Are We Telling Our Veterans They’re Broken?

One of the most important things I do, is work with veterans who have disabilities. So many of them suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, some severe, some not. Most veterans with PTSD are high functioning and can do any job necessary with proper counseling, coping skills, and training. But so often the Veterans Administration (VA) fails them by pushing psychotropic medications instead of counseling and training on how to enter the workforce with their PTSD properly managed. The VA offers counseling, but many veterans are re-traumatized by some of their methods, discouraging numerous veterans from seeking the treatment offered by the VA. Sean is one of those veterans who was let down by the VA. Sean is an intelligent, resourceful, and educated Army veteran with two tours in Iraq. Sean suffers from PTSD and refuses to utilize the VA to help control his PTSD. Sean had used the VA in the past and was given medication, which he now refuses to take. Sean’s PTSD is extreme, and he struggles daily just to attend his college classes. He continually question’s his ability to hold a job because of his PTSD and hopes college will help him gain the necessary confidence and skills to be successful. Part of what so many veterans, including Sean, must overcome are businesses fear of hiring veterans because they dread PTSD in the workplace. They don’t want to be responsible if someone “goes off” while at work.  

The VA is not helping because they're quick to give disability checks to those who have PTSD for the rest of their lives due to civilian pressure. Why should veterans work or find a job, when there’s no incentive to get better? The VA tells them they are broken because they are 100% disabled. In the VA’s defense, they do bring many veterans with PTSD back for re-evaluation every few years, but veterans have no reason to get better. After their PTSD diagnosis, many veterans are not required to complete therapy that can help them learn to manage their PTSD.

I understand this is quite controversial, everyone, including me, a 20-year combat veteran feel the VA needs to do their job and take care of our veterans. But what we know from so many of our WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans is, people with PTSD can live totally productive lives if they are not treated like they are broken and without purpose. Sean is one of those people who feels broken and without purpose. He believes he is going to struggle to get jobs because of his PTSD, he now has a defeatist, victim mentality.

What the VA needs to do is give effective personalized treatment for PTSD and continually monitor those who get disability checks for their PTSD. The VA is set up to reward veterans for maintaining their PTSD. The VA should educate veterans to find employment that will be better tolerated by vets with PTSD. Employers need to make a concerted effort to employ our veterans with good paying jobs and trust them, even those with managed PTSD. There are veterans who need to be 100% disabled because of their PTSD because they cannot function in society, but if a veteran can go to college and graduate, then they should be able to learn to manage their PTSD and re-enter the workforce, giving them back their sense of purpose.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro. 

Still Fighting the System After all These Years

Since I retired in 2004 I have been fighting the Veterans Administration (VA) over issues brought on by the abuse my body took after 20 years in the Air Force. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not complaining about physical issue while in the military. Like most military members I was shamed and guilted into not complain about any medical issues, and ridiculed if I did not press on unless the issue was life threatening. I rarely went to sick call or the doctor. When I did seek medical treatment, it was for colds and viruses, seldom for aches and pains from abuse my body was taking. When I did go to the doctor for aches and pains I was given “Air Force candy”, Motrin. I knew the treatment so I did not go, I went to the Base Exchange and got my own Motrin. When I reached my 30’s the physical abuse of my body started catching up with me. I still didn’t complain and pressed on like a good Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).

When I retired I remember telling my wife, I’ve got to quit being a truck mechanic. I could not continue to bend wrenches and jump off the back of trucks like I used to, it was too hard on my body and the pains were catching up with me. I decided to go back to school so I could get a desk job and stop abusing my body the way I had for 20 years. About a year and a half after I retired, I struggled to walk without severe pain. I was surprised when I was told by the doctor I needed surgery on both knees, I did not think they were that bad. As I get older I find myself falling apart with a lot of medical issues including aches and pains that I believe are directly relate to the abuse my body took while in the Air Force.

