Question:
Jim,
I just wanted to write and say thank you to you and Larry for all you do for the veterans on the site. I served in the US Air Force from 1978 - 1992, was honorably discharged under the force reduction and received a SSB upon separation.
I initiated my claim in November 2006 and had it not been for you, Larry and my brother... I don't think I would have been able to get through the process. I found this site by pure accident, surfing the web in the wee hours of the morning when I needed answers. And lo
and behold....there they were. I have read the articles religiously and followed the advice given by you and Larry to the letter. It worked.
As I said, I initiated my claim in November 2006 for PTSD, Major Depression, Anxiety and tinnitus. I recieved a rating of 80% in October 2007. To say the least, I was surprised it was as quick as it was from some of the stories I had read and heard from other veterans. Upon the advice of my brother and VSO, I applied for 20% IU November 2007.
I received my 100% rating today and to top it all off...it's total and permanent, no further examinations will be scheduled. I followed the advice given on the site, told the truth, went to any and all appointments scheduled and didn't give up.
I do have to wait for any monetary benefits due them recouping the SSB I had received in 1992, but just being able to receive the other benefits, medical and mental, is worth it's weight to me.
I cannot begin to express my appreciation for what you, Larry and all the others that contribute to the site do. Please pass on my sincere thank you to all the other contributors to the site. I pass the link on to every veteran I meet and tell them how helpful it's been to me. Again...Thank you!!
Answer:
Thanks! I'm so happy to hear things worked out that well for you!
Don't let them mistakenly try to recoup the SSB you got in 1992! This is a frequent error on part of VBA. Here's how it works. In any long period of service, you have a number of honorable discharges and enlistments. It varies for most guys but the routine is the same. You
decide to sign up for another hitch, you're discharged and reenlisted.
That particular chunk of service stands alone for many things. This is what can happen. Let's say you were in in 1970 injured in 1971, then reenlisted in 1973. 1973 to 1977 was quiet and no problems. You reenlist in 1977 for 6 more and hurt your back. The back is OK but still bothers you sometimes.
Later on you take some more time and so on. Eventually you take a force reduction discharge and a bonus and it seems the right thing to do at the time. Later still, you file a disability claim and are awarded benefits for the RVN injury and the back injury. Your letter tells you to repay that discharge bonus first. This happens a lot.
However, if your disability award is for an occurrence in any period of service that wasn't during the hitch you took the discharge bonus for, you may not have to repay it.
Not long ago a fellow told me he had served way back then. He took a reduction of force bonus after 2 or 3 enlistments. Then 9/11 happened and he got gung ho and went back in. A couple of tours in Afghanistan left him injured...he was a mess. He got his time at WR hospital and then soon got VA bennies. BUT, he was told he owed them 18 large because of that discharge bonus years ago. It would have left him homeless. I spotted the error without too much trouble, helped him write a letter and within 8 weeks or so, he had his corrected benefits!
The SSB benefit and recoupment can be complex. Here's what I'd like to do.
Follow this link:
Look at topic 8. This is the section of the M21 that describes how the VBA is supposed to deal with recoupment. Read through this and after you've compared it all to your situation, get back with me. We'll pick it up from there.
Jim Strickland's Mailbag: Volume #04 for 2008
Letters in my mailbag are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers.
02.06.08
Question:
Jim,
I hope you can point me in some direction because I am spinning every which way right now trying to find out a few things. I retired 1994 under Temporary Retirement Authorization (TERA) with just over 16 years active duty. I went to DAV in 1995 and they requested, as my VSO, for 9 ratings. I was awarded 10% each for 3 disabilities, 0% for 5, and denied on one. In August 2007 I requested DAV to apply for an increase on 2 of the 10% ratings. One is for Tinnitus, for which I receive 10% now. I was awarded 0% for hearing loss in 1995 but the VA hospital has been issuing me hearing aides for years so I asked for an increase for hearing loss.
