Are there combat veterans who will not file for VA disability for PTSS/PTSD for fear of having their 2nd Amendment rights infringed? Well, what do you think?
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Retired W4's question #1
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retarmyaviator
US Veteran
I am a combat veteran but I don't have PTSS/PTSD. However my experience has been that the paperwork is too onerous, the people accepting the paperwork do every thing in their power to keep you from getting your benefits and then if you do get benefits they are not what you were promised. 
So if I had PTSS/PTSD I would not bother filing. I am 56 now, with my local VA office I would die of old age before they processed the paperwork.
So if I had PTSS/PTSD I would not bother filing. I am 56 now, with my local VA office I would die of old age before they processed the paperwork.
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Titan
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I am a combat veteran but I don't have PTSS/PTSD. However my experience has been that the paperwork is too onerous, the people accepting the paperwork do every thing in their power to keep you from getting your benefits and then if you do get benefits they are not what you were promised.
So if I had PTSS/PTSD I would not bother filing.
In the civilian realm, there are many lawyers (ex. Binder & Binder) who prosper by expediting disability claims. They only collect a fee that is a percentage of money owed (capped at around $500, I think).
Isn't there an equivalent that can offload this task from vets?
labworm
US Veteran
Just guessing, but I would say yes.
In fact many have just withdrawn from society totally that are entitled to benefits, just don't want anything thing to do with it.
Remember, back then some of these individuals were actually still kids. I was 21/22 and felt old around some of them.
In fact many have just withdrawn from society totally that are entitled to benefits, just don't want anything thing to do with it.
Remember, back then some of these individuals were actually still kids. I was 21/22 and felt old around some of them.
OP
Many have not withdrawn from society but decline the "benefit" rather than be branded. That is the point.
OP
What I'm getting to is under some of the 23 EO's recently signed, PTSD could possibly be a reason to exempt one from excercising their 2nd Amendment rights.
Harrison
US Veteran
I am a VN Vet. I made a VA disability claim on my hearing loss. Just trying to get a hearing aid. As part of the medical history, I was asked all sorts of questions regarding PTSD, along with questions about did I own guns, how many guns, did I keep they locked away etc. None of this had anything to do with a hearing loss, and I did not think it was any of the VA's business. I have heard rumors that the VA, in some places have turned gun owners in to the Feds, on mental grounds after they admited to some PTSD symptoms. I have never had PTSD, and if I did I certainly would not tell my local VA clinic.
Old Seabee
US Veteran
Vet
I think everyone that was there is branded in some way . Like your chopper sound , Go past a chinese resterant & for an instant not smell muc dow please forgive spelling , the sweltering heat & sleep at night at 80 deg with a field jacket on because you were cold ? Monsoon season ? On & On Thanks for the rant
I think everyone that was there is branded in some way . Like your chopper sound , Go past a chinese resterant & for an instant not smell muc dow please forgive spelling , the sweltering heat & sleep at night at 80 deg with a field jacket on because you were cold ? Monsoon season ? On & On Thanks for the rant
kozmic
Member
Yet at your typical office of social services there are cubicles full of workers who will anxiously complete all of your paperwork for any and all manner of public assistance. The only thing left for the applicant to do is "sign here" and wait for your card!
Tragically, our veterans don't get a fraction of that support.
Tragically, our veterans don't get a fraction of that support.
straightshooter1
US Veteran
I have a certain percentage of VA disability. They send me a very nice check every month, rain or shine.
I had to fill out some papers, and if I recall right it was only two or three pages, take those and my DD214 to the VA and meet with someone, maybe called a counselor who read them over, and that was it.
Within 6 weeks I got the first check.
During the 6 weeks, I was given a complete physical, had a Primary Care physician assigned to me, and was scheduled for my next appointment a few months later.
Perhaps it is because we have two VA hospitals here (we have sooooo many retired vets here), but I don't get the problems you guys have with getting VA services.
