SMC AND COMBAT CRAIG–DON’T POKE THE BEAR

Posted on April 21, 2024 by asknod

I always wonder what VA “Experts” have been smoking when they open their pieholes and start explaining SMC. The best one I’ve heard in recent memory is probably when our fellow 100%-rated Veteran and expert in all things VA, Combat Craig, attempted to sum up all the different flavors of higher levels of compensation created by Congress and how dangerous it can be to risk attempting it. 

The old Craigmeister avers SMC T is named after TBI. Well, close but no seegar, bubba. Congress is responsible for that one after about 79 years of SMC’s existence. Take a gander at 38 USC §1114 here and you’ll see how SMC T got its letter. Congress had already used up all the letters from A (indicating 10%) through S which is housebound in fact or 100% plus an additional 60% of separate and distinctly different disabilities apart from the 100% anchor rating. SMC S is like getting promoted from PFC to Corporal. It’s currently $446 more per month than a 100% total rating.

If they’d been more precise, SMC at the (s) rate would actually fall after 100% (SMC J in §1114) and before SMC L for loss of use, blindness, aid and attendance or bedridden. SMC K is just an outlier-kind of like supersizing a minor SMC disability. Maybe S was an afterthought. Who knows how them politicians think? They lost me when they said boys could start wearing falsies and use the girls’ bathrooms. But by throwing the S in at the end, it’s confused the bejesus out of millions of Veterans for the last 79 years and it gives Craig a great talking point about T even if it’s untrue. If they’d had any sense, Congress would have call it SMC R3 or maybe R2(a) and Craig wouldn’t come across like the village idiot. Here’s the video. I think it’s a bit dated based on the rates he’s quoting.

The next best whopper of a tale was where he says “SMC N and one half is meaningless.” According to VA’s little flow chart,  SMC N is $6,047 per month and SMC N½ is worth (in 2024 dollars) $6,390.95 (married). Unless my math is off, I see it as about $350 more than N.  I suspect the old Craigster  was trying to employ some of that fabled VA math. If he’s referring to what it takes to get to N½ makes it meaningless, then I’d allow he’s partially right. There’s sure not exactly a bunch of Vets running around without legs (sorry for the pun).

SMC N is pretty strict.  One of the most onerous in this parade of missing parts is you have to actually have your legs amputated off completely right up at the trunk of your body to qualify. None of that loss of use nonsense. Them legs gotta be gone with the wind, dude. Here’s the rest of the qualifiers. You can see it’s a pretty nasty list of missing or useless body parts.

§3.350(d):

Amputation is a prerequisite except for loss of use of both arms and blindness without light perception in both eyes. If a prosthesis cannot be worn at the present level of amputation but could be applied if there were a reamputation at a higher level, the requirements of this paragraph are not met; instead, consideration will be given to loss of natural elbow or knee action.

(1) Anatomical loss or loss of use of both arms at a level or with complications, preventing natural elbow action with prosthesis in place;

(2) Anatomical loss of both legs so near the hip as to prevent use of a prosthetic appliance;

(3) Anatomical loss of one arm so near the shoulder as to prevent use of a prosthetic appliance with anatomical loss of one leg so near the hip as to prevent use of a prosthetic appliance;

(4) Anatomical loss of both eyes or blindness without light perception in both eyes.

N½ is rare. Don’t get me wrong. It kicks in when you move into the wild combinations in SMC P like:

§3.350(f)(1)(xii)

Anatomical loss or loss of use of one arm at a level, or with complications, preventing natural elbow action with prosthesis in place with anatomical loss of one arm so near the shoulder as to prevent use of a prosthetic appliance, shall entitle to the rate between 38 U.S.C. 1114 (n) and (o). So, you can see you’d need to actually have one arm whacked off  right up to the shoulder and then have loss of use of the other. If you still had the forearm down to above the elbow, you’d be shit out of luck and only qualify for N.

VA doesn’t publish every possible combination of being blind, deaf and/or missing pieces and parts of extremities. In any event, you can be assured they’d screw it up and give you less than what you’re entitled to without a bunch of caterwauling. Besides, if they always did it correctly, I wouldn’t need to write about it.

