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Wounded Warriors Left Behind?

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gdsnide

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Wounded Warriors Left Behind? Not Enough 'Space Available' For downed Warriors?

[Editor's note: The following message was sent to "Military Village" an online discussion group concerned with the expansion of full Space-A privileges for military, DAV and Surviving Spouse/Dependant ID card holders. Ed Prifogle for many years has been the web master of an extensive, excellent travel site aimed at veterans and military Space-A travelers. Various view points exist on Military Village's board and this was in response to one emphasizing need for unity in seeking expansion of the privilege, not segmenting.]

By Ed Prifogle, UTMC Contributor Some points to consider are that prior to 1989, 100% disabled veterans who opted to receive their disability compensation from the VA rather than military retirement have been denied the military space available privilege for over 60 years.

Thirteen years ago Congress passed a law stating that all 100% disabled veterans including those that are military

retired will receive their disability compensation from the VA. All 100% military retired disabled veterans retained their space a privilege while those disabled veterans who opted for VA disability compensation prior to 1989 were still denied the privilege.

In effect, the financial criteria for differentiating between VA comp disabled veterans and military retired disabled veterans disappeared in 1989 in that both groups now receive the same compensation rates from the VA. Prior to 1989, VA disability comp was greater than military retired disability compensation for most veterans.

Military retired disabled veterans are issued a Form 2 Blue Card granting them the space a privilege while VA comp 100% disabled veterans are issued an Orange DD Form 2765 privilege card (PX, MWR, Commissary Privileges) without the space-a privilege.

In retrospect ,the military has gone to great lengths to exclude us from the space-a privilege. It is intentional and is for reasons never stated and has nothing to do with over-taxing the space-a program.

Regards

Ed Prifogle

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gdsnide

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