Why Getting a Diagnosis Matters
A diagnosis does so much more than get noted in your medical history. It also can help you apply for programs like Social Security Disability and medical marijuana cards. And maybe even more importantly, it can help you explain yourself to friends, colleagues and family.
I did that for years & it's
the best thing ever. Get
into the belly of the beast.
Do You Need
Medical Care
RIGHT NOW?
You are already authorized
to use an urgent
care clinic!
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Create or update your will fast / 100% free
Make your will with FreeWill today
Healthcare directives,
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Is your disability pay fair game in a divorce?
(Yeah, it is...)
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Launchpad
App for Veterans (VA Launchpad) contains select VA applications (apps) for Veterans and their Caregivers.
New apps will automatically appear in the VA Launchpad when they become available. Organizing VA health information and resources into five categories, it quickly accesses and launches the VA app of your choice. With VA Launchpad, VA intends to save you time and help you better integrate available VA apps into your life.
The Schedule For Rating Disabilities
If you're thinking of filing a claim or initiating an appeal of a denied claim, this is your new best friend. The details of exactly what you need to meet a rating are here and in use every day. Yes, it's complex. Yes, it's cumbersome. Yes, knowing how to use The Schedule is a necessity if you want to file a successful claim. Go for it!
Vets being duped by Social Security rumor mill
Owe VA Money???
To Loneliness And Isolation For Seniors
Did you know that hearing loss and tinnitus are the
most commonly rated veterans disabilities? Did you
know that hearing loss and tinnitus can cause
other secondary conditions, particularly mental
health problems like depression and loneliness?
Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA disability benefits
and a member of the Stateside Legal Website Advisory Board. Jim's Mailbag, is a regular column where veterans,
servicemembers, and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
You can browse all of these Q&As here, and search the Jim's Mailbag archives for helpful answers.
Everything you ever wanted to know about how
the VA benefits system works but were afraid to ask.
Welcome to the
VAWatchdog Dot Org
Just who do you think you are?
Stats about veterans.
Percent of U.S. adult population who are veterans in 2017, by state
Employment Data for Veterans With Disabilities
Employment Situation of Veterans Summary
Immigrant Veterans in the United States
Demographics of the U.S. Military
Veterans and Military Documents
Military Programs and Benefits
Research A Veteran
Tobacco Use in the Military
Facts on Veterans and Entrepreneurship
American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics
Tinnitus and hearing loss among
Veteran Social Security Beneficiaries
Veteran-Owned Businesses and Their Owners
48 Interesting U.S. Military Facts
The American Veteran Experience and the Post-9/11 Generation
National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics - Quick Facts
Global Firepower - 2019 World Military Strength Rankings
PAPER Evidence Records
and Claims All Go Here
V A Claims Intake Center
PO BOX 4444
JANESVILLE, WI
53547- 4444
Toll Free Fax:
844-531-7818
Key findings about America’s military veterans
The experiences of post-9/11 veterans differ from
those who served in previous eras. Post-9/11
veterans more likely to have been deployed,
seen combat, experienced emotional trauma
Military Records DD 214
Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs)
Official Personnel Folders (OPF)
Can VA Disability Compensation Be Used
to Calculate Child Support or Income?
Veterans' disability benefits are compensation for
the veteran's impaired earning capacity and are intended to "provide reasonable and adequate compensation for disabled veterans and their families." They are not supposed to be for the sole support of the veteran, but can be counted in child support calculations to provide for the veteran's dependents as well. If the veteran wasn't disabled, he would be earning an income upon which the court would base child support; since disability benefits replace that income, child support can be based upon it.
Hey Jim...
Can you offer me some advice about;
Discharge upgrade from "general under honorable", a Statement in Support of Claim, Hypertension and aortic stenosis, Total Knee Replacement, Married only one year and now divorcing, Endoscopic sinus surgery before separation from the USAF, Heart diseases and Agent Orange, Facing eviction from home of 20 years, TDIU and DOD disability, Can't get medical because supposedly get ChampVa, Korean vet and Agent Orange, Mother is VA fiduciary but won't give vet $$, Bad paper discharge for smoking pot, Becoming guardian for son with TBI, Getting service-connected rating for injury, SSDI denial even though 100% P & T for PTSD...
and many other topics that affect your life.