One thing that made my jaw hit the ground was our newfound VA financial guru explaining an SMC example of a sample Veteran in possession of  SMC K, SMC L and SMC S and getting paid for all of them at once. Here’s “the raw numbers”. Add ’em up folks. K for $128.62, L for $4,506.84 and S for $4,054.12. Wowser. $8,689.58. Hooo, doggies. If only this were true, Craig. The problem, just like in the military, is when you get promoted from Private First Class to Corporal, you don’t get paid for both the PFC and the Corporal wages. You only get the higher one. Thus, you’ll have to subtract the $4054.12 from this faery tale to make it come true. So, from just what I’m showing you, it’s understandable if SMC confuses you, too.

Craig’s last admonition that “you don’t want to poke the bear and get reduced” sounds like it came out of the 1989 Disabled American Veterans playbook. Boy howdy if and when you get to 100% schedular, combined or TDIU and within striking distance of the higher SMCs, you sure don’t want to file for them and risk getting bushwhacked down to less than total. Jez. What kind of tripe is he selling?

Using this tidbit of information, does this mean if you have a raging case of Diabetes Mellitus II and winky quits working, you should forego applying for SMC K? Or if your peripheral vascular disease in the lower extremities becomes so egregious it requires amputation of your feet due to gangrene, you should refrain from filing for loss of extremities to avoid a reduction? Beware the Bear.

SMC is more complicated than piloting a sternwheeler up the Mississippi at night on a new moon. If you aren’t familiar with the river, you might want to avoid trying it. Sadly, VSOs are not taught this and most will deny there is such a thing. And then there’s Craig. He shouldn’t feel bad about his confusion. I’ve had attorneys from some of the Big name outfits try to explain how all this works and they’re just about as clueless. Shucks, The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) sent us a spokesperson last Fall who purported to be an expert and he disremembered your legs have to be amputated at the body to get N.

I had an appeal back in ’17 where the Veterans Law Judge denied a Vet SMC L for loss of use of the bilateral lower extremities-all the while insisting the award of two SMC Ks (one for each foot) was correct in all respects. The best part of that was when the Court sent it back down to him after the JMPR, he had to chieu hoi and concede he was wrong. That would have been VLJ Mark Hindin. Dilly Dilly.

So, in closing, don’t feel pregnant and alone if all this makes your head spin. It has Craig pretty discombobulated too. It took me several years to wrap my head around every possible statute, regulation and interpretation of what the meaning of “is” is.  Shoot. Even the VA insists you can’t have two a&as. I’m sure Combat Craig means well. He just needs to go back to his fabled Boot Camp and hit them books.

Posted in How to Qualify for VA SMC, SMC, Special Monthly Compensation, VA Agents, VA special monthly compensation, VA TBI, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

EXPOSED VET RADIO SHOW– THURSDAY 4/18/2024 1900 HRS (E)

Posted on April 18, 2024 by asknod

Johnbo, the proud (and only) owner of what is unarguably the one of the best, if not the premiere example, of how to do a radio show, has graciously invited me on to Exposed Vets to share my fare. I had the great pleasure of meeting this fellow Veteran in person back in November ’23 in Winchester TN for a killer Veterans Day production show.  

In this business, helping Vets is the Holy Grail. Some aspire to be reps, some to be attorneys and then of course there’s that special niche of VA Agent. Frankly, we have it made. Under Calma vs Brown (or De Perez v. Derwinski), we get to skate on the rules. You heard me. As agents, we’re relegated to the untermenschen of legal existence-right down there on a par with VSO service officers. We have no legal education to mention so anything that issues forth from our mouths has to be treated sympathetically and our arguments must be granted great leeway. How cool is that? Who ever said it doesn’t pay to appear ignorant?

Because appellant is proceeding pro se, he is entitled to both a sympathetic reading of his informal brief and a liberal construction of his arguments. See Calma v. Brown, 9 Vet.App. 11, 15 (1996); De Perez v. Derwinski, 2 Vet.App. 85, 86 (1992).

This really pays off when you go to the Court. I used to “ghost” my client’s appeals to the CAVC before I got accredited. If I’m doing my own, I’ll eschew my acceptance to practice there in lieu of a pro se appearance. It’s like flying First Class. They give you white glove treatment and I’m not above pointing it out at the beginning of every one of my briefs. Hi. I’m Alex Graham and I was raised by wolves. Please accept my client’s brief as a demented attempt to help a fellow Vet. Works like a charm.

