Someone (everyone is entitled to anonymity) sent me a link a month or six ago but I never took time out to go check out his website. I did today. What a hoot. A lot of conversation has been bandied about in the last year regarding the level of knowledge out there post-AMA that is based on experience. When I say ‘experience’, I mean recent experience- as in 2020-2023. As you can imagine, all the really big, brand name Vets websites are replete with information like how to file a Form 9 or the proper way to list your disabilities on your VAF 21-0958 Notice of Disagreement. With the exception of a few die-hard Legacy claims which might possibly be pending (I have a few), these forms are passé. Ils sont morts, dude. Ditto the RAMP program. If you see these, the help site is still living in the stone age. 

So, assuming you are a neophyte at this game- and rest assured most of us are (or were at one time)- you seek real time information and techniques to win your claim before the arthritis sets in and you get your wheelchair driver’s license. Considering it took me twenty eight years to accomplish this project, the internet now has shaved that number down to whatever speed limit the BVA or your local Veterans Service Center has put on it. But that only applies if you know what your doing to ensure a speedy adjudication.

The pitfalls are numerous. VA sends you those VAF 21-4142 and 4142a forms to sign and return but fails to point out that should you sign and return them, it may add another year to your claim. Worse, when Tina the technician at Kaiser Permanente informs your VA rater that it will be $51.50 for copying fees at the time of document release, Mr. VA rater says “I don’t think so. Either you give them to me free or piss off.” Of course, VA doesn’t tell you they gave Tina the raspberry. You’re laboring under the misconception they did what they said they would do-go get your private medical records. In the immortal words of George Jetson’s dog Astro- “Ruh-oh, Rorge.”

So, you need knowledge to avoid these punji pits. You go to Tellmehow.com and ask your VA questions. You get all the well-meaning moderators-some of whom are ten years older than God- telling you all about how to file a supplemental or HLR claim-something not one of them has ever done. They suggest (God forbid) filing for a BVA Hearing with new and relevant evidence. Folks, if you have rapidly metastasizing non-small cell carcinoma, I strongly suggest a quicker approach. I can almost guarantee that even with Nivolumab™, your chances of seeing three more New Year’s parties are somewhere between dang near slim or none.

So, I googled ‘Winning Your VA Claims’ and what pops up these days? Why the claims commando-Combat Craig©. I couldn’t resist this time. In his own words,

“For about the price of a tank of gas these days, there’s no contract and only an administrative fee of $99.95 for access. That’s it! Are you ready to Sign Up For a One Year BOOT CAMP Tour or as a BOOT CAMP LIFER (never expires + forever access to Combat Craig and his BOOT CAMP Support Team) and SUPERCHARGE your VA CLAIMS goal of INCREASED VA DISABILITY RATINGS and BENEFITS? You’re here right now looking for information and guidance, and BOOT CAMP has it for you on a platter. So stop half-assing it and wasting more time. Get it in gear and join now.”

Okay, I’m game. Let’s see if I have this right. Our commando claims he is rated at 100%. Does that include a component of PTSD? Okay, let’s not get picky. There are lots of highly functioning Vets with 70% ratings for MDD. How about asking how many claims  he’s filed, what percentage did he win, and what’s his BVA/CAVC appeals record win or lose? If this guy is selling admission tickets to the Chicken Dinner Winner Contest like they do over at Togetherweserved.com™, then you better do some more investigation on what you’re going to get for your annual tithe of a Benjamin Franklin coupon.

I don’t mean to denigrate a fellow Veteran-or any Vet like myself offering advice for that matter- but I smell something that doesn’t seem right. I do this for a living. We, and I mean all VA attorneys and Agents, constantly have to change our tactics as VA changes theirs. We have jungle drums and communicate with one another. Nobody has any proprietary techniques for how to skin the VA cat. The majority of us attend  legal conferences at least once a year and many twice. We learn the latest tradecraft on how to win and who to call/email in the  bowels of the VA when the claim goes south. Does Commander Craig modify his videos to comprehend these changing trends? Does he have VBMS and the Rolodex to VA’s Outlook? Of course not.

Thus, I will attempt to cast a bit of realism into what our claims commando is selling. To me it looks like a well-orchestrated spiel from a good ol’ boy who won his claims by himself. Okay so far. What is overlooked is that each and every claim or appeal is uniquely different. There simply is no “typical claim” you can copy and paste as a template. I’m sorry but judging what I’ve reviewed,  I  have to file this one under All Hat(s) and No Cowboy.

In summary, the short story here is there is no recipe that applies to everyone who files. A certain disease or injury might be presumptive due to the area you served in but why buy  the manual that covers all the areas when you only need to know about one facet in particular-e.g., the Indochinese peninsula (RVN, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand)  versus Southwest Asia.

Does the $99.99 per year cover our commando walking point and filing yet more claims to keep testing out his technique as he stated and then reporting back to his Boot Camp Buddies? Are we going to watch a video about how he did it in 2017 before the AMA changed everything after Valentine’s Day 2019? Does our erstwhile combateer keep abreast of new precedence emanating from the CAVC or the Fed. Circus and teach it? All these queshuns. Personally, I think Veterans deserve a higher level of legal help than a Haircombing 101 course in VA law.

Yes. I know I’m in the VA dog house more often than not because I do ask questions. I’m no longer on a lot of VSO Christmas Card lists. I’m persona non grata at almost every VFW bar across our  fruited plains. VBN and Hadit have 86’d me.  But I ask you- is it worth it to squander $179.95 for a Boot Camp Lifer membership in this outfit if you have Parkinson’s? Will you live long enough to get your money’s worth? Will you even remember it? Or even the $99.95 annual fee to learn a lot of stuff you don’t need or want to know? Considering how many diagnostic codes there are in Part IV of the VASRD, that’s a mega shit ton of “how to” videos our Commando needs to create to “personalize” your claims experience to your disease/injury.

