‘TIS THE SEASON

Posted on April 19, 2022 by asknod

About this time every year, an ever-increasingly smaller cohort of my generation think back and reflect on the consequences of war-any war. Was it worth it? Did we win? Did we kill more of them than they did of us? In the end, after it’s all over, does it matter? In most respects, no. Fifty years later, all I miss is the camaraderie of being blood brothers united in agreement we were being led by clueless idiots. Well, that and I miss access to explosives. I miss shaving off Semtex from Claymores with my prized survival knife and heating up my c rats. I miss the music of a Pig chewing up the jungle in front of me. I miss things I can no longer remember… and probably for a good reason. This is how a lot of Vietnam Vets live life now.

86’n the fire extinguisher for more passengers

It’s not a bad life. We have grandkids if we’re lucky. Or, like one of my close friends I’ve met since I returned, you don’t because you went through about six wives in ten years and they never hung around long enough to get knocked up. Smart they were. Yesssssssssss. Be careful. Some of them show up 50 years later and wanna play house again.

I started counting how many of us true Boots on the ground (BOTG) remained using goggle™ back in 2008. The accepted number was 850,000 of us left. I checked in again around 2012. In spite a number of funerals I’d attended, I found out we were either multiplying like rabbits or someone was bullshitting us. As my daddy once said, bullshit is nothing more than chewed grass. Ditto the number in 2016 and 2018. I figured everyone else had some killer Mojo and had managed to stay healthy. I’m batting about 3/10.

I do note, after searching again several minutes ago that the number had sunk to 610,000 in 2019. Seems they use some fancy metrics here. 1954 to 1975 might be a credible time frame but 1/9/1962 to 5/7/1975 is the more preferred yardstick in my book. And it should include all the folks that served over the fence. Using that metric might describe more closely how many true “Vietnam War” Vets with real red clay between their toes (and jungle rot) are still here today. But maybe not. There are those who need valor. They need to belong. Newsflash. By just enlisting, or, for those less fortunate, drafted, you served your country. Who could be disappointed with a NDSM?

Some immediately take offense when I pull out the tape measure. I respect everyone who signed up to serve. I mean that sincerely. Realistically though, a much smaller number can, and should, claim true boots on the ground. And of that number, I suspect far fewer than 610,000 are still vertical. Keep in mind that horde of lifers who command us. They’re gone-and if not, they must live in Chicago. Folks there never die. Again, who really cares at this point? Well, a few. I watched a Vet lay into another one at a VFW NRA gun raffle/dinner back in 2018. Seems he felt being in Germany was equally as dangerous as red boots and entitled him to the moniker of a genuine Vietnam War Vet. I would have inserted “era” right after War to avoid confusion. Are they counting how many times they were ‘wounded’ by VD?

I selected England as my first choice of assignment. Spain and Italy were second and third. I drew Udorn adjacent to Nong Khai and the beautiful Mekong River at first. Then some AF Intel weenie discovered I spoke French. Laos wasn’t a whole lot different than Vietnam. You just rarely ran into guys who spoke English. Or French for that matter. Thai seemed to be the most frequent lingua franca. Imagine blasting (90 kts.) down Route 7 heading east and broadcasting over a microphone to convince Pathet Lao troops to surrender. That was Tuesdays and Thursdays. They called me the Chieu Hoi Boy. Judging by the way the slopes responded with SKS fire, it had to be taken as an emphatic ‘no.’ Fuggem if they couldn’t take a joke. I’d just shoot back. After about a dozen missions, I got pissed. I had the crew chiefs take the side door off and started packing a Thumper. Sometimes you have to enunciate your philosophy of peace with an exclamation point. There’s nothing like 40 mike-mike HE for emphasis.

I’ve laughed long and hard when an ‘era’ Vet wishes he could have been there. Nobody sane would ever wish for that. I remember my pilot discussing a mission off the mike as we returned to Long Tieng one evening. His drift was that no one got medals for strafing elephants-even if you got secondary explosions off the munitions they were packing. He explained it didn’t “play well in Peoria” when we submitted our after-action BDAs to our ‘Controlled American Source’ boss. The preferred term was camouflaged jeeps or, if you must, grey jeeps. Wars are funny. They won’t let you tell the truth. Now, no one can stand to hear the truth.

I remember the Sunday after I snagged a Swedish K for my personal firearm out of the old Jap hanger/warehouse down in Udorn. I went down to a creek nearby with a fifth of Jack Daniels and a couple of our AirAm crew chiefs. We were having a gay old time taking swigs and skipping 9 mils off the water when the ominous sound of Hueys (plural) began. Sensing something was amiss, we decided to get back inside the wire pronto. Believe it or not, the gunships lit up that stretch downstream with rockets and Pigs for five minutes. The body count, which was always the metric of success, was 8 and three POWs. Shut the front door. Were they counting monkeys? I struggle to this day to picture a monkey with his hands held high in surrender. I think that’s when I decided statistics could be fudged but is one of the fonder memories.

In fact, animals played a great part of our life up country. Not so much grey jeeps but pig and chicken deliveries on USAID contracts. They were great crowd pleasers when you kicked them out of the Porter from 100 feet up. Pork. It’s what’s for dinner. The chickens had a far higher survival rate from altitude. Brings a whole new meaning to DoorDash® or Grubhub© fifty years later, huh? Incomingggggg.

My attorney friend and mentor, Bob Walsh sent me this link today. He must share the same feelings I do about this time of year. It was 8 years before I found out he was an Eleven Bravo with a CIB. 173rd Airborne. Go figure. The meek among men roar the loudest when called to.

Yeah, some folks inherit star-spangled eyes
They send you down to war
And when you ask ’em, “How much should we give?”
They only answer, “More, more, more”

I told you several months ago I’d share my proprietary MacGyver information on Bottle Rockets. Remember them? What? No one shared the military art form with you? Okay stay with me. You take off one (1) of the plastique charges located above the fins of a 60mm mortar. Remember, just one-not all three. Three is right out. Set it aside. They looked like 1 ½” by 1 ½” inch chunks of plastique stitched together in packs of 5 very thin sheets. Take a c-rats can (large) and cut a piece about 4″X4″ out of the side wall metal and carefully flatten it out. Pick up a 2-foot chunk of baling wire from a mortar crate.

The one hundred metre freestyle.

Hold the PE down in the middle and fold the c-rats can in half, keeping the PE in one lower quadrant. Insert the bailing wire down the middle and fold in half one last time capturing the baling wire firmly. About dark, sashay over to a campfire and throw it in like a spear with the wire end in first. It usually stuck and held over the flames. Eventually, it would heat up and take off . They weren’t terribly aerodynamic and they were known to cause nasty wounds. What the hey- this was good for a PH. As I say, there are a lot of things I miss.

Bell 205 First In-Last Out… Ditched at Sea 29 April 1975 alongside USS Blue Ridge LCC 19

I reckon I better shut up before I find someone who ended up wearing one of my inventions.

Navigating PTSD: Advice for Veterans

Posted on April 8, 2022 by cspencer02

Image via Unsplash

Many veterans struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, better known as PTSD. Sometimes it may seem that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Fortunately, that’s untrue. Here is some guidance on navigating your PTSD.

Don’t push away your loved ones.

As a veteran, you may have difficulty asking for help — after all, you’re used to others coming to you for help. Still, try your best not to push loved ones away. Lean on them. They may not be able to understand exactly what you’re coping with, and you don’t have to discuss your experiences right away, but try to seek the support you need.

Further, if you suffered an injury in battle and have new obstacles to overcome, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your loved ones might be able to gauge what kind of assistance you need, but as you adapt to home life you may find other challenges. There’s no shame in asking for assistance. In fact, your family and friends will be happy to help.

Expect and be mindful of triggers.

Unfortunately, triggers are an unavoidable part of PTSD. The UK’s Mind.org details that triggers can come in several forms: words, sounds, places, smells, certain kinds of films or books, and specific dates. In the beginning, these triggers will sneak up on you. However, as time goes on, you’ll be able to predict them more easily. Try keeping a journal; after each trigger experience, wait until you’re in a healthier state of mind, and then write down what triggered you, how you responded to any techniques that helped, and ways to avoid it in the future.

If you’re the loved one of someone with PTSD, keep a similar journal. This can help you be aware of what sets them off and how to circumvent these experiences. Be patient when an outburst does happen. Your loved one will have little to no control over their reaction, so the most you can do is be there to listen and offer support and love.

Make home your solace and practice meditation.

If you’re the recipient of a purple heart and come home with severe physical or mental disabilities, your home will need modifications. Not only will this make getting around easier, it can help reduce trigger episodes; if you can reduce the frustrations of your daily life, you may avoid outbursts. There are programs to help you out, some of which even build houses specifically tailored to a single veteran’s needs.

If possible, set aside a specific room dedicated to relaxation and meditation. Arrange it with a comfortable chair and relaxing décor. Eliminate as many electronic distractions as possible. If you’re unable to dedicate an entire room, choose a space as far away from common areas as possible and set up there. When you go in to practice your meditations, let your household know so you won’t be disturbed.

Connect with other veterans.

As Bradley University points out, your local Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, offers excellent resources for therapy and other treatment. Group therapy with other veterans is a great place to start. The fact is unless they’ve been through war themselves, your loved ones just can’t understand some of the issues you’re dealing with. Speaking and bonding with other vets can be a healing experience.

The VA also offers family therapy. This can strengthen your relationships with loved ones by having a mediator guide the conversation. You don’t have to share right away, nor do you have to discuss anything you’re not ready to talk about. Simply go, listen, and speak when you know the time is right. And don’t worry if you’re scared — chances are that everyone in the room is.
It’s unfair that the brave soldiers who defend our country come home with major trauma, be it physical, mental, or both. Still, there’s hope. Keep these tips from Asknod in mind when coping with your PTSD and remember that healing takes time. Your loved ones are here to help, so let them be a part of the process.

Posted in Food for thought, Guest authors, MST, PTSD, Public Service Announcements, suicide | Tagged Asknod guest authors, asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Service Connection, VA claims, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 1 Comment

STOVER vs. DENNIS THE MENACE–FURTHER DEFINING THE M 21…OR NOT

Posted on April 5, 2022 by asknod

I listened to the oral argument of Jack L. Stover vs. VASEC this morning and, as usual, grow increasingly concerned about how to argue a case/appeal in the new AMA World Order. I discussed Andrews in a previous blog a week ago. Andrews has a dual import. The primary takeaway is when do you reach equipoise in this business? Who’s the line judge who blows the whistle and says you finally crossed it? Case law suggests you have to ingest the entire case before you get out the scales and start weighing it. But why can’t the evidence be so overwhelming that there really can never be a cogent denial argument; that the pros so far outweigh the cons that the Veteran’s case should never have been in doubt? Check out the oral.

