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

41 years. Left Army 1970. Applied for disability in 2011.
I know this sounds stupid but when I got out, I didn’t even know disability was available. I thought you got a one time payment of $600 or $1200 if you lost a limb or limbs and your family got $10,000 if you died.
When I was getting ready to retire, I checked with the VA for the supplemental medical care required by Obamacare (I can’t recall the term for it) and ended up getting a 100% disability rating.
Agent Orange: Ischemic heart disease + Purple Heart: hearing loss & left foot damage (Booby trap)

I waited about 11 years. When I got to the point that I couldn’t work.

I goofed up and did not with all of my medical records I filed years later the VA's response was basically So Why Did You Wait So Long. I am now in what seems a never ending battle I wasted 0% for all of my claims

Programs are in place and now so that you should be done with all health assessments prior to separating. If you focus on yourself as you separate, you should be receiving disability benefits (if you end up with a rating)soon after you separate. Both the VA and military have reciprocal access to your medical records to enable you to be taken care of.

Hello fellow veteran it took 13 years. Mostly because the VA was under a Democrat president
for most of the fight. I went through the DAV got the right doctors and showed them I would not go away

I was pretty stupid. I waited far too long to file my first claim, and that severely complicated the whole process. I’ll describe my experience as best I can. I was released from active duty in mid-November 1968 when I returned from Vietnam and arrived at Ft Lewis WA. I declined a discharge physical, saying there was nothing wrong with me and I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, go to SeaTac airport and grab the first available flight that going in the direction of my hometown of San Antonio, Texas. I upgraded my government-issued economy-class ticket to first class to make sure I got on the first flight that was available. I even declined the steak dinner at the Officers’ Club to get to the airport as quickly as possible. When I reached Ft Lewis, a counselor asked if I wanted to file a claim against the govt for exposure to Agent Orange or inadequate food, medical care, financial support, mail delivery or admin support and I answered “No” to all of it. I just wanted to be left alone to resume the life I had enjoyed as a civilian. In 1971, I finally consulted the VA hospital in Kerrville Tx for suggestions on how to treat the jungle rot that had been gnawing on my feet; I was told I would need to file a claim against the govt to get that info. I said thanks anyway, but the govt doesn’t owe me anything, I just wanted to know the name of any meds that could effectively treat that damned fungus. I was told again that I needed to file a claim. I left in disgust. A couple of weeks later, I received a phone call from a doctor who said he worked for the VA and had read my case file and told me in his opinion, I needed an oral med called “griseofulvin”, and that if I would return to the VA hospital in Kerrville he would meet me outside the building and give me a six-month supply of griseofulvin tablets. I jumped at his offer and drove back to Kerrville and called his office when I arrived. Almost immediately, a gentleman in the uniform of an Army Colonel emerged from the building and called out my name: “Lt Smith!” I answered, “Sir!” He stepped toward me and returned my salute and stuck out his hand to shake mine. “Welcome home, Lt Smith!” and handed me a small brown paper bag , saying “This should do the trick for you. If it doesn’t, call my office number on the bottle and we’ll take care it.” I followed the instructions on the bottle and six months later the rot was gone. I called his office and left a message with his secretary: “Please inform Colonel Blank that Lt smith called from San Antonio and asked me to inform you that the medication you gave him six months ago finally did the trick and his problem has been resolved. I had more contact with the VA until 2013, when I began the claim process at the urging of a good friend, a retired Army Chaplain who inquired about my health since leaving active duty; I shared with him that I had experienced a heart attack in 1991 but after two angioplasties and a one-way coronary artery bypass surgery in 1992, my health has been pretty good. He asked about my doctor’s diagnosis and I read the doc’s report to him: it read, “Patient has ischemic heart disease and hypertension.” The chaplain informed me that ischemic heart disease and hypertension were both acknowledged by the VA as being related to Agent Orange exposure and strongly encouraged me to file a claim with the VA. He suggested I call the local office of the Disabled American Veterans for advice on how to,pursue a claim and gave me their phone number their phone number. I called the number and made an appointment to visit their office and speak with a counselor. I did that, brining with me copies of all correspondence I had had with the VA as well as my DD214. The counselor helped me fill out all of the forms and send them off and that resulted in an initial service-connected disability rating of 10%.
There followed a string of physical exams, notices of disagreement following VA rulings and incremental changes in my ratings and compensation, until finally in April 2017 my service-connected disability rating was revised to 100%.

Retired in 2004 and filed by VA claim 4 month before I retired using the BDD process. As soon as I retired, took my DD-214 and medical records to the VA rep to finalize my claim. Worked perfectly. Had my rating back in 3 weeks and first disability check the next month. Zero issues in 17 years.

I filed within 90 days of separation. It took the VA over 3 years to tell me I don't qualify for anything. Waste of time.

I didn't file a disability claim until 23 years after I retired. My health was pretty good up until 2014, when I started having issues with my health as a VA employee and retired from there in 2014. It only took 1 year for my claim to be approved and I started receiving benefits 8 months later. My claims rep did an excellent job in helping me with my paperwork, and was also surprised in how quickly everything went through. I received 70% right off the bat. I have not applied more, as of yet.

less than 3 months.

Hi! Kiwi vet here. I realise it's a little different for us. There was no claim for military service injury as we have National Insurance called Accident Compensation. Tell you what though, when you go back to university to do your Masters you wave your service record around and you get a government family allowance equal to a basic wage! Do you guys get that in the States? One would hope so for service. Cheers from Roy in NZ!

I got my rating after I got out.

11 years for me. I ran from the VA, didn't want to face anything about my health until I was hospitalized. VA nurse told me to stop being an idiot so I filed, got 80% on the first go.

I got out in 1999 and the VA and my local VFW helped me submit the paperwork in 2018. I was always of the mindset that my issues werent that bad, I could deal with it and I could have\can but VFW & VA convinced me I needed to do it for other vets, ensure we are counted and the issues that effect us, even if only an annoyance it helps keep funding going for our future brothers and sisters.

I didn’t worry about it when I retired. Later, (years later) my primary physician suggested I file. I flew fighters for 10 years and got used to hurting. Never realized the damage it did to my neck and back. Still fighting with the VA over it. I didn’t want to get in front of any Iraq Afghanistan Vets and frankly never really was concerned about it. Seeing how the younger Vets work the system made me rethink the process.

Also like you I was diagnosed with diabetes during my retirement physical. The doctor made a copy of the necessary paperwork and directed me to go to the DAV Office on base (Norfolk) when I left the clinic. I was in and out of the DAV Office within an hour with my claim processed. Now, after I retired I started having medical complications associated with diabetes. I had to go to a VA Service Office and apply for a higher rating. It took a while because the VA sent me to outside doctors for evaluations and recommendations. I guess I was one of the lucky (?) ones. All of the doctors I saw were very helpful and eventually I got a 100% rating.

As an 11 Charlie it comes with the MOS.

I waited about 18 yrs. I just thought my problems were normal except for the pain. My hearing got worse and so I went to file. My service officer asked about "Any" thing else that happened while in. Since I was in the Navy, then Army, and Air Force reserves plenty had happened. Over the years I had received a 40% disability but I brought up my nightmares and after the VA tested me for PTSD they said I had severe depression and anxiety but of course not military related. I have been fighting for 10 yrs and finally received a granted from Wash. DC. Then a 50% rating for PTSD. I am working on TDIU now. I was terminated from the VA hospital as a Police Dispatcher because they said due to my physical and mental disability they could not find me a position. Which is bull c rap. I'm 61 and have been disability retired from the VA for 9 years now. I will continue to fight for TDIU. its true the path to any compensation is a long one. Their main reason was I never reported anything while in. But in their own words PTSD can happen years after so its a contradiction. My advice keep fighting never give up. For those that are still serving document every tiny incident, even if its just a cut finger or pulled muscle. They get precise and so should you. God Bless.

My recommendation to everyone is that they go through the process with a Veteran Service Organization (VSO) prior to leaving the military. You can file prior to leaving the military and a VSO can file for you-meaning they can handle all the paperwork.

I know there can be a lot of stigma around filing for disability. I had a number of friends who felt that way and didn't do it on their way out. They are now suffering but either don't have time in their careers to go through the process or they are too far removed from their time in service.

Better to go through the process and get anything documented, and not receive any compensation, than not go through it all.

At the urging of members in my Marine Corps League Detachment I filed for VA disability again after being retired for 30 years. When I first retired since I had not gone to Viet Nam (2 sets of orders canceled) and I did not meet the financial threshold I was denied. When I again applied the same was true but I the VA councilor instructed me to have the American Legion representative assist me in the application. I took almost a year but I was given 60% for a back injury I sustained in an aircraft crash.