After receiving another denial letter from the VA for issues I am suffering, I spent an entire day going through my military medical records looking for evidence to support my claim. I did find some evidence but not enough to show a chronic issue. There was little in there because we were shamed and guilted into not complaining. If I couldn’t do PT, my job, deploy, or whatever it took to get the job done I would be considered weak and dispensable, so I didn’t complain about my twisted ankles, hurting knees, back, shoulders, and any other joints that I have been abusing for years, I just “walked it off” like a good troop. Of course, there’s not much documentation of my issues in my official medical records, I didn’t complain, I continued to do my work through the pain, thus causing more damage.

There comes a point in time to where common sense needs to prevail with the VA compensation section. Almost everyone who has spent time in the military knows that they’re probably going to be physical issues stemming from the abuse their bodies took while serving their country. Carrying 100-pound rucksack, working on equipment, jumping off trucks, tanks, Bradley’s, or whatever plays hell on ankles, knees, back, hips, and shoulders. There is also little doubt that we have a higher probability of developing hearing issues. Most equipment, weapons, explosions, aircraft, and various other loud noises create a high decibel level which can cause prolong hearing loss.

After continuing to fight the system I understand why people give up, it looks to me like the system is rigged. You can’t be awarded a claim because you didn’t complain, you were told to “shut up and color” or considered weak if your body couldn’t take the abuse while serving. I understand there are those who abuse the system, and they should be weeded out. But I also know that if I hadn’t served 20 years in the military I would not be having the body aches and pains I presently have. My body took abuse for 20 years and I could not complain, this has put me in the position I’m in now, no evidence. I have decided I am going to fight the VA until the day I die, if for no other reason, principle. For those of you out there who feel the same way I do, all I can say is don’t give up. Be a good troop and press on.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

A Salute to Vietnam Veterans

Rusty was a Marine in Vietnam. I worked for his brother while I was in the Air Force. He was born and raised in Texas but decided to live in an area where there were less people. He was a strong man that never would ask for help, but you could tell there was something not quite right about his demeanor. He was a good man but grumpy most of the time. He never had children and had been married several times. He owned his own business so he could stay away from people and crowds. No one fully understood him except his brother, Sammy. Sammy was also a Vietnam veteran, Sammy’s job was an aircraft mechanic at Ton Son Nhut Air Base Vietnam, and was occasionally sent out to the jungle to retrieve parts and remains from downed aircraft. There were times Sammy had to remove pilots he knew while being shot at. The Viet Cong were known to sit on downed aircraft or bodies of Americans because they knew we would return for their brothers.  

Rusty’s job was to re-supply troops on the front line and forward operating units. These missions were usually done in a convoy, but that didn't make it any easier. These convoys were under consistent fire from the Vietcong day in and day out as they drove back and forth from their supply missions. It was a stressful job, during one of these missions Rusty was the lead truck. While Rusty was the lead truck on a mission a woman stepped out into the road and tried to get Rusty to stop. His orders were to stop for no one. Rusty had to run over that woman standing in the road. What people struggle to understand, often there would be a sniper ready to shoot the driver and take the supplies. When Rusty returned to the United States, like most Vietnam veterans, he was not met with open arms.

Many Vietnam veterans struggle with the way they were treated when they returned home. I know when I returned from Desert Storm the Vietnam veterans made sure we were treated well upon our homecoming. There are still Vietnam veterans today that struggle with the way they were treated by society when they returned, and how the new veterans are being treated by society. I had one Vietnam veteran make the statement that “when we returned home we were spit on and threatened, now all of today's veterans are considered a hero and treated with respect”. I have talked to several people, both civilian and veterans, who feel today's veterans are treated well out of guilt for the way Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home. Many older veterans feel they have been overlooked. The reality is they have. It pains me to see Vietnam veterans struggle because they can't get the medical care, benefits, pay, and college that the newer generation veterans are receiving because of the work put in by the Vietnam era veterans.

