advice on re-upping.....

Gents,
I swung by the recruiting office earlier today to see waht my options were (if any) about going reserve or even Nat'l Guard. Im a vet (honorable discharge) with a 30% disability (bursting discs at c5-6 and c6-7, Tinnitus in both ears, and anxiety disorder, Not PTSD, still working on neuro pain in shoulder and frag behind my left eye) Both services said that I'd have to drop my V/A claim and go through the med board process. Navy said I could keep my rank and rate (GM1) Army said same, worst case drop down to E5) What do ya'll think? I've given civvie street a solid year and still miss the service, specifically, I miss my team but chances of getting back there are about a snowballs chance. Im in college on my GI bill and am about 2-2 1/2 years out from my BA in Int'l Business. My TS/SCI is still valid, so thats a plus. Ive also been searching USAJobs for something. It might just be a case of greener grass syndrome. Any insight is appreciated.
Josh

 

Keep the VA disability. Don't give that up for anything! Ever! Never! Understand?

Ofcourse you miss the service. It was the biggest part of your life at an influential time of your life. You will always miss the good parts of it. Keep them as fond memories.

Stay in school. Use the money you eared for college. Get a good paying civilian job and tell stories about all the glory days while you rake in the cash without getting shot at or putting up with the bad side of the service.

You do remember the bad parts right? All the days you wished you could be anywhere other than where you were. All the days you could barely wait for that ETS date to roll around.

Thank you for your service. Don't make the mistake of going back in and giving up your VA claim.

 

well said

 

Honestly, I give my buddies shit constantly who EAS or think about EASing...I love being in the military. But, you sound like you actually have your shit on track (something a lot of my EAS'd friends don't). Only two years away from a BA, you come back in man, you'll be in this same predicament only vise versa...Plus, you Navy guys follow strict civilian regulations anyway don't you?

 

+1 to the current advice.

Keep working the claim, you might be able to get it higher.

I'm just going to school full time now with the GI Bill and I couldn't be happier But I did 24 years, so I def used up my time.

 

Thanks fellas, Im on the fence but I can see that degree and the doors opening. I'm looking at foreign service or USAID after this, I'd like to go back overseas. I'm going for a double minor in French and econ or finance.

 

Give it a little bit. Overseas is where the money is, but remember: It's easy to be shot at when you're with your team, it's a hell of a different animal when you go private sector. Think twice before putting yourself in that environment again.
Not that you were thinking that, just in case you were though.

 

I think most of us who have served can say we miss it, I know I do. But don't give up the disability you have, you may not get anything back. Kelp what you have & try to increase it if you can. Thanks for your service!

 

while I wouldnt really mind being back in the 'ghan, I'd like to work africa I think, I speak a little arabic already, and french is definately a prime language there still. I've looked at some private security stuff, on the fence about that too. If I did go that route, I'd try for triple canopy, MVM, or a higher level firm.

 

Finish up the college get your degree and if u still miss it, there is still private security and they make a ton of $$$$

 

Dangerjobs.com

Edit- Disregard, that site has been closed down.

 

Shoot rangerpeterson a PM on here. Hes an ex ranger who is over there now doing private security.

 

What everybody else said. Get your degree first. Than decide.

 

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... ^^^ ... GIANT DITTO ... NEVER ...

... NEVER GIVE UP THAT DVA DISABILITY... NEVER - EVER ... you can get it increased later ... I work occasionally as a volunteer helping veterans get that disability and that will get much tougher to get as time goes by ... need to talk about it ?? ...PM me.

PS ... 30% or higher at PEB discharge is the GOLDEN NUMBER .... trust me on this one.

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This x1100475683927374!!!!!

I was in the same boat as you a few years back and I still miss the service to this day. But I assure you you are better off continuing with your claim and finishing your degree. You served your time, which is better then most Americans can say, and you made it out alive. Be thankful for what you still have and move on knowing you made a difference.

I received 100% disability from the VA and now work for the Federal government as a civilian still supporting our troops. I still get the great satisfaction of working within the DoD and in a way helping defend the nation, so I get the best of both worlds. I say you look into something similar as you finish up your schooling.

