It has been that way since the VA started rating PTSD cases. Cleveland has always been among the toughest on rating. I filed my first PTSD case in February 1983 and won it a year later. The vet is 100% by schedule. It took 15 years to get him there and his condition was as bad in 1983 as it was in 1998!
you will be lucky if you can even get a rating these days. I have been fighting with the va for4 years on this now. I have the vfw and other organizations working the case.They need to get right so some of us get the help we need right away the disablilty we desereve
Americans have no problems funding the VA, it is Congress and the mass of bureaucrats that are hindering access to proper medical care.
Congress has made sure that their own members have the best medical care available. I think it is about time we fully fund the VA or give every one of our returning vets access to private health care that includes intensive therapy for PTSD and other combat related disorders.
It is up to the American public to do this-unless we start screaming long and hard, this is going to be the norm for returning service people. You can't expect vets to fight overseas and then come back and fight bureaucrats.
The answer is simple pay ther same amount of benfits for the same problems no matter what state they are in and stop try to play god and treat these vets better than we did the vietnam vets did we not learn anything from vietnam
I dont understand, was it only last Year that the top People in the Vet system received high end bonus awards for such a fine job, even though the backlog of Vet cases had increased. Let the over sight zero in and show just how things are. wcarter41
Originally posted by dolphindan1957: The answer is simple pay ther same amount of benfits for the same problems no matter what state they are in and stop try to play god and treat these vets better than we did the vietnam vets did we not learn anything from vietnam
AMEN TO THAT! I agree and also suggest that the discrimination towards Vietnam Vets and all Heros of previous wars should stop now! Congress and the Senate should be reminded that only Jeus Christ and the Military/Vets will give their lives for the benefits and security they are getting. The Honor and Force of America should get priority always.
This is an old subject on this site. The disparity issue with the VA goes back years. The VA even sent out letters a year or two ago over this. And as usual nothing is being done!!!
Vietnam vet, waiting 40 years, PTSD. This is much worse than previously reported even. I still say that if the top leadership of the VA was doing their jobs, this would not have happened. What is scary is that it indicates a system so bogged down and with so many loose cannons on the deck, I seriously doubt it can ever be "fixed".
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Originally posted by ajd8739: i am a combat veteran of the war in vietnam and have waited for 32 years for compensation , the va. is a big farce.
I see it this way. If the pay scale for military service is the same regardless of the state you are from then disability payments should be the same. PTSD affects individuals the same way in NC as it does in CA. I also feel it there is found to be some discrepancies in the pay system that requires a back payment then all PTSD victims should qualify for the repayment and not just those who are returning from Iraq and Aghan. One service one system.
I am a Vietnam Vet I've been waiting 38 years to get the compensation I need. They have again forgotten the Viet Vet. They're putting us on the back burner to look good by jumping up to show they're helping the Vets of today returning from the Sand Box.The Compensation Scale was set by Congress. The problem with the variances lies with the "Rating Officers". They seem to be free to set their own standards. The Federal Govt. set the Compensation Scale. It applies nation wide. It's not the States rating the Vet. It's the Rating Officers at the VA Regional Offices in each State. They do what they Damn well please and they don't have to answer to anyone. They make up their own rules and guide lines as they go.There are not enough Rating Officers and haven't been for years. This is why there are over 600,000 claims stacked up in DC. In my Case they said all they needed was a Letter of Unemployability that met their Criteria from my VA Shrink to add the 30% to the 70% I am now recieving for Severe and Cronhic PTSD. I recieved that Letter from my VA Shrink. My American Legion Rep. Immediately took it upstairs to my Rating Officer and placed it on top of my File, placed the file on his desk in front of him. I haven't heard a word from VA Regional in six months. Come on it takes six months to read a letter put in front of your face to varify exactly what you requested. We must have stepped on his Authority and he Shelved my File Again. Again the Problem Lies with the "Ratings Officers " ! They need to be made to Answer to Someopne !
Good Luck to Today's Returning Warriors ! No wonder these Warriors are leaving the services. My God the constant deployments and knowing if you need the Goverments help when you get back from Combat you will wait foreverfor them to Step Up, Like you Did !
So if I claim I'm depressed right now, then I will get paid? And if I move to an area where they pay more, what good will evening out the pay across the board do for me?
Originally posted by 9205250: I am a Vietnam Vet I've been waiting 38 years to get the compensation I need. They have again forgotten the Viet Vet. They're putting us on the back burner to look good by jumping up to show they're helping the Vets of today returning from the Sand Box.The Compensation Scale was set by Congress. The problem with the variances lies with the "Rating Officers". They seem to be free to set their own standards. The Federal Govt. set the Compensation Scale. It applies nation wide. It's not the States rating the Vet. It's the Rating Officers at the VA Regional Offices in each State. They do what they Damn well please and they don't have to answer to anyone. They make up their own rules and guide lines as they go.There are not enough Rating Officers and haven't been for years. This is why there are over 600,000 claims stacked up in DC. In my Case they said all they needed was a Letter of Unemployability that met their Criteria from my VA Shrink to add the 30% to the 70% I am now recieving for Severe and Cronhic PTSD. I recieved that Letter from my VA Shrink. My American Legion Rep. Immediately took it upstairs to my Rating Officer and placed it on top of my File, placed the file on his desk in front of him. I haven't heard a word from VA Regional in six months. Come on it takes six months to read a letter put in front of your face to varify exactly what you requested. We must have stepped on his Authority and he Shelved my File Again. Again the Problem Lies with the "Ratings Officers " ! They need to be made to Answer to Someopne !
Good Luck to Today's Returning Warriors ! No wonder these Warriors are leaving the services. My God the constant deployments and knowing if you need the Goverments help when you get back from Combat you will wait foreverfor them to Step Up, Like you Did !
Wild Bill, Vietnam 67-69 101st Airborne Division.
Fortunately, they aren't leaving the services. Retention is very good. PS: My experience with the VA has been very good thus far. I have had no more than the minor difficulties one would have with any large beauracracy.
Lets not even go there! Equal pay for equal sacrifice? Take a look at this: My retired pay for W3 over 20 is $2165. The same W3 who retires today will receive $2609, $444 a month more for the same service! If that were not bad enough, he also then goes to the head of the disability line and gets special treatments and money that I am denied. All is NOT equal!
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Originally posted by RTRook1980: I see it this way. If the pay scale for military service is the same regardless of the state you are from then disability payments should be the same. PTSD affects individuals the same way in NC as it does in CA. I also feel it there is found to be some discrepancies in the pay system that requires a back payment then all PTSD victims should qualify for the repayment and not just those who are returning from Iraq and Aghan. One service one system.
The matter is not so much about money as it is about disabled service members being treated fairly. If you get paid 100% and then moved to Los Angeles or New York City it won't do you any good.
I have not had many problems either, but I would like to see Vietnam veterans who are disabled (PTSD) be compensated equal to disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghan.
It's not the amount of money that varies State to State. It is the percentage of the compensation assigned. I was 30% for 40 years. In the past 4 years I have jumped to 60%.I didn't even know about the other disabilities I earned until 4 years ago when I started my new job. I live in one of the worst States regarding VA % compensation, Illinois. It is a constant battle with these VA rating boards. I have a documented 60% hearing loss due to 2 concussions from explosions in Vietnam. They said my hearing loss was from riding loud motorcycles! Hello! Anyone have an education beyond 2nd grade? No, they are really bad here. The VA hired 5 new people to rate claims in Illinois. That is the good news. The bad news is that they are being trained by the current raters!