The question is how does society help the Vietnam veterans get what they have earned. Vietnam veterans have been used to establish the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have heard that some Vietnam veterans have not been diagnosis for PTSD because it did not exist when they completed their service. The Veterans Administration (VA) will be struggling for a very long time dealing with our Vietnam veterans as they get older. As the Vietnam veterans get older some of the hidden issues they've buried for 40+ years are going to surface. The VA has been, and still is ill-prepared for the number of combat veterans in the United States. It is possible that it will be years before the VA can catch up to the need, if ever. Many of these brave men and women have not received the benefits they deserve from the VA; the question is, who will help them if the VA is not able to?

There are places in the civilian sector where veterans can go for help. It is my suggestion that veterans who are struggling get the help, not give up and contact their local Veterans Service Organization to get the help they have earned. If it wasn't for veterans the United States might not have the rights and freedoms we so cherish in our country. To all veterans I would like to say, thank you. To the Vietnam veterans I would like to say that I respect you more than you can ever know. You have earned that respect and always will have my respect because of the way you carried yourself after the way you were treated upon your return. You are my brothers and sisters. Rusty and Sammy are both gone now, but they are a big reason I have chosen to do what I am doing, trying to help veterans and their families get the respect and benefits they deserve and have earned. 

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro. 

Veterans Have Earned Their Benefits

Josh was one of my troops in Alaska; he was of those good guys with a sense of humor everyone loved.  In the military, especially overseas, your troops, comrades, and their families become your family of choice. In allot of cases the home of the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) is their home away from home. We had a small shop, there were only 7 of us and our families were very close.  Almost everyone is away from their families during the holidays, to prevent depression, especially during the holidays our house was their home away from home. Particularly for the single troops that lived in the barracks. Josh became part of our family, our children adopted him as a big brother and he became like a son to my wife and I.  

One day he was called out for a disabled fire truck, while on his way he hit a moose, not unusual in Alaska. This was the turning point that would change his life. He received a concussion and hurt his back. He was out of work for 2 weeks and on limited duty for a month. As things went along we thought everything was ok. After a couple of years he got out of the Air Force with an honorable discharge and moved back to Colorado, all was good.

We kept in touch and talked to him at least once a week. That continued for the rest of his life. He would come to California, we went to Colorado, and this went on for years.  At that time his life was good, he had a good job (with benefits), house, wife, and great friends. None of us had any idea everything would come crashing down in a few years.

About 2 years later his back problems flared up again. I tried to get him to fill out a VA 21-526 disability claim from the Veterans Administration (VA) and like many he refused. He did not want to be a whiner or deal with the VA red tape. He had insurance through his job and everything would be ok. The doctors gave him various tests and some pain medication and sent him home. That did not help; the back pain continued for another 2 years, he continued to go to the doctor, where they gave him more pain medication. As time went on he had two back surgeries, nothing helped. During this time I was still talking to him every week, I could see his decline. After a while we realized he was hooked on the pain medication, he had become a drug addict and his wife and family were enabling him. Soon after he was fired from his job because of missed work, his wife left, and his house went into foreclosure. My wife and I decided it was time to get him some help.

It took us months to convince him to come see us and get help from the VA, he finally agreed. We scraped up enough money to buy him a plane ticket from Denver Co. to Ontario Ca. I picked him up from the airport on a Thursday night. Friday morning, we went to the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital. He brought all the needed documents, tax returns, DD-214, unemployment paperwork, medical records, it was all there. After the wait he was told by a benefits counselor that he could not get services. He needed to be a combat veteran, have a service connected disability, or meet low income standards. He did not meet any of the criteria because he never filed a claim for his back. He never was in combat, and he did not meet the low-income standards because he had made too much money the prior year. Like many we were unaware there was an income cutoff at the VA.  He had proof he had lost his job, but the system got in the way. They told him he could appeal, it would be 3 to 6 months before a board would make a decision, we did not know it but he did not have that long.

We offered him the opportunity to live with us and help him work through the problems. But he gave up once adversity arose. We would not allow him to drink alcohol and be on medication at the same time when he was with us; so, he decided to go back to Denver. Three weeks later I received a phone call from his mother, he was found dead, he died of an accidental drug overdose.