One thing our knowledgeable expert said concerns me. He stated he continues to file claims to “get more experience” on how to do it. Back the boat up to dock, Gilligan. What? In this day and age, we are already challenged on getting legitimate claims adjudicated in a timely manner. As for filing claims just to see if anything might stick to the wall, that might fall into the realm of fraudulence. It most certainly falls into the realm of squandering scarce judicial resources better spent on other, more deserving Veterans in my book.

I might make a suggestion to the Craigster. How about you study up for the VA Agent Test and pass it? That way you can learn all the intricacies of this business and any quirks that are popping up these days on confusion as to how the AMA regs are beginning to collide with Congress’ statutes on the subject. Think 38 USC §7104(a). Frankly, anyone who can put this much effort  into producing what he touts as a winning technique based solely on his limited personal experience probably has the wits and wherewithal  to learn the system and employ it with some degree of proficiency.

I listened to just one video (free) discussion on the nuances of all the different forms of a 100% rating. Also mentioned was a 100% TDIU rating. As most who are on TDIU (Total Disability due to Individual Unemployability) know, they are not 100%. They are merely being paid at the 100% rate. What about the unfortunate ones who got railroaded into a “combined” 100% rating which effectively screwed them out of SMC at the S rate? Crickets. Navigating the VA ocean of law is far more complicated than watching a few videos and launching your claim boat.

In this business, there are no simple panaceas or shortcuts to a win. The fact is, you’re never going to get to 100% P&T with pes planus, hemorrhoids, tinnitus and 19 other 10% ratings no matter how you cut it. Total 100% schedular disability is awarded to people who are far worse off than Hogan’s famous goat. No nine minute and fifty second video is going to teach you how to get there if you don’t have the necessary medical ingredients before you begin.

There are a lot of Veteran’s help sites out there. Most, if not all, offer free advice. But  again, if all the advice you get is dated pre-2019 or unique to the Vet telling you about it, your chances of reconfiguring it to suit your circumstances is going to require a lot of book learning. Murphy’s Third Law is applicable here. Universal parts…aren’t. One size fits all… never does.

As for the “claim shark” outfits, their days are numbered. I do not include our buddy Craig in that group per se.  Congress will eventually get around to fixing that hole in the dike. I’d like to meet the joker who deleted that regulation in 2004 and let this Pandora problem out of the box. My advice to any reading this is to refuse to pay them anything if they come knocking. A Vet up in New Jersey got a great win recently on this and the Judge agreed he was within his rights to tell them to suck mud. No accreditation tickee-no laundry.

I merely report. You Veterans decide. I’d be interested in any satisfied customers who report back on how they fared under the Craigmeister’s tutelage. Did they get their money’s worth or merely a lot of video footage with attaboys and Craig’s amazing collection of hats? Every pathway to winning VA claims is to be encouraged. It could be ol’ Craig knows a lot more than I give him credit for. I’m not above granting him that. Shoot, I’d be obliged to give him a soapbox to stand on here to explain how he does all this with no legal training. Of course, I’ve been out of the service for more than fifty years. It could be they teach this as part of AIT combat training nowadays.

Veterans need to understand that there is a fine line between offering advice versus charging for the advice. Most folks who charge for legal advice hang a shingle out front and are accredited. Some of them even have an ‘Esquire’ after their name. It’s another matter entirely, however, to grab the pen and begin filling in the little squares on the VA Form 21-526EZ for your buddies. Asking for a $50 Home Depot™ gift card for your help is, of course, right out.

The regulation §14.629(b)(1) reads

 (b)(1) No individual may assist claimants in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims for VA benefits as an agent or attorney unless he or she has first been accredited by VA for such purpose.

I guess it goes without saying that if you aren’t even an Agent or attorney, preparation, presentation and/or prosecution of claims is a Bozo no-no. §14.636(b) also gets into the nitty gritty world of money…

(b) Who may charge fees for representation. Only accredited agents and attorneys may receive fees from claimants or appellants for their services provided in connection with representation.  

I will say I admire Mr. C. Craig’s verve and zest for his interest in Veterans’ claims. I merely worry that he may run afoul of the VA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC). What the hey? I wrote a book on this back in 2012 and explained it in layman’s terms for Vets. Yes, I was paid for it but Cupcake and I donated all the monies to Veteran charities. If that is Combat Craig’s objective, I certainly wish him the best. But if he’s simply translating VA law into DickandJanespeak and charging for it, he isn’t helping you unless his (and your) legal comprehension is incredible. It took me almost a decade to grasp the nuances of  just Special Monthly Compensation. I don’t see his videos preparing you to file for R1 -but hey, I could be wrong. In my considered opinion, your money would be better spent hiring a good attorney or VA Agent who will do all your claims work for you. I might add they probably do not all have fancy hats, though.

Imagine. 9 minutes and 50 seconds to instant comprehension of SMC. Whooo doggies.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

P.S. Just got a phone call ( 10/5) from a bystander. Our good buddy Craig migrated to his new position from VA Claims Insider. That explains a lot. He’s 70% for Bent brain syndrome and some small change for flat feet. The “combat” moniker is unsupported by his DD 214. Yep. No PHs, BSMs, SSs, DSCs CIBs, CARs or ArComs. Shoot. Not even any “I was there” medals. Is that Stolen valor?