But that’s not why I called you here. I have a Vet I’ve been fighting the good fight for. I’ve written about him a bunch of times while we bided our time waiting for our shot at a hearing in DC at bayonet distance. This case was a new one on me. We had to fly back there not once, but twice, to get it perfect. They forgot to turn on the microphone at the first one in April ’23.

Doing a hearing face-to face is le derniere cri in the New World Order. Used to be back in the olden days of Legacy that these were a dime a dozen. As we all know, every time VA improves the system, it adds about two more miles onto a very long tunnel. In this case, the advent of the AMA  effectively eradicated the in-person hearing as we know it. If’n you want to talk to the judge mano -a-mano, you gotta go to him now. That kinda puts it out of reach of most Vets.

But, there is a time and a place for this insanity. Think about two nights at the Hilton or Hyatt for a couple three yards/day and a round trip airfare for 12 more and you have the makings for a solid BVA win. This only makes sense if you’re shooting for a §3.156(c) EED going back to 1972. Which is what we were doing.

I’ll share more of that this evening.

To my knowledge the Johnmeister hasn’t changed the call-in number.

(515) 605-9764

And for those who prefer hands free computer hook up:

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/jbasser/12331935/connect/9dcb55a25991d0bd558a2bb38eaf299ae36e81e9

We look forward to seeing you virtually this evening. Don’t forget the chips and dip.

P.S. This document just landed in my lap. Imagine. VBA complaining that VHA psychologists are far better at denying PTSD (legitimately) than subcontracted QTC/VES/Optum Serve/LHI/ Loyal Health psychologists who are giving away the farm.  I’m not sure whether I ‘m gonna shit or go blind…

PTSD Disability Examination Reports A Comparrison Between Veterans Health Adminstration and Contract Examiners

Posted in 3.156(c), All about Veterans, BVA Hearings, Exposed Veteran Radio Show | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WINDSHIELDS AND REARVIEW MIRRORS

Posted on March 24, 2024 by asknod

Boy howdy I gotta tell you my body is screaming at me I’m getting old. When I sit down, it’s like a crash-landing. When I move to stand up, it’s like looking out the side window passing V 2 on the runway at 120 knots and knowing I’m screwed because I need 140 to get airborne. It’s not scary. I don’t regret a minute of how I got here. My only concern is losing my vision or my mind. If I lose either of those assets, my days of helping Veterans will be gone. 

Some folks fear death. I don’t anymore. Maybe 5o years ago but not now. I’ve had more fun and done more crazy things than I can remember. I don’t think like a cat that’s burned up eight lives. I’m still stuck in that 73 going on 17 conundrum. When will I start thinking and acting like an adult? Never, I hope.

During the last two months, with the exception of a week in DC,  I’ve spent every Friday morning teaching VA attorneys and Agents like myself the ins and outs of VA’s Special Monthly Compensation. Most people can read and absorb the pertinent regulations, statutes and CAVC precedential rulings on the subject. But they never see it done in real time. I chose ten of my cases as examples of SMC warfare and am using them to illustrate how to play SMC poker.

When push comes to shove, the level of ignorance about SMC is stupendous. You have to forget everything you think you know about SMC and begin over.  I’ve had attorneys who do nothing but VA law insist what I do is voodoo and impossible; that I’m just some chowderhead VA wannabe attorney with the incredible good fortune for drawing liberal Veterans Law Judges who grant my every wish every time. Nobody’s that lucky.

Last Fall, a groundswell of interest in SMC finally reached a crescendo such that our National Organization who helps Veterans, decided to bring in a Service Officer (retired military) from a major Veterans Service Organization (VSO). who presented himself as a Jedi Master of the SMC persuasion. Right out of the gate,  he asked his “class” to  stand up, first grab their ankles, then their knees and lastly their upper thighs-all while shouting “L! M! N!” As you might have guessed, he was of the Oo-rah! persuasion. All gung ho and about room temperature IQ. I’m sure he meant well.