All you have to do is write your congressman and tell him/her that they won't help you. Include copies of your paperwork and DD214 and sit back and wait.
As to the questions about guns, etc., my wife told me tonight she expects they will have to ask those questions. She has a number of standard questions she has to ask patients. Most are medical questions, some deal with PTSD and other things. She simply tells the patient, when she gets to questions not directly related to their health problems, that she has some questions she is required to ask. She simply asks and then types whatever the answer is into the records.
So, if a patient says "Yes, no, or none of your business" she just records the answer. Of course, if they ask for help with whatever the issue is, she does.
As to PTSD, I was sorta chastised here a year or so ago by at least one poster, when I said I would never reveal anything like that to a doc at the VA or anywhere else. I was told the "law" kept "them" from reporting it to the Feds.
Hey, I'm a lawyer and I know, from years of bitter (sometimes) experience, that the legislature or congress can change a particular law tomorrow and make it exactly 180 degrees from what it is today.
Uhhh, looks like something similar may happen in the near future, huh? I hope not, but....
Now if you have PTSD, and it is affecting your life and its quality, then you should get help regardless of a possible future effect on anything.
But, I am not experiencing life-affecting problems with anything, (certainly not any PTSD in my life
) so I won't tell anyone anything that I think might come back to bite me in the hindside later.
Again, if you think the VA is jerking you around, remember, that is what God made your congressman for, to fix problems with federal workers jerking you around.
Bob
I had to fill out some papers, and if I recall right it was only two or three pages, take those and my DD214 to the VA and meet with someone, maybe called a counselor who read them over, and that was it.
Within 6 weeks I got the first check.
During the 6 weeks, I was given a complete physical, had a Primary Care physician assigned to me, and was scheduled for my next appointment a few months later.
Perhaps it is because we have two VA hospitals here (we have sooooo many retired vets here), but I don't get the problems you guys have with getting VA services.
All you have to do is write your congressman and tell him/her that they won't help you. Include copies of your paperwork and DD214 and sit back and wait.
As to the questions about guns, etc., my wife told me tonight she expects they will have to ask those questions. She has a number of standard questions she has to ask patients. Most are medical questions, some deal with PTSD and other things. She simply tells the patient, when she gets to questions not directly related to their health problems, that she has some questions she is required to ask. She simply asks and then types whatever the answer is into the records.
So, if a patient says "Yes, no, or none of your business" she just records the answer. Of course, if they ask for help with whatever the issue is, she does.
As to PTSD, I was sorta chastised here a year or so ago by at least one poster, when I said I would never reveal anything like that to a doc at the VA or anywhere else. I was told the "law" kept "them" from reporting it to the Feds.
Hey, I'm a lawyer and I know, from years of bitter (sometimes) experience, that the legislature or congress can change a particular law tomorrow and make it exactly 180 degrees from what it is today.
Uhhh, looks like something similar may happen in the near future, huh? I hope not, but....
Now if you have PTSD, and it is affecting your life and its quality, then you should get help regardless of a possible future effect on anything.
But, I am not experiencing life-affecting problems with anything, (certainly not any PTSD in my life
) so I won't tell anyone anything that I think might come back to bite me in the hindside later.Again, if you think the VA is jerking you around, remember, that is what God made your congressman for, to fix problems with federal workers jerking you around.
Bob
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Alnamvet68
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I've been to most of the "skirmishes" the US has been involved in since 1968, and while I believe PTSD is real, I also believe how one was raised and how much family support one has makes all the difference in the world when it comes to dealing with it, without having to be chemically "constrained". If, and I say if I have it, I'll take that secret with me to the grave; I rather be a homeless babbling twit before I ever step foot inside a VA facility.
carpriver
US Veteran
I am a retired and disabled vet, I was rated 10% for PTSD back in 1986. I had some counseling at a VA out reach center at a Vietnam Vets club house. I have had no other treatment. I have my CLP and buy firearms frequently. I have never had a Judge order me into treatment for mental health services Nor have I had a doctor recommend any mental health treatment. Other disabilities are eye problems for untreated problems, hearing, and major back issues related to under treated back injuries. I do understand a vets decision to nor seek VA service connected PTSD treatment with all the gun stuff going on now. Oh I did not drop out and live off the grid. I went to work and supported my family paid my taxes. I do have naightmares once in a while.