The second argument, and one I’ve gotten into heated discussions about at BVA hearings, is the admissibility of the M 21 beyond the agency level. Every BVA Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) vociferously cuts me off at the knees should I foolishly cite to M 21. This in spite of its use below for my Vets’ Texas necktie parties. So where is that transition from where a Veterans is judged by the M 21’s yardstick and found wanting and then not being allowed to use the very same yardstick as a measure in a legal discussion? Welcome to the Stover oral argument. Pop a cold one and listen to some good logic. Well, at least logic as you and I would define it. It’s about time someone called bullshit on VA’s definitions of their definitions.

I’m ecstatic to finally see this conundrum discussed openly and watch the VA OGC counsel squirm uncontrollably and baldly say “Affirm as we say, not as we litigate.” to the Court. Mr. Vichich asking for Chevron deference at the Court when the BVA refuses to even discuss it at the Board goes over in Judge Mike Allen’s mind as about as logical as screen doors in submarines. Distilling its essence, it appears the Secretary desires to employ the M 21 at the agency level and then forbid its dissection at bar later on appeal whilst loudly exclaiming stare decisis and immutable law. This ignores the whole ex parte ‘Trier of Fact’ formula of de novo review. The M 21 is an assembly manual and little more. To say it can comprehend every instance of military stupidity and expertly apply the correct legal standard of review is fools gold. You would know that if you had served in the military. Military stupid is a speshull kind of stupid and takes years of service and rank to attain. The best courts in the land routinely have to change precedence to stay on top of new or revised legal epiphanies. The Liquor Prohibition Amendment was, and still is, a classic example. Besides, if the Court remands or reverses 74% of what crosses its desk, then VA’s 98% accuracy and the M 21 are suspect tools for any measurement of claims accuracy.

AO in Thailand

We’ve put the Blue Water contretemps to bed. We’ve watched with yawning awe as Thailand Vets have become the last AO orphans of the Southeast Asian Olympics. I reckon sooner or later Cambodian and Laotian Vets will eventually be knocking as well. Procopio resolved the last of the Navy arguments about where to draw the line. But now we have a new line to ponder-one that’s a dang sight less than 12 miles out. We’re talking feet. Let that sink in. Mere feet. It’s like a macabre comedy horror story out of the TV series Get Smart™. Missed it by thaaaaaat much, Airman 99.

I’ve often thought of the argument for AO exposure in Thailand to be a simple one. One far simpler to argue logically than just on a case by case basis. The presumptive exposure should be even more ironclad than for a true boots-on-the-ground Vietnam Vet. Here’s why. A real Vietnam Vet -one who set foot (not stepped foot) in the Republic of Vietnam often was stationed in places where AO was never sprayed. Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon was a classic example. The one place where so many touched down on a World Airways flight on their way to Bangkok and points north in Thailand, was rarely-if ever- sprayed. Many have tried to use this as their 30-minute refueling presumptive entitlement. Spot applications of weeds growing up through PSP here and there would have been done with a hand sprayer- if ever. The twin exhausts of a taxiing F4 pretty much dissuaded any hope of vegetation. Of course, few in the military ever conceived of a cataclysmic event like the Tet Offensive in January-February ’68.

Saigon USO

Furthermore, in-country troops in the field had a less than 50-50 chance they’d be in an active spray operation over them during an offensive operation. Why? Because it is pointless to spray during an assault. Nothing is accomplished by spraying for at least 5-8 hours that might improve sight lines in a dense jungle setting. It had a far more dramatic effect on the upper layer of a jungle canopy. A good defoliation job would take three applications to effectively percolate down to the jungle floor to kill growth. Most military operations were air assaults into previously sprayed areas- not land operations where active overhead spraying occurred during an assault on an enemy area of operations.

I always get a bang out of desperate Navy Vets claiming they encountered AO-soaked fighter jets upon their return after landing on aircraft carriers. Even Ol’ Mr. Procopio tried that one. Sorry Charlies. Air Force Ranch Hand missions were well-planned in advance and briefed in NOTAMs. If one had even been near your grid coordinates, it would be in the FRAG order and the call sign/ contact freq. listed. It’s not like an A 4J rolled in on a HCM strafing run loaded for bear with nape/CBU and discovered himself engulfed in a mist of AO from a $1.23 who just stumbled upon the air strike out of the blue. Never gonna happen, GI. I’ve been there. I know better- even if VA doesn’t. Spray Days and Spray Locations were about as secret as the 4th of July.

On the contrary, serving on a base in Thailand was much like being in an extremely large swimming pool with all the edges of the pool sprayed and contaminated- including the egress ladder. The wind drift coefficient would also come into play. Imagine your hootch about 40 feet away from the perimeter fence and a 25-foot laterite roadway bisecting it. There was still a dirt strip (formerly vegetation if unsprayed) between the road and the fence. We used it to play catch, throw a frisbee or jog on the edge of the roadway itself. Try defining “on or near the perimeter” in that context. The VA, in Jack Stover’s case, seems to demand he be close enough to physically touch the fence 12 hours a day. I’ve defended Vets for Udorn and Takhli AO exposure and won. My guys merely took smoke breaks while leaning against the fence. Some were forced to do Augmentation Duty and man towers on the perimeter 12 on and 12 off for a month. Hell, the Udorn Enlisted’s Chow Hall backed up to the perimeter fence. You could barely drive a pickup through there. You had to catch the shuttle bus there to get over to the Air America side of the base…twice a day. Doesn’t all this fall into “in the course of their regular duties”? Doesn’t sleeping adjacent to it for a year? Where exactly, is this official demarcation of ‘on or near’? 5 feet? 10 feet? 6 inches?

Thai Vets spent one year virtually encapsulated on a base with a few forays outside the wire to “pai teo” (seek pleasure) when possible in the local towns nearby. Based on manpower and time off, they might be lucky enough to get into town one night a month which would mean crossing over out of the ‘pool’. Wouldn’t that count as an additional exposure? No. The reason is it wouldn’t be in the normal course of your job -ergo- any exposure would not qualify. See how slippery this M 21 logic is? You can swim in this hypothetical pool of herbicides without ever actually coming into contact with it much as if you had donned a magical raincoat impervious to absorption. It couldn’t possibly attach to you unless you physically rubbed against the fabric of the cyclone fence with your flesh-but only if it were in the course of your usual duties. Right. The fact that our hootches had screens for windows/doors is immaterial to whether the wind blows in VA’s mind. I guess magic gnomes came by on breezeless nights when we were absent or sound asleep and carefully sprinkled their AO dust on the perimeter fences, being careful not to spill any outside the magic ‘on or near’ distance. Who woulda thunk it? VA, apparently.

Stover v. BVA

Reading the BVA denial, I get the impression that the thrust of the decision is to head off any future assaults on the “security policeman or dog handler” myth. Remember, this is CCK- the Big Boys- representing Mr. Stover. The Judge said as much when he opined that if the most logical standard of presumptive exposure were to be employed that dang near everyone would qualify. Well, duh. Isn’t that pretty much the metric employed for Procopio out to twelve miles? Brown water Vets? Phan Rang AB Air Force Vets? Vung Tau R&R Beach Vets? I’m guessing VA is shitting their britches at the dismal prospect of hundreds of thousands of us Air Force untermenschen storming the gates before we die and throwing off the beancounters’ estimates of how many they owe Nehmerbucks to. Seems this is as good a place as any to dig in your heels and fight the Vets on this. Check out this logic:

Similarly, the Board finds that the Veteran’s explanations of being near the perimeter due to the placement of his living quarters (hooches), visiting the MARS shortwave radio station once or twice a month, or entering and exiting the base are insufficient to establish that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents. If these
explanations were true, everyone assigned to these hooches, visiting the MARS shortwave radio station, or entering and exiting the base would have been exposed to herbicide agents, even if they only visited such areas once in a long while. Again, this view would create a slippery slope of line of reasoning that is not supported by VA law. The herbicide agent presumption of service connection has not been extended to all veterans who served at a RTAFB in Thailand. Exposure must be shown by at least an equipoise of the evidence standard. The statements provided by the Veteran do not establish, to an equipoise standard of evidence or greater, that he was exposed to Agent Orange while serving at the RTAFB in Thailand.

Hooo doggies. What if these explanations are true? Holy shit, Batman. Kinda funny how that slippery slope is only found in Thailand and nowhere else on the Indochinese peninsula-including the South China Sea now. It’s also kinda pathetic funny the Secretary should mention this isn’t supported by VA law when he avowedly insists the M 21 is not dicta at the BVA. So, not only do we have a shape-shifting herbicide that has a singular, magical affinity for galvanized, cyclone fence structures but also a set of ‘on or near’ M 21 manual interpretations which purport to be VA law but cannot be used to support a BVA denial in spite of being cited to and used as VA law to deny with. Poor Jack Stover and almost every other Air Force Vet who served over there don’t know whether to shit or go blind. It’s the M 21 ‘on or near’ Catch 22. I’m surprised the M 21 doesn’t also add “in addition, ‘on or near’ only applies to Veterans born at night on a Thursday in odd months.”

One thing few understand and for damn sure the VA does not get is this. We were few in number at these bases. We had to supplement our security forces with extra troops we didn’t have. Thai Army guards slept on the job or smoked dope. The only way to safely defend our bases was to create an augmentation duty requirement of one month each for the FNGs. Unless your AFSC (MOS) was critical, you were headed for one month of service on the perimeter-in the shit- for 12 hours on and 12 off, six days a week for four weeks. You ate, shitted and slept for the 12 hours you were not ‘in or on’ the perimeter. Somehow, this doesn’t equate to being in or on the perimeter in the course of your regular duties because, using the above logic, it was probably “once in a long while”. Somehow, for the next eleven months, you wore your magic invisible raincoats and the nasty herbicide could not attach itself to you successfully. And the best part was you didn’t even need to get vaccinated, wear a mask or stand six feet back from everyone-just that nasty perimeter.

The biggest VA whopper we are expected to swallow is the discussion by our good VLJ that if a body had been exposed to this crap, why, it would logically be in our STRs just like every time we cut ourselves shaving would mean a trip to sick call for a band aid.

Before deployment. No magazine and no jungle boots yet.

I always get a max bang from Judge Mike Allen’s Devil’s Advocate game when he asks the VA OGC victim how he would interpret what the Secretary is trying to have affirmed. Isn’t the M 21 implicated in a discussion if the BVA VLJ draws heavily from its parsing of what constitutes on or near? Is the M 21 off limits for discussion like the VASRD is? Can there be a non-regulation or non-statute that controls but cannot be held up to the light for inspection or determination as to its correct application of a legal standard of review? Pray tell, explain the Law of the Case to us, Secretary.