As mentioned above, I hadn’t quite reached V 1, let alone V 2 yet, so I was waaaaay tardy on my wheels up and getting vertical with the other class members. But why I bring this up is simple. Our “expert”, while teaching us these finer points of SMC, neglected to even mention that SMC N- wherein you grab your upper thighs at the juncture they join your torso whilst shouting N!- requires the physical amputation of both legs at the trunk, not just loss of use as is a prerequisite for the L or M ratings below. I think that’s a pretty serious upgrade requirement that bears mentioning.

Most, if not all, moderators over at Doneit.com™ are convinced SMC “S” is SMC L “light”. Their belief is simple. VA employs the VA Form 21-2680 as a fact-finding form to award S or L. So, using this convoluted logic, if you only qualified for S (100%/TDIU plus an additional 60% of separate and distinctly different disability(ies)), you were just awarded aid and attendance at the lower tier one rate- SMC L, of course, being tier two.

I’ve read on other Veterans Help Sites that you are not entitled to double dip and collect PCAFC caregiver benefits if you are also collecting SMC L for aid and attendance. Some even insist that PCAFC is SMC L a&a.  This level of ignorance was the tipping point- and what led me to decide to teach a new generation of VA representatives this art form. It’s one thing to be strong in the Force and quite another to being trained to be a Jedi Knight. Just because you can drive a car doesn’t mean you’re ready for the Indy 500.

When my Padawans graduate from the “Academy” after ten classes, they should be able to spot a potential SMC R1/R2 or a T by just having a fifteen minute telephone conversation with the fellow or gal. You cannot absorb this determination based on a simple twenty-question intake form created by your law office. That little chatbot down in the lower right asking if you wish to speak to a VA claims expert is a nothing burger. Trust me, what the phone bank folks know about VA law could fit in a Crackerjack™ box. They’re just there to sign you up.

Sometimes, entitlement to SMC isn’t blatant. It’s under-developed or the VBA gomers artfully took away your 15-year TDIU and combined all 23 of your ratings into a 100% combined. Bye bye SMC S honey child. And worse, you didn’t even see it or realize you just got screwed. You probably hugged your VSO officer, marched him down to the VFW bar and bought him a couple double Jacky D and co-colas.

As an aside, I’ll share this nightmare. Johnny Vet comes to me with an old L for aid and attendance for his diabetes with nasty peripheral neuropathy. As usual, the Raters avoided the loss of use and rolled it all up like a Tekkamaki sushi roll and called it aid and attendance. No biggie yet. Fast forward about 15 years to 2024. Johnny, who incidentally has a megabig shot, name brand attorney who’s been his swordbearer all these years, has incoming Parkinson’s and gets rated for loss of use of a hand and a foot. For the anally retentive, that’s a 100% rating under §4.71a DC 5111 and now 2 (two, deux, song) SMC Ls.

VA bumps him up from L to M based on SMC P or §3.350(f)(4). His attorney informs him it’s all hunky dory. But Johnny Vet has been a bad boy. He’s been reading my site and calls me to ask why I’m a walkin’ talkin’ lying sack of shit about SMC. I gave him the briefing on the hows and the whys of my Ju-Ju voodoo and explained how you cast dem bones. You don’t need a Top Secret/Crypto clearance to be read in on this. Read §3.350(e)(1)(ii). Read Breniser vs. Shinseki. Read. Research. Don’t listen to others.

Johnny Vet goes back to his bigwig attorney down in Deland Florida (who actually is a 1/2 owner and even has top billing) and tells him he (Johnny Vet) should be getting R1 according to that SMC Oracle up in Delphi, Washington. His attorney (let’s call him Jim) tells him ol’ Alex has been smoking too much of the Devil’s lettuce. What’s more, he isn’t even an attorney. And since Jimbo’s been doing this for 35 years, ol’ Johnny would be better off relying on someone who’s actually trained in the art of law. And lastly, he informed Johnboy  he would not be filing Johnboy’s HLR for the R1 error. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Johnny came back and begged me to take it. Not wanting to upset the National Organization’s apple cart, I declined to do the POA but wrote him a ghost legal brief to use to argue with. Long story short, about three or four months later, Johnny’s sporting a shiny new R1 and ol’ Jimbo allows as he’s entitled to 20% of that sizable retro Johnny Vet’s fixin’ to collect. I reckon all that lawyer schoolin’ paid off smartly. Let your Veterans litigate it and swoop in to collect. Totally new concept.

