Mst

[carlie]

I can't find the thread now but someone posted earlier, something about

vets can't get SC for sexual trauma.

Well, I know for sure they can and SOME do.

Best to all,

carlie

[Jay Johnson]

Honestly, if you know several people who are getting turned down for MST then try to take your cases public. Rape is a big problem in the military and it's one they want to keep extremely quiet. If you can get any newspaper/magazine/etc to help your case you will get what you deserve in a heart beat. Also, bringing up the issue to a senator may help...I believe hutchenson <SP>(Rp from texas) was going after the military hard for rape at one point and she may be willing to help your case.

[SeattleShay]

Jay

It is getting harder and harder for MST cases right now with the VA.

I had 4 buddy letters and had a clear pattern of conduct prior to my discharge and was still denied.

I had even asked to seen a psych x2 and that was in my file.......

[Tbird]

you can be service connected for mst (military sexual trauma) ain't that some sh_t they even got an acronymn for it now.

it is harder to prove than combat trauma, lot's of women and some men never report it for many reasons, if you told anyone get a buddy letter, if you sought any kind of treatment get those records, if any of your gyn records show sexually transmitted disease get those, did your performance evaluations fluctuate either go very low or very high that can also be used.

it's tough but not impossible, i personally know some folks that got ptsd for mst, one had reported, another had not.

so you can file a claim and win on this, don't be discouraged. here's the more important thing, get treatment, if you don't have a therapist get one, filing that claim is going to cause a lot of stuff to come up for you and it may set off triggers you don't even know you have, so it's very important to have a safety net under you and that is what a therapist will be. the claim is important, but you are more important and we don't want you to go through this alone!

another note just from me. our webiste get's crawled and put in the search engines and mst is a very private thing. so you may not want to post the details on the board, just the general stuff we can help with.

[carlie]

Well, I've found the post I was referring to and have re-read it a few times.

Please forgive me for my nimble mind no offense or attack intended to

anyone. I'am VA certified nuts after all so need I say more.

As Lady T said about the crawlers I will respond in private email.

Lady T - another thing kind of uncomfortable that I don't understand is

why do some of our postings and full email address and names get posted to google ? Is there a way I can prevent this ?

Best to all - carlie

Sep 21 2005, 02:50 PM Post #8

Member

Group: Members

Posts: 64

Joined: 8-September 05

Member No.: 231

Old WebBoard Name: Jay

Another IMO can't hurt, but you should CUE this now rather then later. It is clearly a violation of the regulations given that the RO took one VA doctor's opinion (I'm betting it wasn't a psychiatrist either) over several other medical opinions that were done under 24hr surveilance as oppsed to a 30min C&P. The military also found SC and found for a diagnosis of PTSD. This is another clear example of a regulation violation....if only there were some organization that could help you...to bad they're aren't any /sigh.

P.S. - This case is huge...the VA's job is not to challenge the military against the vet..their job is to prove SC for the vet against the military. If the VA is allowed to question the military's word you will find that NO veteran suffering from sexual trauma will EVER get a SC and vets who were disabled on classified missions will have NO WAY of proving their SC. A SO should be all over this one, but that would involve caring for veterans to which SO's do not

[Jay Johnson]

Carlie,

I'm sorry if that post came across the wrong way. I was writing in response to this PTSD commission and the implications it *could* have on *future* MST cases. The truth about rape in the military is that you CAN'T prove it happened...there is no hard evidence aside from accounts of mood changes from friends/doctors and/or performance changes. These are circumstantial at best and if the same standards were applied to MST cases as they are to combat cases no one would ever get a SC for rape, because you cannot prove it ever happened.

I believe something like 90% of all rapes go unpunished (even less when you factor in only acquaintance rapes) and that number is far higher in the military IMO. If the burden of proof for SC is convicting the attacker in court, almost no victim will ever see a penny from the military/VA.

P.S. - What I meant by claiming it is easier to get MST SC then combat SC isn't that it is easier overall to get SC; rather, the burden of proof is lower (in most cases) for MST vets then combat vets...combat vets typically need hard proof in order to get SC; whereas, MST vets can use second-hand circumstantial evidence. Could you see a combat vet getting SC by submitting a letter from a friend that said, "The vet told me that he/she is having a hard time due to combat PTSD, but I didn't see this happen, nor was I there for the 'combat' situation"? What frightens me is that the VA could easily make the burden of proof equal, which means you would have to have a conviction or a first hand account of the rape(s).

SC for MST is very difficult to get, especially for those who report the PTSD after they were discharged (which many do..IE - delayed onset). Also, most people do not have the ability to ever bring the rape(s) up and don't file due to embarrasment, fear of retribution, pride, etc. I guess you could say that my wife was lcuky in that she broke down during her military service and had a very compassionate AF psychologist (he did not officialy report the rape as was his duty, because she was afraid to speak out about it... essentially, this doctor risked his career to help my wife and there are no words to describe how grateful I am that he did).

[carlie]

Jay,

Thanks for not being offended.

Something I would have to totally disagree with is that, I find it much MORE difficult for vets to get MST SC than it is for COMBAT SC.

The reason I feel this way is that through combat there are many more sources to prove a stressor.

When and where the vet is stationed, morning reports, citations, badges, buddy letters, letters that were written to family & friends back home (that is if the person still has it and the envelope has an original post mark on it) etc..

Military sexual trauma, most either female or male usually just keep their mouths shut even to military buddies, chain of command, MP's, family, doctors, clergy. friends back home, etc..

One thing really nice on HADIT, most of us have the ability to sanely

agree to disagree.

I appreciate your post, thank you for caring so much for your veteran wife

and standing beside her.

carlie