Get the VA Compensation You truly Deserve

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Military news…

Earlier this month, a Marine Corps recruiter kicked through a car windshield with his bare foot to rescue a man trapped in an overturned vehicle.

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If you see metal fillings and other dental work that uses Civil War technology in someone’s mouth, you know they’ve been treated by a military dentist.

(Ouch!)

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I am going through the process I posted below. It is a long and tedious process. The important things is, if you truly have something you think you should have compensation for… never, ever, give up. That is what they want you to do.

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VA disability compensation benefits are a monthly, tax-free payment to Veterans who were injured, sustained a long-term illness or experienced a worsening medical condition during their military service.

In addition to compensating Veterans whose disabilities incurred while serving in the military, Veterans may also be granted compensation for specific post-service medical conditions that arose because of their military service. Known as presumptive disabilities, these conditions may not have arisen in service but may be granted as service-connected because its occurrence can been linked directly to military service.

VA recently added new medical conditions to a growing list of presumptive disabilities, which you can view here. These conditions can be presumed to have occurred because of an exposure to Agent Orange, ionizing radiation, and service in the Gulf War.

How to file a claim for disability compensation

The COVID-19 pandemic has not halted the claims process. Veterans can still file claims, and VA is still processing them. VA recommends filing a claim online, but it can still be done in person or through the mail. To get started, visit the VA disability compensation webpage and follow the steps listed below.

Step One: Prepare documents before starting your application

Gather any evidence, documentation and/or required forms that support your claim before beginning your application. This might include:

You must include both the required and (if necessary) supplementary documents or your application will be voided. In some cases, you may need to turn in one or more forms to support your claim.

Step Two: File your claim

There are three ways to file a claim: online, in person (with a VA representative, or with a Veterans Service Organization) or through the mail. Online applications are simple and easy to complete. You can access the application by visiting the Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits webpage, then sign into your VA.gov account (or create a new account at the ID.me website). You can save your progress online for up to one year before the application expires.

If you do not have access to a computer or internet device, VA also accepts printed disability claim applications that can be filed either in person or through the mail. In person applications can be submitted to your local VA regional office. Visit VA.gov/find-locations to find a VA regional office in your state. If you wish to mail your application, please do so by sending it to the following address:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Claims Intake Center

PO Box 4444

Janesville, WI 53547-4444

Step Three: VA will review your claim and notify you of its decision

VA may require a few months to make a decision on claim applications. The time it takes to review your application depends on three factors:

Once your disability claim application has been reviewed and all required documentation has been received, VA will decide on your claim and send you a notification letter of its decision. The notification letter will include specific details regarding the decisions made on your claim. You can expect to receive your notification letter 7 to 10 business days after a decision is made. Please contact a VA call center if it does not arrive within this period.

Step Four: After you receive a decision

You may ask for a second review if you are not satisfied with VA’s decision. Veterans who filed a claim on or after February 19, 2019, may choose from three application review options. The first, a Supplemental Claim, allows you to add new and relevant evidence (that VA doesn’t already have). The second, a Higher-Level Review, asks for a senior reviewer to examine your case. This option does not allow you to edit or add to your current application. And lastly, a Board Appeal requests a Veterans Law Judge with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals to review your application.

If you have any questions or concerns before, during or after submitting a request to have your decision reviewed, please visit the VA Decision Reviews and Appeals website.

For more information

Life comes with plenty of challenges, but ensuring the wellbeing of you and your family should not be one of them. Visit VA.gov to learn more about VA benefits and services.

If you wish to learn more about the claims process, visit the VAntage Point blog platform to keep up to date on disability claims and benefit eligibility requirements. You can also watch this video series produced by the Office of Information and Technology (OIT).

To request additional help filing a disability claim, learn more about accredited representatives or contact a VA regional office near you to speak with a counselor by calling 800-827-1000.

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I am not sharing an excerpt today from my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the trenches of Life. I will on Monday. Keep coming back to see future excerpts. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do a future posts will go directly to your inbox.

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Checking in on you…How are you doing? Do you deserve compensation?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,610 fellow veterans here who have your back.

If you are battling mentally, because of your need for compensation, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will no hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know

Alcohol Abuse is very Common in the Military

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Military news…

A memorial for the Global War on Terrorism may still be a long way off, but it has taken an important step towards its eventual completion.

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Facing It. “The Harder I Held on, the Further I Felt From Home.”

Drew Pham grieves for the family of the man he killed at war. His peers and commanders told him it was a good kill, but how can a kill be “good”?
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Air Force Discharges 27 For Refusal to Get COVID Vaccine

The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the vaccination mandate.

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Guardsman in Jan. 6 Mob Gets Probation, Still Serving in the Guard

A Wisconsin National Guard soldier was sentenced in federal court Dec. 10 to two years of probation and $1,500 in fines and restitution on one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

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Kentucky National Guard Soldier Returns to Hometown For ‘Deeply Personal’ Mission Following Tornadoes

Kentucky National Guardsmen uncovered the state and U.S. flags while clearing debris last week at the County Courthouse destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky.

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103 Marines Already Separated For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine

At least 103 Marines have been separated from the Marine Corps for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the service said Thursday.

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Army veteran, hit man in killing of Navy officer, awaits new sentencing hearing on death row

Army veteran David A. Runyon, convicted of being the hit man in a murder-for-hire slaying of a Navy officer, was sentenced to death in 2009, but in December 2020 a panel for the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the case be sent back to Norfolk for a hearing.

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Another excerpt from my upcoming book, Signs of hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.

Not too many left before I stop sharing, so come back often to chek this site out. Better yet… Go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts go directly into your inbox.