SMC is more difficult that trying to skipper a paddlewheel up the Mississippi dead in the middle of the night under a new moon. It’s not difficult to learn but it’s difficult to master because there are so many “Thursday” rules. Just when you think you have it in the bag, you discover a new wrinkle. For the confused, we joke that to win SMC at the higher levels, you have to be born on a Thursday… but if by some chance you were, then the subsection codicil is for application-AM or PM? If it was AM, you’re SOL. Obviously, that makes for a shit ton of AM Veterans who are plumb shit out of luck. Funny how that works, huh?

I teach the classes in hopes that these new acolytes will master the art and then go out and find these poor confused Veterans who have no chance of winning a high SMC- even if they’re represented by law dog chuckleheads who insist they are versed in the art. Back before I was accredited, I’d refer those who came to my website to attorneys I honestly felt would be able to maximize their entitlements and tidy up all the CUE errors that had deprived them of some major baksheesh in decades past. My experience, sadly, was that some of the attorneys only picked the easy, low-hanging fruit and said thank you for your service. They should have added to that by saying thank you for servicing my mortgage. Turns out I was wrong. The attorneys just don’t understand it and give out bogus advice to mask their ignorance.

As Robert Chisholm once said over an adult beverage in San Antonio, “SMC is the Art of the Possible.” No truer words were ever spoken. In VA land, far too many of us Veterans focus myopically on the rearview mirrors of our claims. How many of you at some Vet Center Kumbaya circle on a Tuesday night listened to the trials and tribulations of how some Vet got screwed out of thousands back in ’84 and how they’re just shopping for that killer DAV dude who’s going to open up a can of whoopass and get him/her justice? Meanwhile, they’re stuck at 60% and not even making an effort to obtain their rightful 100% or TDIU?

This error is what I call the Windshield versus Rearview mirror paradox. If you have a flat tire, you stop and fix it. You do not continue driving on the flat, looking in the rearview mirror imagining on how it got flat. You don’t seek vengeance on the mechanic who sold you this retread and warned you it was unreliable. Well, hey. Maybe some of you do think that way. My job-and I feel it is any lawyer’s or VA Agent’s job- is to get you what you need RFN to survive and then to start focusing on the old errors which deserve to be fixed. In other words, I aim to make sure all of you were born on a Thursday afternoon. Every journey begins with the first step.

One hallmark of a longtime Veteran who has been chasing the SMC dream for years (and losing) is a code rating sheet that runs to eight pages. The first five pages consist of a few 100%ers, three or four 30-50%ers and about twenty zero to 20%ers. Pages 6 through eight list all the denied claims and are listed as NSC (nonservice connected).

I don’t mean to be nasty about this but if you keep stubbing your toe when you kick a rock, maybe it’s time to put on steel-toed boots. Ditto winning a SMC claim. The number of people who can do this for you are few. CCK is one. I could name others but I don’t need to. Soon, I’ll be referring those who come to me to these new Jedi Knights. VA has no idea of the shit storm I’m stirring up across our fruited plains.

Don’t ever think that these Veterans are somehow cheating to get higher SMC ratings. Rather, it’s that VA is equally as ignorant as them aforementioned law dogs down in Florida in thinking they know how to do it. If they did, I’d be out of business in a New York minute. Relying on a mechanical construct like the M 21 to spit out the answer is a fool’s errand. A true SMC calculator should reside in that grey matter between your two ears and be error-free… 100% of the time…without the need for any AI.

And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Posted in Aid and Attendance, R1/R2, SMC, Special Monthly Compensation, VA Agents, VA Representative Training, Veterans Law | 3 Comments

EXPOSED VET RADIO SHOW–THURSDAY MARCH 14 @ 1900 HOURS (E)

Posted on March 14, 2024 by asknod

Fresh from the East Coast and having recuperated from the time change, I’ve been invited to discuss the legal conferences I attended March 7 through 9. Quite a bit to be said and I plan to do so. Join us tomorrow evening for some Veterans talk about the state of process.

