 7. 3/4/19 PFD 1 Apr 19 - 6 May 19 8. 3/5/19 PDA 20 Mar 19 - 6 Apr 19 9. 3/5/19 PFN 7 Mar 19 - 9 Mar 19 10. 3/6/19 PDA 21 Mar - 7 Apr 19 11. 3/8/19 PFD 5 Apr - 10 May 19 12. 3/11/19 PDA 26 Mar - 12 Apr 19 13. 3/13/19 UR 10 May - 23 Jul 19 14. 3/15/19 PDA 30 Mar - 16 Apr 19 15. 3/18/19 PFN 20 Mar - 22 Mar 19 16. 3/19/19 Complete As you can read above, there was a lot of bouncing back and forth. Yes, I watched eBenefits more than I should. This site was a source of support throughout my painful wait. This is what I learned: 1. Don’t quit! 2. EBenefits does not accurately demonstarate the RAMP stages. You may see the progress in EBenefits but the stages don’t apply correctly. 3. It is futile to tell a veteran to stop watching EBenefits. What else are they going to do? 4. If you feel like you must call EBenefits (Peggy), they cannot tell you everything they see but some will tell you more than others. I called several times till I at least got some type of information I thought was the most they could give. 5. While I had success with my VSO, it was with Caleb and not with the other people that worked there. So, sometimes you have to ensure your VSO cares. As a matter of fact, after receiving the 50% PTSD an idiot at that office told me to be happy with it. I submitted the HLR RAMP on my own. I didn’t bother to complain to Caleb but he found out and that person’s supervisor called me to apologize. The moral is that you are ultimately accountable for the outcome so don’t give up!

Broncovet and Berta, thanks for the response. I don’t know if I received a 100% rating; I’m still waiting for the decision. That would be nice if that was the outcome. I was just taken back by the recent addition of these 2 contentions because I didn’t ask or know about them. Thanks again.

I submitted a RAMP appeal for PTSD backpay and increase. EBenefits recently added SMC and eligibility for dependent education assistance. I was told that the SMC was for aid and assistance. Why would these 2 contentions be added and what does it provide, if anything?

Broncovet, thanks for sharing your knowledge

Shrekthetank1, thanks for the response. I agree with checking periodically as the decision cannot be rushed. I was curious about the procedures within the process. I have had my claim in since June 2014. Some of my challenges were awarded in 2015 and my PTSD was recently acknowledged in 2018 - my claim/appeal is based on the service connection date. Over the last year’s I have read about the struggle some have with getting a status and others pointing to the codified steps of the process. I believe, that if somehow we knew what the actual steps were it would provide a level of transparency that could relieve some of the anxiety with waiting. My experience is that when people don’t have the truth they will develop their own narrative; which may be why many criticize the VA’s bureaucracy. During my last status update, the service desk person informed me that I had 2 of the 3 required approvals which led me to believe that there are multiple steps in the pending decision phase. However, the online explanations on this phase only speaks to one approval to move to the preparing notification. I was hoping maybe someone familiar with the process could shed some light on this for me and for others. P.S. I truly appreciate you responding. Thanks

Does anyone know the steps that occur within the pending decision phase? Background: my claim went from preparation for notification to pending decision approval. I asked for a status a week later And was informed that my claim had 2 of the 3 required approval signatures. Does anyone know what that is all about?