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"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty."- Abraham Lincoln
May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.
- General George Patton Jr
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Toll Free:
800-828-0498,
800-459-1887
and 800-614-2803
LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE PAYING ATTENTION AND VOTING
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
-- John Adams (Address to the Military, 11 October 1798)
Find out how loyal career Military, PHS and NOAA personnel are punished by
Veterans can find out information about using their VA Benefits including the VA Loan benefit.
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail.
Without it nothing can succeed.
He who molds opinion is greater than he who enacts laws.
"-Abraham Lincoln
Square 1 At the VA
by Thom Stoddert
Recently at a reunion I realized that most veterans simply do not understand the benefits they have earned, and justly qualify for.. The scope of VA benefits goes beyond just getting a check each month for an injury incurred in the service. Consideration should also be given to how a service connected medical condition affects other medical conditions, your family, your employment, and your education. The more you understand the more effective you can be in dealing with the Dept. of Veteran Affairs.
We all know the VA is a massive
bureaucracy, but it can be dealt
with all by your self without lawyers
and congressmen. All it takes is a
little understanding of some basic
concepts.
1)Service-connection of a chronic
injury or disease is granted when
there is evidence of it having been
caused by military service, or if it
arose during military service. This
is a legal determination that only
the VA can give to any medical
condition.
2)Compensation is payable for a
chronic medical injury or disease
that was incurred in the service or as result of military service when it has been granted the status of service-connection.
3)Secondary medical conditions that have been incurred because of a service-connected condition or made worse by a service-connected condition can also be granted service-connected status and compensation paid.
4)Service connected conditions are eligible for VA hospital treatment regardless of the percentage granted to the condition, FREE.
5)Greater percentages granted for service-connected conditions, can result in further benefits to the veteran and his family.
6)Consideration of a disability is based on how it affects the whole person in their social and occupational efforts and the rating percentage is applied by the use of a standardized Rating Schedule that is a part of federal law.
Everything is hinged on evidence. There must be evidence of a disease or injury having been incurred in service. There must be evidence of that condition existing now. There must be evidence that the present condition is linked to that injury or disease that was incurred in the military.
1)Evidence is usually seen in your service medical records, but statements from former NCOs, Officers, or witnesses can be accepted, especially if during a period of combat.
2)The VA is responsible for getting records in possession of another government agency.
3)You must identify any after service medical records/evidence so that the VA can try to obtain them on your behalf.
4)In some unusual cases the veteran
must obtain and present the evidence
to the VA in support of their case.
5)Evidence must meet at least basic
legal requirements of credibility.
The Infamous “Agent Orange” Issue
The VA, the Air Force, the Institute of
National Health, and others have extensively
researched the effects of exposure to this
herbicide. As a result there is a list of cancers
and diseases that will receive service
connection automatically. Cancers of
the prostate gland and diabetes are
especially prevalent among Viet Nam
veterans and have been associated with
Agent Orange exposure. Agent Orange conditions receive service connection with evidence that you were in Viet Nam, and a diagnosis of any of the recognized conditions. When there is a diagnosis of an Agent Orange presumptive cancer, the VA will grant service connection at 100%, plus possible additional benefits, during periods of active treatment and convalescence. Afterwards the residual effects will be evaluated and compensated.
Diabetes is compensated based on evidence of the types of treatments and hospitalization. Secondary issues resulting from diabetes, such as heart disease, peripheral neuropathy, and retinitis are often granted service-connection.
However, remember, exposure to Agent Orange in itself is not a compensable condition. You don’t get money for just having been exposed to Agent Orange. You must have a disability related to it. Hint: unless your boots hit the ground in one of the recognized contaminated areas; the VA will not recognize presumptive exposure.
Agent Orange Presumptive Illnesses:
1.Chloracne (must occur within 1 year of exposure to Agent Orange) 2.Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 3.Soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
4.Hodgkin’s disease 5.Porphyria cutanea tarda (must occur within 1 year of exposure)6.Multiple myeloma 7.Respiratory cancers, including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus 8. Prostate cancer 9.Acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy (must appear within 1 year of exposure and resolve within 2 years of date of onset)10.Type 2 diabetes 11.Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
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