This might have been preventable, but who knows. If he had filed a claim for his back when he got out, the VA would have taken him. If the VA did not have a limit on income for non-combat veterans and non-service connected disabilities things might have turned out differently. Veterans see their brothers and sisters with missing limbs and don’t believe they deserve benefits for their unseen disabilities. Every veteran, family member, friend of a veteran needs to let them know they are not a whiner for filing a claim, and the red tape is just another hoop to jump through. If Josh had, it might have saved his life. Do not let this happen to others, be proactive. They have earned their benefits. They deserve their benefits.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

The Battles Continue for Veterans

I met Frank at the Vet center where he is going to college. Frank is an operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veteran with two tours, he has seen more than any 27-year-old should ever have to. He is struggling to work through what happened while he was deployed and since his return to the “real world”. Since his return home he has been battling multiple fronts and having to fight different fights. Frank was married and has a six-year-old daughter, now he is divorced and lives alone. He has been battling with the Veterans Administration (VA) over his disability, causing frustration and anger. He has been going to college but struggles dealing with the younger generation. He has recently added a battle within himself, the battle over how he feels about his time in Iraq. His emotional issues have taken over his life. Not only is he battling what he saw and had to do in Iraq, he is having to deal with emotional issues that followed him home.

Those issues have played a huge part in his families struggles. He and his wife have divorced like so many other veterans’ whose relationships have suffered the same fate. When Frank left for the first deployment he was not married. He did not want to get married to his girlfriend because he worried he would not make it back. The first deployment affected him a little, but he felt it was nothing he could not handle. After his first deployment he and his girlfriend got married and had a daughter. They had been married about 3 years and he was again called to deploy. This time he had a wife and daughter to be concerned about. Like all good troops he went and did his duty. Frank explained how he remembers the first time his problem with PTSD was noticed. After about 8 months in theatre Frank’s Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) started to get concerned, he noticed Frank had become careless and would lose his temper more often. He finished his deployment and returned home to his wife and daughter. When Frank returned, he was happy, but it was not long before the return honeymoon period ended. About a year later his wife left with his daughter because of his drinking.  Frank was not the same guy she fell in love with. Up until this point Frank had been reluctant to get help from the VA. He finally took that step for help, but it was too late for his relationship.     

When Frank finally took the step to get help from the VA, another battle started. The VA is a huge bureaucratic nightmare and can be frustrating. His first step was behavioral health, he was placed on a waitlist. He soon became frustrated and came to see me while waiting for his spot to open up. About 2 months later he was called and given an appointment. Once it was all said and done, he received an 80% disability rating for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During this time working through the VA bureaucracy he decided to start college.

Frank explained how he was nervous about going to college. No one in his family had taken that step. He started using his post-911 education benefits. He soon found that there were battles he had to fight in college too. The college is a state-run institution and the education program is a federal program. Frank had to deal with two different bureaucracies, as a rule bureaucracies do not play well with each other. Once he was done with battling dueling bureaucracies he had to deal with immature students.  These students don’t understand him and asked, “stupid questions” like “did you kill someone?” or “was the war worth it?” This became a battle he had to deal with, he had to maintain his composure and keep calm. They did appear to affect him, because he started to have another battle within himself, was the war worth it since ISIS had taken large chunks of Iraq?    

Frank, like some other veterans now question what they were fighting for. He was glued to the TV for a while when ISIS invaded Iraq and the Iraqi Army lost control of the land they had fought so hard, shed blood, and died for. He has stopped watching the news because it brings up the negative emotions he has been trying to suppress. Even before ISIS took over parts of Iraq he was struggling to deal with the cost of the war. Frank tells very few about how he feels about the wars. He converses with other veterans who have spoken up, but he keeps his comments to a minimum. He is caught in a battle with himself and his feelings, he does not know how to feel. Frank feels if he does not care about what is going on in Iraq then he is disloyal to those who we lost. If he feels anger all his emotions he has worked hard to suppress will arise. Frank feels he should want to go back and recover what he had fought so hard for.

