Did you wait till you were out to get your disability rating? If so, how long before you made your first claim?

When I had my retirement physical, the doctor conducting it had a clerk make a complete copy of my health record and told me that as soon as I got settled in my new home I should go to the VA and file a disability claim. I expressed surprise and he told me that within 10 years I would be a "hurtin' cowboy"!

I followed his advice and filed a claim after I'd been retired for four months. I was surprised when they came back to me with a rating of 30% for three conditions. I went to the California Vets Affairs rep in Santa Rosa and she had me add PTSD and told me to refile. I told her I didn't think I had PTSD and she asked me several questions that made it clear to her I did and should expect a rating of 50% or higher.

VA raised my rating on one condition and gave me 10% for PTSD, which stunned the CA rep. She had me appeal and they eventually raised my PTSD rating to 50%. Over time, Agent Orange has continued to take a toll on me and in 2005 I was rated 90% with Individual Unemployability and also was awarded Soc. Sec. disability. In 2010 VA increased my rating to 100%.

I retired 20 years ago. I filed while on terminal leave.

You are supposed to get your 214 six months before ETS these days, so you can file before you get out.

One note - if you were in combat: The field medics rarely record their treatment notes, and even in Role 3s and other places treatment records got lost. So if you were injured or ill while deployed, make sure that your record is up to date with ALL injuries and illnesses that you had. If there is something missing from your record, see your provider at home and get it documented while you are still on active duty, so you can easily claim it.

I was rated after more than 30 years.

I was rated 100% S/C from day one -- 11-11-1969. In 1982, 13 years after I was medically retired, I discovered I had an additional condition not discovered while I was still in the Army that was not a disability under the law anyway, so I let it be. But 35 years after I got out, and me being the a$$hole some of you have already discovered me to be, I got a wild hair and decided to screw with VA by filing a claim for what's called an extraschedular rating -- forcing them to make a decision on a medical condition that had not even been discovered by medical science at the time the schedule for disabilities was written in the forties. Short story, I won, the law was changed through an Act of Congress, the additional condition was independently rated at 70% disabling, and I am now combined to the next higher rating above 100%. It's doable. I just wanted to cause VA a problem, but they surprised me by also giving me a raise above 100%. VA and I are now on good terms. They sent me a lot of money -- and I spend it. Sometimes it pays to be an a$$hole.

I used the VA BENEFITS DELIVERY AT DISCHARGE (BDD) PROGRAM where I dropped my claim 90 days from separation. This is the route to go if you have extensive documentation of your claim in your medical records. You also have less of a burden for proving service connection as you haven't left yet.

I also used a VSO to help with the claim, DAV. They confirmed BDD for me and helped me write the claim.

FIRST: All veterans should make a full photocopy of your medical records before you leave the service. I did this and it saved me tons of problems later in life. Personally, I left service with no disability ratings, even though I knew I had hearing loss. Somehow, I managed to squeak by the Border Patrol's hearing test and got hired, but discretion being the better part of valor I waited until I had career status before applying. I got 10% for tinnitus and a rating at zero percent for deafness. Again, I waited almost until retirement to pick up some other disabilities that started to bother me with age. I got up to 70%, dropped back to 60% (watch what you say at those QED exams!!!). Ultimately, I became a counselor for Veteran's Services and learned the tricks of the trade. I am now at 100%, all due to good record-keeping and persistence. The VA is NOT in the business of denying your true benefits. Try to remember that. If you check all the right boxes, you will be approved.

Like an idiot, I waited until I was out to file my initial claim. I retired in 1986 after 20. I filed for VA benefits 18 years later. I fought with the VA for 11 years before finally getting rated at 100% for among other things, diabetes II, hypertension, tinnitus, and Crohn's Disease. I heartily recommend getting your discharge papers in hand and filing with the VA on the same day.

The right and best course of action is to wrap up the disability rating before getting out. It is much easier coordinating steps, tasks, and gates before getting out. The army MEB process are parallel avenue of approaches for the military and VA disability ratings. The quicker this is accomplished the quicker the process for VA and SSDI benefits should one be qualified. To do otherwise would slow down the process and VA benefits will not be seamless during the transition. The objective is to conduct this process as timely and efficiently as possible and achieving this is much easier before leaving the military.

I missed the boat for the BDD (Benefits Delivered at Discharge) program during my separation process. I filed for my rating shortly after leaving service. At first I was going through my local Legion, but I switched up to the VA online filing system (which, by the way, worked very well and I had no problems filing my paperwork through it). After I was two years out with no contact from VBA for any sort of evaluation, I went to the regional office to confirm they had my paperwork processing (they did). After walking out of the VBA office, I went directly to the VSO to talk with a representative. Met with her again about a week later. No additional paperwork required, and in one month, I had an eval. A month after that, I had my rating and two years of backpay.

File early, follow up, and use all resources available as needed.

This is a very good question. The one thing I told Soldiers when I was in, if you have injuries that are service / combat connected it is wise to go through a MEB to get everything medically completed in house (while you're still in service) before you transition out of the Military. Pride is a Soldier's failing when it comes to taking care of himself/herself and their family when it is time to leave the military. I served 30+ years and during my last year I submitted to the MEB because of chronic health issues I sustained due to combat related and service connected injuries. I would not have done this without the wise words of a Ortho Doc who had seen me repeatedly and told me I should go through the MEB process. This was the best decision I made. Not only were all my appointments for the VA scheduled and completed while I was in the service but I received my rating as well (100%). The problem with doing this afterwards, after talking with a number of my friends who retired and didn't go through the MEB process and had numerous injuries, was they had to do all this through the VA shuffle which took months to years to complete after they got out. One thing you have to understand, if you have significant injuries that your received during your military service, the Military is obligated to take care of this while you're in service. Once you leave the service it's all on you. If you have a family it behooves you to think about them and your financial security prior to getting out. You are not guaranteed a job when you do transition to your next phase of life. This is another reason for doing this while you're still in the service you're still being paid as a service member and all your VA benefits will kick in as soon as you get out because all your documentation will have been finalized and sent to the VA for you. I loved the Army and enjoyed all my years of service, but they're not going to take care of you when you get out. This is all on you. Hope this info helps you and everyone else on this discussion. Again, don't let pride decide for you and your families future.