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

I enlisted at 17 left the regular Army at 25 was in the AR and OKANG until 29. Had issues but didn't want to be a burden to my country. Fast forward and I'm 56 and obama is bringing foreigners here and setting them up for life using our money so I think to hell with it if they are getting the pie given to them I might as well ask for what I felt I earned. Went to the VA, got 50% quickly and over a couple of years stairstepped to 100% T&P. The one thing I will say that obama did for me was to piss me off enough to actually speak up for my rights.

I retired last September, I did the BDD (Before Discharge) claim just under the 180 day prior mark. The way records get lost, and life itself happens I didn't like the idea of waiting. I had my 100% rating about two weeks after retirement.

I can't help but wonder what headache someone might encounter if they had an ailment that was documented prior to seperation such as a shoulder injury, but then say, Godforbid the service member gets into an accident after the service which injures the same shoulder; how hard would they have to fight to show the degree of injury that was service connected? Would the VA argue that the shoulder claim was more of a result of the injury after the military, potentially decreasing any rating for it.

I waited many years to file anything and regret it. Had the wrong idea about not being a burden on my country.... had hearing problems way back from flying helos in VN. PLus injuries from falling off a sandbag pile, and another severe fall from the top of a helo. Should have gotteen earlier treatment for AO and T2 Diabetes. Please dont wait - get exams asap after active service

I went through med board. I started my VA process during the ACAP process. There’s a VA liaison on Fort Hood, they went through my records and annoyed everything that was in there and sent it up to the VA. That started that process. By the time I signed out of the army, I got a call a day or two later telling me what my % was.

It took me eighteen years to get a rating. My hearing was going bad before I got out. I had just put it off till I could not hear without a lot of trouble hearing. Got my first hearing aids in 1987, that was years after I was discharged. It was one twenty percent but it got me hearing aids which were not the best. I'm at 100% now with a little help from agent orange that affected my heart.

I waited until about a year after I got out of the service to file my first claim- it got denied because I really wasn't sure what I was doing. The DAV can help. I will tell you that documentation is everything, it is very challenging to prove something that is not documented. At your compensation hearing be 100% honest and don't hold back on the truth. Check with the VA medical center for more resources. Don't give up!

I did my disability packet while I was in. You just can't start collecting until your official ETS date.

I got my rating of 80% from the Army while still active in the WTU during treatment. Once retired I checked into the VA in Tampa for treatment, I applied for a higher rating and was awarded 100%. There are a lot of hoops for us to jump through but stay with it

I put in my rating to thru the VA while I was in the California National Guard, and when I was given my original award of 40% disability, I had to make a choice, to receive my Army pay for weekend duty, or my VA pay, because I couldn't receive both. I would say, to get the full benefit of both, is to wait until after your enlistment. So there'll be no pressure on you to get out of the military.

yes I did I was working in South Korea with Central Texas College when I retired and there was no information or little giving to retires from the V.A . I did not learn much until I returned to the States. My first claim was 20 years after I retired.