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    #16
    Re: Unpopular Opinions.

    Originally posted by ThePaganMafia View Post
    Treated like a second class citizen? That's weird because veterans are pretty much worshipped in this country. I don't understand the large victim complex that seems to have taken hold of a lot of veterans.

    I guess the free college, free healthcare, generous disability benefits, and endless social programs just don't do it.
    I can tell that you have not done a lot of work with the VA or had friends that are veterans. Those programs are on paper but it takes a great deal of time and overwhelming effort to get into them. It takes more than a year to get the authorization just to get treatment for injuries caused in service. The educational benefits are just as hard to take advantage of and the service bonuses just plain don't exist. I have relatives and quite a few friends that are "ex" military and they would settle for being able to find a job or being able to collect for college. Some are disabled and can't work and even they have to wait six months to see a doctor. The current administration sees them as a threat to the government and has made it difficult or impossible for them to exercise the rights that they swore to protect. It is horrific, and too few people know about it. Yes, this is in the USA.
    The Dragon sees infinity and those it touches are forced to feel the reality of it.
    I am his student and his partner. He is my guide and an ominous friend.

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      #17
      Re: Unpopular Opinions.

      None of this is true. At all.

      You don't have to be authorized to receive treatment for a service connected injury. Once you are found eligible for health benefits you can receive them. You will not wait a year.

      The college benefits most definitely exists. More than on paper. Post 9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation for veterans with service connected disabilities.

      The VA also has programs which can put you to work. There is Compensated Work Therapy which can be a shoe in for a full time position at the V.A.. There are other job programs which help you find full time employment in other fields.

      Sorry, but paranoia about this administration which has arguably improved the VA process isn't going to cut it.

      Comment


        #18
        Re: Unpopular Opinions.

        As you wish, sir.
        The Dragon sees infinity and those it touches are forced to feel the reality of it.
        I am his student and his partner. He is my guide and an ominous friend.

        Comment


          #19
          Re: Unpopular Opinions.

          DF,I should point out that PM is a recently discharged Vet.
          MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

          all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
          NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
          don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




          sigpic

          my new page here,let me know what you think.


          nothing but the shadow of what was

          witchvox
          http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

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            #20
            Re: Unpopular Opinions.

            I'm fairly new to the military world, as I just enlisted a few months ago.

            One thing that's been drilled into my head over and over is that, life will be much easier if you throw the word automatic out of your vocabulary.

            That doesn't mean that things don't get done, but it does mean it requires a greater level of personal involvement.

            I'm not going to weigh in on much more. I think older Vets have a better perspective on the individual impact and sacrifice of service. Things always seem to be much better or worse while your in the thick of it.

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              #21
              Re: Unpopular Opinions.

              Originally posted by anunitu View Post
              DF,I should point out that PM is a recently discharged Vet.
              And I'm going to say it doesn't matter if he is a recently discharged Vet. He might not have had these problems but there are plenty that have, and to discredit what DF is saying because PM didn't have those problems is unfair. I think many of us know or have known people in the military. All have received different care and benefits, and I know plenty who love the military and would love to go back with every fiber of their being and some who want nothing to do with it because of their treatment.
              "If you want to know what a man is like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." -- Sirius Black

              "Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so."-- Ford Prefect

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                #22
                Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                Regarding the Va and medical, it depends upon a lot of factors. If your disabled and above a certain percentage your medical is free. If your disabled but below a certain percentage then it's cost rated based upon your income, insurance and other factors. If your retired you may have full coverage at a cost expense or not. If you served but didn't retire you are eligible for treatment but it will be at a pro rated charge and you may face being seen based upon level. Medical also does not address dental unless you are 100 percent disable rated.