The call in number, assuming the John Boy hasn’t changed it, is

(515) 605-9764

If you wish to link in via the computer, here’s the device with which to do so.

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/jbasser/12322264/connect/2591d59d066433fb20bb08c33ebd13ef4a3fa665

Looking forward to a great show with lots of listeners.

r

a

Posted in BvA Decisions, Exposed Veteran Radio Show, Food for thought, VA Agents, VA BACKLOG, VBMS, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

POST-CONFERENCE ATTORNEY JOKES

Posted on March 10, 2024 by asknod

I received these gems from-who else- Silver Starred Ed the LRRP (pronounced Lurp). He knew I was in DC at the legal conferences and delved deeply into attorney humor to find them. Keep in mind, they are actual (I swear) in haec verba, right from the transcripts of the Court reporters. I don’t think I could keep a straight face and avoid spraying snot out of my nose trying to suppress uncontrollable laughter. Now keep in mind I’m not making fun of attorneys. I have many, many as friends so I don’t want to throw shade on them as a class of human beings… but read on.

First off, you gotta know every attorney I know, and every Agent too, would never put a client on the stand unless we knew what their answers were well beforehand. But some J.D.s may have slept through Witness 301…

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?

WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?

WITNESS: July 18th.

ATTORNEY: What year?

WITNESS: Every year.

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?

WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which

ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?

WITNESS: Forty-five years.

ATTORNEY: ALL of your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you attend?

WITNESS: Oral.

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?

WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

But now, let’s look at attorneys themselves-not their clients. Unlike us- the great unwashed Agents, they have 4 years of college and 3 or law school under their belts. Perish the thought of any of these below practicing VA law…

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the very next morning?

WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?

WITNESS: He’s 20. Very close to your IQ.

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?

WITNESS: Are you shitting me?

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?

WITNESS: Getting laid.

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: How many were boys?

WITNESS: None.

ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

WITNESS: Your Honor, I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?

WITNESS: By death.

ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?

WITNESS: Take a guess.

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?

WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.

ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?

WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I’m going with male.

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM.

ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?

WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?

WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Thank you to all whom I met in DC who help Vets. From what I can see, it appears we have a tsunami of new folks getting into this field. Veterans are going to have more options to win big fights because there will be far more attorneys and agents out there trained to do it well.

Right. Spring Break is over. Back to work girls and boys. And yes, SMC Class #7 will convene Friday morning at 0900 sharp.

Posted in Humor, VA Representative Training, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NEW VA BUDGET MEANS NO GUN RESTRICTIONS

Posted on March 5, 2024 by asknod

I must say this was long overdue. VA’s take was if you have mental issues then you have financial issues. If you have financial issues, well sheesh, you probably suffer from suicidal or homicidal ideation. Therefore, to protect you from yourself, VA takes away your right to be in charge of your finances on the off chance you might spend it all on drugs and liquor. And based on that, you probably shouldn’t have any guns around when you’re drunk and stoned. Right?

Unfortunately, this makes you defenseless if you experience a home invasion. It also grossly violates the law because only a real Judge could find you incompetent enough to warrant adjudging you insane. Being the VA, that doesn’t slow them down a bit. If you want them big VA comp. bucks Bubba, you gotta play VA poker by the rules-even if they violate your due process.

So, those eeeeeeevil, gun-loving republican idiots in Congress decided to create a big problem.  They said VA doesn’t get any more wampum until they get rid of that crazy gun rule. They insist on VA obeying the laws as Congress wrote them and take away VA’s power to disarm us. Shut the front door, huh?

So, don’t get me wrong. There are some-maybe quite a few- who walk the earth who probably shouldn’t be entrusted with firearms- both Veteran and non-Veteran. However, there’s a legal process already in place to ensure these souls are nurtured and prevented from access to weapons. Veterans are no different than their civilian counterparts. This isn’t Animal Farm where some pigs are more equal than other pigs. There can only be one legal standard of review. We were entrusted with not only guns when we served but some of the absolutely coolest explosives, grenades, machineguns and cannons known to man.

I remember one guy who might not qualify. Last name was Morfmann. He’d look you in the eye and say “You can tell it’s Mattel™.” Then he’d chug off about ten rounds out of his Pig and add the rejoinder- “It’s swell.”.” Now, granted he might be certifiable fifty years later but I’d still trust him with a gun.