I am seeing more and more veterans struggling with the situation in IRAQ and I don’t see an end to it. I have talked to several in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines who, like Frank don’t know how to feel. They mourn the loss and casualties of their brothers, while questioning whether it was all worth it. This is a hard place to be, it is difficult to feel your brothers died in vain, it’s a hard pill to swallow but many are starting to fight the battle. These are the same feelings the Vietnam veterans have been feeling for years, was it worth it. Only the individual veterans can answer that question.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

Leaving Money on the Table

I am constantly amazed at how many veterans don’t know they have benefits through the Veterans Administration (VA) or feel they don’t deserve benefits for one reason or another. One of the major benefits veteran’s overlook is disability compensation. It is shocking how little veterans and their families understand about VA medical disability compensation. I was at a store last week and ran into John, an Iraq war veteran. John struggles financially because he can’t keep a good paying job due to his war disabilities. John has been out of the Marines for 3 years and thought he had waited too long to apply for benefits, this is a misconception. John will always be eligible for service connected disability benefits. John also was not told he was covered for medical benefits by the VA for 5 years after his separation from the Marine Corps. John has been paying for medical insurance when he did not have to. I asked if he had been told about his benefits at the Transitional Assistance Program or TAPS seminar and he said he hadn’t. If John receives a 30% disability rating or higher, as a combat veteran he has medical benefits for life through the VA. Some veterans struggle to make ends meet when they don’t have to. There are benefits for veterans, they just need to apply. Even though applying for benefits is easy, working through the bureaucracy of the VA moves slowly, and is not so easy.

Applying for disability is not a difficult task, working through the VA disability process is challenging. Every US President has said they will improve the VA system, but the VA ship is hard to turn around. Filing a disability claim through the VA can be a long, arduous process. Once a claim is filed veterans needs to be prepared for the wait. The disability process has gotten better lately but it is still painstakingly slow. The key for the veteran is managing expectations and understanding their benefits claim will take time. Some veterans don’t feel applying for disability benefits is worth the effort and some veterans feel they don’t deserve the benefits and refuse to apply.   

Why don’t veterans want to apply for disability benefits? When I pose that question to veterans they feel they are not disabled enough, there are veterans missing limbs and have visual wounds, while theirs may be internal and psychological. They feel their disabilities are not severe enough to warrant a claim. Another answer I get is, I am taking benefits from someone who needs them worse than I do. VA funding is based on the number of veterans served at their facilities. Sitting out the disability process is not helping anyone, by not applying for benefits you could cause a cut in funding to your local VA facility.

Sometimes, those who receive benefits are called “moochers” by some in our society, usually those who never served. Because of this attitude some veterans feel they are working the system and getting charity, the reason it takes months or years to get a disability claim through, is that the VA spends the time to weed out the “moochers”.  While in your 20’s, jumping off a 5 ton or duce and half with an 80 to 100-pound rucksack in full battle rattle, being tossed around on an aircraft carrier deck or, jumping off of aircraft and equipment is hard on the knees, ankles, and back. I truly believe no one gets out of the military physically unharmed. If you have a legitimate issue caused by your military service, file a claim. The health issues from your service in your 20’s might not be seen instantly but they do catch up to you as you age.  You earned these benefits, it’s not a gift.

The bottom line is you need to apply for the benefits you have earned. There’s no reason for veterans and their families to struggle financially or have medical bills when you don’t have to. I talked to John for about an hour and finally convinced him to apply for compensation for his medical problems.  Many veterans are going to have back, knee, ankle, or various other physical and mental issues because veterans are trained to feel indestructible while serving. Apply for the disability benefits you earned, the military forced you to abuse your body when you were young. Don’t struggle financially in retirement or pay for medical insurance because you abused your body or are suffering with PTSD. Why leave money you have earned on the table?

