All good things must come to an end

[Gunner Carvo]

I got a phone call telling me that my Medical Board results were in. Soon, I will no longer be on Active Duty, the man formerly known as Gunner. I knew that part was going to happen. I was hoping to get a high enough disability rating from DoD to be "medically retired", but I only got 10% from them. The VA was nice enough to put me down for 60%. Since so many of you on here have way more experience with the VA and such, is there anything I should be keeping my eyes and ears open for?

[BLUEHAWK]

Gunner

Don't have a lot of information about your particulars, but one thing that comes up over and over and over again is making 100% certain that you have in hand, your own hands, every single piece of document and paperwork having anything whatsoever to do with your military service - including dumb stuff like TDY orders and what all - before it suddenly becomes REAL hard to get ahold of.

You probably do have that stuff, but I cannot tell you how many times those papers have meant the difference from everything I've seen reports of in recent years. Best current example is that many an AO troop could have gotten or had better results on their cases if only they had kept thus and so...

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Get copies of every medical record, every personnel action. And don't knock 60%. That's over a thousand bucks a month. The Military rarely scores disability as high as the VA. They save money that way.

[1CAVCCO15MED]

If the VA brought your rating up 10 more percent, you could apply for 100 % unemployability but you can't apply for unemployability if you work. The best way to get the documentation for this is through the VA. Go and get treatment for what you were given disability for. 100% is 100% even if it is unemployability. With it you get basically the same privileges a retired military does, complete with an ID card for PX and Commissary. You will need someone to represent you, usually a DAV rep specially trained to help with claims. Ask around from locals who have gotten through the process to find out the best one. Do not make the mistake of appealing and then gathering paperwork. Get your ducks in a row first. Also, if you qualify, don't forget to apply for Social Security disability, once again, only if you can't work at all.