Yes...I'll answer just about any question you have, I'm privileged to have resources that I can ask when I don't know the answer...often enough as it happens.
We publish the messages we get from you anonymously, we won't use your name or give up your email address. We publish your emails exactly as they arrive here otherwise and we share the answer with other vets and their families so we all benefit.
We'll be around...ask us.
Why You Need An IMO!
Accuracy of Claims Decisions Involving
The OIG determined that VBA incorrectly
processed more than half
of the 62,500 veterans’ claims.
You've Arrived at the VAWatchdog Dot Org!
Welcome Home
We've been keeping veterans informed of news and events important to them since 2005.
You'll find all you need to file your claim and referrals to professionals who can help you when things don't go well.
What you won't find here is unending chat or opinions from strangers who like to think of themselves as experts.
Our goal is to ensure that you are awarded the benefits you earned with your service to our country.
We're here to help you take charge of your benefits, and that is all.
Extra schedular ratings under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)
How can I get an extra schedular rating?
To receive an extra schedular rating the veteran must first show that the veteran’s conditions result in a disability picture that is not covered by the schedule of ratings.
C&P Service Clinician’s Guide
Scheduled For A C & P??? Filing A Claim?
This is a must read for you!!!
I've been posting this again and again over the years
and it's still one of the best ways I know to win
your case. Published in 2002 the principles and much of
the verbiage still applies and is in daily use at the VA.
Vets rapidly losing 2nd Amendment gun rights
Behind the scenes, US military veterans are afraid they are being specifically targeted and are quickly losing their 2nd Amendment rights. According to one group, in over 150,000 instances, they already have.
Has the VA Deprived You of Your Second Amendment Rights? NRA Wants to Hear From You!
VA has been reporting to NICS the identities of its beneficiaries who have been assigned a fiduciary to manage their benefits. VA claims that such determinations constitute an “adjudication of mental defectiveness” under federal law, thereby prohibiting the
beneficiary from acquiring or possessing firearms.
A federal prohibition would exist for any person who:
* Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
* A fugitive from justice.
* An unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
* Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution.
* An alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States or who has been admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa.
* Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.
* Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship.
* Subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner.
* Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
* Under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
In addition to federally prohibitive criteria, the NICS must delay or deny firearm transfers based on applicable state law.
A delayed transaction will be purged from the NICS within 88 days from creation. The NICS Section recommends that you wait 30 days from the date initiating the check prior to filing an appeal on a delay to give the NICS Section’s staff time to
complete the initial transaction.
If your original background check is completed, the Federal Firearm Licensee will be notified with a final status.
Reasons NICS Background Checks are Denied or Delayed
A Denied message from the NICS indicates the subject of a NICS background check has been matched with a similar name and similar descriptive information of a record containing a state or federal prohibition.
A Delayed message from the NICS indicates the subject of a NICS background check has been matched with a similar name and similar descriptive information associated with a record containing a potential state or federal firearm prohibition.
The NICS Section must obtain additional information before making a final determination of a Proceed or Denied for the firearm transfer.
The NICS Section is afforded three business days in which to conduct this research. If the NICS Section is unable to provide either a Proceed or Denied response to the Federal Firearms Licensee within three business days, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 does not prohibit the Federal Firearms Licensee, or FFL, from transferring the firearm; however, the FFL is not required to do so.
Fiduciary Appointments & Gun Laws
Have you been notified that VA will appoint a fiduciary to manage your financial affairs?
Were you told you would not be allowed to purchase or own firearms?
Read the authority they use:
Mental Illness Prohibition (NICS Improvement Act)
Q: Federal law prohibits people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Does the NICS Act change who is covered by this prohibition?