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

Veterans and their Spouses Need to Understand the VA System

Even though I served 20 years in the Air Force and have been retired for 12 years I still did not understand exactly how the Veterans Administration (VA) works. After 32 years I am now on a mission to learn the VA system. I thought I would share some of what I have learned. Being retired I have Tri-care medical insurance and felt I didn’t need the VA medical system. I tried to not use the VA system believing I was taking appointments from veterans who needed them.   I had gotten my disability rating when I retired and believed did not have to set foot in a VA hospital or clinic because I have Tri-care. The one time I went to the VA was about 6 months after I retired and was not happy with the way I was treated, I waited 10 years to go back into the VA. I did not want to deal with the headaches of the VA, so I didn’t go, that was a big mistake on my part. My thought process changed when I filed to increase of my disability claim about 2 years ago. I found I had to start playing their game.

My claim was denied for lack of documentation because I had chosen to not use the VA system. I retrieved my civilian medical records and took them to the VA believing that would give the VA the needed documentation for my claim. After waiting about 2 hours at the VA records department I was unable to add my personal medical records to my VA medical records.  I needed permission from a VA primary care physician, which I did not have. I was required to sign up for a primary care provider at the VA, taking an appointment from another veteran who only has medical insurance through the VA. I received an appointment in a shockingly quick time. I now have 2 primary care physicians one from the VA and a civilian doctor from Tri-Care. I quickly found I did not understand the system. As I have learned the hard way the VA has 3 separate sections and they don’t talk to each other. The VA’s 3 sections are Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and National Cemetery Administration.

The VHA healthcare system is the largest integrated health care system in the United States. What many do not know is each VA healthcare facility is managed as a separate entity. Every VA facility is different and offer different services. Often one of the biggest issues is the different VA facilities or entities not talking to each other. The VA runs more than 1,700 hospitals, clinics, and other facilities spread throughout the country. I have heard of several instances where a veteran goes to a different VA facility than their normal one and the visiting VA facility has no access to their medical records. Veterans need to be aware their VA medical records are not available when they travel unless the veteran registers to share them.  

The benefits section of the VA the VBA covers a multitude of items for service members, veterans, their dependents and survivors. The benefits section of the VA covers disability claims, education, training, home loans, and life insurance for qualifying members. The important thing to remember is the benefits section might not talk to your VA primary care provider for information about your claim. While talking to my VA primary care provider I found the information from my VA benefits claim, filed by a VA benefits contract doctor was not added to my permanent VA medical records. I had to tell my VA primary care doctor my diagnosis from a VA contract doctor. You have to stay on top of your information and claim. The people reading your compensation claim utilize all documentation, but you need to make sure all documentation is there. If you went to your VA primary care or civilian physician after the claims section has pulled your records for review they do not have your most recent information. If you have been diagnosed with a medical issue by a VA contract doctor do not assume it is in your VA medical records for your VA primary care doctor to see.   

The third section of the VA is the National Cemetery Administration. Many veterans and their families do not know that veterans and spouses can be buried at any of the 134 National cemeteries if they qualify, and most veterans do. Your local Veteran Service Organization (VSO’s) Should be able to help you. Your Funeral home should also be aware of the requirements for VA death benefits.   

In the end, you as the veteran or family member must stay on top of your documentation and claim. If you understand that the VA sections do not talk to each other it makes it easier for you to work through the system. It is in your best interest that you not assume the VA benefits section has all of the needed information for your claim. Make sure you understand how you can control the speed that claims get handled by understanding how the system works. For your health don’t assume your VA primary care physician has all of your needed information. Follow up to make sure the right section has the documentation needed to file a successful disability claim and your VA primary care doctor has the needed information to save your life.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

Brown Water Veterans Can Get Benefits

I was contacted by a Vietnam Navy veteran and encouraged me to write about brown water veterans and the Veterans Administration (VA). Brown water veterans are Vietnam War veterans that served on vessels and never officially set foot on Vietnamese soil. They served on ships that operated on the coast or inland deltas of Vietnam. To most of society brown water veterans service in Vietnam is a no brainer and deserve their benefits. It took until 1991 for congress to passed a law requiring the VA to cover all illnesses directly related to Agent orange exposure in Vietnam, this included brown water veterans. This allowed brown water veterans to finally file for compensation for disabilities connected to Agent Orange.

