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

Knowing now I would’ve started while I was in and had everything recorded instead of roughing everything out. Not reporting while screw you out later on when those old injuries catches up to you.

I filed like 150days before I ETSd after 9yrs. But they didn't accept my packet until 45 days after my ETS.

I got my rating at 179days after my ETS

If you went to sick call while in for the complaint you are filing for you will have no problem. If you try to file years later when your illnesses really start to trouble you they will say not service related. It is a disgrace and the VA should be ashamed.

I put in my 4 years and got out in 1968. Had a heart attack 2012 and at the encouragement from my sister I registered with the VA in 2015. I am now receiving a 60% disability rating for service-connected problems. When I contacted the VA in 1969 I was told that my active duty records did not indicate there were any problems therefore the VA couldn't help. Apparently at that time even the VA didn't what much to do with veterans, specially if they had been to Vietnam and been exposed to agent orange.

I did wait. It was 7 or 8 years after I got out that I applied for just the VA Medical Benefits. About a year later a Doctor there started talking to me about getting my Disability rating, and I have done the process three times now. I am now at 60%.

it took me a few months after i got out and approved 20%

I did it while I was outprocessing, and it still took two years to get approved.

am currently rated at 90% but being paid at 100% due to unemployability. i filed almost immediately upon retirement for hearing loss as i worked recip and turbine engines for 20 years and during the Viet Nam war we didn't have proper hearing protection. VA just authorized Afgan and Iraq vets to file for hearing loss. when i filed Va Dr. Montgomery Al said i had hearing loss and gave me hearing aids. Tuskegee called ma later for hearing test . told me i had NO hearing loss so i gave the hearing aids back. love how a corpsman can out rank a real doctor. that was early 80's many years later saw another civilian audiologist and he also say i had hearing loss . went to Orlando VA and their doct ro told me i didnt have hearing loss just couldnt understand what people were saying. Uhm really. ? i have been in the VA system for 40 years come July 2022. as much as i hear things have changed they have not. very few in the VA really care about the vet. am sorry . a lot of other things i have gone through with the VA but wont go into them here. good luck to any vet trying to get benefits

The bottom line…. If it’s not in your records, the burden of proof is on you and it’s incredibly hard to prove later. Get everything and I mean everything in your records and get copies of your entire records. Everywhere you were stationed, get copies of each hospitals records on you as well, a lot of what happens once you’re past your unit medics doesn’t always get in your records. Be diligent, get everything and it will make your process so much easier. Best of luck!

Retired in 1984 at 10% Disability. At thed time and for many years after no one mentioned the need for or how to request a new evaluation for disability. I ask for a exam in 1996 and was denied. In Feb 2020 another vet and was talking and I did Intent to file, got everything in in Feb 2021, disability was in creased to 40% still have some ckmaoms open as of Mar 2022.