Commander Bob

'Free_ Sprit_ etc' Please read this... http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/09/26/were-vets-who-served-in-guam-exposed-to-agent-orang RE: Representation...Quote John999, "If you fire your VSO hire a lawyer". Veterans were not allowed to retain attorneys to represent them until 2007, after over a 140-year prohibition that prevented them from hiring lawyers. Before then, we had to rely on a vso or go it alone. No matter how clear and factually proven your claim is, I strongly suggest you don't try to go it alone. If you don't feel comfortable with a VSO, then find a lawyer to help you.

This thread is about our fellow member 'Free_Sprit_etc.' and her dilemma with the BVA and VSO. JMHO... This thread appears to be sliding off topic , down a rabbit trail that deserves it's own Topic Heading. Good luck, everyone C.B.

FYI... "In the aftermath of World War I, disabled veterans in the United States found themselves seriously disadvantaged, with little governmental support.Many of this veterans were blind, deaf, or mentally ill when they returned from the frontlines. An astonishing 204,000 Americans in uniform were wounded during the war. The idea to form the Disabled American Veterans arose at a Christmas party in 1920 hosted by Cincinnati Superior Court Judge Robert Marx, a U.S. Army Captain who had been injured in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in November 1918. Although it had been functional for some months by that time, the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (DAVWW) was officially created on September 25, 1921, at its first National Caucus, in Hamilton County Memorial Hall in Cincinnati." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disabled_American_Veterans

The guy interviewed on TV is Kevin Reeder, Ph.D.,a graduate of Tennessee State University (2005), & Co-Training Director, Research Supervisor at a VAMC in Arkansas. Another example of our research money projects. I have to admit that I barley understand subjecting this type of an experiment to the vet, (a guinea pig ,if you will), who had a single traumatic event. Not that I agree, in fact, jmho, it could be argued that it could harm the vet and exacerbate the problem. For some reason, this also reminds me of the "Electro Shock Therapy " practiced in the past, as well as the age old use of "Bloodletting" that our forefathers believed in. However, JMHO, as a boots on the ground combat vet, who experienced multiple traumatic events on multiple separate occasions and different situations, I find this treatment inhumane and an unacceptable risk. Sometimes, PTSD comes about by multiple events. You should have been around before PTSD was discovered. I remember those days, and the medical abuses well. I wish those who encounter Doctor Reeder, my most positive thoughts. Good Luck, C. B. P. S. If it look like a duck...etc.

Hi pr. lol CB

Hey John999, So true. Bob

I'm sure the public ate it up, waved the flag, felt patriotic, and once again were reassured that everything will be ok... Sad indeed. C.B.

I would send the copies of your husband's military personnel files directly to the BVA, as requested by the BVA judge or your rep, who ever asked for them. tell the BVA, your rep asked you to get them. You could cc the rep "Return recipt requested". if you want to. HOWEVER , you have 2 days left to get your stuff to the BVA. JMHO... OVERNIGHT the records to DC. First thing tomorrow, OVERNIGHT them to BVA . Remember to include his C-# and the (Reply Refer to info) found at the top of the BVA letter you recevied from BVA DC. I feel your unnecessary torment, 'free_spirit_etc'. My most positive thoughts are with you. Good Luck, Cmdr. Bob

I am so sorry to hear of your daughter's disability. I hope it goes well for her and she prevails asap. She is most fortunate to have you as her advocate. Best wishes, Bob

The VA is overloaded in all aspects of the system. The side effects are frustration and torment. We have to hang in there and keep vigilant. I had my BVA hearing on May 22, and am now waiting for the results. I know the feeling. I had to slug along for almost 5 years for this one. My most positive thoughts are with you guys. Good luck for a successful outcome. Cmdr. Bob

Congratulations, 'Crome_305'... and good luck on the remands. You mentioned, you recently checked e-benefits, and it came up with 70% P&T (Permanent and Total) Is there an unemployability issue the VA has considered? Do you have a service rep? Best wishes, C.B.

Again Congratulations, 71M10. Please keep us posted on the P&T and SMCs? C.B.

Relative Equipoise ?

Thanks for your support 'Justrluk' . All things considered, I think my NSO is doing the best he can, with what he's got. (As Bob Dylan once wrote..." Don't think twice, it's all right) Well, I still do not have copies of my records and files, that I repeatedly, formally requested from my VARO years ago. It has taken over 1,700 days for my case to come this far. Because the VA has refused to send me my records in a timely manner, I am thinking about relying on 38 USC 5107 (b) and my memory, to overturn the negative elements of my SOC, at my BVA hearing... What do you think my chances are? Any ideas? I would like to bring this thing to an equatable and honorable end ASAP!!! Plan B: is a remand. Bob

So true... Thanks for the reminder, John999. Good Luck '71M10'. And Good Luck to all disabled vets going through the appeals process. I am reminded of Rudyard Kipling's ..."IF"... If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same:. If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss: If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much: If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! Rudyard Kipling Bob

Three weeks till my BVA Hearing..Still no copies of my Records??? Here is the email I received from my Rep. **************email*********************** from: NSO Rep. In response to your call this morning: It is my firm opinion as your representative that you should not ask to again reschedule your ... Travel Board hearing. It is so difficult and time consuming to get these Travel Board’s scheduled and they already rescheduled you once when I was not available since they did not provide enough notice and I was working that week in DC at BVA. I realize they have not provided you copies of your claims folder which you requested years ago and recently received notice that such a request is pending. As I informed you, this was clearly stated in our 646 and will be presented to the judge in the hearing. Obviously your case will be remanded to accomplish that task if necessary, but the judge also could grant or remand for other action like an independent medical opinion, etc. We also, if you have finally in the interim received the records, can ask for the judge to hold the case in abeyance until you are able to obtain your own medical opinion. My experience,... is that the years we have waited for action on your appeal will just be compounded by a request to reschedule and your case needs to be moved from their jurisdiction to the Board’s. If we submit additional evidence before the case is fully out of xxxxxxx jurisdiction it will not be handled expeditiously as it would under the Board’s control or under a remand to the AOJ. NSO REP. ************************end email***************** JMHO... I will attend the the May 22nd Hearing...and leave the bldg, either granted or remanded... Best regards , Cmdr. Bob

I like your topic title... "I Love The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning..."