Post 3 ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting for ROLL CALL 7/31/13 8:56AM

Hey Captain!

Per your 1):  You are somewhat close to the 'arbitrary VA formulas' as to making a claim.  If you have ten physical wounds, and you have symptoms of PTSD and you were exposed to any toxins, you have a dozen points to deal with.  If there are any problems at this point of your needs to cover your 6, then re-read ROLL CALL Phase I from top to bottom.  You need to follow all the steps and apply all the rules to get to this point with me.  You need to get a thorough physical covering all bases and finish it off with a thorough mental evaluation from a VA 'shrink'.  Get is all down on paper!

Per your 2):  It is not relevant that the VA and the services are in cahoots with each other as to the departing Cherry Troop.  It is the Cherry Troops responsibility to get his VA card and start the process of 'playing the game'.

Per your 3):  The Advocate is a 'guide' for the Cherry Troop's mission of getting from Point A to Point Z.  Depending on who the Advocate is, his 'leverage" is conditional.  The Cherry Troop needs to 'trust' his Advocate.  There are @ one million backlogged claims at the VA today.  Don't you think "arbitrary administrative/bureaucratic" might be the explanation?  

Making a claim at the VA for the wounds the Cherry Troop has received in serving his country is 'his/her' responsibility.  If the wound is a serious physical one, such as loss of limb or sight, then the process is conditional and pretty much 'cut & dry'.  If however, there are other wounds, then it is the responsibly of the Cherry Troop to get them talked out and on paper with his primary care doctor and 'shrink'.  Just doing this can start initiating the 'claim' because it brings into focus the wounds.  

I call PTSD "The Black Snake".  If the Cherry Troop has been subjected to any form of combat, the the Black Snake is apparent. If the Cherry Troop was subjected to any sort of 'abuse' in his service, then the Black Snake is tangible.  It is so very important for the Cherry Troop to get to ROLL CALL's first phase immediately after discharge because he can remember the 'stressors' better then than 20 years downy the road.  And the 'stressors' are so very important in 'playing the game'.

LT

POST 2 on ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting to ROLL CALL 7/27/13 1:52PM

Hey Captain!

OK, we are on to Phase II here on ROLL CALL.  You asked:

"1) How, or what, is the proper way to initiate such a claim? 

2) Besides our Cherry Troop, who else is involved at this point in the process?"

OK, the gloves are coming off and I'm going to go at this from now on with bare fists holding automatic weapons.  No more "Mr. Nice Guy"!  In Phase I I made it quite clear to all reading it that there is a proper procedure to follow upon the Cherry Troop's departure from the military service he or she has given this nation.  Remember, when that said Cherry Troop he was given a complete physical.  This is not the case upon his honorable discharge.  It is up to that said individual to 'cover his own 6' and get right to the nearest VA hospital and get his VA card, get signed up and get an appointment with his primary care doctor and have a complete physical.  Then he needs to get a mental evaluation.  With this whole procedure under his belt, it is not time to approach making a claim.

A physical wound should be addressed first.  And, without sounding ridiculous, if the Cherry Troop had one of his limbs blown off in battle, then that is a 'physical' wound.  And, no one is going to question him about it.  It is what it is:  a physical wound and depending on the circumstances, we enter into the VA's percentage ward.  And this is where we start using figures to play this game.  

I had a few physical wounds from my battles on the jungle floors in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969.  I had a hand grenade booby trap blow up in my face that caused me to lose part of my hearing, but that was it.  Not one piece of its deadly shrapnel hit my body.  But, I did have a Viet Cong attack me physically and slice a knuckle on the ring finger of my right hand.  I also came home 40 pounds lighter than I was when I went over there caused by dysentery, and that bug I carried in my intestines for decades.  I also got "Jungle Rot" that to this day is still present between my little toe and the next one on my right foot.  

Now, all those physical injuries that I just wrote about are 'physical' wounds and if I was that said Cherry Troop, I would have all that information written into my medical records by my primary care doctor in my first visit.  Now, that doctor might want me to write all that down, or email it to him at the new VA web site at:  https://www.myhealth.va.gov

If you have injuries like I had when I came home, each injury is logged by the VA Claims Adjuster.  It is given a percentage.  Don't hold me to this, but for example.  Let's say it is determined I had hearing loss due to that bobby trapped hand grenade exploding in my face.  And that determination will be made only by the hearing specialist that will give you an appointment and check out your hearing due to you telling your primary care doctor about that incident.  If in fact my hearing was 30% off, then the VA Claims adjuster will give you a percentage of maybe 5%.  Then the finger being sliced, maybe that will get me a 1%.  The dysentery gets me another 1% and they feel like its my lucky day, so they throw in another point.  So, you add up those points and my total is 8%.  So, now I'm a disabled American Combat Warrior Veteran.