Stover jurisprudence may well turn out to be an interesting explanation of the “how many faeries can dance on the head of a pin” paradox. Oddly, Mr. Vichich sees no legal ambiguity in being unable to defend (let alone define) what physical distance ‘in or on’ might entail any more than prospective Supreme Court wannabes cannot define what a “woman” is nowadays. Mark my words. Pretty soon we’re gonna be packin’ Miriam Webster dictionaries up to the Big House at 625 Native Americana Ave. NW for our briefs. Seems the proper thing to do would be to just piss on the fire and let the Thailand Vets in to the Nehmer Party. Gez. How many of us can there be? I reckon ol’ Denis the Menace is figuring the Korean DMZers, the Anderson Island boys and just about everyone else aren’t going to be too far behind us. Denis can’t have that, now can he? I heard that EHR Cerner Medical computer fiasco out in Spokane is going to eat up oodles more billions before they give up and go back to VistA. So many Vets to deny. So little time to do it in before they die anyway.

And I believe that’s all I have to say about that.

Posted in All about Veterans, BvA Decisions, CAVC Knowledge, CAVC ruling, M-21 info, Thailand AO presumptive path, Tips and Tricks, VA Conspiracies, VA Medical Mysteries Explained, Veterans Law | Tagged Agent Orange in Thailand, AO in Thailand, asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Service Connection, Takhli Royal Thail Air Force Base 1968, VA claims, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help., war mementos | 2 Comments

THE HLR PUNJI PIT–SUCKING IN THE DRO POINT (WO)MAN

Posted on March 30, 2022 by asknod

After a few pointless HLR informal conference rodeos with vapid DROs, I watched in wonderment as the three-page denials promptly populated in VBMS in as few as 28 minutes from my hanging up. This notwithstanding a carefully constructed follow-the-breadcrumbs legal brief explaining it in VAspeak so it was in smaller, monosyllabic, digestible word bytes. It seemed to make little difference even if I mansplained it verbally at the Informal telephone Conference (IC). I also noticed they were copying and pasting my own sentences with ‘no’ and ‘not’ inserted appropriately to negate the inference. Well, shoot. Two can play this game except I learned how to dig ‘predecisional’ or ‘duty to assist’ punji pits.

Duty to Assist and Predecisional Errors

Okay, pilgrims. Stay with me. In the new, improved World of the VA’s AMA system, only two things can instantly pop the drag chute and provoke a new decision. Look for these terms in VA CUE rating decisions (RDs) or BVA Appeals decisions-now called Notices of Disagreement, NODs or 10182s. I’ve heard VA personnel call them ten-one eighty twos.

A predecisional error would be if they rated your knee under the wrong diagnostic code (DC) or forgot to look at §3.351(c)(3) when they deny you aid and attendance. Always remember that there are trap doors in Special Monthly Compensation (SMC). Raters ignore the CFRs and use the M 21. The fault develops when the M 21 encourages the examiner to employ mission creep and begin lying about the requirements.

Here’s an example. You ask for a&a under §3.350(b)(3) for being so blind you cannot accomplish the activities of daily living (ADLs) like normal folks. You’re legally blind by law (20/200 or less) but VA says no dice-you’re 90% blind by VA law. Granted, you’re dang sure not going to be driving a car unless it’s a Telsa and I wouldn’t put any bets on not burning the bacon come breakfast. Or me riding in the Tesla with you, either as far as that goes. VA denies and says you need a true 100% combined or schedular to even discuss a&a. Missed it by thaaaaaat much, 99. The punji pit is Akles v. Derwinski. VA is supposed to infer all the things you’re entitled to. To start with, if they gave my Vet a car allowance for being blind, then they were sure as Hell supposed to throw in SAH for $81 K worth of remodeling. The horseshoe ambush is completed by pointing out §3.351(c)(3) or referral to the Director of Comp. and Pen. in DC for the required Thun vs. Peake extraschedular a&a.

§3.351(c)(3)

Sometimes we walk right by a regulation for years and then one day, someone says “Hey, dude. Look at this. Did you notice this only applies to…? Think back to Walker v. Shinseki , 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2014). Everyone drove by §3.303(b) chronicity for decades and failed to notice it only covered recognized chronic diseases covered by §3.307 and listed in §3.309. Well, it’s the same scenario here. In the preamble of §3.352 Criteria for determining need for aid and attendance and “permanently bedridden”, you will notice the following:

“The following will be accorded consideration in determining the need for regular aid and attendance (§3.351(c)(3): “

The list continues after the colon and enumerates a nonexhaustive list of ADLs-meaning each one, as a stand alone disability, is sufficient to trigger entitlement. §3.351(c)(3) is the escape valve for those so severely disabled and not specifically identified by blindness, mental incapacity or loss of most extremities:

“(3) Establishes a factual need for aid and attendance under the criteria set forth in § 3.352(a).”

This is the Mobius loop. If you can’t see or drive or cook or whatever, you get a&a. Granted, your disability has to be pretty bodacious but there is nothing, other than that phony baloney M 21 cite, that says “generally, a Vet will need a 100% rating.” §3.351(c)(3) is the law but it’s not your job to instruct the DRO on how to do this.

Summary

So, instead of spending 4 hours spellcheckwriting it all up on the company letterhead so the booth bitch can plagiarize it and play copy/paste, you just send in that VA Form 20-0996 naked as a baby’s butt and say you want an IC between 8-10AM Pacific Time and you disagree with yesterday’s RD denying you a&a and be quick about it. Well, right off they get nervous Nellie disease because they don’t know what you’re gonna argue. They’ll call you up a few days later and ask you if you’re ready to go… like, right now, dude. Be polite and laugh. Right now? Surely you must be kidding. How about next Tuesday at 0900…Pacific. That puts the St. Pete DROC gal smack dab into lunch her time.

Prebuilding the Punji Pit

Build yourself a batch of headnotes that cover the subject. Grab a handful of cites too if you wish but remember who you’re dealing with. If it isn’t written down, they have to write it up as you speak. It’ll make them remember their screw up better.

HLR Arguments

When you connect on the phone, the first words out of your mouth should be “We’re calling a predecisional error. My client asked for a&a and you have ignored §3.351(c)(3) and instead insist on a 100% requirement. No siree, Bob. That is error. Nowhere in the four corners of 38 CFR chapter 3 can that be found. Somebody’s been smoking the Devil’s lettuce again. In addition, as my client’s VAF 21-2680 A&A form clearly diagnoses by a MD, he can’t see to cook, drive, leave the dwelling unattended or take his medications. You have awarded him the automobile grant but where is the Specially Adapted Housing grant under §3.809 or 38 U.S. Code §2101 for eligible blind veterans? His vision is unarguably 20/200 or less per the recent c&p at QTC. My client has been granted TDIU-an extraschedular decision. Where is the extraschdular rating decision granting or denying a&a? That’s a failure in the duty to assist, by the way. I see no evidence the claim was sent to DC for this. In fact, I can’t even find a listing of any favorable findings of fact in violation of §5104(b) and the AMA. Didja get all that down, ma’am?”

$100 bucks says you’ll get that VA Form 20-0999 Redact 20-0999 admission of guilt and SAH in about 28 minutes and they’ll have that a&a inquiry back in DC faster than you can say Jacqueline Robinson ( pronouns they, we, us). In fact, I’m guessing that most of you didn’t even know they have a VAF 20-0999. File this one under “always have an extra hand grenade”. The Punji pit analogy is simple. When they go into an HLR cold, they think you’re going to stick to a basic script with a heavy layer of benefit of the doubt. Suck them in with a warm greeting. They expect a feeble, pathetic argument about the §3.352 ADLs and TDIU equals 100%. But you’ve kept two “hand grenades” in reserve- the requirement of Thun v. Peake for another gander at the a&a due to the automobile entitlement and the fact that they blew past the SAH entitlement. The absolute icing is the §3.351(c)(3) regulation right there in plain sight like an 800-lb. SMC gorilla sitting on the living room sofa. It happens so fast, they can’t recover. Hell, they’re still clucking like a pair of worried hens back in §3.352(a) reading that §3.351(c)(3) reference they never paid any attention to before. And then, Boom shaka laka laka…

redact SAH Grant RD 3.24.2022

The teaching moment is don’t telegraph your intentions. Think Ping Pong. Let them serve the denial first and then counterattack. Play dumb. Let them figure out the SMCs because it’s supposed to be inferred and automatically raised by the record. When they fail, you make them feel like boobs. Remember, these folks think we inhabit the shallow end of the dry lake bed of the gene pool. We’re VA welfare queen wannabes. There’s nothing more refreshing than rolling their socks down with a good ambush. Well, besides nape and CBU 26/49 delayed. Inadequate it makes them feel. Yesssssssssssssssssssss.

Posted in Aid and Attendance, Humor, Inferred claims, KP Veterans, Remanded claims, SMC, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VA Attorneys, Veterans Law | Tagged asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, HLRs, Service Connection, The HLR ambush, VA claims, VA Higher Level of Reviews, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 4 Comments

ANDREWS v. McDONOUGH–THE NORM GILBERT REDUX

Posted on March 27, 2022 by asknod

Last summer, I had a lot of irons in the fire. Funerals to attend and briefs to prepare for fifty year-old §3.156(c) claims. One thing I regret is when I cannot write for the blog as in days of old. The timeworn image of a one-legged man in an asskicking contest is the first to bloom in a male’s mind. Being happily married, I won’t offer conjecture about what the fairer sex (all 46 of them at last count) might conjure up as an image. Suffice it to say, it was a terribly busy time in my life. Thus, with great remorse, I wish to apologize for not writing this one up to digest over Brie (Ex. sharp Vermont cheddar for men) and a Brewski ( pinot noir for women).

At the recent NOVA conferences in Scottsdale, I had been assigned to a Friday lunch at Robert Chisholm’s table. I wanted to thank him once again for the wealth of legal precedence on higher SMC he has left in the BVA decisions search site. He turned me loose on it down in San Antonio at the Spring 2016 NOVA when he mentioned getting SMC L twice for two totally different disease processes was actually simple. I think he used the term ” SMC is the art of the possible. So little of it has ever been held up to the light.”

Anyway, he had a death in the family and was unable to attend. Thus, I ended up at Mr. James Ridgeway’s table instead. Funny thing. When I was a youngster of about 13-14, my dad was stationed at Langley AFB in Hampton Virginia. When he held cocktail parties, he invited all the fighter pilots. I was drafted to take orders and deliver the drinks from the kitchen being made by our aides. A Major ( or LtCol) Ridgeway attended and I recall being introduced vaguely. Mostly, the name stuck in my mind. Well, that and he was tall for a fighter pilot. It’s a bitch trying to cram yourself into an F-4 or a Thud if you’re 6’4/245. You have to sort of fold up like a Swiss Arm knife and your helmet is still scraping the plexiglas overhead.