The other rating I an requesting an increase for is cervical strain injury with shoulder pain with headaches. The 1995 VA rating determined this injury was from ejection seat testing I did in 1990 as a human experimental stress test subject. I receive 10% for that from 1995 but the condition has gotten much worse and a neurosurgeon at Wright Patterson Air Force Base diagnosed degenerative disc disease in 2007.
So far the DAV Rep assigned has not done much for me. He sent me the letter requesting documentation so I got what medical records I had and sent them straight to VA like he asked me to do. The DAV Rep did not want to verify what I was sending. That was August 2007. I was not able to get ahold of him again until December 2007. He said he would contact VA and ensure they had received the records I sent. He did not call me back. I called VA and was told my claim went from review back to discovery because nobody had requested additional records. I was finally able to contact the DAV VSO in January 2008 and he told me he would check again. That was Jan. 23, 2008 and I have not heard from him yet.
Is it reasonable for VSO Reps to check on claims or return phone calls? Should the medical documents I sent been checked by the VSO? Is it normal for the VA to wait 4 months before requesting records from other sources? Would it be advisable for me to change the VSO I am using now?
You can probably tell I'm lost right now and ready to give up but I would appreciate any help you can give me.
Thank You.
Answer:
So...your DAV VSO isn't doing much? I get a lot of complaints that a DAV rep isn't communicating with the veteran or that a DAV rep has lost paperwork or the most common complaint, "My DAV VSO is gone again. This is the 3rd guy in less than a year."
I'm no fan of DAV. To be honest, I'm of the opinion they do far more harm than good. They're slick marketers and could sell ice to Eskimos but I don't hear of them actually ever doing anything for us. I'll bet you bought a Life Membership and thought it would help you get "inside". A DAV VSO gave me a hard sell on a Life Membership long ago. It was the last I ever heard from him.
I am a proponent of the Do It Yourself method. The VA system is originally designed to work directly with the Veteran. The only thing a DAV VSO does or can do is act as an intermediary to shuffle paperwork. Your VSO has no knowledge of what the VA is doing, has done or will do with your application. They don't walk the halls having casual coffee conversations and getting things done with the VA. They occupy some of the space in the building but that's it. You give them paper and they mail it to VA.
By now, you're having a hard time believing me. You can trust this much...this is like nothing you've ever dealt with before. A few weeks ago, an experienced disability lawyer, a guy who has fought with the Social Security Administration for years told me that the VA made the SSA appear to be a finely tuned machine.
You will be much better off if you simply begin to do it all yourself. You don't need to notify DAV of anything, trust me, that particular VSO won't notice that you're doing your own paperwork.
Your note indicates that you're a guy who can use a computer. Your spelling and grammar are way above average and you seem to have a grip on what's happening, you just don't want to believe it's as bad as it really is.
I'm going to give you some links. I'd like for you to spend a couple of hours perusing some of this so you can get a fresh look at the regulations you're dealing with and then get back to me. I'll lend a hand to you to sort this out for yourself and win. I work with smart Veterans every day who are winning their claims.
This stuff isn't rocket science. There are only 2 tricks to winning...you need the patience of a saint and the tenacity of a junkyard dog.
Just for starters...your tinnitus can be rated much higher...up to 100%. If you tested ejection seats and you have those records, your neck and back could be a very highly rated condition. Unfortunately, you don't want some quack calling it "degenerative" disc disease unless he qualifies that as having its origin as trauma from blasting out of that seat.
Let's begin here:
with the M21. This is the Bible that every VA rater uses to decide how to interpret the Code of Federal Regulations.
Title 38 is the one that impacts Veterans. You'll find some here:
and some here:
Here are the things the examiners look at as they do a C & P exam:
That will give you an overview of what you're up against.
The process is really pretty simple. You decide what "conditions" you have and have evidence for. You write the VARO a nice, respectful and technically correct letter and lay that out for them. They write back to you acknowledging the receipt of your application for benefits. And so it goes.
That you already have (or may have) claims in through DAV really doesn't matter. You can pick it up any time and begin to take control.
