Post 7 ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting to ROLL CALL Phase II  8/24/13  1:58PM

Hey Captain!

One needs to go back to ROLL CALL Phase I and see the 'RULES TO FOLLOW' and "STEPS TO TAKE"  in order to be caught up on and up to date on where we are now.  Getting a Veteran Advocate is "Rule 4".  Not to beat a dead horse, but I think the ride is over on this subject of getting an Advocate.  And, actually, if you are reading this, then I'm your Advocate.  And a pretty damn good one, too, I might add.

There are a lot of 'Wanna-Be's' out there.  These are the sorry characters who say they served in combat in Vietnam, and they did not.  Other problems stem from the simple fact that it takes 9 Support Troops to keep the one combat Troop on the battlefield.  These are cooks, truck drivers, doctors, mail room, etc.  One of the problems with the Vietnam War was it was long.  Now, we have Iraq and Afghanistan that both have run a long course, as well.  So, when these Support Troops in Vietnam had 'down time', they were bored.  So, lots of them got into smoking pot and shooting heroin.  When they DEROSed or "Date Eligible for Return from Overseas" came home, they often times had a $2 dollar a day habit in the 'Nam, but when they hit the streets of the Good Ole US of A, they had a $200 dollar a day habit because of the 'cut' in the 'junk'.  So, many of these so-called heroes 'totaled out' and dropped out and became Junkies and/or a bottle of Crown a day alcoholics and by the time they reached 45 or 50, they were a total mess.

So, some one came up to them and said, "You need to go to the VA and tell them you were a combat Troop and they will give you free Junk."  And, so, if you go to any VA hospital in the nation, lining the walls are these guys in their 'uniforms'.  And those uniforms are all the same:  dirty clothes, long dirty beards and a Harley Davidson vests.  They play the 'scam' of telling their primary care doctor that they are in great pain and drink a bottle of Crown each day, so the doctor 'has' to give the Scammer oxycodone instead of Vicodin.  This is because Vicodin and booze destroys the liver.  Jack Daniels and oxycodone does not.  And, now, today, oxycodone is one of the major illegal drugs being bought on the street for $25 bucks a pop.

So, there's just one example of the 'Scam'.  It goes deeper than that.  But the VA has now reached a point where they are investigating each claim to the maximum to weed out the fakes from the real Troopers.  And, that's one of the main reasons there are nearly one million backlogged claims at the VA today.

And PTSD is hard to prove, either from the Trooper's viewpoint, or the 'shrink's.  So, it is somewhat 'protocol' at the first meeting the Cherry Troop has in the VA's Mental Hygiene Clinic when his/her shrink asks, "Are you here for the money?"  That question in itself can lead to a good percentage of the Cherry Troops turning about face and quitting.  And, remember, Rule 1 is "Do not quit!"

It is my feeling as a long time student of the Black Snake's that anyone who served in combat has PTSD.  Some cases are more severe than others.  But, as an Advocate, I strongly advise the Cherry Troop to make a claim for PTSD the first chance he can get.  And, this is 'playing the game' and this is "for the money' but more importantly, it is for your health being your most important concern.  More to come on this.

LT

Post 6 ROLL CALL Phase II

Reporting for ROLL CALL  8/21/13  8:16AM

Hey Captain!

Per your questions, getting a Veteran Advocate is almost past tense at this point.  You are a Veteran Advocate and any one reading this can take your advice here and your thoughts as 'advocacy'.  Same goes for me.  In California, we have CalVet which is an outreach segment of the VA that is State oriented.  Every State has such a service to its Veterans.  Then there are the Veteran 'drinking clubs' like the American Legion, VFW, DAV, AMVETS, etc.  They have advocates, too.  And actually, inside the VA itself is a Veteran Advocate.  The long and short of it is that the Cherry Troop needs a Veteran Advocate first thing to give him advice and guidance.  

And now I'm going to 'cut it to the chase'.  Many Veterans who make their first meeting with their 'shrink' at the VA's Mental Hygiene Clinic are met by a doctor who asks him first off, "Are you here for the money?"  This often times causes the Cherry Troop to respond with 'anger'.  Fact of the matter, that's exactly what the VA system wants.  And if the anger means that the Cherry Troop tells that 'shrink' to "Go To Hell!" and then walks out the door, that's what the VA wants, too.  Truth of the matter is there are a lot of so-called combat Veterans that are 'playing the game' and cause great iniquity within the system.  These 'fakes' burden the system because if one of them does succeed in getting a large claim, and he is found out, then this brings 'heat' to the whole VA procedure.  One needs to look at this YouTube presentation to get what I am saying:

http://www.upworthy.com/whats-the-worst-thing-you-could-say-to-a-congresswoman-who-lost-her-legs-in-battle-found-it?g=2

After watching this video, then you will see more clearly why the VA today is backlogged with nearly a million claims.  