So, the first thing Mr. Ridgeway asked me was with my heavy blog emphasis on all things Hepatitis C, why it was that I was remiss in writing up Andrews v. McDonough CAVC # 19-0352 Decided June 22, 2021. Well, truth be told, I had no excuse and said as much in my apology. Today I correct that error. After downloading it, I understand Mr. Ridgeway’s dissatisfaction. He was first chair on this with Glenn Bergmann of Bergmann and Moore on the brief. As such, it’s his opus dei at the CAVC working on the side of Veterans rather than the obverse. By that, I do not mean to imply he was adversarial or “anti-Veteran ” as I have seen some VLJs. The BVA, by and large, has a far more openminded view of Veterans’ justice than their counterparts below at the AOJ. That’s why they call them the Triers of Fact. Nevertheless, staff attorneys develop an appeal. The VLJ is handed a fait accompli for the most part and concurs or send it back to be repaired.

Anyway, Mr. Ridgeway now not only advocates for Veterans but proves he’s extremely adept at the business. Andrews, to me, just redefines Gilbert v. Derwinski in 2022 terms rather than 1991 terms. Additionally, it puts an exclamation mark after §3.304 because of the infernal new AMA method of sending you out for another c&p even after you’ve submitted a dynamite IMO from a subject matter expert MD. To add insult to injury, some c&ps come back from Nurseynurse Jane who holds an RN degree and often denies what an MD opines on. This used to be a fair process in the Legacy arena. Now it’s nothing more than a pissing contest with the VA’s ARNP prevailing over board-certified experts 30 years her senior. Idiots’ delight.

Andrews_98-1849

Medal awards day

Andrews focuses on the benefit of the doubt with a side of CUE semantics stirred in:

“Per Mr. Andrews, this is the most natural reading of 38 U.S.C. § 7261(b)(1), which expressly incorporates the “benefit of the doubt” (or “approximate balance”) standard into the Court’s scope of review, instructing us to “take due account of the Secretary’s application of section 5107(b).” Thus, he contends that reversal is appropriate because the “only permissible view of the evidence is that it weighs in favor of granting the claim regardless of whether it is possible to decide which of the three in-service risk factors”—dental work, inoculations, or STD—”was the cause of the infection.”

The bolded portion above illustrates the new VA technique of the poor clinician overwhelmed with the possibility that multiple etiologies could be the culprit and thus, it would be too speculative to figure out which was the causative factor. This ignores that any one is viable rather than having to pick more than one.

Note the standard issue S&W Model 39 single stack 9mm.

Mr. Andrews would have won this on remand had the Secretary had his way and obtained a new IMO/ IME from QTC. Coming down with the clap in service was and is not willful misconduct under §3.301. I’ve won many Hep C claims on that facet alone. The problem VA thought they could get away with was that Mr. Andrews didn’t have an official IMO written by a medical specialist. It’s long been known that citing to Wikipedia articles or almost anything else on the internet is about a useful as nursing utensils on boar hogs when attempting to win your claim. The gold standard has, and always will be, obtaining the magic paper. However, in Mr. Andrew’s case, he had a pretty tall pile of paper and all of it was sound medical theory.

From past experience, we know he would have, in the normal course of events, been given a VA c&p and then granted SC for the hep but the date would be this year not the date of claim. They’d just pull the ages-old trick of pointing out he didn’t have an ‘official’ finding of fact made by their ARPN until now which unfortunately precludes an earlier effective date. Par for the course.

Tucker v. West, 11 Vet.App. 369, 374 (1998) is considered the yardstick on whether to reverse or set aside and remand to determine the truth. Here, the Court (and Toth of all Judges) appear to jointly concur in this opinion. That’s a good thing. I think they need to reverse more frequently-a lot more frequently. §3.304 needs to be dusted off and placed front and center when VA attempts to conduct just one more c&p when the evidence is 5 miles past equipoise. The Court should call them out and ask what (or why) in Sam Hill they are wasting the taxpayer’s bucks on these unguided ARPN denial safaris.

Andrews doesn’t break any new ice for Veterans but it at least points out the inequity of endless c&ps and permitting one more stab at a denial when the evidence is overwhelmingly in the Veteran’s favor. Ask yourself at what point a VA examiner should be held to the crime of misfeasance for continuing to bring out fresh horses and new rope to hang Veterans with. Think back on the Leroy MacKlem fiasco for relevance here.

The M 21 undergoes 135 changes in a slow year-more in a rapidly changing precedential year. Any document that flawed on its face should undergo a intense review to rid it of the inherent adversarial nature it is imbued with. Yeah, right. I hear VA pukes who are quick to say “Show us the adversarial language.” I’ll concede it isn’t in the language so much as in the application of the manual. If 88% lose the first time out and later win, it’s flawed. If 22% more prevail at the BVA, it’s flawed. And by God if 74% are overturned at the Court as defective and returned for readjudication, then somebody is screwing the pooch.

Lady Justice wears a blindfold everywhere but the VA in my myopic estimation. But then I’ve only been a bystander for 33 years. What do I know? Shooo doggies. I don’t even have a JD.

P.S. This is a good one. Looks like something I’d do…

Posted in CAvC HCV Ruling, Tips and Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, HCV, HCV Decisions, HCV Veterans, HCVETS, Help with vA HCV Claims., Helping Veterans, Service Connection, VA claims, VA HCV Claims Help, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 3 Comments

BVA–AAAAAAAAll Aboard

Posted on March 24, 2022 by asknod

A funny thing happened on the way to the ~~Forum~~ barn to feed the horses last October. A former SEAL called me up and asked for representation. Seems he was qualifying for BUDS back in 1974 after his RVN tour and had a mishap. He and a few fellow candidates had driven across country from San Diego to Ft. Gordon (in his VW microbus) to get their parachute certifications. He caught a bad crosswind on the third jump and, as could be expected, managed to wreck his back/neck and everything connected to them for life. He sucked it up and went on to qualify several days later. It stuck in his craw that VA never granted this most obvious claim of all. By way of explanation, he’s already 100% for Prostate and IHD. This wasn’t going to net him any more shekels but would at least set the record straight.

The Air Force-issued RVN Roach clip. Never left the hootch without it.

Well, you know me. I’m a pro bono sucker and special forces like SOGs, LRRPs, Rangers and SEALs always hit that soft spot in my heart. So of course I took it. He was at the BVA on an old Legacy claim and had 26 days to whip up a winning defense to save his claims bacon. On November 10, ’21, I conducted the shortest BVA Travel Board hearing in history and asked for a time out using Hamilton v. Brown to obtain a good IMO from my world-class nexus letter folks. VLJ Keith Allen wasn’t ecstatic about the delay but graciously gave me the 90 days to put up or shut up. We came in with 16 days to spare. As my client is terminally ill, we got the 78 rpm BVA advancement on the docket and a quick grant for all four orthopedic conditions.

redacted BVA hearing 11.10.21

No, it didn’t cost me $10,000.00 (US). No, it wasn’t 60 DBQs long nor the least bit holistic. Fact is, I don’t use DBQs and have little use for them. The outward-facing ones VA supplies us are a far cry from the ones that QTC/VES/LHI use. Theirs have a place to insert the medical opinion- even if it’s just the ruminations of an ARNP with a specialty in pediatric medicine. Those provided to us do not. Funny thing is back in 2015, USB Allison Hickey explained this absence to Congress at a hearing that they were just “using up” all the old forms for economy’s sake. Considering the forms are in electronic format, this bogus explanation was never called out by Rep. Filner or the Big Six VSOs.

The Peter Pilot’s job

My Vet’s IMO came in, as I said, with time to spare but I abhor cutting it that close-just as I’ve eternally wished they’d put one more second on hand grenades. The good doctor’s synopsis was clear and concise. People who jump out of perfectly good airplanes are going to eventually grow shorter and ache like a son of a bitch… forever. Where’s the big mystery to this? I rode a PC 6 Porter into the ground at 85+ knots one morning and went from 5’9 to 5’8 3/4 instantly. I’m about 5’8 1/2 half now. My L5/S1 is bone to bone. We didn’t have parachutes and would never have had enough time or altitude to deploy one anyway. Some days it just doesn’t pay to get up and go fly with drunk pilots. But that’s another story for another day.

redact IMO

redact bva win 3.18.2022

I don’t suggest that Veterans dawdle and lollygag about with a Damocles-like hearing hanging over their heads. Nevertheless, it’s a good feeling to fix a sixty nine year-old wrong-even if it’s for free. I suppose I can take the long view and figure with incurable Prostate cancer that my Vet is going to be a candidate for SMC L or R1 all too soon, but that’s not why I did it. We aren’t required to ‘donate’ any certain amount of time to pro bono work but it’s great for padding your resume if your chances of getting into Heaven are sketchy. I probably need all the help I can get on that.

Once upon a time in 1994, I filed for Agent Orange issues and VA took the position that I’d never set foot in that part of the world. That belief held until I managed to get my records declassified in 2007. Bingo. 100% just like opening a box of Crackerjacks™. In addition to being a Trident-wearing SEAL, my Vet has a Combat Action Ribbon. He should never be suspected of being a charter member of the Safeway® slip-on-the-floor Club. In my book, he and I didn’t get none of that Rodney Dangerfield “respect”. So of course it’s always morally worth it to set things like this aright.

My good friend and fellow blogger Gene Groves (https://veteranclaims.net/ ) was kind enough to share the import that Hamilton carries when you desire to put your claim/appeal on the back burner in order to clean it up or obtain some time to get an IMO. It’s just one more tool in our pouch to win with- or put off losing. Gene always has the perfect cite. He’s like a walking talking Westlaw.

The G-3 Wundergun.

A good time was had by all. Johnny SEAL Vet can now meet and greet his fellow warriors with his head held high knowing he’s been exonerated. Me? Why, I get a shot at rehabilitating my Karma resume. I think I set myself back a bit in January when I shot the meth head who stole my car. But I digress. That, too, is a story for another day.

Next week, I’ll teach you fellers how to make bottle rockets out of old c ration cans, 81mm mortar crate baling wire and Semtex from Claymores. These are life skills everyone needs.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

P.S. If you like Country and Western music, this might raise you spirits. I reckon I’ve been selling the genre short all these years. Shut the front door.

Posted in All about Veterans, BVA Hearings, IMOs/IMEs, Independent Medical Opinions, Lay testimony, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, Veterans Law | Tagged asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Board of Veterans Appeals Hearings, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Inspirational Veterans, Service Connection, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 3 Comments

MARCH 29? WHO DREAMED THIS DATE UP? VA?

Posted on March 15, 2022 by asknod

I was going to write about this several years ago and it promptly escaped my ADHD -addled head. Jez, I gotta get one of those little pocket-sized Joe Friday/Dragnet spiral notebooks and carry it around with me. Just the facks, ma’am. Whoa. That was ten years ago. Seems it came to pass in Congress’ hallowed halls that a day was needed to tie yellow ribbons ’round diseased oak trees and officially declare “Welcome Home” to Vietnam Veterans. How a day celebrating this ~~war~~ conflict was overlooked for so long is immaterial. In this new, woke age of calling out every mistake or error committed by Americans since the dawn of Jamestown, it was probably inevitable that someone figured he could monetize this and sell a shit ton of ___________s on March 29 every year out in front of the Wall.

