Don't worry about it.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

I'm sorry to have even asked.

[Dist. Expert 26]

The Green Weenie never stops brother.

I'm a part of several Veteran/USMC Facebook pages. I'll reach out there and see if anyone has had a similar issue.

[usmcvet]

Have you tried reaching out to your local DAV or VFW rep? The DAV office is located in my local VA building and I've been there a few times for help with paperwork.

Denver, Colorado
VARO, 155 Van Gordon Street
Room 204
Lakewood, CO 80228
303-914-5570

[brushy bill]

Even if they do take it, don't let them pull their standard tactic 3 D's (delay, discourage, and death) on you. Fight them & make them give it back. Even if it takes a very long time, which it probably will.

[Endur]

Fight it. Did they not send you a IRR/IAR paper detailing the unit you were assigned to?

Hell, I am 40% and only get 587. WTF! Haha

[Caeser25]

If all else fails, contact your congressman and senator. I work at a health insurance company and alot of times, procedures that wouldn't normally be paid, are just paid.

[Korgs130]

If all else fails, contact your congressman and senator. I work at a health insurance company and alot of times, procedures that wouldn't normally be paid, are just paid.

Your senators and reps office's will have a staff member that deals exclusively with veterans issues. Definitely give all three of them a call.

[usmcvet]

Fight it. Did they not send you a IRR/IAR paper detailing the unit you were assigned to?

Hell, I am 40% and only get 587. WTF! Haha I'm at 40% too. I get more. It's because of dependents. . Contacting your reps is a good idea. Calling the old unit and speaking to the CO is a good idea too. He might just sign the form. You didn't drill last year.

[Eurodriver]

I'm going to try and rephrase this to not sound like a total dick...

How does someone get 40% and manage working as an LEO? No disrespect intended, just curious. I know it's legal, but don't you have to be like...disabled?

As far as losing $641 one time...it's really not going to hurt your FV of half a million. Why spend time fighting it? It's six hundred bucks of free money. Treat it as such. If I got VA disability I'd use it as a residual to pad my mutual funds and never ever look at it ever. Calling up old COs and reps over $641? :stop:

ETA: I like you LSHD, no disrespect intended. **** the VA.

[TheChunkNorris]

I'm going to try and rephrase this to not sound like a total dick...

How does someone get 40% and manage working as an LEO? No disrespect intended, just curious. I know it's legal, but don't you have to be like...disabled?

As far as losing $641 one time...it's really not going to hurt your FV of half a million. Why spend time fighting it? It's six hundred bucks of free money. Treat it as such. If I got VA disability I'd use it as a residual to pad my mutual funds and never ever look at it ever. Calling up old COs and reps over $641? :stop:

ETA: I like you LSHD, no disrespect intended. **** the VA.

Depends on a lot of things. I work with a guy who broke his back in a helicopter crash and gets 90%. He can't use his AMP license or work on any manned aircraft. He flies UAV's overseas and that's not an issue. Really don't see how you can say this was a helpful post regardless of how you word it... almost disrespectful. A PM would've been more appropriate.

[26 Inf]

I'm going to try and rephrase this to not sound like a total dick...

How does someone get 40% and manage working as an LEO? No disrespect intended, just curious. I know it's legal, but don't you have to be like...disabled?

As far as losing $641 one time...it's really not going to hurt your FV of half a million. Why spend time fighting it? It's six hundred bucks of free money. Treat it as such. If I got VA disability I'd use it as a residual to pad my mutual funds and never ever look at it ever. Calling up old COs and reps over $641? :stop:

ETA: I like you LSHD, no disrespect intended. **** the VA.

Euro -

A little harsh on the $641, I find myself at this stage of life able to shake something like that off, but remember back when that amount would have rocked my world. BTW though it isn't 641 if you take away the IRR drill pay. A CPA should have caught that. :p

It seems the VA disability things are all over the place. My son lost some of his bowel, essentially shits water, has a very restricted diet, and is emaciated to the point he looks like he was a POW. He gets 35% VA.

I train police officers in an academy setting, we've had a couple that got their disabilities approved while they were attending, one of them went on through and completed the course, walked into his agency Monday morning after graduation and resigned. The two in particular that I'm thinking of were young guys, would have been injured first enlistment, and were just as active and robust (seemingly) as any other 21 to 25 year-old in their class. I knew the one was getting his disability approved, but because of my position, did not say anything to his agency. After he resigned I called one of the guys I knew at the agency and asked 'did he pass your physical and agility test?' 'Oh, yeah, we knew nothing about it.'

On the other extreme, same as my son, recently was talking with a guy, he was drinking from a Ranger Yeti-thingie. I told him, come on, if you were a real Ranger you'd have the dummy corded to something, he laughed and told me 'I was a careful Ranger.' Got to talking to him, he was at 14 years, an E-7, up for E-8, been there done that including being an RI. Busted up shoulder, both knees done, and not well done, gnarly scars . Last quadrennial physical they said nope, can't retain. IIRC correctly he said he is getting 10%. He was quick to point out that while all of his injuries were service connected, none were combat related.

So I don't know if you get bumped up for combat related or what, it does seem that ratings are all over the place.

And I'll end with this - if the service busted you up, they need to fix you up and compensate you fairly for loss of mobility, senses, pain-free life. Period.

[polydeuces]

One does not have to be ex-anything to know $600 can be a LOT of change.more even so EVERY month...
Perhaps the difference between security and foreclosure. Being able to retire... or not....
I guess always having been self employed has tought me that much.