LT

Post 5 ROLL CALL Phase 2

Reporting to ROLL CALL  8/16/13  8:32AM

OK, Captain!

Per your comments and questions on Post 4, I'm going to put this one out 'short & sweet'.   When the Cherry Troop or the older Veteran seeks an advocate, he/she needs to select him based on his own needs.  Like finding a wife for a man, or a husband for a woman, this choice is a personal one, and a very important one.  So, do it carefully.  I know there are millions of Veterans who do not use the VA as their medical caregiver.  That is their choice, too.  Many of these millions consider the VA to be a 'hand out' or they think of we who use it as 'government tit suckers'.  Once again, that's their choice to think as they may.  But, here's the bottom line:  Every Veteran has 'earned' his VA benefits.  The government is not 'giving' them to them.  They fought for them if they were in combat.  And, it is my belief that if they did experience any combat in any form, they have the Black Snake coiled within their soul upon their return to 'home'.  As such, they need to get with the "shrink" at the mental health section of the VA and get their war time experiences down on paper.  If they choose not to do so, then again, that is their choice.  

Now, I'm a Veteran Advocate.  My advice is for any Veteran who has experienced combat to file for a claim due to PTSD.  Filing that claim is as easy as filling in a credit card application.  And that's the pure and simple of it.  FILE!  DO IT!

LT

POST 4 on ROLL CALL Phase #2

Reporting for ROLL CALL  9:08AM  8/10/13

Hey Captain!

OK, you've asked 4 specific questions and I think the best way to answer the first 3 is to say you've answered them by asking them.  With that said, I'm going to get to the brief 'cut to the chase' phase on this.  We've gone down the whole road on ROLL CALL in Phase 1.  The reader at this point should have his VA card, be signed in at the VA, has seen his primary care doctor, his mental hygiene doctor and has had a total 'discharge' physical.  

Many factors enter the picture at this point in the Cherry Troop's decision making process.  Assuming the Cherry Troop is young, in his 20's, then he/she has life out of the military in front of him.  He might want to take advantage of many 'outside' benefits that are offered to him.  College, job, home loan, business loan, etc.  These outside benefits are available with detailed descriptions from the VA offices, or their web site.  I encourage the Cherry Troop to look into all these 'opportunities' and to take advantage of any and all.  Remember, you have 'earned' them.  They are not gifts from Uncle Sam.  Like getting your pay check at the end of the week for the week you have worked, you have 'earned' your pay.

Now, back to the VA hospital.  If in fact you have physical injuries, then those have already been listed with your primary care doctor.  There are logarithms in place at the VA for percentages for each and every physical injury.  After having them all listed by your primary care doctor, you ask him to file your claim.  He will then instruct you as to who to do that with, and give you specifics.  The most important part is to have these physical injuries logged into  your medical records.  And the filing of the claim is a matter of fact process.  Simple.  Do it!

Now, the next step is to determine if in fact you have a non-physical wound from your service to your nation in whatever particular military branch you were in and got your honorable discharge.  My feeling is that if the Cherry Troop served in combat, he has a non-physical wound.  That is PTSD.  Many of the Troops returning from service today have been deployed for many tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Some back to back.  Some 18 months.  The simple fact is that if that Cherry Troop has served in combat, he is either going to decide to file a claim for PTSD or he isn't.  My advice is that he do so.  And the sooner the better.

Many of our fighting men and women in all the Rich Man Wars after the end of World War II have been brainwashed to believe that to claim they have been wounded by PTSD is being a coward or a 'loser'.   At this point, I think it is most important to put that kind of crap out of your mind and choose to file for PTSD wounds.  So we need to hit this point with that decision.  Will you file a claim for PTSD or won't you.

LT

out

Reporting for Roll Call - 20:10 Hrs 8-9-13 Hi LT: have you been posting anything since your No.3.on the site? Don't see anything else there. Here's what I'm recapping to make sure I'm up to date: 1) The VA uses the Claim Adjuster process to determine claims value level. This means, anyone who files such a claim has to realize their in an "adversarial" relationship from that moment on. So, your insistence that a veteran have an advocate to help navigate through that process is critical. 2)There seems to be a gap in knowledge or understanding of the VA's rules and regs even among its own personnel. Example: Date of diagnosis vs. date of claim. Looks like the thing to do is to file a claim as close to the date of diagnosis as possible, if you want the maximum possible award. 3)Okay, assuming Cherry Troop has done everything laid out to date, what are the specific steps involved with filing his claim? CENTURION