Paraphrasing Martin Luther King, we should be judged not by the color of our uniforms, but by the content of our character. This was long overdue. I hope it passes. Veterans deserve better.

Here’s the article:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/03/04/va-couldnt-report-vets-deemed-mentally-incompetent-gun-background-check-database-under-latest.html

Posted in VA Agents, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pilgrimage to Mecca DC

Posted on March 4, 2024 by asknod

Once again it’s time to saddle up the 737 MAX, spread the prayer rug out and make obeisances to the East while chanting regulations from the NVLSP’s Veterans Benefits Manual™ (VBM). Twice yearly, the faithful are called to attend this ritual to ensure they have satisfied their religious need for continuing legal education (CLEs for short). Truthfully, you can get away with going once in every four conferences and still qualify for your CLEs but what the hey? This is a dynamite time to network with the big boys in the industry. Or, it’s the camaraderie of old friends who share your zest for helping Veterans. It’s rumored some come to learn law. 

Whichever way you view it, it’s almost a must for the FNGs with shiny new JDs. There they learn things you don’t find in books. I’d think it one hell of a disappointment to rack up seven years of college and law school only to graduate and find out VA law is like Greek to them. Worse, you can’t fix it with Babbel®.

This year we’re partying  booklearning at the Hanoi Hilton in DC. I did a google maps on restaurants within spitting distance… and promptly ran out of ‘virtual’ spit. Boy howdy is it a target -rich environment for food. That’s good. I was getting bored with the menu at  Hyatt’s Article One restaurant. The bar food  over at the Kimpton Hotel is to-die-for but this trip I wanted to stay in the place where they’re holding the gig.

Weirdly, the Hilton doesn’t have a restaurant for dinner. Go figure. They do have a credible lunch restaurant that seats about 30 with a bird’s-eye view of all the homeless across the street (just kidding). They do overpriced nitnoy bar hors d’ oeuvres out of a pseudo kitchen from about four to midnight.  The menu takes up one side of a plastic-encased card. The other side is one thousand varieties of Margaritas. Turnaround time from ordering to delivery is about 2.5  TNTs  (Tanqueray ‘n tonics). You can almost hear Tim Allen saying ‘Arruhhh’?

Wednesday Night’s Adventure in Good Dining

I decided to walk point this January when I went back for the second VA ILP Greenhouse hearing. The lobby concierge informed me they’re doing a heavy duty remodel to floors 3 through 7 (or was it 11?). That partially explains why I’m so familiar with the bar hors d’ oeuvres. Seriously, the Maryland crab cakes were almost invisible behind their forest of garnish. You’d also need about 6 servings to avoid anorexia. That or about 4 double margaritas to get you blind drunk so you don’t notice the size.

But hey. We’re not going for the chow per se. We come seeking knowledge. They do provide breakfast so we have that going for us. Maybe I should get one of those fashionable over-the -shoulder “man purses” that are all the rage now and stuff it with sweet rolls and fruit for later. No thanks. I’m not that desperate but I confess I’ve seen others do so. It must be one of those ‘attorney’ affectations.

The good news is my dad’s ensconced across the river a short distance away at ANC and the Wall is just a hop, skip and a jump down the street. How cool is that? I’d like to have a word with the joker who keeps stealing the 50¢ pieces I put on top of Dad’s headstone. How uncouth. Stealing from the dead.

 

Posted in CAVC Knowledge, CLE -Continuing Legal Education, The Vietnam Wall, VA Agents, vA news, VA Representative Training, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Have VA treatment travel pay issues? You aren’t alone.

Posted on March 3, 2024 by robinhoodesqvetsatty

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/02/27/veteran-travel-reimbursement-headaches-prompt-va-pursue-new-options-claims-filing-processing.html

Patricia Kine writes an article for Military.Com on 02/27/2024 titled “Veteran Travel Reimbursement Headaches Prompt VA to Pursue New Options for Claims Filing, Processing”

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

EXPOSED VET RADIO SHOW– THURSDAY 2/29/24 @ 1900 HRS (E)

Posted on February 26, 2024 by asknod

Roger that. 1900 hrs on the least coast… so 1600 on the left coast unless the big one hits and moves us out another time zone to the west (or east). John and Ray would like to discuss the insane anomaly of ILER/TERAing every Vet, including the dead ones, from Iwo Jima in 1944 to Jalalabad in 2019. This on top of the recent Procopio and the Blue Water Blizzard of squids out to 12 miles. 