JUST DO IT! 🙂

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Just One More Drink!

I knew some men who were lost in the drinking world. They couldn’t put that glass down. When they drink they would drink to the last drop, not wanting to waste any of it, like a soldier on the desert getting the last drop out of their canteen. 

Alcohol abuse is common in the military. I was a naïve and unknowing boy when I went into the military. I hadn’t done any drinking of any kind. I was right out of high school. 

But once I got to Korea I met some veterans of another kind. They were veteran drinkers.

They wanted me to go with them to the base tavern. I resisted for a while and they kept after me. I finally went with them one night. It was the end of the month, and they were having drinks for ten cents each. I think they said they try to clear out all the booze at the end of the month, because a new shipment was coming from the main land.

Ten cents? Wow! I thought. This is too good of a deal to pass up. I was nearly broke, but I had a couple of dollars. That could buy me twenty drinks. (What a deal!)

I was with two soldiers that I befriended when I got there. One was an athletic looking guy, and the other was a “tall drink of water,” from Texas.

They showed me that they loved to drink. I decided to have my first drink. I asked them what drinks were good. They told me the Zombie drink was especially sweet, and tasty. I had no idea what kind of drink it was. (I should have known just from the title of the drink!) They each also ordered one. They brought the drinks to our table.

The Zombies were huge. They were in a tall glass and had a murky green and brown look to them.

My friends (?) said “Let’s have a drinking contest. Let’s see who can finish their drink first.” I fell for the trap. We all held the glasses to our lips and one of them yelled “GO!” 

I had two gulps down before the burning sensation in my throat started. I thought I had swallowed a nest of yellow jackets! I coughed, and tried to standup.

They guys pulled me back down and said, “You aren’t finished yet. Keep at it.” I wanted this experience to end so I kept drinking. I remember about four gulps, and then everything went black. I was having a black-out.

I didn’t remember the whole rest of the evening, and woke up the next morning lying next to a big truck and having dry heaves. There had to have been people walking by the spot where I was, but no one helped me. They probably just said, “Oh, there is another recruit who just got in.” 

It took me several days to get my life back to a livable state. I had to go to the infirmary to get some medicine to help, and the doctor just laughed and said, “You must be a new guy.” 

So what did I learn from that?

  • Things aren’t what they seem.
  • Friends you are supposed to trust aren’t always good friends.
  • If something looks like it may be wrong, it probably is.
  • You don’t have to do things to empress anyone to make them like you.

Now days, I have a beer once and a while, but I never overindulge. It just doesn’t make sense to me to be drinking just to get drunk. I used to think that non-alcoholic beer was a joke. I also thought, if I am going to drink beer I am doing it for the buzz, not the taste. Now I enjoy the taste, and feel that once I have quenched my thirst that is all I need.    

How about you? Do you struggle with drinking too much? I know it is possible in the military to have down times, lonely times, depressing times, drinking with buddies, where you seem to be attracted to alcohol, because it is needed to drown your sorrows in it.

I suggest to you that the opposite should be true. We shouldn’t be going to the one thing that could give us more depression. We shouldn’t be going to the one thing that could cause us to stop thinking clearly, which is dangerous when you are depressed and lonely.  

During your moment of depression you should be thinking as many positive thoughts as you can. Push out all that garbage out of your brain. Talk to friend. Let them know you are feeling down. Don’t go to alcohol to try to hide your pain. It may cause you more.

IWILL

If we can keep our minds clear of all the negativity around us, we have a much better chance of fighting off the dark side that is trying to cause us pain. We should never, ever think we need alcohol to free us of the mental pain.

Think about this

Isn’t it interesting how we think we are sad, and yet we have so many people around us who want to help?

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Checking on on you. Have things gone wrong from you drinking too much?

FEAR NOT!!

There are over 13,590 fellow veterans subscribed to this site who have your back.

If the dreams just too much for you right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until the know you are OK.

1-800-272-8255..texting 838255.

__________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

__________________________________________

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.

Paratrooper’s Parachute Doesn’t Open, But He Survives

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Military news…

A new “in-flight bladder relief” device being tested by the Air Force might make life safer for pilots, especially female pilots.

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A former colonel for the D.C. National Guard accused Army leaders of lying to Congress and the Pentagon’s inspector general about how they responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack,

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Among the late Sen. Bob Dole’s many accomplishments was ensuring that the legendary unit that he fought with during World War II reclaimed its heritage when it was reactivated 40 years later

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A Navy SEAL died on Tuesday after being injured over the weekend in a training incident in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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More than 100 Florida National Guardsmen are deployed to Ukraine as U.S. intelligence officials warn that Russia is poised to launch a crushing invasion of the country.

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“On a scale of 1-10, I would say that is definitely a nine, as far as ‘oh man, I’m scared.'” That’s what one paratrooper said about what it’s like when you jump out of an airplane only to find your parachute has not deployed.

(He was able to grab another paratrooper’s legs near to the landing.)

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I have been sharing excerpts with you often. I have completely shared with you the whole book, and you have been able to read it all.

Now, I will be spending the rest my time doing final preparations to send the book to a publisher. I have a publisher, and their name is Bookbaby. There are all set to print the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. I will be sending them the book this January.

Keep coming back to check on the progress of the finalization of the book. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to you inbox.

(Just do it! 🙂 )

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Checking in on you my friend. How are you doing? Do you have dreams about your service time? Are they nightmares?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 13,440 fellow veterans subscribed to this site who have your back.

If the dreams just too much for you right now, GET HELP!

Here is a toll free number to call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until the know you are OK.

1-800-272-8255..texting 838255.

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.