A: No. The NICS Act does not change the prohibition enacted in 1968 that bars people who are dangerously mentally ill from purchasing or possessing a gun. Under federal law, people may not buy or possess a gun if they are “adjudicated as a mental
defective” or “committed to any mental institution.” ATF regulations define “adjudicated as a mental defective” as a: Determination by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease:
(1) Is a danger to himself or others; or
(2) Lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.
These regulations have not been changed by the NICS Act. Note that merely seeking or receiving treatment for mental illness is not sufficient to bring someone within this prohibited class.
The NICS Act does provide that persons who are entered into NICS because of this mental illness prohibition may seek “relief from disabilities” by petitioning that their names be removed from NICS if they no longer suffer from the mental health condition that originally barred them from buying or possessing guns.
Veterans and Weapons-Concealed Carry Permits-PTSD and Other Mental Health Conditions
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Appeals
Veterans Affairs & Guns and Weapons
Concealed Carry Permits NICS
Firearms PTSD and Other Mental Health Conditions
How Do You Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits?
Information on social security disability benefits
Presumptive Benefits...what are they?
When you claim that a disabling condition is caused by military service, you have to prove that allegation.
Or do you?
Get your VA medical records online
Our online tools can help you view, organize,
and share your VA medical records and personal
health information. Find out if you’re eligible
and how to sign in to start using these tools.
In Future Wars, the U.S. Military Will
Have Nowhere to Hide
New technologies enable Russia and China
to destroy U.S. bases and logistics networks
—including those on the homeland.
VA Releases Survivors Quick Start Guide
Reference guide to help during final
arrangements planning
What You Should Know about Disability and Debt
There Are Protections...When it comes to debt collection, disability income enjoys special status.
How to ensure seamless care while traveling
Veteran Disability Claims: Nexus and IMO Letters
To meet the nexus requirement, the veteran must have an evaluation by a physician that will establish that the veteran is indeed disabled and also that his disability is as likely as not caused by his military service. There are two methods used to establish such a nexus; one is independent medical examination and the other is independent medical opinion.
How about Medicare Parts A and B?
Maybe Part F+? Part D?
Oh, unless you live in
Massachusetts, Minnesota or Wisconsin.
Confused? Just wait until you hear about
programs such as Medicare
Part C or a Medicare Advantage policy.
your disability claim
If you’ve filed a claim for disability compensation, you can continue uploading more evidence for up to one year to support your claim. Evidence may include supporting documents like medical test results, doctor’s reports, and other records. Upload your evidence online now.
An IMO by an expert often makes the difference!
Overpayment? VA proposing to claw back
money from your benefits? Submit a Compromise Offer to the Debt Management Center.
Give veterans more health care options!
Tell your lawmaker
Veterans deserve more choice
Government Accountability Office
Focus Needed to Prevent Disqualified Providers from Delivering
Google Tracks You
and we don't.
DuckDuckGo apps block
Google's hidden trackers.
The world needs an alternative
Robert Wilkie <robert.wilkie@va.gov> 855-948-2311
November 19th 2019
'How To Lie With Statistics'
Other-than-honorable discharge?
You’re still eligible for VA mental health care
Pre-order, trade-in, hardware, software, accessories...
What more is there?
How to download VA benefit letters
To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter proving their status. Access and download your VA Benefit Summary Letter (sometimes called a VA award letter) and other benefit letters and documents online.
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate
The IT Support Professional Certificate, developed by Google and hosted on Coursera, can help you become ready for an entry-level job in IT support in under six months. No experience is necessary.
How Much Can I Earn Without Losing
My Social Security?
The amount you can earn will depend on your
age and through which program you're
getting Social Security benefits.
No-Cost Flu Shot Options for Veterans
This year, enrolled Veterans of the VA health care system have several options to get a flu shot. VA now offers more options, easy access, and seamless records.
Medical Marijuana Card
Tell the doctor you saw it on VAWatchdog
and ask about veterans discounts!
Urgent Care Centers
One of the most important benefits you have today is
the authorization to use an urgent care center
near to you. But first, you have to
to take with you. Don't wait until you need this
benefit to prepare for it. Read this now,
print your papers and be prepared!
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