 

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If your disability(s) are not TDIU with VA (DVA) and are P&T .. and your disability is from combat and you got 20 in ... with new CRSC rules, you can get get BOTH VA disability and DoD retirements, without any offsets.

The few people that qualify for this program will be taking home some serious coin and the VA (DVA) compensation part is tax free.
DVA disability compensation aka disability retirement and regular DoD retirement are 2 completely different animals and for the first time, it is possible to get both.

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josh please PM me

30% doesn't sound like VA disability unless they lowered the standards.

I blew out C6/7 and had surgery. the Navy discharged me at 20%. Anything more than they the service will have to pick up the tab. What that did though was make VA benefits available to me. VA 40%.
The VA should have you seen by a VA doctor. They will evaluate the disks, ear and anxiety disorder.

Personally I would take Notty advice. Being on the civilian side is rewarding.

My grass is far greener every morning I look out my window.

VA tax free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case I forgot to mention VA tax free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you haven't yet, GET TO THE VA YESTERDAY. It will take you some time to get your claim going.

 

if you go back in, it wont be the same. You're not gonna be with all the same guys, the command will be different and so on. We had a lot of re treads in our company, all questioned going back in because it wasn't the same. I miss it too, but there's a time to move on.

 

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If you got 30% from the DoD aka a Military PEB (Physical Evaluation Board), you have the minimum golden number to start. Never give that up as that 30% is getting harder to get. DoD (Military) tries to keep it less than 30% for that reason. DoD helps pay at 30%.

I PEBed out at 20% from DoD (Bethesda Naval Hospital) from RVN combat injuries and should have gotten a lot more when I look back, but I just wanted out. I took a DoD 20% PEB and transferred it to a DVA 20% (another big mistake on my part).

Now, I am 100% + 40% (this 40% should be 60%) + 10% (this 10% should be 30%) and am paid at 100% rate + SMC schedule add ons (tax free) + SSA (taxable).

You want all your disability ratings to eventually be "P&T" (Permanent & Total) and not TDIU (Total Disability Individual Unemployability).

If your disabilities get to 160% (using weird VA math only), you can get "SMC Schedules" (Special Monthly Compensation) + other goodies, which can go much higher.

With the new rules on DVA comp & SMC & CRSC (Combat Related Service Compensation) ---- some vets could easily get $5,000.00 a month or more (tax free). Plus SSA which is taxable ... I think that CRSC is taxable, especially when fully phased in. I am not an expert in this stuff, just have learned about the DoD and DVA rules & regs. the hard way via experience.

It's possibly (but not easy to qualify) to get $10,000.00 a month with a P&T 100% disability + another 60% disability (figured with VA math) + SMC (high rate SMC schedule) + CRSC + SSA = $10,000.00/month (or even more) with less than 1/2 of that taxable. I have not seen a payment this high, but it is technically possible.

I am not a great typist, make some typos and don't want to explain all these things, just look them up on DVA site, Military.com or some veteran's disability forums, or even google them to find them and you will be amazed.

This is not a cake walk to get above 20% or to get to $10,000.00 a month and you would have to be in bad shape physically and/or banged up pretty good to get it and CRSC has to be combat related & you need 20 years of A/D retirement points to get CRSC also. Yes, this is technically possible in the DoD & DVA manuals.

DoD and DVA get very tight with the money when it gets over a 10% or 20% disability rating.

PS ... Going through all the DoD and especially the DVA (aka VA) ratings can take years and years ... so if you have a valid disability claim, start now and you probably will have to APPEAL, APPEAL, APPEAL and NEVER MISS AN APPEAL DEADLINE either or your claim is toast, especially any retro payments.

Needless to say .... all this DoD and/or DVA compensation requires lots of some very good DoD and medical documentation too.

I used to work with veterans (as a volunteer) to help them get their medical care & benefits ... that's why I have the SMR reference in my signature.

Your best ally in battling DoD and/or DVA in a claim (besides having a valid claim & your documented records) is the ... "INTERNET" ... something that the RVN veterans never had until recent years. What you can do in 10 minutes on the internet, it could take RVN veterans maybe 10 days in the library.

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