Please Help!

[yoggie2]

I was released from US.ARMY due to my disability in NOV1994 (rated @40%) its getting so bad its hard to do many,many things to many to list. At the time I had 3 years Reserve 6 years total active service that included 2 tours of combat. Years has left me in sever and constant pain. I filed for an increase in Fl, after having to give up a job every one dreams about due to my service connected injury 2 years ago. It was year and half ago I filed, since then my family moved to IN to survive . we have went through thousands in savings and and the only end in site is our money. I did what I think is everything, written Congressman, my doctors have written the VA. is there anything someone can offer to help. I felt I've done everything that was requested of me I served my country worked hurt for years while being treated on a monthly basis to make a good life for me and mine. All our money is all but gone along with our life. Now we are stamped with the stigma of welfare and ashamed never thought I'd be begging for help. I'm scared,is there any advice or help from orgs I can seek for help.

Thanks For your help Rich C.

Edited September 26, 2007 by yoggie2

[Pete53]

Yoggie:

Welcome to Hadit. I think that entropent gave you good advice and that you should start there. Do you get Social Security Disability? If you do you should notify the VARO that you do and provide a copy of your award letter.

If you can I suggest that you consider going to the VARO and asking to see a Counselor and let them go over your claim with you. Ask them to help you and that this is putting a real hardship on you.

If you don't get Social Security apply today.

Good Luck

1 and 1/2 years is not the norm something is wrong

[yoggie2]

Well, I did what entropent had suggested and they are acquiring my 201 file to see if I qualify for PTSD and that's all, and was told being I have no Purple Heart or a CIB major combat ribbons, I may not be considered even though I pulled 2 tours of combat Duty. Desert Storm, and Restore Joke in Somoila.

Being attacked on a daily basis, I have always said when you get there your there you fight for your Country after a week your fighting for each other. If they give out Award for surviving 1 to 2 shoot outs a day they can keep'um, Give them to someone who love ribbons. And there is a point you reach a threshold of your fear of dieing you submit to it you welcome death you loose your fear of dieing. Some where you never regain your happiness of living, seems people(American not Soldiers) here have become so complacent wondering around with know worries talking of thing they no nothing about. Haven't been to a 4 th of July in over 15 years and same nightmares over again they become so real. So put a bunch of pictures together to send and show them all the dead people and the nice little office I had a bunker we fire till the damed barrel about melted. I just beleave there fascination is with death well dealt with.

RC

[yoggie2]

As to the question about SSA here is a post I put on a nothere message board to another fellow VET:

Jmack, I don't completely know your situation and it looks that your in bad shape. Don't play with these people at the SSA. I've been there get it done as soon as possible I mean soon. They have know heart, none! Best advice I can give you on all research me and my wife has done 78% get rejected right off the bat and the repeal is the same process and the rejection rate is even HIGHER 85+%. I'm in line for a court date now. Took me 8 months of SSA to find out I could still be a doll stuffer and a raffle ticket dude, please get a lawyer so he or he know all things are right when you send in your packet. You'll get it, it will take time but don't give up but you have to reach now. I have medical records going back 17 years they(SSA) didn't want them at all.They will send you to there hand picked people to be evaluated and you need this done soon as possible! Good luck to you ............

Rich C

[cloudcroft]

Rich C.,

IF (in reality) your disabilities are that bad and you're only rated 40%, then you got short-changed and you need to keep on pursuing a ratings increase no matter how long it takes. Remember, however, that when dealing with the VA it's going to take a LONG TIME and there's little you can do about it. Just accept that.

I used my CongressCritter (CC) at one point and I'm not sure it helped or not, but I pretty much had exhausted all other options so I didn't mind playing the CC card. I eventually won, but I can't say the CC speeded things up or slowed them down (pulling my file out of line to give the CC a response). I guess it depends on the CC in question, how motivated he/she is to help you; mine seemed to be very average in this and therefore not much help to me.

Point is, it's going to take a while, and lots of vets have lost house/home and even family due to financial difficulties WAITING for the VA to decide their cases, win or lose. But I guess it could be worse: Consider all the vets who DIE before their cases are decided.

Sorry to paint such a rosy picture of the VA Benefits Claims process but that's the reality of it.

In the meantime, you need to find OTHER ways to provide what you need while awaiting VA action. If you end up winning, you will get a retro check and higher monthly compensation so it WILL be coming down the line even if too late to help you NOW. If you end up losing -- and I mean going all the way to the CVA (and that will take YEARS from now to resolve if it has goes that far) and STILL end up getting a denial -- then it won't matter anyway.

Whatever, you can't put anything on hold now while you wait on the VA so you need to seek other alternatives.

Good luck,

-- John D.

Edited September 26, 2007 by cloudcroft

[entropent]

rich, they are obtaining your da2-1, personnel qualification record. (they call it the 201 file, but they are not getting the entire record.) that document should show your dates in somalia and swa, as well as your medals received, but it will not definitively prove that you were in combat. were you combat arms? combat support? combat service support? it is possible that they will spend all this time getting the PQR, and when it gets to the board, the rater (who may or may not ever have served) will shoot you down. which you can always appeal, but it takes more time.

while VA is waiting to receive your PQR, you should review the stressor information that you have submitted already. did you provide specific, verifiable, military events that can be corroborated by a search of unit history or daily journals (such as names, dates of soldiers in your unit that were killed in an attack, etc) or did you talk about seeing casualties, processing dead bodies, or other general stuff? i cannot emphasize enough, that when a stressor event cannot be conceded by the award of purple heart, CIB, or some other combat medal, you must have a clear, concise, verifiable event or events on which the rater can concede the existence of a military stressor. it is NOT enough just to have been there.

if you did not keep a copy of that stressor questionnaire and are not completely comfortable that you have been sufficiently specific, submit an additional statement now. discuss one or two specific events that you remember (example, a mortar attack on your base while you were stationed there, specify location, specify date accurate to within a two month time frame). that is the type of stuff that can be verified. don't waste your time talking about sniper attacks, attacks on convoys (unless there was a documented IED incident), civilian casualties, or morgue detail. don't overload the rater with pages of stories, especially hand-written. one or two events. names, dates, locations.

just my two cents. good luck with your claim.

[yoggie2]

Thanks, John

I dug out my 201 file to send them copies, didn't have big awards 6 or 7 with 2 Unit Citations but did received Army Expansionary Medal for Simolia working with UN Forces. I read over it and found it was issued to our entire unit for fending off the locals time after time didn't even know it was there. I had to give up a 80thou year job + 100% Medical for entire family due to my condition. That was 2 years ago. Its has crushed us, hopefully this will help my case. Thanks for your help.

RC