The patience part comes in with the backlog. The usual wait today is 12 to 24 months before your file is even looked at, much less seriously considered. The first adjudication of your claim is almost guaranteed to be wrong. It won't be enough or it will ignore what you've asked for or it may even be some other guy's claim.
Yes, it really is that bad. This is where you go into junkyard dog mode. You appeal, refile and appeal again. Once you are a Veteran and you open a claim with the VBA, this becomes a lifestyle, not a quick fix to any of your problems. You must set your mind to accept that any fair and correct adjudication from VBA will be fought for in their arena and to the VBA, it's their money and you're a thief. Once you accept that, you'll be fine.
Question:
Jim,
I am wondering if you knew whether the mileage reimbursement for vets to seek medical treatment would apply to my father who is a veteran of WWII and a former prisoner of war. He is in a nursing home and because their are no homes any closer, my stepmother must drive 1 & 1/2 hours each way to visit him incurring high gas bills and wear and tear on the vehicle. Thank you for your time and thank you for your service to our country.
Answer:
I'm sorry to say, no. I don't know of any program within VA that would provide such a thing. I'm going to put a reminder on your email though and I'll look around to see if I can come up with any solution for you. Please give your heroic father and your stepmom each my warmest, best wishes and let them know they're in my thoughts and prayers.
Question:
Jim,
Hope you are doing well as is your stepson. Is he still in Germany or deployed again?
I've been round and round with letters to the VA so much, I'm starting to doubt myself. I know, that's part of the exercise they play and hope for. Difference is, I ain't gonna back off. Hopefully, you can give me a calibration again.
I filed my informal VA claim on Jan 31, 2007 and the VA acknowledged receipt to GA Dept of Vet Affairs rep the same day. Notwithstanding that, the VA claims my official date of informal claim is Feb 2007. I'll deal with that later.
My formal claim was filed in March 2007. In Oct 2007, the VA granted me 30% disability for one of my claims. The VA had $389 taken out of my military retirement check 1 Nov 2007 and again 1 Dec 2007. I then received a letter from the VA that I was in debt to the VA for $389.00 as they had paid me for Oct 2007 and should not have started my "payment" until Nov 2007. The "debt" collection is to be effective 1 Feb 2008.
Shouldn't my "payment " date have been retroactive to the date of my informal claim, either Jan or Feb 2007? If not ,what is the value of filing an informal claim. I've written several letters to the Atlanta VARO on the matter and of course they just ignore my letters even though I send them registered return receipt. My question is, shouldn't the effective date of my VA benefit be the date of my informal claim?
I applied for CRSC and was approved for that, but CRSC hasn't kicked in yet.
Also, I have had an IME conducted for my other two claims. The IME Doctor is supporting that my conditions exist and they are service connected. I have not yet received his letters, but on the phone yesterday the IME doctor recommended I send a letter to the VA (with his reports) indicating that based on his IME the VA should reevaluate my claim and award me service connected disability. I have not yet received my C file nor the results of the C&P exams. H/E, the IME stated in his letters that he reserves the right to add additional information /opinions supporting my claim based on review of my C file and or C&P exams.
Should I send the VA his IME and request a reevaluation and state that is not my NOD and I will send that later OR wait until I have my C file and send the entire package (NOD and the IME) in at one time. Even without the C file I have a laundry list of actions the VA did not perform properly, based on USC and CFR requirements.
I have a very caring GA Dept of Vet Affairs Rep, but he's so overloaded he can't really help much.
Don't know if all the CFR, USC requirements and precedent court cases mean anything, but unless you say I shouldn't I pan to reference or cite them all in my NOD . Any guidance on a short and sweet NOD versus all the evidence one has?????
The problem with the VA characters, for someone like me, is even though I can read and write, after a while I get so much none sense from them I start to wonder if I'm the one screwed up.
Answer:
Thank you for asking! My stepson, the young Specialist 4 is doing very well in Germany. He and his wife are as happy as can be. He's considering reenlisting and is already up for his E-5 promotion.
