Leaving military soon what should I do?

[Deagle]

Hello all, 

 

I'm currently active duty and will be separating within the year. 

 

I've had a ton of surgeries while in and I'm not sure how thing will work for the process of getting benefits and care for when I leave the military. I am looking at going Guard to finish my 20 years because I'm so close (I'll be 19 years total, but only 15 active). 

 

I, like many people, had burn pit exposure which led to terrible sinus problems and surgery to remove polyps. The surgeon could not get all of them and I have more or less constant sinus pressure, infections, and stuffieness. I dont take anything other than OTC meds. I also had shoulder surgery where I tore my labrum, capsul, and rotator cuff, I still have arthritis in this arm. I also had right knee surgery to resurface the joint do to something called a plica. Finally I've had 5 foot surgeries for Hallux Rigidus that resulted in implanting synthetic cartilage in one foot and fusion of the other. The foot with the synthetic cartilage will need a fusion eventually as it's failing. 

 

Will I be able to claim these items so that I can have future care?

 

I have also been diagnosed with PTSD (i go to the local Vet center for treatment), carpal tunnel in both hands, sleep apnea (getting a sleep study done for CPAP use), migraines, IBS, depression, tinnitus, degenerative disc disease in my neck and back (VA wanted to fuse my spine when I was only 30 years old), my lungs are pretty well messed up and i have a constant cough/chest congestion, insomnia, and high blood pressure. 

I only take naproxen for the pain and a pill for high blood pressure and a migraine pill 3-4 times a month when i get migraines to stop them, my base doc said to stay away from the preventative migraine meds because it'll make my brain dependant and if I ever stopped it would make the condition worse. I take allergy meds for my sinuses, Claritin Flonase or similar. 

 

How do I proceed so that I can stay in the Guard but also ensure that I have benefits for the future? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My base doesn't offer anything for transitioning active duty (it's a Guard base with active component) so I'm trying to learn as I go. 

 

Thank you! 

Edited January 17, 2022 by Deagle
Typo

[Carl the Engineer]

Two most important things,

Get a copy of all of your medical records for yourself.  Always keep for yourself.  Make copies from those when submiting claims, etc.

Second, and very important.  Go to the Army doctor now, before you leave, for anything ailling you.  Expecially the minor things.  It may seem trivial, but even if the doctor gives you aspirin and sends you on you way, you have a date and a doctors appointment in/on your record.

Heres the difference,

Remember when my elbow hurt and I sucked it up.  You would need a buddy statement to maybe win a claim with the VA.

Remember when my elbow hurt and I went to sick call and the doctor gave me aspirin.  Well, now you have evidence for a claim.

It has to be on paper, or it never happened,

Hamslice

I am pretty sure when you have your active duty exit physical the VA is involved.  

[deedub75]

Visiting the VA to put in disability claim should be part of your out processing. Well, at least it was part of mine. This was in mid-2000 when I got out.

When I was getting out, I knew nothing of VA disability claims. I thought those who had disability were injured in combat and maybe training exercises and I had none of these. Fortunately, visiting the VA to put in a disability claim was part of my out processing. I went in with nothing to claim until it was explained to me that any injury that occurred while I was on active duty could qualify. I had an ankle injury that was aggravated and I had an abdominal surgery done at the medical center. I ended up getting 10% each for those. I had other things in my medical records like pes planus, allergies, sinusitis, tinnitus, etc. that I didn't even know could be claimed. I didn't find out about what all I could have claimed until I started working for the VA in 2013. 

[pwrslm]

Claims can be put in up to 1 year after your discharge. The date of the award will be the day after your discharge.

You got good advice on keeping a copy of your medical records and personnel records. Keep those safe. 

Sit down a document the reason you went to sick call or were seen by a Dr or had surgery. Make this list and claim everything on it now. Even if you get a 0% rating, you want all of it as service connected. Things that may seem innocuous today may just become a real problem later. If you try to claim it in the years ahead, you could have a substantial fight to get it awarded, so get it documented now.

I cannot give you any advice on the way the Guard will look at your disabilities. I would think that they may have some lee-way, but if you have serious conditions that would affect you as an active duty service member, it would likely have the same effect for the Guard and Reserves. Only the folks at these duty stations can answer this ??.

You can read through these forums back several years. The one issue that vets run into is the failure to document in service events that caused injuries. Since you are still active duty, this is a heads up for you. Document everything NOW, do not wait until later. It may save you a lot of grief when you turn 55 or 60.

[Berta]

Good advice here- I can only add, make sure your Discharge Physical covers entry of every disability you have.

And make sure you have contact info and full name and Hometown of any members in your unit you know who could provide a buddy statement if you ever need one, if they might have witnessed an accident or event you had that has caused you a disabilityyet the inservice "nexus" ( cause) might not be evident in your SMRs.

Also if you gained any college credits from your MOS  make sure you go to the Briefings on that as well as tie in with the department that would be able to verify those credits- while you are still in.

A vet rep I new had the same TS classified clearance  and MOS my daughter had and she attained many college credits before she left the Mil-however the vet rep I knew had not pursued proof of those credits while he was still in the Military and told me it was his biggest regret after discharge.

Also, I have no idea about how the NG service would work,but after discharge you should be able to collect unemployment insurance.It took me some time to get my daughter to do that- she had saved enough to get her through about 8 months after her discharge because the only job she applied for ( with DOD) was what she was hoping for-

She kept saying she felt like the movie "The Full Monty" when some unemployed British steel mill laid off guys started a strip show because they were not happy about getting unemployent, and wanted to work.( The movie is hilarious) but she finally went to the UE office and got into a briefing with other veterans and many were officers, and they were treated separately from the civilians and she was shocked at how much unemployment benefits she got.

Thank you for those long years of service!

And be sure to check out the CRDP CRSC info here-

My daughter did the get DOD Job!!!!!!! 

 

 

 

[Berta]

CRDP and CRSC:

https://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/special-pay/comparing-crsc-and-crdp.html

[Mr.B]

If you have any type of condition get them documented and get a copy of your full records inpatient records and outpatient records!