[Eurodriver]

Euro -

A little harsh on the $641, I find myself at this stage of life able to shake something like that off, but remember back when that amount would have rocked my world. BTW though it isn't 641 if you take away the IRR drill pay. A CPA should have caught that. :p

It seems the VA disability things are all over the place. My son lost some of his bowel, essentially shits water, has a very restricted diet, and is emaciated to the point he looks like he was a POW. He gets 35% VA.

And I'll end with this - if the service busted you up, they need to fix you up and compensate you fairly for loss of mobility, senses, pain-free life. Period.

I'm sorry to hear about your son. That's terrible. As far as missing the net amount...damn ;)

To your ending point, that's the way it should be, but it isn't. Far too many people get % ratings above and beyond (Not referring to LSHD at all, fyi) and even more get nothing for things they deserve. Guys I served with getting 20% for tinnitus and "knee pain" when they were the ones giving me shit about going to BAS for a fractured ankle. :rolleyes: I'm not playing favorites either. My dad is 100% P&T and that guy is about as physically normal as anyone I've ever met. Total bullshit.

Quite literally the only thing that keeps me from being resentful is the fact that I'm the smartest person in Florida, and all my fraudulent buddies with VA ratings work at gas stations :jester:

[Eurodriver]

One does not have to be ex-anything to know $600 can be a LOT of change.more even so EVERY month...
Perhaps the difference between security and foreclosure. Being able to retire... or not....
I guess always having been self employed has tought me that much.

From what I understood from LSHD's OP we are talking about a single $641 payment. Is that not correct?


Depends on a lot of things. I work with a guy who broke his back in a helicopter crash and gets 90%. He can't use his AMP license or work on any manned aircraft. He flies UAV's overseas and that's not an issue. Really don't see how you can say this was a helpful post regardless of how you word it... almost disrespectful. A PM would've been more appropriate.

Helpful posts? This is M4C GD. Since when is being helpful a requirement? :sarcastic:

I'm just trying to put LSHD back in Mackey Hall's mentality so he can realize that his life is so much more awesome now and to not sweat the small things.

[ramairthree]

If you are 100% for psyc or some reason you can't work period.

If you add up to 100% for illnesses and injuries you can still work.
Let's say you broke both legs on a jump, they hurt and ache but you can walk.
You have a buck of loss of sensation in a hand injury. But you can still do your job.
Limited range of motion in an elbow after an injury and surgery, etc.

If you work with a bunch of old injuries VA is fine with it.
They actually love it when a guy in a wheelchair with one arm has a job at a verteran friendly company.

They consider the pay covering the pain from you injuries while you work, etc.

For some dip shit milking them for PTSD and too anxious to work,
Their 100% is based on they are unable to work, so they can't.
Plus they just use the VA rating to go get SS disability also.
And combining the two I think they will end up with 60k a year.

The guy in the wheelchair with one arm,
He won't get the SS disability because he is working.
So he may get a whopping 100% for his disability VA check of like 3 grand a month.
Same as the chick with a hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, and sleep apnea.

In a world of PFC Marines and Infantry spending years in combat zones making like 30K a year,
While overtime shady cops and other city union types can pull 200k plus,
And cops with 10 years service, twisted knees can get 80k pensions,
I don't know what to think.

Hell,
You guys do realize some 30 year retired operator or colonel pilot, etc. get like 60k a year retirements after all that service.
Literally half of some of these shady city deals.

[Averageman]

I think there are a lot of honest guys out there just getting a little tired of seeing a system that is already unworkable get gamed by some unscrupulous people.
I've mentioned it before here, but having set through listening to a PFC explain how She was going to work the system to milk some PTSD money out of the VA, it made me more than a little pissed off. BTW, it was very clear she only left the FOB coming in and going out of country and at the most might have endured a mortar attack and that came out of her own mouth during the discussion.
My first and only experience with the VA was going there for a mandatory physical when I retired. As I entered the place there was a old guy (70+) sitting in a wheel chair smoking. Three hours later when I left he was still there, smoking, but now he was smelling particularly worse than when I entered.
One extreme and the other.
I just decided right there I would rather die than have to depend on these guys to help me. The whole system is corrupted.

[jwinch2]

Agreed with calling your senator and/or congressman. This is an obvious hose job.

[Dist. Expert 26]

I agree with what 26 Inf said, the ratings are all over the place. I know guys who get 10% for hearing loss, whereas I got exactly nothing for it. On the other hand, I get a rating for my back and knee while guys I know that have the exact same issues get nothing. It really boils down to where you go and the doc that does your assessment.

As to people claiming false PTSD, I have some rather strong opinions. A few of my SOI instructors were Phantom Fury vets. Those dudes were messed up and it was obvious, but they adamantly refused to get help or claim it was a problem even though they definitely should have. I feel that those who claim PTSD because they got shot at one time are worse than the morons who lie about having served.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

Thank you to those that have offered constructive advice, especially to "Dist. Expert 26" who has done some outside research for me (I do not have a FB acct). I will contact the DAV, they originally assisted me with dealing with the VA in the first place 4 years ago.

I can't even fathom a response to Euro's disrespectful "call out" of me. I did not ask for your financial advice, I did not ask for my service to be called into doubt. I asked for assistance with the VA. As you have nothing to offer, your publicly disrespectful comment blows my mind. I'm surprised at how much your post bothers me, and I'm going to go ahead and take a hiatus from this forum before my disgust with your particular brand of offensiveness gets me banned for good.

Again, thanks so much to those who have assisted me and offered advice.