Does This Rate As A Stressor?

[john999]

If you pulled perimeter guard duty at a small air base and saw and heard firefights within less than a half mile of the base on a nightly basis would this qualify as a stressor under new rules? We often expected to be underfire any minute.

[Philip Rogers]

Yes, I believe it would/could.

pr

[Chuck75]

If you pulled perimeter guard duty at a small air base and saw and heard firefights within less than a half mile of the base on a nightly basis would this qualify as a stressor under new rules? We often expected to be underfire any minute.

It would certainly be a stressful environment and give you feelings of helplessness, danger, and high stress due to possible hostile fire, etc. In principal, I believe this meets the requirements for a Nexus. Unfortunately, the VA often has it's own unique way of seeing things.

To me, the biggest issue/difficulty might be documenting the facts and conditions of your service. At one point, in a group of Navy A/O related claims that included mine, the VA was ignoring a sworn written statement from a Navy Admiral verifying dates, and locations of in country presence and likely exposure to A/O. They also ignored "combat veteran" status as well.

Several years ago, before the VA got serious about properly recognizing "brown water" service the same as "feet on ground", I had a problem documenting "feet on ground". It turned out that military medical records existed of treatment at a USAF hospital in Vietnam. I had to find documents listing APO/FPO addresses, showing that the hospital was physically located in Vietnam. (The state VSO assigned to the "local" VAMC had never seen the list, and didn't even know that it existed.)

Another go around occurred, in that I was awarded a Combat Action Ribbon, then called a Combat Ribbon(CR) instead of today's CAR designation. This was not shown on my DD214, since it was generated before the award became a matter of record. (Time to ask for a DD215, which I did) Other "combat" awards were also not listed on the 214, and were picked up by the 215.

[john999]

I am not filing any new claims for psychological disability but under the new rules for PTSD I wondered if this or something like it would qualify as a stressor. Hey, you are in a combat zone. You hear and see explosions and gunfire. Unless you are actually in a firefight that is about as close as it gets to actual combat. The thing is that for many Vietnam vets this situation was the norm and if there were snipers or stray rounds going over your head nobody made notation of this. Unless somebody was killed or wounded it was just business as usual.

[Philip Rogers]

John - generally notes were made at the time. Each unit had daily reports, at company, battalion, brigade, division, and corps level. One of the easiest ways to verify these incidents is to search, for Army records, at the National Archives, in Maryland.

pr

I am not filing any new claims for psychological disability but under the new rules for PTSD I wondered if this or something like it would qualify as a stressor. Hey, you are in a combat zone. You hear and see explosions and gunfire. Unless you are actually in a firefight that is about as close as it gets to actual combat. The thing is that for many Vietnam vets this situation was the norm and if there were snipers or stray rounds going over your head nobody made notation of this. Unless somebody was killed or wounded it was just business as usual.

[Testvet]

John I have only one question? When you went on guard duty did they give you a weapon with the right ammo for it? if the answer is YES however if they gave you and M14 with shot gun shells as the ammo for it then I would probably die laughing from even reading the claim

myself I loved that M79 grenade launcher the one they made into M16/203 now that could make some big holes in all the right places and a variety of canisters smoke, CS flechette and HE

I went to Dorn the day before Fathers Day and sadly they had no more room at the inn so the VA started calling around to all of the city hospitals looking for a CPAP machine in the SICU they wanted to put me into a downtown hospital while my wife and I preferred Lexington Medical which is 3 miles from our house and it just makes things easier for my wife and I spent almost 2 months in ICU there last year when I had the two seperate issues of CHF the only time I went downtown last year was in September when the VA agreed to let my cardiology groups doctor install the pacemaker (they did do a echo on my heart with some type of contrast which shows my ejection fraction is 20-25, last year in April I was down to 10-15) but since the VA sent me to Lexington from the VAMC emergency in an ambulance I know they will now pay all of the bills without arguing about my COPD not being SC, I hate the fighting over who is going to pay what and I don't want to leave a big stack of medical bills to pay

I know it's not much but it leaves just one less fight for Dori she arranged today to have someone replace the pool liner and fix the hot tub next week, I told her to make sure she finds someone to come clean it at least once a week keep the chem levels right etc I make her life hard enough if she wants to get the pool fixed to make me get some excercise I will let her she has been good to me for the past 12 years she deserves ALL of the benefits she will get when I pass,

I am glad to see that my heart EF is up to 20/25 I plan on living a few more years and keep spending along with Dori, I am not ready for that long dirt nap yet besides if I die what else would the VARO do for amusement :)

[john999]

TestVet

You went through hell getting 100% now you have to live on and on to collect for the misery the VA caused you. I am glad your heart is doing a bit better. When I get depressed I just think how I am collecting from the nation that disrespected me and 2.7 million other RVN vets. Everyone here from the old days has had to fight to collect. You know some Civil war spouses collected DIC right up until the 1950's I think. Our spouses go forth doing their duty of collecting once we are in the great messhall in the sky.

John