Fighting with the VA for benefits is like pulling teeth or something else that requires self control to not follow through with jumping off a bridge.
First, they fail to see ‘connectedness’ and make service connected disability determinations assuming an injury or accident had to occur during a service period only. They don’t understand ‘onset’ illness that progress or manifest later after the service member leaves the environment.
Mental Health Crisis’ does not typically occur when they are supported by their Department and fully engaged in military activity. It is the aftermath that causes the start of the symptoms. When a person is fully engaged in prosperous activity, they don’t often experience unmanageable Mental Health Dysfunction until it becomes clear they are experiencing patterned symptoms and realize they are in crisis or are suffering from injuries brought on by certain things. Often times, it takes a while to understand the source of the Mental Health problem.
Denial of existence of this fact results in a disregard for a Veteran altogether. What is the purpose of the Inactive Ready Reserves? It is to recall service members in event of war. If an injury occurs during that period, they should be compensated. If an injury occurs that is more severe than a previous injury that occurred while in service, they should also be compensated as it is considered a ‘progressive’ injury or an injury worsened because of another injury; sort of like a compound fluctuating interest rate.
Additionally, they have asked for “Start and End” dates of ‘illnesses’ with evidence from a doctor, along with a specific diagnosis, yet their doctors fail to offer consistent medical treatment or diagnosis or fail to offer ‘courses of treatment’ or ‘treatment plans’ for reported symptoms.’ Counseling is not designed to assist with the Benefits process and further, they fail to rely on determinations made by other agencies who have reviewed Medical Documentation and deemed unemployability due to injury, therefore they are not only showing their incompetence in Records Management and Review, but also a disregard for other Agencies who also make these determinations.
The Veteran just wants to go back to school and the VA wants to become a Medical Investigator demanding an unnecessary amount of paperwork to make a determination that has already been made.
It’s not what is wrong with the Veteran; it’s what is wrong with the Veteran’s Administration to require redundant excessive information where a determination has already been made.