Letter Of Commendation

[JamesR]

Does anyone know what happens to letters of commendation when you leave the military?

Are they trashed orare they used for active duty files only?

Will they help with a case with the VA? Thanks.

[Testvet]

Does anyone know what happens to letters of commendation when you leave the military?

Are they trashed orare they used for active duty files only?

Will they help with a case with the VA? Thanks.

Unless the commendation letter is specific to a stressor incident I don't know how else they could assist a VA claim in any matter, the VA does not use a merit system for awarding claims they are based solely on medical evidence and provable stressors for PTSD incidents I can't recall any of my awards or commendations that would have impacted a VA claim

we use to joke at the Post Office how many "atta boys" did you need to make up for one "aw chit"?

[JamesBreckenridge]

Does anyone know what happens to letters of commendation when you leave the military?

Are they trashed orare they used for active duty files only?

Will they help with a case with the VA? Thanks.

Should be part of your "201" or personnel file. Meritorious Service Medals themselves are about useless to provide a stressor... but sometimes there is a writeup that explains why the MSM was awarded, and that writeup can confirm a stressor. But I've seen MSMs without any kind of writeup in the file as to why it was awarded. But when they have... it can make for interesting reading (remember, I spend most of my day looking at medical records of the sniffles and the occasional fracture... when I run across a writeup by Corporal Jones's* commanding officer explaining how Jones single handedly stormed the enemy position and laid down withering covering fire allowing his colleagues to reach cover resulting in a successful mission overall, yeah, that gets tabbed and flagged for the attention of the medical provider doing the PTSD exam, and I get reminded about why my job is so important.)

*all that stuff is made up for illustrative purposes on how what's in the 201 file can verify a stressor, which is why when we get a claim for PTSD, we ask for that file from whichever entity is holding it.

Edited December 30, 2009 by JamesBreckenridge