OP
Thank You, All
I would like to thank all that replied to my post. The replies were incredibly thoughtful and revealed great personal insight to the subject. Many who responded to "That Sound" also shared very personal experiences that I believe need to be expressed and heard. Welcome home all, no matter what war you were involved in.
I would like to thank all that replied to my post. The replies were incredibly thoughtful and revealed great personal insight to the subject. Many who responded to "That Sound" also shared very personal experiences that I believe need to be expressed and heard. Welcome home all, no matter what war you were involved in.
I am a Veteran of the Vietnam Civil War. I spent two years in Ground Combat there. I receive 100% Disability because of the wounds I received and OJ I drank there. When ask about guns, I tell them I spent almost 34 years in Federal and State LE and its none of their business what I have and don't have in my home.
As far as PTSD, I tell them I have nothing buy "Happy Dreams".
I agree that a lot depends on how you were raised as to how Combat effects you. Me, I never had any problems with it. I was RA and extended my tour in Vietnam twice. I couldn't imagine my country having a War and not being part of it. My knowledge, skills and ability kept young men alive out in the field.
Rule 303
As far as PTSD, I tell them I have nothing buy "Happy Dreams".
I agree that a lot depends on how you were raised as to how Combat effects you. Me, I never had any problems with it. I was RA and extended my tour in Vietnam twice. I couldn't imagine my country having a War and not being part of it. My knowledge, skills and ability kept young men alive out in the field.
Rule 303
OP
My son has three tours in Afghanistan as an A-10 pilot (3rd generation combat pilot). When I ask him how he is doing with regard to the stresses of combat he says he is just fine. All the people he killed were bad people and needed to be killed. The young men and women in the 75th FS are an amazing group of Americans. My hat's off to them.
luangtom
US Veteran
Chief WO4, I, too, am a VN-vet and do not have PTSD anymore than anyone else. I have been diagnosed with ischemic heart-disease and have chlor-acne from the effects of Agent Orange. I also do not get any disability for either. The good doctor, a cardiologist, that I saw for the ischemic heart-disease told me, "good luck in proving this to the VA". He told me it would be up to me to find witnesses of my exposure, attain the government documentation to prove my location and show the orders for spraying the AO mist. I asked him how he knew of this and he told me that he had been a VA doctor and had seen many such cases and he knew mine was most likely another one.
I did go to the VA and you know what I wound up with? A claim-number for my survivors, should I die of said maladies. Until I could prove all of my exposure, that is all they would give me. I worked in industry for a spell in the years right after getting out, before getting into LE. They told me that industrial exposure could also be an instigator of my maladies, so they could not rule that out either.
We are all going silently and quickly now. How many out there have something that our own government will not admit to? Yes, I am bitter, but am learning to "just let go".
I did go to the VA and you know what I wound up with? A claim-number for my survivors, should I die of said maladies. Until I could prove all of my exposure, that is all they would give me. I worked in industry for a spell in the years right after getting out, before getting into LE. They told me that industrial exposure could also be an instigator of my maladies, so they could not rule that out either.
We are all going silently and quickly now. How many out there have something that our own government will not admit to? Yes, I am bitter, but am learning to "just let go".
luangtom,
I don't know when you went to the VA for a claim for IHD. But you need to read both of these pages.
Ischemic Heart Disease and Agent Orange - Public Health
and
Exposure to Agent Orange by Location - Public Health
IHD is presumptive, you don't have to prove it was caused by AO.
And if you had boots on the ground in RVN, that's all you need to prove you were exposed to AO.
Get a Veterans Service Officer to help you with your claim. You may even be eligible for retroactive benefits. Any Vet organization will have VSOs.