I look back and remember the days prior to the official day everyone beat feet out of Saigon in ’75-not ’73. They were still boogying a week later so March 29 1973 DEROS Day, to me, doesn’t seem to have any particular cachet-let alone meaningful import Sounds like some politician’s Fig Newton of the imagination. May 7th, 1975 is the official Olly-Olly-Income-Free day for VA purposes. So who’s in charge of assigning days for War remembrance? Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day have deep roots. Ditto the 4th of July. Did Congress’ Wheel of Fortune spinner just inadvertently stop on March 29? Here’s what the Google Encyclopaedia regurgitated…

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation, designating March 29 as the annual observance of Day. The signing of the proclamation **marked the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam** — March 29, 1973.

Aruuuuuh? The official explanation by our 44th President was that March 29, 2012 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the day of departure of the last American soldiers from Vietnam (March 29, 1973)? With all due deference to our former President, I beg to disagree. First of all, 1973 plus 50 = 2023… without even using tortured VA math. A commenter below links to an official proclamation tying all this back to 1962 as the date we “landed”. Negatory. We landed while the Dien Bien Phu debacle was developing in ’54. Eisenhower’s Presidential Library has plenty on the subject. Ask Joe Vietnam Veteran what significance March 29 has to him and you’ll get the 1000-yard stare. Ask him what 1/30/68 or 5/7/75 means and you’ll get a far different response. Nobody forgets a Huey Throwing Contest at Dixie Station. Look at the VA’s regulation as to when they maintain the Boundary disagreement began-§3.2(f)- 2/28/1962. So again, where in Sam Hill did 3/29 enter into this again? How about 2/8/71 (Lam Son 719)? More appropriate, if you wanted a purely American, historic involvement date would be 11/14/65 (Ia Drang Valley).

We were still running SOG ops looking for our POW/MIAs in ’73. We still had probes working in Barrel Roll and Steel Tiger MRs until 1975 -and occasionally afterwards. They were being run out of Thailand until the King began tiring of the complaints from his neighbors. Without the clout of 80,000 US troops in his country, he didn’t cotton to an insipient communist insurgency either. His most modern fighters at that point were F 86s and leftovers from WW II like P-40s. His new neighbors in charge to the east had MIG 21s.

I recently saw a picture of the Traveling Wall -a shorty version of the DC wall they haul around the country. It’s advertized as the ‘Healing Wall’. I’ve been to the regular, full-sized version personally four times. I try to go when I’m in DC for hearings or when I visit my family in the tidewater region. It’s a short jaunt by Uber from the Hyatt Regency. Seems each time I go, it’s a mission to go find yet another long-forgotten acquaintance on there. I need to remember to pack charcoal for these expeditions. In this case, bad news travels extremely slowly. When I came home in ’72, I never settled down again back east and failed to reconnect with my former life. Friends of our family mention these more recent epiphanies now that I do VA law for a living.

With advancing age, the one thing us old farts need most at the DC Wall these days are benches to sit on while we visit and feed the squirrels. Most of us Vietnam Vets still vertical look like remnants of the chip-and-dent club. I guess benches are probably right out with the new ‘green outdoor camping’ phenomenon taking root but they sure would be nice.

I’m pretty sure many of you will never feel how this impacts you-even those of you my age- unless you have family on the Wall. It began subtly. Back in 1965, we young’uns began to notice a slow exodus of fellow classmates at Evergreen Elementary next door to Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. They were packing up and moving out of base housing and heading back to family homes in other states. Their dads were fighter pilots of the 4th TAC Fighter wing who were being reassigned to Vietnam combat squadrons. I began to find out when we moved to Langley AFB, VA that some had been shot down and were now POWs of the North Vietnamese. Some were MIA. But up in Laos, they were KIA and BNR. That stands for body never recovered. And then my dad got his orders in June ’66. Fortunately, he made it back alive but one of my classmate’s fathers- Major General Robert F. Worley- didn’t. He was shot down west of Da Nang by a SAM and that was all she wrote. The GIB egressed successfully and it’s theorized the smoke/fire in the cockpit overwhelmed him.

I sent his son an email last week with my condolences about his father’s passing. That was July 23, 1968. He works for VA and I happened to spot his name in VA’s email rolodex. It’s a small world but I wouldn’t want to paint it.

Many of you who served with me over there, either before or after me, lost friends, too. Nothing about good friends dying is healing to me. I’m sorry. It’s like picking at a scab until it begins bleeding all over again. Since I don’t go every year, when I do, it’s more like a chance for peaceful reflection on what could’ve been and what will never be. What if I hadn’t thrown those eggs at Officer Rohrbuck in his unmarked cop car four days after I graduated from high school? What if my draft number hadn’t been 39? But then reality intrudes. Why, I would never have met Cupcake and have this wonderful life helping Vets get what they (and I) should have received…yep…fifty years ago.

The fifty-year conundrum means little. I’ve never bought extra fireworks just because it’s the 25th or 225th anniversary of something. Likewise, it doesn’t refresh me or heal me to immerse my mind back into the biggest shit show I ever attended in my life. Going to the Wall is not healing. It’s sad remembrance. It’s guilt that you survived and your buddy didn’t. Every Vet I rep who carries a dx of PTSD will tell you that attending weekly Tuesday night Vet Center Kumbaya meetings where everyone sits in a circle and relives (and shares) life’s shittiest moments is not exactly cathartic. I don’t care what psychologists insist on as valuable therapy. I’d say it might make me want to ‘self-medicate’ more than I do already. Waaaaaay more. Certain parts of folks’ existence over there, by rights, deserve to be filtered or attenuated. Even mine. Rehashing old stories about Bouncing Bettys for discussion, dissection and Monday morning quarterbacking heals no one. I reckon it does wonders for pot sales though. That’s what the majority consensus is from the cheap seats. But then we’re not psychologists.

The period Vietnam photographs above I insert here awaken memories of that unique camaraderie I enjoyed for a fleeting moment in time. I don’t wish to remember the angst or the fifty-year emptiness of an aircrew who will never land again and laugh at their narrow escapes. I’d rather remember the whores in Vientiane to be brutally honest. I’d prefer to remember sucking oxygen in the morning with my GIF trying to get rid of our splitting hangovers before the preflight briefing. Going to visit the Wall, whether it be the Virtual Wall, the Traveling version or the raw, live one in 3D living color need no words. They need a place to sit serenely and visit with your best friend(s) you haven’t set eyes on in fifty years… And that’s all I have to say about that.

Speaking of fifty-year events, I had a close encounter with death January 15, 2022-forty nine years and some change after I left. Someone stole our Expedition and a friend spotted it several days later and followed it to a residence. I was informed and went over to “repossess” it. Seems Johnny Methhead was reluctant about relinquishing it. He backed up and tried to run over me with it. That’s attempted murder so I shot him. He’ll survive. He’s missing a large percentage of his right ear and suffered a through-and-through to the right upper shoulder.

The Expedition didn’t fare so well. I accidentally put a few into the engine block which prevented him from leaving. He opened the driver’s door and caught my noggin with it as I tried to jump out of the way. It rang my bell but I’ll recover. Cupcake’s synopsis is I’m fragile but still agile.

P.S. Perhaps what concerns me is that due to the fact we now have a set aside for Vietnam Veterans Day, who speaks for a Iraqistan Veterans Day? The remaining unrecognized Korean or WWII Veterans Day? The granddaughters of the Spanish American War Veterans Day?

Posted in The Vietnam Wall, Vietnam War history | Tagged asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Service Connection, VA claims, vA CLAIMS FOR PTSD, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 13 Comments

EXPOSED VET RADIO SHOW NEXT THURSDAY-3/10/2022

Posted on March 6, 2022 by asknod

Well, well, well. Seems there was some sort of kerfuffle over at Hadit after I published a post about a VA-authored list of doctors who purportedly write sketchy IMOs. Some took offense. The usual suspects showed up to denigrate and dismiss anything I reported. While I never actually tarred and feathered any of the poor physicians/psychologists on the VA’s list of alleged reprobates by name, I stand accused of same. Then the owner (whom I represent) 86’d me. Seems standard procedure at Hadit is to shoot the messenger if they don’t like the news. Which is sad when you consider their Logo is “Leave no one behind”.

This was our idea of leaving no one behind in 1970. We were colorblind.

Looking at the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) docket search, anyone can search decisions. As most know, when you get to the CAVC, all bets are off as far as traveling incognito. No more “Dr. A. opined this and that…” Unlike the BVA site, it lets you know who the major characters are by name. The IMO shit list I published the other day did so too which technically makes it an outlier. VA is supposed to be nonadversarial.

It would also appear some on the Hadit site are a wee bit inept when it comes to ascertaining the e-publisher of the document and some even doubt its authenticity. The repair order seems to be to 86 both the post and the poster. As for guilt, who knows? I never accused anyone of misfeasance, malfeasance or unprofessional conduct. I merely published that which is in the public domain. Apparently, that was a Bozo no-no.

Since I commiserate with the shortcomings of the e-sleuths over at Hadit, I print a screen grab of the “Properties” of that document anyone-even Homer Simpson’s monkey Mojo- could pull up to enlighten them. One thing is certain. I didn’t manufacture it nor did I put any extra names on the list.

Looks legit. Seems it was constructed on 5/2/2019 by none other than our good friends at the corner of Delay and Deny Avenues. Doug doesn’t work for VA. He’s a friend of mine but has never helped me drink my wine (yet). Likewise, I can’t manufacture an official Maryland governmental website which lists doctors who have stepped on their neckties and been called to account. Only a convicted party can make the hit parade list. If this was on appeal, they would have to stay the punishment until the appeals had run their course. It’s in the public domain. A moderator at Hadit has stated he feels the link to the below was hacked by the Russians to defame the doctor.

The original link I published works. Trust me.

https://www.mbp.state.md.us/sanctions_2020.aspx

Does this make me an ogre for publishing these links? Have I maligned any person on the list personally by sharing this with my Vet buddies? Knowledge allows us the power to make certain informed decisions. Hadit Moderators would appear to be desperately attempting to censor this information. Aren’t they guilty of harming the very same people they profess not to want to leave behind? Let that sink in.

