Me and the Veteran's Administration Part Deux

Last week I got a letter from the VA telling me that I'd been approved for vocational rehabilitation. That was the first paragraph. The rest of the letter went to tell me about my right to appeal the VA's decision to give me what I'd asked for.

Here's the thing, I still have hoops to jump through for the qualification process. So a "yes" isn't possible, only a "no" is possible. I did 26 years in the military and I know how bureaucracies work. You have a bunch of steps where you can get disqualified and if, after dutifully completing all those steps you aren't disqualified then you're approved.

Since I'm only partway through the process and the letter went on and on about my appeal rights, I figured I misunderstood the letter and I had been denied. So I reread the letter over and over and the first paragraph really said "you have been approved" and the rest of the letter really said "you can appeal this decision." I finally put the letter in the "this may be important someday" box and moved on.

Today I got a call from the counselor that's supposed to administer a bunch of tests as part of the approval process. She said: 1) I have been approved and 2) I have to finish the screening process. I wasn't going to argue with her. If the VA's really going to pick up the tab for finishing my degree I will jump through, over or around any hoops they want jumped in the order they want them jumped.

But yeah, it's a little strange.

Me and the Veteran's Administration

I'm 40% service-connected disabled. The disabilities are not that big a deal. One example: 10% of that rating is for ringing in my ears. I would prefer that I not have ringing in my ears, but some hearing damage is part and parcel of going to wars.

My disability rating is high enough (over 20%) that I'm eligible for job training. One way that the VA can provide job training is by footing the bill for college. I would like to be a high school science teacher which requires a degree that I don't have. The VA's help could go a long way toward getting me into the classroom.

Well, dork that I am, I didn't apply for benefits until this month. Today, I just got tentatively approved for my education goal. There are tests to take, advisors and counselors to meet and stacks of forms complete but my objective has been conditionally approved.

The process is far from over, but it's off to a good start. What a huge load off my mind.

About damn time....

Military Stressing Veterans' Counseling - washingtonpost.com: "Applicants for government security clearances will no longer have to declare whether they sought mental health counseling after serving in combat zones, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced yesterday."

Well, it's a baby step in the right direction.

The wording is still lame "strictly related to adjustments from service in a military combat environment" is not going to reassure many folks who are still on active duty. I'll give you an example: Airman Wingwiper deploys to the sandbox for 180 days and his marriage self-destructs when he comes home. Why is he seeking counseling? Does that meet the criteria? Will everyone think that? I'll tell you why that's important. The one absolute sure-fire way to get your clearance denied to to get caught in a lie on your SF86.

The effect of the current policy on security clearances and other special-access programs is that it drives folks to the chaplains. Some chaplains are excellent counselors. Some chaplains are not up to the challenge. (And some chaplains are rapists.)

I have a friend who took a bad shot in a war zone. He did not join the military and did not make the sacrifices he has made in order to kill innocent civilians. He went were he was sent, he did what he was told to do and the results were tragic. The USAF moved on and he didn't. He was saddled with nightmares and anger issues. He went to a chaplain for help because a chaplain's help was the best he could get without risking his career.

My personal take is that chaplains should stick to their area of expertise: religion. I would no sooner see a chaplain about battlestress issues than I would a fry cook.

I appreciate Secretary Gates' intentions, but he's still way short of the mark.

The word still isn't out

One of my classmates, M, has a brother in the USMC who just returned from Iraq. I believe his tour was 18 months but honestly, for anything over 7 months what I hear is "way too long." So I don't remember exactly what M said.

So when M mentioned this to me in the hallway outside class I switched into sergeant mode for a few minutes. I gave M a quick list of reintegration issues that most returnees face. I could see M's eyes glaze as I prattled on. I kept going because I believe that even a little forewarning is better than no forewarning. M's a smart kid. I figured if her brother did have reintegration issues she'd be able to dust off my pocket sermon and apply it.

Well M's brother is in town. We were waiting for class to start the other day and she related how her brother had blown a fuse talking to some kid at a McDonald's drive-thru. M is beginning to understand what I was talking about.

Put your seat backs a tray tables in the upright position. It's gonna get bumpy.

History of Combat Trauma Bibliography (SWJ Blog)

History of Combat Trauma Bibliography (SWJ Blog): "The history of combat trauma is one which draws fire every time. It is a topic wrapped in politics, both conventional and those internal to both the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and history. I hope this brief annotated bibliography will help some come to understand the foundations, the arguments, and the various issues in play on this topic. This list is rank-ordered in what I believe is their utility to those interested in the study of war, particularly my fellow historians and journalists, but also my peers in the military."

I don't believe we're actually going to find a fix for combat trauma/PTSD/Jungle Jitters/Shell Shock or whatever the next generation of warriors chooses to call it. There are things that cannot be done without paying a psychological price and going to war is one of those things. I do believe that if the military changes its attitude toward combat trauma then more folks will get the help they need and end up leading happier lives.

It would be a huge cultural change for the military and it may not even be possible, but education is a good first step.

There needs to be a turd smoking section in hell for these guys...

Study Faults Charities for Veterans: "Americans gave millions of dollars in the past year to veterans charities designed to help troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, but several of the groups spent relatively little money on the wounded, according to a leading watchdog organization and federal tax filings.

Eight veterans charities, including some of the nation's largest, gave less than a third of the money raised to the causes they champion, far below the recommended standard, the American Institute of Philanthropy says in a report. One group passed along 1 cent for every dollar raised, the report says. Another paid its founder and his wife a combined $540,000 in compensation and benefits last year, a Washington Post analysis of tax filings showed."

I saw this on Wonkette.

Veteran's day

Today I made a point of meeting up with a vet buddy. I don't know if the distinction will make sense to you but we're not really friends... we're buddies. We are bound by our common experiences in the service of our country.

This guy is a Vietnam era vet. He did in-country time in Vietnam and a career's worth of running all over the globe until his retirement. Like most vets I know, he went were he was needed and he did what needed to be done without regard for his health. Not surprisingly, his health is not the greatest.

In a typical meeting I start the conversation with something from current events and we end up swapping war stories. Eventually the conversation will turn to my buddy's health. My buddy is in his final few years and he knows it. Furthermore, as his physical health slips away his emotional health is also declining and he's aware of that too.

He's not asking for pity, he really just wants a listener. I think my buddy is one of those guys that thinks out loud. He's trying wrap his mind around the fact that he is dying a little bit at a time. The pills that stop the pain cloud his mind so he divides his time between living and existing. He goes out in the morning and socializes until he can't take the pain and then he goes home and takes his pills.

It is not how any vet, any man or woman of action, would imagine their end.