                It's like I served 24 years and have an 90 percent disability rating. So my medical is free and most of my meds are free as my disability is fully service related. Yet getting into a VA facility varies as to what the condition is and where I am located. I get seen at a regional clinic and have phone interviews every month and seen by the doctor or assistant once every three months. Yet any special tests or other required services I may wait anywhere from a month to upwards of 6 or more months. That wait also means that I may have to travel to an established medical facility for treatment. Travel distance and time is not a factor in where I will be sent and even the fact that equal service are available at a local hospital does not mean I can use them and have the results paid for or accepted by the VA.

                There is a new program that were supposed to be able to use to gain access to local facilities if the VA facility is more than 40 miles away but you still have to submit it in advance and wait for approval. Unfortunately those approvals have been few and far between for the vets I know who've tried to use them.

                Regarding how great this administration is for VA, until recently I had a actual MD at the community care center I went to. The VA decided that firing all those doctors and support services so they could bring in a new staff, build a new facility and all the medical equipment with one doctor who rotates through was better. Of course at my latest medical appointment I was informed that they no longer had things in my medical records that the previous doctor had recorded and test results entered into my records. Yet they were still using the same computer system, physical files themselves simply moved across the street.

                Regarding education and rehabilitation that also is driven by the percentage of disability rating you hold. That same rating used to decide if the VA will pay to have your home modified to improve quality of life, provide certain items such as computers, etc.

                The VA has some sites and facilities that are fantastic and people praise them. There are also some severe sits that are constantly reported, have serious staff issues and vets have died waiting for service. More than a few with proven periods where appointments where cancelled with no notice, appointments made with no notice until you get called and told you've missed an appointment. Records falsified, records destroyed and records tampered with after the fact.

                That does even count the fact that the medical aspect of the VA which services you does not connect record wise to the appraisal and evaluation side of the house. So any test done for your initial or follow up appraisals probably will not be part of your actual medical records nor will any civilian records that were submitted for evaluation be part of them many times. That initial evaluation for determination of services and disabilities can take weeks to years before it is all completed. That assuming your actually approved with the initial evaluation, even if your medically discharged from the military and given a military disability rating.

                While the VA has improved greatly from what it was in the 70's and 80's it still has a lot of issues. There are still a lot of Vets who are not getting services or have died waiting to get services or simply get into the system period. There are a lot of people who tie up the system in the hopes of living off the VA system which also limits and reduces the services that are available regarding location, time and ability to provide care.
                I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                  Originally posted by monsno_leedra View Post
                  Regarding the Va and medical, it depends upon a lot of factors. If your disabled and above a certain percentage your medical is free. If your disabled but below a certain percentage then it's cost rated based upon your income, insurance and other factors. If your retired you may have full coverage at a cost expense or not. If you served but didn't retire you are eligible for treatment but it will be at a pro rated charge and you may face being seen based upon level. Medical also does not address dental unless you are 100 percent disable rated.
                  Its also income based. The hubby and I, when we first got out and I was in school and working part time and he was hideously underemployed had free medical care for all our care (not just SCDs), despite both of us being 10%.

                  Plus, if you are retired, you can get Tricare.
                  Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                  sigpic

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                    #24
                    Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                    Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                    Its also income based. The hubby and I, when we first got out and I was in school and working part time and he was hideously underemployed had free medical care for all our care (not just SCDs), despite both of us being 10%.

                    Plus, if you are retired, you can get Tricare.
                    TRICARE gets iffy due to regions. It's like where I live I get the basic CHAMPUS arrangement as the higher forms are not available. So while it is available it's fragmented in how it is applied and where it is applied. One of the reasons we don't have the premiums that we have to pay for like some of the other areas.