Some of you folks, including irate VSOs, who dislike to be maligned for their legal ignorance, come here and accuse me of being pure poison for Veterans. I don’t get where that comes from. I rep Vets. I figured out the Rosetta Stone on this in 2008 and have never looked back. I use a Nexus/IMO outfit who charges a flat $2000.00 for their services. No mystery here. I don’t advertize for them. Fact is, I don’t advertize for anyone. Unfortunately, some (again no names) who have been in this IMO business for decades, feel threatened by my revelations of cheaper prices. They think paying $10 K for a nexus is par for the course. Having successfully cornered the IMO market for all these aeons, they take umbrage with the idea that Veterans are suddenly shopping with their wallets. I guess it incenses them I let the Pandora IMO faery out of her box. What? You paid $10,000.00 dollars for your PTSD IMO? GTFOOH. Well, boy howdy. I didn’t force you to do it. Why blame the messenger? Is it my fault I found a better IMO mousetrap? I confess. It isn’t a holistic mousetrap with aromatherapy and goat yoga but my Vets win.

First, I do not advertise. I have more work than I can keep up with. I don’t want your business to be perfectly honest. However, if you’re dying from some funky AO shit, then you’re one of my special people who broke c ration biscuits with me and shared your Tabasco™ and peaches once upon a time. If possible, I’ll try to make room for you. I married a rich girl so I don’t do this for the money. The only downside, if there is one, is that Cupcake doesn’t own a liquor store, too. Hell, in retrospect, I’d settle for a gas station right about now. Come another month and gas is going to be more expensive than whiskey.

Here’s one threat I received from an unnamed doctor. He came unglued a while back in August of 2019 after one of these radio shows…

“Hey I heard you compare your docs to my 90% successful outcome with for [sic] a lessor [sic] fee .. not fair play on the radio (terns [sic] and conditions) to advertise at my expense probably a violation of rehab act of 1970s.

I do Holistic work – all issues 10-60 plus dbqs ya da ya da so an add [sic] for one off 1500 issue letter is just like medicine now which is all dumbed down to one complaint in 15 min but it does not get our veterans a fair comprehensive rating”

Dr ____ _ _____

10-60 dbqs? Cool beans. I had no idea there was such a thing as a holistic nexus, folks. As with all upset souls, I offer these dissatisfied individuals a free soapbox here to convince you, the reader, that they are legitimate and have a fantastic product to tout. It’s a win-win for Vets. Remember Johnny Vet? That’s who and what this is all about. Not you and me. As for their price, I guess it’s pretty much like lobster or gasoline these days- whatever the market will bear. I don’t charge for the IMO. My IMO company (which I have no financial interest in) sets the rates. I have no idea who they’ll choose to write the IMO nor do I care. My job is to help the Veteran win without reducing him to poverty in the process. If he’s broke, sure, I’m buying until s/he wins. If I lose, I eat it. Sometimes I buy one and don’t need it. I eat it.

Now, with that said, I share this tasty morsel I received this morning from someone who purports to be counsel (i.e. a lawyer) for the unnamed individual above they feel I have maligned. Reminds me of Lily Tomlin saying “Is this the person to whom I wish to speak?” I don’t malign folks. The internet already seems to be very efficient at that without me. I merely find information or am pointed to it by others and report back to you. Think Deep Throat. Would you hold me responsible for not telling you about a cheaper (or better) IMO source if I knew about it? Of course you wouldn’t. But some seem to think it’s a crime to reveal bad news about one certain person over at our former sister site. In essence, I’m forbidden to reveal that the Emperor may be naked. Now that that cat’s out of the bag, I must be excommunicated. I’m crushed. Bad Company…and I won’t deny it.

Dear Sir,

This email is intended for the poster of the https://community.hadit.com/topic/87015-vas-list-of-suspected-imo-fraud/page/5/#comment-519772 https://asknod.org/2022/03/02/the-vas-imo-shitlist/

My name is Steve and I posted a response to your question on hadit.com. As a new member, it must be approved but below is my post. I was contacted by my client, the MD in Maryland you cite. He was not happy! This is the only MD performing free IMEs for any poor veteran in the entire world! He did mine for free and I am at 100%. In exchange, I agreed to prepare his divorce answer. After seeing how bad a disabled veteran MD was being discriminated against, I stayed on and now performed for free over $100k in legal work for him in 4 different venues!

In fact, with your credentials, it baffles me that you would even post something against him, or anyone, unless you are soliciting or have an agenda? Thats [sic] what happened in Maryland. A dirty DVA advocate was losing clients and kickbacks because my doctor’s IMEs were being done for free instead of a cut of the back pay! Do you not get paid for your services? I suggest returning any and all funds collected from vets ASAP as a sign of good faith.

Just last month I got a Texas law firm to pay $25,000 without even suing because a female lawyer posted some derogatory stuff based on hearsay identical to yours to solicit away clients! That female lawyer removed her post and was fired days later. Although that Texas law firm did found out [sic] I am the craziest one of five senior counselors state side for the largest cartel south of the border.

You appear to be just some wanna-be lawyer who may have made a terrible mistake. Let’s just hope you realize that now!
You may want to have a real lawyer repsond [sic] to me! A guy with your balls/crendentials [sic] should have plenty of lawyer friends!

Anxiously awaiting your reply.
SCT

MY post follows———————————————————————————————–

Hello all,

I will answer your question as plain as day! The Doctor in Maryland you link is a disabled veteran medical doctor. He completed his residence for free because he was injured during training and is a quadraplegic. His practice is solely doing IMEs and DBQs for veterans. He saved my life for free, I finished law school and now I am suing in the USDC AZ against the psychologist who falsified my psych exam and hundreds others. I suffered for 21 years because of the refusal to treat PTSD and I now have the names of every physician who tried to kill me with bi-polar malpractice. Digital world has its benefits!

You are not BI-Polar, and if any VA “physician” said you were after 2003; you have a claim if its within 2 years for sure. The 6th appeals court ruled all veterans are considered sound with more than 90 days of service in 2003!

If you are not 100% in AZ or anywhere, I will cover all IME costs and legal fees for your claims! The Doctor you cite from hearsay is in fact the only one in the country who does this directly. If you are broke, you do not pay! We are the only MD/Lawyer combo who charges $0 if you are broke! For those who were not broke and just trying to squeeze the DVA, I have over $300,000 in outstanding debt from them! So, that is why the DVA is impossible for the really sick! There are over 3,000 100% disabled veterans making six figure salaries at other federal jobs as we speak!

I represent the Doctor you link in Maryland and the fine was increased from $1,000 to $50,000 when disputed due to fraud by the Veteran who filed the complaint and with head of the MBP who was behind it. They raised the fee to CYA. Then I stepped in!!! The case is still pending a ruling from the COA in Maryland. If you are not a lawyer, I strongly advise not to judge any reporting against any MD or post any links implying wrong doing until justice is served.

The patient was/is a junkie former Baltimore cop and professional patient who was on his 3rd strike with the VA over heartburn per se. Despite over $60k/year in income, the patient beg the doctor for 4 signed DBQs for $4k. The patient went from 50% to 60% as a result. Significant benefits increase! The veteran then charged back the $4k to AMEX the next day after uploading the document to the DVA just hours prior! The patient then called and threatened the Doctor’s billing lady repeatedly with violence until she gave back the $4k to AMEX. At the first trial, the patient admitted not having the money and was broke. If he had told the MD that, it would of been free or pay later. Instead the veteran patient filed a bogus complaint that now has him on the run from me, the FBI and the DVA. My investigation proved discrimination by the Maryland Board of Physicians against a disabled quadriplegia veteran Doctor. In fact, the junkie veteran patient was a patient at one of a dozen pain clinics owned by the head of the MBP at the time, a DO, with a grudge against the Doctor. And most likely typed up the bogus complaint since it was medically thorough while repeatedly claiming to be not sure.

Again, if you need any help with getting 100% and you are really sick and broke; just email me!

I WAS/ AM A CORPSMAN AND I NEVER LEFT ONE MARINE BEHIND AND I HAVE NEVER HAD TO PAY FOR A DRINK AT A MARINE BAR IN 33 YEARS!

(signed) Steve

Pretty wild and wooly email there, Steve. I’m not sure if I should shit or go blind. I never said I had bipolar disease. As for getting free drinks for 33 years, my suggestion might be to see a gastrodoc (or your good buddy doctor) pronto and get a Liver Function Test. Well, that and a crash course in English Comp 101. I have found that when it takes 500 words or more to explain why you ended up on the wrong end of a punji stick, it probably has a much longer backstory with a heapin’ helpin’ of stupidity that explains why. Or… in the instant case, the low-life ‘junkie’ Vet mentioned above discovered he got taken to the cleaners and found out a hop, skip and a jump after the check cleared the bank. Caveat emptor, dude. And P.S. too, I’m already 290% P&T but thanks for the offer of the free IME.

While I love Hadit.com and have always tried to be brutally honest in my responses to queries about VA law, it seems there are a few there, much like the Poohbahs at “Pink Peggy’s VBN site” who equally dislike being told they are leading Vets astray. VBN Moderators insist the VA is a stand up outfit. I want some of what they’re smoking. I prefer to tell the truth-as ugly as it may come across. I don’t wrap advice in cotton candy. I don’t need to. A Vet will find out in short order if I am blowing smoke up their ass. In the same vein, they come thirsty for knowledge, not wild goose chases to links to CCK or DAV explaining it to them in lawspeak. And most probably do not come (but I’m not sure) looking to find the most expensive holistic IMO provider in the Yellow pages. When I get into a heated disagreement with a VA DRO, I like to remind them that this is not about them or me. This is about the Veteran. I offer that same advice today free to Hadit.com. It’s difficult to avoid leaving Vets behind when you choose to sanitize what Vets are allowed to know.

Which brings us to John and Jerrel’s famous radio show for aspiring VA compensation seekers. John likes to ask me what my contact information is at the end of the show. Even if I declined to say, it’s readily found on the VA OGC’s accreditation site. Frankly, in this business, if you have to advertise, you’re doing something wrong. I get about 100 calls a week begging me to help. I wish I could. Maybe I ought to start a gofundme™ site to buy a bunch of JDs to cover the overload? Anybody know Gary Sinise’ phone number?

Anyway, I’ve been invited to discuss the VA’s letter and the idea of how that weaponizes the IMO process against us. Jez, I’d say VA looks like a Spad in 1970 struggling for V2 7,500 feet down the runway at NKP and the stick ain’t responding. VA has had every litigation hard point loaded with CBU 26/49 and liquid sunshine since the War of 1812 in case a body hadn’t noticed. Their IMO shitlist letter is merely more proof of the crime.

This is what it truly means to leave no one behind. Even wounded civilians.

But let’s talk about that next Thursday on the 10th. I’m heading out to Houston tomorrow for what may be my last Legacy sit down face-to-face travel board hearing. It’s for my oldest client Malcolm in the Middle. Google him. You’ll find him on my site.