This percentage game is bull shit.  But, it is the way the VA deals with claims.  And, if you get enough points to qualify for a monthly check, then that's the finish line in this claims process.  And, my 8% example here would not get me a check.  I'd probably have to have a 10% total to qualify for a check for $10 bucks.  And, when the VA adds up my points that amount to 8, they say I have only a 2% total.  That's where the bull shit comes to play.  And I will explain this more and more in detail and how to avoid this 'VA Booby Trap'.  And this is where getting an Advocate really comes into play.  You need advice from someone who knows how to play the game if you want to make a claim.  I've discussed only physical wounds here.  I have not gone into the mental problem area at all.  I will.  But, for now, let's answer your two questions:

You need to initiate your claim while you are in the first stages of signing up for your VA card and having your first appointments with your primary care doctor and your mental hygiene doctor.  The first to be involved with this process is the Cherry Troop and his doctors.  And there is nothing wrong with asking all the doctors you come into contact with on how you should make your claim.   

So, to end this Post 2, I want you to go to the first link on this page in its upper right hand corner and read it.  This will tell you exactly what is going on with the numbers presently with the claims backlogged at the VA. 

LT

POST 1 on ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting to ROLL CALL  7/25/13  9:57AM

This is the first post here on ROLL CALL Phase II.  If you are reading this, it is because you contacted me after you read all the posts on Phase I of ROLL CALL and emailed me asking for this url here on Phase II.  This site is not open to the general public.  There's a reason for this.  

But before I enter into the 'meat on this bone', I'm going to tell you about a personal incident that happened to me on Tuesday.  I had an appointment with my CalVet councilor at 2PM so I had to drive down to his office in Sacramento.  My councilor is also my 'inside contact' for my Veteran Advocacy.  When I meet a fellow Veteran in my day to day life, either on the street or on the Internet, who is in need of some advice or help, after I qualify him/her I set them up with a meeting with my CalVet connection.  He works for the VA, so he is able to take my Vet and put him into the VA Machine.  

After my meeting at CalVet, on the way home I stopped at Panera Bread and got a cup of their good Hazelnut coffee and hooked up my laptop to their free WiFi.  I got caught up on my networking, and had to pack up and leave to get back to my 'critters' on my farm, but first I had to hit the head.  When I entered the bathroom, there was a young man inside washing his hands, and when he turned to me he saw the Screaming Eagle on my baseball cap, and he said, "Thanks for serving!"  I replied, "You've made my day."

This young fellow looked like he was in trouble.  He was pale and 'antsy'.  I asked him if he was a Veteran, and he went on to explain that he was a Marine and had served in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I asked him if he had a VA card.  He told me no.  I asked 'why'?  Then he 'dumped' on me.  He said he was having some bad troubles.  He then exposed his left inner arm and I could see 'tracks'.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about here, this guy was a dope fiend.  In other words, a drug addict.  He looked at me with shame in his eyes.   I gave him my business card and also gave him the card of my connect at CalVet and told him to call him and to call me if he needed help.

This Veteran did need help.  I have not heard from him again.  He's out there self-medicating, and he's in trouble.  I do wish I could have done more, but I can only do what I do.  And that is to do my best as a Veteran Advocate to get my fellow Veterans the help they need for serving in our military forces and getting an honorable discharge for doing so.  In another story I did finally get a Desert Storm Troop who is suffering from a massive PTSD problem into the VA Machine and The CalVet program as well that day when I was there for my appointment.  So it goes.  One Veteran at a time.  

So, with the above story having been told, that brings me back to the reason I am blocking this Phase II of ROLL CALL from the general public.  You, the reader, are here because you are having trouble adjusting to the "Real World' now that you are out of the military and on the street.  So, here, I am going to begin explaining to you how to 'Play The Game' of getting your VA claim into the VA Machine.  And, believe me, you have to know how to play the game if you are going to be successful in getting a valid claim made.  So, I"m going to call it a day on this post and let the Captain check in and make his comments here, and then we'll start picking the meat off this bone.

LT