                    I do admit though it is better than some aspects of the VA where certain equipment or procedures have to be done in your primary enrollment area. So if your travelling it could become an issue.
                    I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                      Originally posted by kalynraye View Post
                      And I'm going to say it doesn't matter if he is a recently discharged Vet. He might not have had these problems but there are plenty that have, and to discredit what DF is saying because PM didn't have those problems is unfair. I think many of us know or have known people in the military. All have received different care and benefits, and I know plenty who love the military and would love to go back with every fiber of their being and some who want nothing to do with it because of their treatment.
                      Not discrediting anyone,just pointed out the recent experience of THIS VET...I myself am also a VET,from back in the 60's,so I know what you are talking about as to VA issues.
                      MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                      all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                      NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                      don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                      sigpic

                      my new page here,let me know what you think.


                      nothing but the shadow of what was

                      witchvox
                      http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

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                        #26
                        Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                        Originally posted by anunitu View Post
                        Not discrediting anyone,just pointed out the recent experience of THIS VET...I myself am also a VET,from back in the 60's,so I know what you are talking about as to VA issues.

                        My biggest problem with the VA is that they are slow (which comes from being underfunded and understaffed) and that they always ask where my husband or father is...hello, we have entered the 21st century here--I AM THE VET.
                        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                        sigpic

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                          #27
                          Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                          I do think it depends on where you are as to how well your VA works,and their was major defunding of VA hospitals a while back(This during an ongoing war BTW).

                          It is supposed to be in process of a fix,but that seems only a halfway effort..
                          MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                          all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                          NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                          don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                          sigpic

                          my new page here,let me know what you think.


                          nothing but the shadow of what was

                          witchvox
                          http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Re: Unpopular Opinions.

                            I am 70% service connected. One annoyance In have is they want to keep sending me to the Bronx VA because I live in the Bronx. But I work two blocks from the Manhattan VA which makes using the Manhattan VA far.more.convenient.

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Re: Various Veterans Issues

                              Is this pro Oath keepers or con...the subject is in the news a lot

                              - - - Updated - - -

                              was from an earlier post after the move.
                              MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                              all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                              NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                              don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                              sigpic

                              my new page here,let me know what you think.


                              nothing but the shadow of what was

                              witchvox
                              http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Re: Various Veterans Issues

                                Originally posted by anunitu View Post
                                Is this pro Oath keepers or con...the subject is in the news a lot

                                - - - Updated - - -

                                was from an earlier post after the move.
                                Let me preface I know this thread is somewhat old but I think it still has potential and noticed this final question was never really addressed.

                                For many of the Vets I know the idea of being a pro Oath Keeper is both a big thing and something they would step forward again to fulfill with no hesitation. One reason I think so many of us go into the medical, police or education fields / systems when we retire. It's still a sense of protecting and defending those we swore an Oath to do those very things for.

                                I do admit most of those are also very structured fields with relatively clear operating boundaries. Yet the stovepipe administrative structure's are often a pain when actually performing ones duties. Which is why I think you see a lot of lateral movement between people to get things done. A process many of us learnt in the military and continue to utilize I think. Not to say it's only a military thing but the idea of covering and having someone's back seem's to be found more so in that type profession I think. Though I can not deny I've found it in many areas where life and death is a common situation or potential. But then that also goes back to why so many former military are found in Fire & Rescue, Police Departments or other Law enforcement I think. Potentially the influence upon life a reason so many are also found in education, child sports as coaches & refs, Boy Scout type organizations, etc.

                                Yes there are cons to it as well. A lot of us dislike the current administration and it's policies and truly do think it leaves us open and at risk. Yet from an historical aspect it's not much different than the 1970's when we were short of everything. Ships, personal, operating capabilities, deployments, maintenance the whole bag was accidents waiting for a place to happen, and many did I know a lot that highly dislike the politically correct trends that have been forced upon the military. Not referring to the stuff that improves readiness persay but the the social programs that are forced upon the military to justify something works.

                                The sad part though is the civilian population always does the stand behind us when they are waving the bloody shirt but wants us gone and out of sight once the flags and parades are no longer wanted. Fully supportive when someone else is doing the walking while they stay at home. Then the tides move forward and the battlefield fades from their TV screens and active mind for them but for the Solider, Sailor, Airman or Marine and their families it continues. Even as they are asked to do more and more with less support on all operational fronts and readiness capabilities.
                                I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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