The call in number is

(515) 605-9764

Or, if preferred via your computer…

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/jbasser/12072048/connect/b2d536118f0ed9fa748df0fd1e41b3bbe5c0630c

The show starts at 1900 Hrs EST or 1600 Hrs on the more enlightened, liberal, westerly side of the nation. I look to see you there. If you come to “bash” us (certainly no pun intended), why, hell’s bells-we’ll still welcome you. While I cannot speak for other VA litigators, I can say that I profess to be a bit of a mustang at representing Vets. I’m the A in ICARE. Advocacy is the VA’s choice for the letter in the acronym. I might say it stands for ahole. Litigators have to be one to win one. Shoot. Why not assknod? It does have a certain cachet, n’est pas?

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

P.S. Revised 3/09/22

Posted in All about Veterans, IMOs/IMEs, Nexus Information, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VA Attorneys, vA news, Veterans Law, Vietnam War history | 6 Comments

THE VA’S IMO SH*TLIST

Posted on March 2, 2022 by asknod

Bad Docs. Bad Docs. Bad Docs. Whacha gonna do when they screw with you? Love that show but it’s waaaaaaaay too politically incorrect to admit to watching now. What’s the opposite of woke? Asleep? It’s probably above my paygrade so I’m not gonna poke that sleeping dog. So here’s the gig. I have friends who send me things. I don’t need to go into exquisite detail about who. That’s where things like the Purple Book came from. Sometimes, VA employees see things that are over the top. Suffice it to say this dropped into my e-inbasket. I probably should make him/her a client so I can claim attorney-client privilege and protect us should a subpoena arrive demanding the identity of my Deep Throat.

See the attached. It’s a VA work product. and identified as such in the properties info. I find it interesting that it was distributed to the usual suspects (VES/QTC/LHI) and VHA/AFIP IME doctors used to rebut private IMOs. For the uninitiated, an IMO is an Independent Medical Opinion. Some call it an Independent Medical Evaluation or IME.

IMO IME list

So, I noticed one of the offenders, Stephanie Procell, Ph.D was a neighbor (relatively speaking) to me. She was listed as being up in Oak Harbor which is just a hoot and a holler up the coast from me here in Gig Harbor. Puget Sound is huge and has a gazillion harbors. Captain Puget started running out of names on this expedition in 1792 and began naming harbors after boats (gig) and even their shipboard kitchen cat (Rainier). I called Dr. Procell up to tell her she’d been tarred and feathered by VA and got her recorder. Turns out it wasn’t Stephanie’s name, rank, airspeed and tail number at all but that of her boss Sarah (Sally) Sharp. Ph.D.-also listed on the bad boys list. She has an IMO practice but isn’t quite the bogus nexus letter gin mill she’s being touted as. Dr. Procelle works for her practice and is equally besmirched by VA by being included in this consortium of miscreants.

19-yr. old kids who were playing with Mattel Tommyguns 6 years before

The fact is we’re beginning to see a cottage industry of genuine, legitimate doctors providing IMOs beginning to be overrun by a plethora of greedy internet outfits preying on unsuspecting Veterans. It began as a trickle but has since turned into a veritable gully washer. I’ve had guest authors write articles discussing this phenomenon over the last few years and their ranks have sadly only increased in number.

Ah, the magic peach can to prevent feed jambs

To begin with, being accredited by VA has some very strict rules. In most instances, we can only charge 20% in fees for our successful representation. Extremely complicated representation at a higher level can warrant up to 33 1/3% if all parties agree. That is a rarity. Most of us do it for 20% and some for nothing. In fact, if you win for your client right out of the gate, you get nothing. I don’t have a problem with that. Others are a wee bit more avaricious. Here’s an example.

Pop Smoke

Johnny Vet has been denied again and again. He never got the email on Caluza v Brown. He didn’t have a diagnosis of PTSD in 1968 when they extracted him from their forward LRRP position. Seems someone got the wrong coordinates and FB Bronco laid 35 rounds of 155 on top of their position and killed everyone in Johnny’s platoon except him. The PRC-25 on his back saved his ass. He spent a year in the psych ward on the sixth floor of the Seattle VAMC picking out little pieces of retained metal fragments and “calming down” while doing the Thorazine Shuffle.

So Johnny hears all about an outfit that guarantees you a VA win with most excellent compensation ratings and it’s free. No up-front down payment. Let’s call them GoodtogoVAclaimsguys.com for shits and grins. JohnnyVet shows up for their c&p workup and gets 6 IMOs for all his ailments-including the SFWs and the tinnitus. He seeks out an attorney or an agent and they refile the whole shiteree. Well, sure enough they win.

DShK

The attorney says 20%, Johnboy- as per our fee agreement. Johnny, being an honest Vet like all of us, says Roger That and coughs up the 20%. A day later, the folks at GoodtogoVAclaimsguys.com call up to remind him “Dude, you owe us 5 months worth of the increase from what you were rated at before you hired us. Soooo, if you were at 0% and all of a sudden you’re at 70%, that’s $1659.00 shekels times five months or $8295.00. Even more if you have some rugrats. But wait. The total went back to your filing in March 2020 and they paid you $1659 per month back to then. You got $19,908 from VA less the 20% for your law dog. That $3,980.00 reduced you down to $15, 928.00 before Goodtogovaclaimsguys.com came knocking. Their $8295.00 tithe knocks you down to $7,633.00. Pretty skanky, huh?

Now do not get me wrong. There are those among you who are very busy people who work for a living. You don’t have time or the legal acumen to win your claim. You purposefully made a decision to farm it out. I’m sure you didn’t quite see this scenario unfold that would divest you of more than half of your winnings. Neither did Congress when they wrote the regulations. So, in essence, what we have here are a group of quasi-legal, greedy scalawags who have no qualms taking you to the cleaners for their services. The problem is the legality of the business. Technically, if you are not accredited, you can’t sit in on this poker game. Goodtogovaclaimguys and all their like-companies would insist they are merely “facilitators” or mayhap Sherpas whom you hire to take you up the claims mountain. Congress did not authorize this technique. VSOs do it for free (no comments from the Peanut Gallery). It now falls to the DOJ to prosecute these carpetbaggers. As with most government entities, justice moves at a snail’s pace. I’m sure somewhere they’re holding a hearing on it and maybe have even empaneled a Grand Jury. By 2033, we should have the authority to lock ’em up.

130 Arc Light Mission w/ 105mm flares

More interesting is that these rapscallions are starting to pair off with attorneys and pliant doctors and form loose consortiums of Veteran-scalping raiding parties. It’s rumored some are trying to interconnect a nationwide, fruited plains group from sea to shining sea with some fancy branding. I don’t mean to trash any legal operation with genuine VA accreditation credentials. This is a knowledge expedition- not a tar-and-feather committee. But we did run across this outfit which no one seems to be able to locate on the OGC Accreditation lists…

But wait, Roberto has been a busy little beaver…

So, if the Bobmeister above is charging (or even a party helping to charge) Vets 5 friggin’ times the amount he won for them, as an agent that’s a violation of his accreditation agreement. By rights, if this is true, he should be reported to the VA’s Office of General Counsel (022D) for being out of compliance with 38 CFR §14.636(f)(1). And, as an aside, I’m sorry Robert. I sure don’t mean to endanger you or make you feel uncomfortable but you are aware of the regulations -anything over 33 1/3% is considered unreasonable and unlawful.

Project Heavy Green participant- Laos 1970

Which brings us to poor Doctors Procelle and Sharp. They tell me they were inveigled into this web of greed by one or another of these avaricious outfits and sold a bill of goods. Once they grasped the concept of what they were being asked to do, they beat feet and divorced themselves from these 5/50 guarantee ( five months of the increase or $50,000.00 dollars-whichever comes first) companies that practice the technique. Again, let me be clear. I’m unsure of the legality but something grossly unfair to Veterans like this should be declared illegal if it hasn’t been already. No Veteran should be subjected to this level of greedy insanity. We deserved more than a saliva medal w/ 2 OLCs at San Francisco Airpatch in ’68 or that stale “Welcome home” shit they began regurgitating about ’91 when the guilt and angst for all Veterans began to surface. Yellow ribbons on trees don’t pay mortgages. But that’s a story for another day.

Aside from Drs. Procelle and Sharp, I note the inclusion of some well-known names of some of the old hands in this business. I’ve only hired one of those on the list (and lost); I have no knowledge firsthand of the others’ track records. I’m old fashioned. I rely on Court (CAVC) records to gauge a fellow’s prowess. Go to the CAVC site yourself and pull up a few cases to see what you think. I’ll throw out a few for your perusal. CAVC # 02-2195; #06-0451; #09-0260; #09-1349; #17-3556; #16-1515; #14-0437; #19-0709. Obviously, some of the medical doctors and nurses on the list have earned an undesirable cachet that precedes them in this business. Some, however, do carry some baggage (see entry @ 3/10/2020)-https://www.mbp.state.md.us/sanctions_2020.aspx). I feel sorry for anyone who has their professional qualifications besmirched by anyone-including VA. However, the IMO field is an exacting science. We Vets have to play by the rules. So do the medical professionals. That VA doesn’t should come as no surprise.

Doctors have specialties for the most part. In the IMO business, it behooves a Vet to choose the board certified neurologist over the jack-of-all-trades podiatrist who just happens to opine on matters neurological for a small fee. If you have a cross pedigree such as a Juris Doctorate and a Doctor of Medicine, it’s advisable to wear only one hat at a time. When you get to Court, you can get in a real pickle when the Judges have a hard time discerning which hat you’re wearing- the one with the white wig attached or the one with the caduceus. I’m really not sure how I feel about this truthfully. I find it abhorrent to think a Veteran’s choice of his IMO doctor might exert a negative influence on the probity of the IMO or its author’s bona fides. As you can see from the list, VA doesn’t hold some physicians with a JD in very high regard. That is a horrible stain on a Professional’s reputation. I do not condone it. Each IMO should be given a fair hearing. Why they keep the list hidden and unpublished does Veterans a great disservice. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. But what is equally unfair-far worse in my mind- is putting innocent physicians on the list . It was Jonathon Swift who opined “A lie travels around the globe while the truth is putting on its shoes”.

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

P.S. I just got an email from a Vet disgruntled with the outfit formerly known as Vetcompandpen.com. He says he decided to fight and blew them off for the money they claim he owed them(which he contends he did not). They sued and the Judge dismissed it. Turns out the contract was, and is, unenforceable and defective. My guess is they should have hired an attorney to write it.

P.P.S. I received this ( 11/2/2022) from one of my readership. It sure appears to be a damning decision regarding the individual named. However, I’m merely the messenger, not the Judge, jury or executioner. As they say on the Six o”clock news- We report. You decide.

Maryland Court of appeals Decision dated 7.22.2022

P.P.P.S. This is a hoot. Hadit’s former CUE queen Berta is now contacting WWP’s former attorneys seeking to have them (the doctors on the shitlist) sue me for…? She even left her telephone number in case any of my readership wish to tell her their thoughts on the subject. I have yet to hear from SECVA McDonough regarding the matter.

