I am a Viet Nam Vet. I was the first female to be assigned to a combat unit. I was sexually harrased, raped, and tortured by the officers in the unit. Yes, there were a lot of officers because it was an attack helicopter squadron in the Army.
When I got out in '77 I was not told about the VA. In 2003 I found out that I was eligable for benefits. I applied and started geting medical services. My primary sent me to psych. I was diagnosed with PTSD from the sexual tramma and started to understand why I could not keep a job, stay married, or love my sons. I applied for service connection. I was told not to apply by the DAV, have not been given any help with my claim and now the BVA has put the icing on the cake with the words they used in their denial. You see, when I reported the rape it was my CO who had commited the act. Well guess what, my CO is were the report was sent. It never went anywhere so there is not any record anywhere of it happening. I did request to be transfered to another unit and my sister confirmed the change in my behavior. The rating board for the BVA rater chose not to look at that and to ignore the fact that the judge found a connection. Instead I received the following:
:)
"An examiner's diagnosis can be no better than the reported facts. Professional opinions based on inaccurate factual premises have no probative value.
There is evidence which indicates you have not been a consistent historian. Your claim is based on a diagnosis of repressed memories for your events in the military. You report having difficulty remembering your military years but do remember some events with great specificity. The sheer magnitude of events you describe defies logic given the complete absence of one iota of corroborating evidence, i.e., no police reports, no disciplinary actions, no sexually transmitted disease checks, no behavioral changes, no mental health consults, no changes in physical conditioning and no evidence of any of these things for over 30 years subsequent to the reported events. The VA examiner was inclined to accept your report as fact and rendered an opinion based on that assumption."
I submitted records showing that I asked and was given a transfer to another unit. This evidence has never been refered to in anything that I have gotten back.
SO, my question is, how do I get them to look at all of the evidence that I have provided them? I have 30 days to respond to the denial letter that I got. The DVA officer is not anyone that I want to help me because he had never talked to me about my case. He sat in the hearing like a bump on a log. He had never even heard what had happened to me until I told the judge. So please, what should I put in the response to the rating boards opinion?
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JoAnn
Hi,
I need all of your help with this one.
I am a Viet Nam Vet. I was the first female to be assigned to a combat unit. I was sexually harrased, raped, and tortured by the officers in the unit. Yes, there were a lot of officers because it was an attack helicopter squadron in the Army.
When I got out in '77 I was not told about the VA. In 2003 I found out that I was eligable for benefits. I applied and started geting medical services. My primary sent me to psych. I was diagnosed with PTSD from the sexual tramma and started to understand why I could not keep a job, stay married, or love my sons. I applied for service connection. I was told not to apply by the DAV, have not been given any help with my claim and now the BVA has put the icing on the cake with the words they used in their denial. You see, when I reported the rape it was my CO who had commited the act. Well guess what, my CO is were the report was sent. It never went anywhere so there is not any record anywhere of it happening. I did request to be transfered to another unit and my sister confirmed the change in my behavior. The rating board for the BVA rater chose not to look at that and to ignore the fact that the judge found a connection. Instead I received the following:
:)
"An examiner's diagnosis can be no better than the reported facts. Professional opinions based on inaccurate factual premises have no probative value.
There is evidence which indicates you have not been a consistent historian. Your claim is based on a diagnosis of repressed memories for your events in the military. You report having difficulty remembering your military years but do remember some events with great specificity. The sheer magnitude of events you describe defies logic given the complete absence of one iota of corroborating evidence, i.e., no police reports, no disciplinary actions, no sexually transmitted disease checks, no behavioral changes, no mental health consults, no changes in physical conditioning and no evidence of any of these things for over 30 years subsequent to the reported events. The VA examiner was inclined to accept your report as fact and rendered an opinion based on that assumption."
I submitted records showing that I asked and was given a transfer to another unit. This evidence has never been refered to in anything that I have gotten back.
SO, my question is, how do I get them to look at all of the evidence that I have provided them? I have 30 days to respond to the denial letter that I got. The DVA officer is not anyone that I want to help me because he had never talked to me about my case. He sat in the hearing like a bump on a log. He had never even heard what had happened to me until I told the judge. So please, what should I put in the response to the rating boards opinion?
Thank you
Jo Ann
US Army
1974-1977
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