UTH Discharge granted "honorable for VA purposes." after 40 years.

[Berta]

There is this CUE as well-

On page 36 of the VBM of 2020-2021, NVLSP ( National Veterans Legal Services Program) states that "under the current process"VA MUST obtain all inservice personnel records ( aka 201 files-USMC USN- other branches Personnel files- no code I know of  )and any DD 4458 forms (were you court martialed and do you have a copy of the transcript ) and they reference this at 38 USCS 5303(b) in situations like yours.

Were you court martialed and if so, do you have copies the transcript.

The DROC in Washington DC made a decision that I believe holds a CUE as well as the one you got from the VARO Montgomery decision .

The DRO cited 38 CFR 17.109:

"§ 17.109 Presumptive eligibility for psychosis and mental illness other than psychosis.

(a) Psychosis. Eligibility for benefits under this part is established by this section for treatment of an active psychosis, and such condition is exempted from copayments under §§ 17.108, 17.110, and 17.111 for any veteran of World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, or the Persian Gulf War who developed such psychosis:

(1) Within 2 years after discharge or release from the active military, naval, or air service; and

(2) Before the following date associated with the war or conflict in which he or she served:

(i) World War II: July 26, 1949.

(ii) Korean conflict: February 1, 1957.

(iii) Vietnam era: May 8, 1977.

(iv) Persian Gulf War: The end of the 2-year period beginning on the last day of the Persian Gulf War.

(b) Mental illness (other than psychosis). Eligibility under this part is established by this section for treatment of an active mental illness (other than psychosis), and such condition is exempted from copayments under §§ 17.108, 17.110, and 17.111 for any veteran of the Persian Gulf War who developed such mental illness other than psychosis:

(1) Within 2 years after discharge or release from the active military, naval, or air service; and

(2) Before the end of the 2-year period beginning on the last day of the Persian Gulf War.

(c) No minimum service required. Eligibility for care and waiver of copayments will be established under this section without regard to the veteran's length of active-duty service.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1702, 5303A)

[78 FR 28143, May 14, 2013]

38 CFR § 17.109 - Presumptive eligibility for psychosis and mental illness other than psychosis. | CFR | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)

 

But this regulation does not seem to apply to you?????

 

 

Edited August 29, 2021 by Berta

[pwrslm]

A lot of military members with PTSD/MST were discharged (drummed out of the service) on bogus problems. They generally were discharged due to trumped up issues so commands would be able to ignore rape and assault charges. It was, at the time, looked at as an embarrassment so the swept it under the rug.

I would gather up all the medical literature you can get on your diagnosis and reapply to have your discharge upgraded. A lot has changed since 1984. You can do that at the same time you are fighting the VBA. If they reconsider, and take into account your MST as a root cause of your discharge/AWOL status, you should be upgraded to Honorable and that would make the rest of the VBA nonsense moot. The VA recognized that your PTSD/MST existed before you were discharged. The impact of the mental health condition would have to be taken into consideration today, unlike what they did in 1984. Because the PTSD/MST existed while you were in service, they should grant you the upgrade.

I would then go after the denial of benefits. You said " In 1981 the VA denied all benefits because of the discharge they said my service was issued for "willful and present misconduct." You should try to get that decision overturned and they would then have to make a determination on awarding you back pay from 1981. It would be reasonable for you to run away from a traumatic incident like that IMO. Commands were hostile to rape victims in that era.

[GBArmy]

Rattler I don't like advising specifics on CUE's because there really are so many twists and turns they can go. Berta is terrific on strategy for CUE and there are a couple more who post here that have been successful. Two things I would suggest you consider, however. You could be talking about possibly a really big back pay. The VA has lawyers and on big cases they don't hesitate to call in the big guns. You should have a lawyer too. A good one (unless you went to law school-probably not.) That means don't try to cheap-out; get professional help. Several great lawyers are mentioned here on Hadit. The other obvious thing is you must base your claim on the regulations/laws in place at the time. Again, that is legal-beagle stuff. You may be able to confirm the laws in effect at the time. but there will be other related laws you won't be aware of that also will connect to. We wish you the best success. If you have been wronged, don't give up.

[brokensoldier244th]

Generally the most recent decision letter is the one that takes precedence. From what you posted (I read the old decision letter and the new one) the new one says you are eligible for benefits beyond Chap 17 health only, so that's great. Now they have to re-rate you because of that, which looks like what the decision letter is stating. A COD (character of discharge finding) holds a claim open until its figured out, so whatever claim you originally had should still be open, and now that the COD is resolved the claim itself needs to be rated. Your claim *should* still be open at this point, and you can still submit evidence. Resolving the character of your discharge on paper (DD215) requires you to file with the military board for that, thats a separate process on the DOD side. You may already know that, if so, im sorry- im not implying that you don't- im just typing for both you and the general population at large that may find this post later. 

[Berta]

I fully agree that you need to find representation on this claim....it could be a Vet rep, vVSO, and /or a veteran lawyer 

BUT , I need to make this point- this veteran has overcome his Bad Paper Discharge- that is no longer the issue, 

And the July 30,2021 decision he attached clearly states 

"What we decided:

We decided that your military service for the period of July 27, 1976 to July  27, 1977 is honorable for VA purposes.

You and your dependents are eligible for any VA benefits for  the military period of service."

They said they enclosed the Rating Sheet and form 20-0998.  Did they??

They used as Evidence the June 24, 20231 VA Medical Opinion.

The July 1, 2021 decision says they had your inservice Personnel Records.and received them multiple times, the last time being January 19,2020.

But that decision (7-2-2021) states:

"Service connection for treatment purposes only under Chapter 17 for persistent depressive disorder with other specified trauma is granted."

In my opinion it is the full grant of the June 30, 2021 decision that makes sense.

That is why I thought you could expect a VA (US Treasury Dept) amount being sent to your checking account-sooner than later hopefully.

 

 

 

[Berta]

Also the July 30, 2021 letter clearly states:

"This letter tells you about your entitlement amount and payment start date, etc etc."

This is an award letter. 

At this point a lawyer could not help- until a formal NOD is filed-

Can you scan and attach the Supplemental claim you filed- have they received it already?

What decision did you file it on?

Is the Award letter of July 30.2021 the last correspondence you received from the VA?

I have read over the downloads many times- it is very confusing and seems to be one of the biggest VA cluster f--ks I have ever seen. ( had plenty of those in my dealing with VA as well)

I do feel you need representation but this is an AWARD letter and I suggest to call the WH Hot Line  855-948-2311 and tell them you did not receive a rating sheet for this award or any info they said about your service connected disability rating and  payment start date.

Does the VA have your bank account number?

Tell them that you had overturned the Bad Paper discharge of 1977 and have waited forty years for a proper VA decision from the VA. Also ask for a copy of the last C & P exam of June 24, 2021.

( what is the date of the first claim you ever filed with the VA?)

I regret it took me so long to get the whole picture- it helps to download stuff in a dated format-

in the order you got the decisions.

This is looking a LOT better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You might not even need a rep (at this point)because this is an AWARD letter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Berta
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