Posted in C&P exams, Complaints Department, IMOs/IMEs, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VA Attorneys, vA news, VARO Misfeasance, Veterans Law | Tagged asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, VA claims, VA's IMO shitlist, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 18 Comments

§5104(b)–WHAT’S IN YOUR RD?

Posted on February 24, 2022 by asknod

February 22. In Bent Brain land, the folks in white coats call it a trigger or precipitator of depression. You watch that date approach inexorably every year and dread its arrival. After two weeks in a horrible funk, you crawl out the other side and try to better prepare for next year. And the year after that. Multiply that by 51 years. I’m fortunate. I didn’t find out Chuck had augered in until May 2008 when I went looking for him so I’ve only suffered this malady fourteen years. Time heals most wounds-not all. And I reckon that’s all I’m going to need to say about that.

Palace Dog was run out of Udorn. RAVEN (Detachment 1, 56th SOW) was listed on the Udorn base roster but was run out of AirAm’s Air Operations Center (see? the acronym was already taken before the Bronx Barista arrived in 2018) up north at Alternate (LS 20A/LS 98) over the fence in Long Tieng. The 56th SOW HQ was over to the southeast at Nakhon Phanom Airpatch (NKP) under the able command of an old friend of our family… Col. Heinie Aderholt. His son Ross and I went to school together at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC back then. My dad and Heinie loved bird hunting so we saw a lot of each other. And we even went to St. Stephen’s together …1964 Confirmation Record with Ross Adderholt

A close 37mm AA rd.

It was a pretty small world back in ’64. My dad got transferred to Dir. of Ops at TAC HQ up at Langley and Lt. Col. Aderholt decided to move into Special Ops the next year and was transferred to the spook farm down at Hurlburt Field (Eglin Auxiliary Field No. 9) in Florida. That was the last I saw of either one until I ran into Col. Aderholt up at Alternate one day in ’70. But that’s a whoooooole ‘nother story.

38 USC §5104

I digress. After passage of the AMA in 2017, they (Congress) had to go back and rewrite/add extra things into existing 38 USC Statutes to encompass the wildly different new forms of screwing us out of our benefits. I know the regs/statutes are resplendent with words telling us we are God’s Greatest Gift to America but please- enough bullshit. If only 12% of us get our benefits without a godawful 2-year fight, then the system is rigged. If 74% of everything (excluding Ex. Writs) that goes to the CAVC is vacated, set aside, or reversed, then there’s something queer afoot. You don’t need a shopping cart full of pronouns to figure this out. If the VA proudly touts its 98% accuracy rate (as did USB Hickey for years) and you, Johnny Vet, are holding twenty eight years’ worth of denials topped by a lowball grant last year, then you know this stinks to high heavens. Why even profess to be nonadversarial? Why not just call a spade a spade, piss on the fire and quit wasting money on a Veteran-friendly façade of bullshit. We could take those billions from boondoggles like Vantage Point and eliminate Veteran homelessness. Keep on dreaming, GI.

One of the little idiot items which we are supposed to get in this Brave New AMA World Order is compliance with 38 USC §5104. It’s also reiterated in §3.103(f)(5). Let’s take a peek at it and see what it says. I don’t think I need to turn it into DickandJanespeak. It’s my opinion that §5104(b) flows from Bryant v. Shinseki, 23 Vet.App. 488 (2010). The Court held that 38 CFR §3.103(c)(2) (2009) requires that the Veterans Law Judge who chairs a hearing fulfill two duties to comply with the above regulation. These duties consist of (1) the duty to fully explain the issues and (2) the duty to suggest the submission of evidence that may have been overlooked. Helloooooooooooooooo?

38 U.S. Code § 5104 – Decisions and notices of decisions

(a) In the case of a decision by the Secretary under section 511 of this title affecting the provision of benefits to a claimant, the Secretary shall, on a timely basis, provide to the claimant (and to the claimant’s representative) notice of such decision. The notice shall include an explanation of the procedure for obtaining review of the decision.

(b) Each notice provided under subsection (a) shall also include all of the following:

(1) Identification of the issues adjudicated.

(2) A summary of the evidence considered by the Secretary.

(3) A summary of the applicable laws and regulations.

(4) Identification of findings favorable to the claimant.

(5) In the case of a denial, identification of elements not satisfied leading to the denial.

(6) An explanation of how to obtain or access evidence used in making the decision.

(7) If applicable, identification of the criteria that must be satisfied to grant service connection or the next higher level of compensation.

After you read this, if you’ve had a recent denial, I would ask you to take a gander at the end of any of your rating decision (RD) epistles if they were authored after 2/19/2019. Do any of them list any of this? Granted, a RD will always list the items being adjudicated at the beginning thus satisfying the dictates of (1). (2) is sometimes a goldmine. VA prints up a bodaciously long list of evidence and often pointedly leaves out one essential document- usually the veritable Rosetta Stone needed- to unravel the Gordian knot of service connection. It isn’t by accident. Nothing at VA is by accident. They didn’t disremember. I feel for you when you have this moment. It’s like finding out the tooth faery was your mom. Get over it. VA lies. So did your Mom.

I caught them at this recently when they assembled the QTC/LHI/VES letter to the assigned “clinician”. Absent for review was a very important IMO from my private doctor which was the only way to win. I sent an email to the booth bitch and demanded that the document be tabbed and included for review. It was but the dickhead Doctor treated it as contaminated and worthless. The RD didn’t even bother to list it.Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Violation of §5104(b)! Predecisional error. The RD is fatally flawed and must be readjudicated.

(3) Here’s another one that looks to be legitimate. Check it carefully. If you filed for loss of use and they are telling you that your SMC rate is at a&a and you do not have loss of use of your arms or eyes, they’re screwing up. If you find no mention of §4.71a DC 5110 loss of use of lower extremities, they’re funning you. You probably won’t find any mention of §3.350(b)(1) either. In short, they will inadvertently use the wrong reg/statute and pretend they’re legitimate like dress up lawyers. Again- it’s a §5104(b) violation. Argue it in a HLR. Call them out on it.

Never heard of using a thumper in a tunnel but it would have to be easier on the ears than a .45.

(4) is a big one. VA sometimes gets this quasi-correct. They’ll probably redundantly announce you need a&a when you’re already getting it. It’s what they do not say that makes this an error too. So, if you’re falling down a lot due to that mega-PN problem in you feet and can’t even feel them, that’s called functional loss (§4.10). If they just up your ratings for PN in the lower extremities from 20% to 40% and call it good, they haven’t addressed your new and relevant evidence from the VAMC that you were an inpatient (again) due to continued falls and a need for a neurological workup to find out why you fall down a lot. VA cuts corners and hopes you won’t notice.

Hue. Tet ’68

(5) is the biggee for Vets. Did these pukes ever discuss what was missing that they needed to help them grant your claim? Did they just obliquely say you do not have X or Y? This is important. It would normally be discussed somewhere in a denial under each disability being rated or denied. If it isn’t , then proceed to HLR or a 10182 NOD after the denial.

(6) is not very helpful to Joe Average Vet. He doesn’t have VBMS so he can’t “see” what VA c&p adjudicators write about him. You’d be surprised what they don’t write down and /or get wrong. I have Vets with DM II go in for a PN increase and the clinician checks off the no box where it says “does he have DM II?”

(7) is the absolute must for most of us. You need to know exactly what it is you need to win. If VA doesn’t tell you, it’s a pretty good chance you’re going to be sitting on the Group L bench for losers forever. If you ask and the folks just shrug their shoulders and say ‘that’s not our job’, then you again have a pre-decisional error. But once they write the RD, the record is closed. You can’t stick in the new IMO or the new 4138 buddy letter. So, the §5104 data you need only occurs at the end when it’s too late. The only way to get a can opener into it again is to produce some new and relevant evidence ( a buddy letter) and file a 995 supplemental. At that point, you can take advantage of data what you earlier lacked and §5104(b) demands they inform you of. But if they fail to tell you, you won’t ever know.

This popped up the other day in a CAVC oral argument. Ken Carpenter was arguing this very point. Where is it written that the BVA doesn’t have to do this too? §5104 is not specific as to which august body is required to comply. Certainly, the fact that this is also summarized in §3.103(f)(5) is indicative that it certainly applies to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction, but think about it. The Statute doesn’t give the BVA VLJ a bye to foist §5104(b) dicta off on the rater below. Food for thought. Boy howdy, listen to Judge Allen ream the OGC attorney. It’s fun to watch.

And that’s our lesson on how to win a claim today. On behalf of myself and asknod Inc., I hope we passed the audition today.

Posted in Appeals Modernization Act, Duty to Assist, Higher Level of Review (HLR), Humor, Tips and Tricks, VA Agents, VARO Misfeasance, VBMS Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged asknod.org, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Service Connection, VA claims, vA CLAIMS FOR PTSD, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 4 Comments

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EXPOSED VET RADIO SHOW NEXT THURSDAY-3/10/2022

“Hey I heard you compare your docs to my 90% successful outcome with for [sic] a lessor [sic] fee .. not fair play on the radio (terns [sic] and conditions) to advertise at my expense probably a violation of rehab act of 1970s.

I do Holistic work – all issues 10-60 plus dbqs ya da ya da so an add [sic] for one off 1500 issue letter is just like medicine now which is all dumbed down to one complaint in 15 min but it does not get our veterans a fair comprehensive rating”

Dear Sir,

(515) 605-9764

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38 USC §5104

38 U.S. Code § 5104 – Decisions and notices of decisions

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AO in Thailand

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Duty to Assist and Predecisional Errors

§3.351(c)(3)

“The following will be accorded consideration in determining the need for regular aid and attendance (§3.351(c)(3): “

“(3) Establishes a factual need for aid and attendance under the criteria set forth in § 3.352(a).”

Summary

Prebuilding the Punji Pit

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In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation, designating March 29 as the annual observance of Vietnam War Veterans Day. The signing of the proclamation marked the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam — March 29, 1973.

Share this:

“Hey I heard you compare your docs to my 90% successful outcome with for [sic] a lessor [sic] fee .. not fair play on the radio (terns [sic] and conditions) to advertise at my expense probably a violation of rehab act of 1970s.

I do Holistic work – all issues 10-60 plus dbqs ya da ya da so an add [sic] for one off 1500 issue letter is just like medicine now which is all dumbed down to one complaint in 15 min but it does not get our veterans a fair comprehensive rating”

Dear Sir,

(515) 605-9764

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38 USC §5104

38 U.S. Code § 5104 – Decisions and notices of decisions

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Bloggers

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In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a presidential proclamation, designating March 29 as the annual observance of Day. The signing of the proclamation **marked the 50th anniversary of the departure of the last American troops from Vietnam** — March 29, 1973.