At this point I'd guess whether he redeploys is up to the election results. So far it appears to me that were McCain or Huckabee to become Prez, we'd triple our military and invade Iran and turn Iraq into a Burger King parking lot. If Hillary wins, many of us will be trying to relocate to Iraq. If Obama wins, he's just going to bring us all together and we won't deploy so much as we'll want to go and visit our new friends in Baghdad and Tehran.
What you've told me is routine. As frustrating and as unbelievable as it is, this is the way the system operates. Your case isn't even badly screwed up...yet.
For those of us who reside in the real non-government world, to conduct business as sloppily as the VBA does would be to watch that operation go down the toilet in days. Even in the land of government bureaucracy, the VA sets the high water mark for inefficiency.
I was corresponding with a disability lawyer a couple of months ago. He had just taken some training and opened his practice to veterans. He called the VARO to talk to someone about his client's claim. He was informed that they couldn't speak to him even though he held POA. They would speak to the Veteran and nobody else. So, he had the Veteran call to ask his question. He was informed that as he had hired a lawyer, they couldn't speak with him.
It was the perfect Catch-22. My lawyer friend was dumbfounded. He wrote to tell me that VA made the SSA appear to be a well-oiled, efficient machine. That's a very sad commentary.
Your letters don't get read until they get read. I was fighting for myself 3 or 4 years ago. I had requested a personal hearing. The day arrived and I drove, with my wife, the 4 hours to get there. My latest VSO greeted me to tell me everything was settled. I didn't understand. The hearing officer had ruled in my favor!
I asked if I could speak to that hearing officer. Finally, I was led through the maze to this hearing officer's nest. She explained that about an hour prior to my hearing, she had read through my file. It was so very apparent that I deserved what I asked for, she adjudicated for me.
Bottom line...my file had not been looked at in the 18 months I waited for a hearing. Not a single word I'd written was read until an hour before my hearing. My letters were recieved, time and date stamped, tucked into my folder and set aside.
It's the routine.
The date of your benefit should be the date of your informal claim. That's clear.
§ 3.155 Informal claims.
(a) Any communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for one or more benefits under the laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, from a claimant, his or her duly authorized representative, a Member of Congress, or some person acting as next friend of a claimant who is not sui juris may be considered an informal claim. Such informal claim must identify the benefit sought. Upon receipt of an informal claim, if a formal claim has not been filed, an application form will be forwarded to the claimant for execution. If received within 1 year from the date it was sent to the claimant, it will be considered filed as of the date of receipt of the informal claim.
Other answers will be found in the M21...the Bible that guides the raters. Look here:
to see what their instructions are.
The M21 is how to interpret and enforce the laws that govern the process.
I suggest you wait until you feel you have all your evidence and send it all at once. Remember, you have a year to appeal from the date of denial. The difference between a NOD and a "reevaluation" isn't much unless you choose to take it to the Board of Appeals. Gather your stuff, read the M21 and send it all of and ask for a "Decision Review Officer De Novo" review.
When I write to VBA I always fill it to the top, references, citations, the whole 9 yards. Then I cut at least 1/3 out of it the next day. And finally I try to trim that by another 1/2 or so on day 3. I never use "poor me" or the ever popular "you @ssholes", even though both fit.
Don't slip in the regulations, just the reference and a few words...they have it on their desk already.
I've found that
* bullet points
* work well
if you keep them orderly and brief.
You're trying to get through to the brain of a bureaucrat who may read at a 6th grade level. He hates his job, he hates his boss and he hates you. It's rare a VBA employee tells his neighbor where he works. They're not proud of it.
I always try to make nice in my writings to VBA and it seems to get farther than many others.
Remember the 2 secrets to winning your case; the patience of a saint and the tenacity of a junkyard dog. Facing the VBA is much the same as facing the terrorrorrists (that's Bushspeak for the uninitiated).
If they get to you, they win.