In 2002 the George W. Bush administration changed the rules for military veterans concerning Agent Orange and their brown water service. It required veterans who filed for Agent Orange compensation to meet the “boots on the ground” rule established by the administration and passed by congress. With the change in the rule a veteran had to step foot in Vietnam in order to meet the Agent Orange requirement. This was problematic for some veterans because the never “officially” set foot on Vietnamese soil. Because of this ruling the George W. Bush administration stripped Navy personnel who had been receiving compensation unless they could prove they met the boots on the ground requirement.

In August 2006 The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims decided the Veterans Affairs requirement for “boots on the ground” as the definition of “service in the Republic of Vietnam” is unreasonable, and does not align with Congress's intent. This meant that any “brown water veteran” who served in Vietnam may be eligible for benefits. Many brown water veterans have given up on applying for benefits. Its time they rethink their strategies and reapply if they are eligible.  

There are ways to prove you served in a brown water area. One of those is the deck logs of the vessels you served on. Once Senator Akaka from Hawaii found out about the brown water veteran’s situation and summoned his staff to investigate the denial of their claims. Senator Akaka’s staff’s research found from 150 to 170 Navy vessels that were presumed to be exposed to Agent Orange because they operated off the coast or in Vietnamese waters. This list was sent to the veteran’s affairs office for review. Senator Akaka’s staff also found many cases in which the VA regional offices did not request the deck logs from the National Archives of those filing an Agent Orange claim. These deck logs would have produced the needed information to accept the claim of these veterans.

Senator Akaka who was serving as the chairman of the Senate Affairs Committee asked the VA to take another look at the Navy Veterans claims who served in Vietnams rivers, inland waterways, or docked in Vietnam. According to the information Senator Akaka’s staff found these veterans should be presumed to have Agent Orange exposure entitling them to compensation if they met the medical criteria set by the VA.  The US Navy confirmed Navy veterans who submitted deck logs with their claims should see faster results. With proof of service in Vietnam’s inland waters or time on shore, “the only issue is, ‘What disability do you have?’ and ‘What’s the current level of (that) disability?”

With the VA backlog it will speed up the process if the veterans advocate or the veteran themselves comb the deck logs of the ships to find the needed information. The easiest way to support your Agent Orange claim is to show you were on a ship that meets the criteria. It is crucial that there is proof in your VA Claims File (C-File) that you were on that vessel during the time in question. Make sure you get a copy of your C-File for your records (the VA has been known to lose paperwork in their bureaucracy). If your ship is not on the DOD list, you can request the deck logs of your ship from the Naval or National Archives. These logs should be able to confirm the dates and times of the missions of that ship. From those deck logs brown water veterans should be able to find information that will validate your claim.     

Some veterans feel it is not worth the time to dig through the paperwork needed to support their claim. My question is, can you use an extra $133.00 at 10% disability up to $3000.00 at 100% disability per month. One major reason for you to research your own deck log information is according to my sources, the personnel at the claims department have little or no medical experience and don’t spend the time needed to help you with your claim. They are just overwhelmed.   

If the military caused your disability you have earned the right to receive disability compensation. Brown water veterans have been left out of the Agent Orange conversation for years. It took a US Army veteran congressman to work toward getting Naval brown water veterans Agent Orange compensation approved. If you are a veteran and having medical issues centered around Agent Orange I challenge you to file a claim for what your government did to you without your knowledge.

The Following is a list of medical issues caused by Agent Orange exposure 

AL Amyloidosis

Chronic B-cell Leukemias

Chloracne (or similar acneform disease)

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

Hodgkin's Disease

Ischemic Heart Disease
Multiple Myeloma

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Parkinson's Disease

Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

Prostate Cancer

Respiratory Cancers (includes lung cancer)

Soft Tissue Sarcomas

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.