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

I injured my back in 1965 while my Aircraft Carrier was in Long Beach Dry Dock. Since it was in my medical records I did not think I needed to file a claim. In 1964 we were anchored off the coast of Vietnam and sending war planes and helos in and out of Vietnam all day, every day. My Admiral had some papers that needed to be delivered to someone IN VIETNAM. He knew that I had a Civilian FBI Secret Clearance and he upgraded it to TOP SECRET. He gave me the papers on the flight deck and I got aboard the helo to fly into Vietnam. After landing I was approached by a Navy Seal. He gave me the keys to a Jeep, instructions on how to get to where the man was having lunch and a .45 Auto for protection. I drove to the coffee shop and lit a cigarette and waited fro him to come out. While waiting a woman pushing her son towards the coffee shop appeared. I saw that she had her son wrapped in sticks of dynamite and yelled at her to go away. She gave me the finger and pushed her son again. I yelled at her a again, pointing the gun at her and she gave me the finger again and pushed him. That was when I shot her. As she was going down, she pushed the detonator and blew them both up. The coffee shop emptied to find out what happened. I told the man what I did. He said I would be getting the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of over 60 military people in the coffee shop. I gave him the papers and said I would not accept the medal for doing something that needed to be done. I have never been sick one day in my life and it was 27 years later that Agent Orange affected me by giving me a heart attack, Diabetes Type II and Neuropathy in both arms and legs in 1991, a year after I retired from the Naval Reserve. I filed for Agent Orange in 2004 and was denied because the Admiral never put anything in my records about what I had done and where I did it. I was denied 5 more times and not given reason. Since nothing was in my records, if I had applied earlier I would still have been denied. They finally gave me 50% Disability for my back in 2022. DO NOT WAIT TO FILE!

I waited nearly 10 years. ADHD, uncertainty about the process, always feeling too busy to stop and figure it out. I had a bad experience with a VSO. I finally went with one of those companies and forked over 60% of my lump sum. Don’t do that, please. I just felt frustrated and took that road. I feel neurodivergent people need a lot more help with this stuff.

Service members are encouraged to begin the process starting the beginning of their last year of service. Waiting (while I did) does not make sense. Why not try to make your entire transion complete and smooth from ETS date to civilian employment, to medical and financial coverages possibly awarded theough the VA assessment.

You may recieve nothing other than a rating, but you won't be running around post service looking for support and answers.

47 years, that is how long my cancer took to show up, it was from Agent Orange in Vietnam, confirmed by VA doctor, but still waiting for final decision since 2015, Semper Fi

43 years after.

As I understood it, we could not apply for VA disability before separation from service when I retired (92). I applied within a couple months of retirement and received 0% for hearing loss, now 40%, and 10% for tinnitus. I am now at a combined rating of 170%, receiving 100% for multiple conditions including active prostate cancer.

I waited almost 16 years before I first filed. I did go to the VA for health care before I applied for disability. After ten years of trying to move higher than 30% I finally hired a lawyer and I went to 80% and TDIU. I did not pursue anymore after that

I am a Nam vet, got out after my 3 years (1971). No medical exam, just last pay and goodby. Was inactive reserve. went into Federal service. I have a good pension, VA doesn't enter into it, but under the PACT maybe it does, however no records are a problem.

I didn’t file an additional claim for 30 years after getting out, but I did find out that upon my discharge (1969) I was Service Connected (0%) for hearing and pulmonary!

Out 25 years before making a claim