corporalgator

I stumbled across the site while looking for the 2009 compensation rates. Hopefully I can get some advice. First, some background. I decided to join the Marines in Spring 2001 as I was struggling with college and pretty lonely. I figured it would be good for my self-esteem. I should have listened to my parents and joined a branch more suited to my nature, but their insistence that the Marines would be too tough only made me want to join more. I was re-motivated and finished my AA degree with above a 3.0 when I had been hovering around a 2.0 when they contacted me. Weird side note: I was sitting in the recruiting office waiting to go to Parris Island on 9/11. They sent me home and I went on Oct 15th. I struggled through my training, including SERE school, but eventually made it to be a Crew Chief on the CH-46E. After arriving at my duty squadron and studying for several months, I failed my plane captain's exam and became extremely depressed. I was fapped out to corrosion control, which only worsened things, until I eventually tried to kill my self. After a week in the 24 hour monitoring locked ward and a week in the unlocked ward, they released me back to my squadron and started my discharge. I was on a variety of pills and while not better, at least functional. I eventually was discharged with honorably with personality disorder as the cause. I filed my claim with the VA for adjustment disorder and along with some arthritis in my back, tinnitus, and some scars, received a total rating of 50%. I went back to college and finished my bachelors in English Literature with a 3.89 in my upper class work, but I was isolated and depressed most of the time. The school work kept me focused, but I could not hold down a job. When I was discharged, I was told by the dentist who did my final exam, that the VA would pull my upper wisdom teeth. The Marines had the bottom two pulled, but the top two had not dropped enough for them to be extracted. I went to the VA Clinic and they told me I could not have it done. A lesson I learned is to get everything in writing. After I graduated, I was summoned to Gainesville (I was living in Tallahassee) for a re-evaluation of my claim. The mail went to my mother's house and I missed the deadline for the meeting. A week later, a letter arrived saying I had been adjusted down to 30% (or 20%, I can't remember at the moment) because I had failed to show and my graduation showed I had reclaimed my ability to function and no longer warranted a rating of 50%. I called the office and pleaded for another appointed because I had missed the letter. They granted it and after evaluating me, decided I should keep the 50%. I continued to struggle keeping work or getting work as it's hard when your discharged says personality disorder. Eventually, I decided to travel through Latin America as it's cheap and my disability payments would sustain me. I also wanted to get my remaining two wisdom teeth pulled since they had finally dropped and had broken through my gums growing in at a bad angle. I could not afford to have this done in the states. After arriving in Ecuador, I went to a dentist on the recommendation of another ex-pat. I was immediately sent for x-rays and upon viewing them, the dentist asked if I had really had my lower two teeth extracted. I replied certinly so as I could not have hallucinated the two wretched hours I spent in the chair with local anthesia while the Naval dentist drilled my bottom teeth apart. He then showed me the x-rays and said, well you still have teeth there. The Naval dentist had missed a quarter of the root on one side and a third on the other and both had regrown the entire crown. Both were also extremely infected. Since I was paying cash, I was immediately put in the chair for another 2 hours of hell. He x-rayed me immediately upon concluding the operation to ensure he had missed nothing. After several excrutiatingly painful days with very little sleep, I finally started to recover. After about a week, I started to realize that I felt infinitely better than before the procedure. I no longer felt tired all the time and that improved my mood so that I was no longer depressed. It has now been a year, and I can say without a doubt that it was the botched operation in the Marines that started my severe depression. It was a month before I failed my plane captain's exam and until that point I was getting along while not perfect since I'm clumsy and just more suited for more desk job type work, at least well enough that I should have been able to finish out my enlistment with no problems. Only after the operation did I really begin to spiral into a deep depression. I had never had thoughts of killing myself before that point. I lived with that for over 5 years. So now for my questions. First, do I have any recourse at all to be reimbursed for the procedure to have my wisdom teeth pulled? Second, can I now have my discharge papers changed to reflect that I no longer have a personality disorder or is that permanent (I know this would reduce my disability rating)? Third, how often do they reevaluate claims? Is it a set time or do they just monitor people to see if they really warrant their higher rating? Fourth, I was only given a % of my GI Bill because of my time served and discharge type, would it be possible to have it increased to the full amount due to my circumstances? Fifth, I was given the run-around by my voc rehab officer and didn't feel like dealing with it since getting the GI Bill by itself was much less of a hassle. I am only 27. Do you think they would pay for me to get a master's degree? Also, would I be able to do voc-rehab overseas? I currently live in Colombia. As an aside, If you or your dependents need any type of medical work done and it is not covered by the VA, dental, plastic surgery, anything, I recommend coming to Colombia. It is much cheaper but the doctors are highly skilled. It is also an amazing country to visit. I am currently working through a TEFL certificate course so I can teach english here (is that covered by the GI Bill?) Thanks for all of your help, Matt