In spite of all this delay, VA is still insisting it only takes 125 days from start to finish if only you’d do it right and make it a “fully developed” claim (FDC) and relieve them of all that work. Well, that and use the right form. There’s only two and we’re so stupid we always use the wrong one…until they discover they’re wrong and you did use the right one.

The Call in number is still the same , I’m told.

(515) 605-9764

 

If you wish to link in via the computer, here’s the device with which to do so.

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/jbasser/12317832/connect/06e03c771cdd8680878cad658f52eea5990b4d81

Virtual cocktails and Snyders™ Pretzel sticks will be served.

Entertainment is provided this afternoon by Ed the LURP from the 51st Co. out of Bien Hoa. (F troop).

Posted in Exposed Veteran Radio Show, VA Agents, VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MILESTONES– CHUCK ENGLE

Posted on February 26, 2024 by asknod

Every year, about this time, I think back on the enigma of 1st Lieutenant Charles E. Engle (promoted posthumously to Captain). I’ve watched over the last fifteen years as the Bigwigs come back and review his file and award additional medals. Good deal. I expect they’re eventually going to hang a CMOH around his neck. Chuck qualified as a “Wild and crazy guy” up in the sky when he was still cutting air. 

Truth be told, I hadn’t thought about Chuck for 37 years until the summer of 2008 when I was fighting the last part of getting service connected for hepatitis C. Chuck was aware of a GSW I incurred over the fence up in the country that rhymed with Mouse in September ’70 so I was hoping to get a buddy letter from him to confirm it. Jez, you’d think the scar would be proof enough. But nooooooooo. The VA ratings crew asked me if anyone could vouch for me on it. Chuck immediately popped up in my mind-but how to find him?

Still missing the RVN Cross of Gallantry with Palm

I wasn’t too savvy on computers yet so I asked Cupcake to help me. She found him in about 3 minutes. Unfortunately, he was was on the Wall and no longer among us. The last time I saw him was December ’70 outside the Class VI store which just happened to be next to the O Club there at Udorn. I’d flown in for a cigarettes and booze run because we didn’t have those amenities up where we were at East Bumfork.  He was on crutches and had flown down on the Klong flight for them to debride and sew up his foot over at the 432nd Hospital. He’d caught a round through the bottom of the A/C recently and they’d taken him off Flight status until he could push the right rudder pedal without his crutch.

We shook hands,  said hi and bye and I headed back out the next day back to O/L Charlie (Tango Eleven) (up in the northwesterly part of Thailand). The fact that I never ran into him again wasn’t weird. Most folks who were sane did a one-year tour and bugged out back to the World. Six months was the max up at Alternate. I never expected to need to speak to him again. Sadly, he’d be dead in less than two months.

The information is sketchy but I believe he was ferrying an O 1 back to Udorn on February 22 from Alternate for maintenance and augered in somewhere in between. The AvGas we were using was always contaminated by the red clay silica which got stirred up on the flight line and revetments every time a propeller got near it. To counteract it, we had to operate our engines with a richer fuel mixture which made them run hot. It eventually clogged up the carburetor bowls requiring a cleanout and rebuild. We were lucky if we got more than 350 hours of run time before maintenance.

I did get a chance to fly back to Indiana for other business and made a side trip up to Winchester (where he’s buried) in 2015. It’s too bad he didn’t make it back. So, for whatever reason, his date of passing always comes up subconsciously on my radar every year. I’ll look down at the date when I’m doing something on the computer and notice it’s February 22…all over again. Fifty two years this time.

It’s said in Indian Country you will live forever as long as your name continues to be spoken. I’d hope that’s true. Chuck will continue to live in my mind in that sense until I bite the dust, too. I’m sure there are others who will also remember him as fondly as I do. He was definitely unforgettable as far as human beings go. What we’d call a ‘keeper’.

Posted in All about Veterans, From the footlocker, Milestones, The Vietnam Wall, Vietnam War history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments