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

It depends on you. I retired in 2018 (20 year service). I had a lot on my medical file. You can’t file until your leave is over. But you can see a VA Rep and get things moving along so when that day comes all they have to do is submit your packet the day after your Retirement and it ETS date. After it was all said and done it took about a year to get my ratings.

Sgt. Sockwell, I waited till I was medically discharged. I actually fought tooth and blood so I could get medical waiver to serve out my current contract at the time. I almost got it done. It wasn’t one large medical problem I had it was a bunch of like medium medical problems that were quickly turning into bigger and bigger ones. When I broke my back and still serving that’s what I wish I had filled a claim on the moment it happened. I was probably like most I waited till most of my medical problems were far behind what was the beginning part of them. (I hope im making sense)I guess I was what you would call a dreamer, thinking that if medical problems and bills got to bad that the DOD would automatically help me. Now it’s been well over 10yrs since my claims have been accepted and taken care of. It boils down to time, the younger you are when you get injures the more you think there’s plenty of time to do whatever I need. Now in my mid 50’s and basically alone I think
YES I WISH I COULD HAVE CHANGE HOW MUCH EARLIER I COULD HAVE STARTED MY CLAIMS.

But will always hang head high and never give up hoping for better

Within 1 year of discharge I had my first VA encounter for medical treatment and that went on for 6 months. I didn't reconnect with the VA until 41 years later when I filed a disability claim re: Agent Orange. Having that initial encounter got me a VA File Number which made the rating process that much easier.

When I went through ACAP (now known as SFL-TAP), I was told to get/find a Veterans Svc Org rep. I linked up with a guy from the Military Order of the Purple Heart and he told me to bring him a copy of my medical records after I had my retirement physical, which I did. Her actually took the time to go through my records and filled out my paperwork. He told me to mail it to the VA and that the officer wouldn't start until the first day after my last day in the Army. Three months after my last day, I had an appointment for my CR&E physical, 3 months after that, got my rating of 100%. Long story short, get everything together now and don't wait until after you get out. Secondly, if you can get your records to make a copy, do so. It will pay dividends in the long run. The two best moves I made.

Are you still active Soldier? If you are, Best solid advise for you is to get your physical done before you ETS. Get your claim started before hand. Request copies of you medical records at the hospital. If this was the only post you been to and only with one unit, you should have no issues of getting them. Go to the medics and get copies of anything they have, especially if you deployed and had any type of injury or illness that was treated over there. Then take your butt to Staples or the other place and burn 2 more sets of copies for you. You take your one set of records to go thru and highlight your injuries and illnesses. On a pad of notebook paper you want to write those down with date and where. This is the packet you turn in at the Hospital to the VA claims department. It all should be pushed up months before you ETS. Once you ETS, it takes longer by having to get a Rep thru the VFW, DAV, American Legion etc. They are reviewing records of the Soldiers who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a priority over Vets from Desert Storm and earlier conflicts. It'll take approximately 90 days to 6 months after you ETS until you hear something. And you be back dated I believe to your ETS date and backpay.

It took me 32yrs before I filed my first claim. VA turned me down for lack of medical records. Five years later, I filed again and was approved 100% disabled. They had all my medical records from the beginning.

What came home in 68 heart surgery 20o7still fighting for agent orange cleaned my records out did not put back. They still don’t care

I waited about 16 years. I worked in the engine room of the Nimitz for about 4 years of my 6-year enlistment. I was working for the US Postal service and there were many vets that were there that had ratings. Many years before that I had brought my father-in-law down to the VA hospital for a checkup and while he was waiting, I went and asked about tinnitus, vertigo and high frequency hearing loss. What they told me did not encourage me to file. Maybe it was because it was office types that I was talking to. When I did file I did the initial claim on my own. Of course, it was rejected I filed an appeal to be sure it was timely then went to one of the Reps from the state and continued. I did get the tinnitus approved after 36 months and then the vertigo after 72 months. So, I am rated 20%. When I got the rejection for the high frequency hearing loss I saw their criteria and let that drop.
One reason that I initially filled was I was talking to an Airforce Vet that had a rating for hearing loss. I asked him what he did and he told me he was in the Airforce Band. I told him that I had been doing important work between two 70,000 HP turbine engines.

I injured my back aboard ship in 1965. I never asked for any disability. I remained in the Naval Reserve until 1990 when I was asked to retire because I was not advancing in rate. I made Chief Petty Officer in 1972 and there was not a single billet for an E-8 until 1985. I was the only Chief Lithographer who passed the Advancement exam and was not promoted because of AFFIRMATIVE ACTION and I am white. I had a Physical Exam every year and was asked about my back. I informed the Navy Doctor that it was getting worse and not better. That was written in my exam reports. In 2004 I applied for Agent Orange Disability. I had suffered a heart attack exactly one year and two days after retiring and was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Neuropathy in both legs. While recovering I was told that none of those ailments arrive overnight. They take years to develop yet there was nothing in my medical records regarding any of them. My claim was denied because I cold not prove Boots On The Ground. When Blue Water Sailors was passed, I applied again. I was denied because they could not find the Ship's Logs to prove where we were anchored. I followed up with, "being on an Aircraft Carrier, it did not matter where we were anchored because our aircraft, which made daily operations in and out of Vietnam, were flying through the Agent Orange and bringing it back to the ship. I have not heard a single word back from them. In 2020 I filed for Back Injury Disability and after three months I was accepted. Of course, there was no compensation for all the medical charges I paid for my back injury but they did give me three months of 50% disability to cover the period that I applied. YET, still nothing on Agent Orange.

As soon as I got out. Got 10%. 45 years later reached 100%