Centrist, Constitutionalist, Army Vet, 2A and Veteran Advocate - No DMs
Joined February 2009
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Feb 8
VA Disability Tips Updated:
A conversation which arises regularly surrounds the process and "roadblocks" with filing for VA disability. It is my opinion that ALL veterans should file for disability. Regardless of your service, there will be something which negatively affects your life after your ETS date. This article is NOT the "be-all-end-all" for filing a claim. This is the path I used, and these recommendations here have been used successfully by other vets. YMMV and none of this is intended to be legal advice.
First and foremost, get your medical records. If still on active duty/nearing ETS, see medical (TMC/hospital/whatever) and make sure to note all issues so they are recorded in your file. If it hurts, tell them and make sure it is recorded! Get a copy of your final records, and verify everything is recorded, before you ETS. If you have already separated, request a "full copy of all active-duty medical records" from "archives"/St. Luis. You can file this request on the VA website, or the "National Archives" (vetrecs.archives.gov/Veteran…). It may be necessary to request both Inpatient and Outpatient records. I had to specifically request "All active-duty medical records", otherwise they only sent my DD-214. This can take months, in my case almost a year, and I received a CD with all scanned copies. I made several copies to be sure I didn't lose them... Before you ETS, or as soon as possible, submit an "intent to file" for disability. This “starts the clock” for disability compensation once your levels are established. va.gov/disability/how-to-fil…
Your initial claim is likely to be denied. This has happened so often to other vets that it should be expected. The claim will require references connecting your disabilities to your service, "service connected", to count towards compensation. There are three websites I used to learn how to file my claims: DISCLAIMER: I am NOT ASSOCIATED with any of these companies/entities, only that the information gained assisted me in my claims:
hillandponton.com/va-disabil… helpful in understanding "VA Math". They are also VA Disability attorneys, although I did NOT engage them in that capacity.
https://militarydisabilitymadeeasy.comThis website has a subscription cost associated but was very helpful in understanding HOW the VA rates disabilities, and HOW medical conditions interact. One thing many have noted is we (veterans) tend to compensate for difficult or painful movement (FIDO), but THAT is what is evaluated. Reduced range of movement or pain when moving is measurable and part of the rating!
https://valor4vet.comAlso has a cost associated but was invaluable in helping me to gather and validate the evidence needed to support my claims, and to obtain "Nexus Letters" (an independent medical opinion) in support of those claims.
The VA website benefits.va.gov/compensation… Disability Benefits Questionnaires available which explain the VA guidelines. I have discussed this with civilian doctors, seeking help filling these out, but invariably they decline. “I don’t know how they want those completed, so no.”
There are other companies/websites which would be valuable, but these are the ones *I* used. Again, YMMV, I only recount MY journey. In some cases, it may be helpful to engage with a disability attorney who focuses on military disability. I did not do so.
You can do this on your own. However, it is not a simple task, and you must remain focused on the mission. Having said that, recall the above statement: Your initial claim will likely be denied. This is NOT the end of the mission; it is the beginning of a long slog through the mud. Any denial should be appealed within one calendar year of the denial! This keeps the clock ticking. As long as you don't let the clock wind down to "0", your claims are still in play. The VA pays backpay once a rating is set and approved, although they have set a limit on how far back they will pay (I have been advised it is two years).
There are "presumptive" disabilities: back, knees and ankles for many; tinnitus is common (usually only 10%); hearing loss for artillery/aircraft mechs/generators, etc.; there are others. Even the presumptive conditions may need medical records OR a Nexus letter connecting them to military service. I know a Ranger who was injured on a jump and had back surgery TWICE yet required a Nexus letter for back conditions!
All claims will require a medical evaluation, usually by a third party contracted by the VA. A common contractor is VES (Veteran Evaluation Services?). I had several such appointments.
A quick note about mental health ratings. "Depression" is a fairly common occurrence in today’s world. There is a difference between "clinically depressed" and having "depressive episodes". If your pet dies, you will feel depressed, but only for a time. This is a depressive episode, not likely "clinical depression". If you see a counsellor/therapist for mental health, discuss this with them because it has a serious impact on other aspects of your life.
To recap:
1.
a. Get all active medical records (civilian also if they support your claims). (in parallel with 1b)
b. File your claim. (in parallel with 1a, don't wait!) You can file your claim while waiting for your military/medical records.
2. APPEAL ALL DENIALS!
3. Gather and submit your evidence.
a. Obtain Nexus letters and "buddy letters" (if you can get someone who witnessed/is familiar with your circumstances).
4. Make sure you understand what is evaluated and how.
5. Stay the course. You signed on the dotted line, you served, don't let it go.
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I’m tickled over the Brits experiencing American food. They even loved Olive Garden. 😂 They don’t want to even know about our toxic food. But I’m glad they are enjoying their trip here. I’d rather have them than people who won’t assimilate.
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Freddy!! x.com/freddyla7/status/20651…
Jun 11
We found another surreal place on our way. I know some people will say I’m too positive about everything I see, but this place was crazy. They had a shooting range in the store.
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Jun 13
USA. A breakfast counter. The waitress recommended the biscuits and gravy, and when the plate arrived, I thought something had gone wrong in the kitchen.