EDIT to add:
Heres a page with all the presumptive AO diseases. You'll see that Chloracne is also presumptive.
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
End Edit.
As far as the VA asking questons about PTSD and stress etc. That is because of the public outcry concerning the VA ignoring vets with PTSD etc. So they all now have a set of questions they have to ask. Althought there were rumors and anecdotes about them reporting to other agencies, I don't think anyone put up any real evidence of that. Now with the Executive Orders etc, things might be changing.
Welcome home Brothers.
I don't know when you went to the VA for a claim for IHD. But you need to read both of these pages.
Ischemic Heart Disease and Agent Orange - Public Health
and
Exposure to Agent Orange by Location - Public Health
IHD is presumptive, you don't have to prove it was caused by AO.
And if you had boots on the ground in RVN, that's all you need to prove you were exposed to AO.
Get a Veterans Service Officer to help you with your claim. You may even be eligible for retroactive benefits. Any Vet organization will have VSOs.
EDIT to add:
Heres a page with all the presumptive AO diseases. You'll see that Chloracne is also presumptive.
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
End Edit.
As far as the VA asking questons about PTSD and stress etc. That is because of the public outcry concerning the VA ignoring vets with PTSD etc. So they all now have a set of questions they have to ask. Althought there were rumors and anecdotes about them reporting to other agencies, I don't think anyone put up any real evidence of that. Now with the Executive Orders etc, things might be changing.
Welcome home Brothers.
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I am a combat veteran of the Vietnam conflict, I had nothing to do with PTSD, etc. back then we just drank and smoked dope. When I turned 53 I was diagnosed with severe prostate cancer and subsiquently had my prostate removed. Years later I ran into a good friend and Vietnam vet buddy, we were talking about his problems and he remembered my cancer. He then asked me if I knew that it was on the list of ailments due to agent orange spraying. I told him that I don't remember getting sprayed with agent orange but got doused with ddt a couple times while in Danang. He told me to go to our local VA hospital and get registered...I put it off because I often times had a negative opinion of people taking advantage of the system and getting something they truly didn't deserve. I knew a few doucebags that were on VA disability and as far as I could see had nothing wrong with them when they wanted to play football or water ski or whatever. I ended up at the American Legion office and was kindly given all the information necessary, they were extremely polite and helped me file all the necessary information for my claim. I ended up taking a physical where they found that I truly did not have a prostate, and I believe after a couple of months received a letter from the VA giving me a 60% disibility rating.
I would recommend to anyone that has a legitimate claim and has a problem with paperwork to visit your local American Legion. It probably helped that I have a VA hospital within a mile of my house but the folks at the AL were instumental in my case. It also helped that I had a doctor that believed in my case and provided all of the information the VA required.
I know that there are guys out there with problems acquired through military service that deserve more consideration than myself, but at the same time there are guys just looking for a free ride. While I was going through my deal with the American Legion a young kid came in trying to get compensation for some injury he got while playing football while going through West Point, he told me he got out of the Army, went through all his money, couldn't get a job that he wanted to do, his folks expected him to pack his own weight and he was looking for some "extra" money, he was told it was easy to get money from the VA...Tain't so Mcgee.
I would recommend to anyone that has a legitimate claim and has a problem with paperwork to visit your local American Legion. It probably helped that I have a VA hospital within a mile of my house but the folks at the AL were instumental in my case. It also helped that I had a doctor that believed in my case and provided all of the information the VA required.
I know that there are guys out there with problems acquired through military service that deserve more consideration than myself, but at the same time there are guys just looking for a free ride. While I was going through my deal with the American Legion a young kid came in trying to get compensation for some injury he got while playing football while going through West Point, he told me he got out of the Army, went through all his money, couldn't get a job that he wanted to do, his folks expected him to pack his own weight and he was looking for some "extra" money, he was told it was easy to get money from the VA...Tain't so Mcgee.