I say this with shame. The dish looked like a construction site after rain. Pale mounds. Gray ladle-fall. Speckles I could not identify.
In my land, the eye eats first. A meal is arranged like a garden. This meal was arranged like weather.
"Is it… finished?" I asked, carefully.
"Honey, that's what it looks like."
The man beside me was already eating his. He did not look up. "Just try it."
I am a man who has charged hillsides at dawn. I raised the fork. I tried it.
I must now formally apologize to the biscuits, the gravy, the waitress, the kitchen, and the entire breakfast tradition of the American South.
It was magnificent. Warm. Peppered. The biscuit drank the gravy the way a field drinks rain — THAT is why it is shaped like that, you fool — and every mound I had insulted was a soft fold of comfort that my homeland, in eight hundred years, never once thought to invent.
"Well?" the waitress asked.
"I judged it," I confessed. "By its appearance. I am ashamed."
"Everybody does, hon."
Everybody does. A national dish that forgives you for doubting it. It expects the doubt. It waits for you on the other side of it.
Do not judge the gravy by its face. Judge yourself, for hesitating.
I order it every Saturday now. I no longer see the construction site. I see only the garden.
It was a garden the whole time. The eye must be trained.
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Jun 13
Brits experiencing biscuits and gravy for the first time is one of the more amusing ones to me — I knowwww y’all have pork sausage, flour, black pepper, and milk, and our biscuits are similar to your scones
This is very doable for you!!!
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Jun 11
In the dead of night the Scots arrived at the Airbnb across the street. Decked out and playing the pipes at 6:30 am. So it begins…
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Jun 13
Hear the jurors!!
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Jun 12
Same here. Neighbors can usually be reasoned with. Goobermint can’t…
Jun 12
I despise groupthink, whether it’s nominally “left” or “right.”
I prefer freedom, and don’t require either permission or protection.
I also neither desire to be controlled nor to control anyone else. Your vote has no bearing, I’ll decide for myself.
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Jun 12
I anticipate this will be an awesome show tonight!
YouTube Link for tonight's Grand Jury- Ep 49
9pm EST. youtube.com/live/1iXqU4zkWjY…
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Jun 12
Interesting take…
Jun 12
This young black kid lives in reality
He says he doesn't fear White People or other races
He fears his own people
If I were to bet
I bet he had both parents in his life and they both had jobs
Thats what it takes to raise a healthy child in this world
Not sitting at home collecting EBT section 8
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Jun 11
This should be an interesting conversation
Jun 11
Here is my show.
youtube.com/live/WHmG1UhE0O0…
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Hawk Wolf retweeted
Jun 11
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Jun 11
Interesting assessment…
Jun 10
In LOTR, the shire spent so long sheltered from evil that it began to think evil did not exist.
The west is like the shire.
We must save the shire.
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Jun 9
Don’t fall for the doomsayers!! Find a local rancher and support them, buy direct!!
Jun 9
FYI!!!
“The death of the American beef industry”??
NO!!
Absolutely NOT!
Ivermectin treats screw worm for one thing.
We’ve beat it before and we will again.
These fear mongering people need to sit down! They forgot one thing. The American Rancher!! We check and care for our herds! Screw worm only get in an open wound or a new calf navel. They don’t just eat flesh without an injury.
We will monitor, treat and move on!
CALM DOWN!!!
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Hawk Wolf retweeted
Jun 9
FYI!!!
“The death of the American beef industry”??
NO!!
Absolutely NOT!
Ivermectin treats screw worm for one thing.
We’ve beat it before and we will again.
These fear mongering people need to sit down! They forgot one thing. The American Rancher!! We check and care for our herds! Screw worm only get in an open wound or a new calf navel. They don’t just eat flesh without an injury.
We will monitor, treat and move on!
CALM DOWN!!!
Jun 8
Screwworms And The Death Of America’s Beef Industry
Screwworms have been detected in Texas. You probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about screw worms.
You should.
—Sam Faddis is a former clandestine CIA operations officer in Latin America and the Middle East
Screw worms are parasitic worms found in Panama and Colombia. They lay their eggs in the skin of live animals, including cattle. The eggs then hatch, and the larvae (maggots) infest and feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals.
“The name screwworm refers to the maggots’ feeding behavior as they burrow (screw) into the wound, feeding as they go like a screw being driven into wood. Maggots cause extensive damage by tearing at the hosts’ tissue with sharp mouth hooks. The wound can become larger and deepen as more maggots hatch and feed on living tissue. As a result, NWS can cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal.
Adult screwworm flies are about the size of a common housefly (or slightly larger). They have orange eyes, a metallic blue or green body, and three dark stripes along their backs.
Report mammals and birds with the following signs:
• Irritated behavior
• Head shaking
• The smell of decay
• Presence of fly larvae (maggots) in wounds”
• Eggs hatch within 12-24 hours, and the larvae burrow into living flesh using hook-like mouthparts:
• Larvae feed for 5-7 days, enlarging the wound dramatically, causing severe pain, tissue destruction, foul-smelling discharge, secondary infections, and often death if untreated.
• Mature larvae drop to the ground, pupate, and emerge as adults. The full cycle can be completed in as little as a few weeks in warm conditions, allowing rapid population growth.
—United States Department of Agriculture
Screwworms have been migrating north since mid-2025 at least.
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