Falsely claiming PTSD for VA benefits?

He is taking comp from someone who really needs it.

PTSD =X=cured.
There is no cure for PTSD and even the best treatments are only symptom management. It's the defining difference between PTSD and a large battery of other trauma induced psychological conditions that can be successfully treated. (CSD -combat stress disorder, is the temporary version of PTSD and clears up in a couple months or years, like mine did.) By that alone, this guy is a fucking fraud. Why would he follow psychologists' prescriptions or recommendations when he probably doesn't have PTSD?

However combat =/= PTSD. By my research less than 1% of PTSD sufferers have been in combat, and even for those who have it's not always the cause. There are no statistics for how many people enlist with preexisting PTSD and little speculation on how many soldiers suffer PTSD from non-combat causes. If a soldier served four years with no combat, no deployment, never firing their rifle outside the qualifying range, it doesn't rule out PTSD.

First of all, PTSD is not just a combat only related condition. I know this because my PTSD is not service connected. It comes from working 17 years as a surgical trauma team member and EMT. With that said, not only was I in the service, I was a dependent from birth until enlistment and a lot of things that happen in service can be PTSD related or caused. I saw a lot of it growing up and I saw a fair amount of it in service; even during the Cold War. Things do happen that can cause it that are relative to service that are not war zone related. At some point, many of us witness horrific accidents or take part in civilian community catastrphes and clean ups. That includes MST. Sadly, part of the stigma over PTSD has people not understanding what it really is or how it is caused.

PTSD can be caused by any traumatic event to an individual. And we all know everyone is wired differently with different coping mechanisms. What could be minor to you could be a major stressor for another person. And when something happens to you now may not be an issue. Later down the road, maybe even a number of years, something can trigger that experience. Trust me on that. I know all too well having been out of healthcare for almost 18 years now.

While I do attend PTSD clinic through VA, I do not claim it as a service related disability. And as far as I know, nobody in my group falsely claims it either. Does it happen? I am sure it probably does, just due to some people's nature. But, when it comes to PTSD, I don't question others who show obvious signs of it. Yes, I know it can be faked. And yes, if is faked, it should be criminal, in my opinion.

One of my personal experiences with PTSD is that I thought I could handle things myself. A lot of us try to do so mainly because of the stigma PTSD carries. We think that we are bigger than the problem stewing inside of us. I took the prescriptions for years, did the meditations and the groups until I thought I had it beat. Then I quit. That was my mistake. A couple of years later the triggers started to fire again and I almost let it beat me down too far. It happens with far more than we know. And thus, we have the "22 too many" or "22 A Day" of veteran suicides.

You sound responsible enough that I challenge you to learn more about PTSD. It may help you understand it a lot better and allow you to help your fellow service members or veterans much better.

How do you know that is what's going on with him? Just because he tells the public it is one thing does not mean that's what is going on with his medical treatments. What if he was raped and just tells the public it was gun fire from embarrassment? Its really not our places to know and he doesn't have any obligations to tell us the truth of his medical situation. Unless we are his doctors and are qualified with knowledge of his case, it is not our place to judge.

The real question is, why does it matter so much to you?

I don't believe PTSD is ever cured, just controlled. I fought mine for many years and my family suffered through my problems until the VA psychologist got me on the right track. The veteran you describe does have some problems as you described, and his mental illness may or may not have been caused by his service. Who are we to say. And who are we to interfere with the process. The facts as you have stated should be so evident that his medical professional team should handle the process. Firing a weapon or not has no bearing on a PTSD determination. I witnessed the aftermath of a tank running over a Marine who had been riding on top and fell off. The tank driver and two other Marines riding on the tank had to be medevac'd out from our position. They were so messed up they never returned to our unit.

To answer your question, I would proceed to not give a fuck about what someone else is doing unless it directly affects my life. Because there are many things that are not combat related that cause PTSD.

Want an example? Picking up aircrew parts after a crash. Using circumcised or not to ID which very small bag to put the "member" in....

MAIN POINT: Not every PTSD claim comes from "combat" situations or deployments.

In my 21 years of service as a non-flying officer in the Air Force, I was always "supporting" from a headquarters or flying wing staff--even with 3 tours in AFSOC. I was also "joint" for 5 tours, so I actually never deployed with an Air Expeditionary Force (AEF). My VERY unusual career path never saw direct combat and only my 1 year short tour with AFSOC in Korea got me qualified for the VFW. On the other hand, I earned an Air Medal for 21 air-land/8 airdrop missions over and into Bosnia during Op PROVIDE PROMISE in the early 90's which was considered humanitarian relief--not combat--although we also received Hostile Fire Pay for getting shot at with AAA and MANPADS on occasion, even though this did not seem to cause any PTSD at the time.

So why did I approach the VA for PTSD claim during my retirement out-processing when I never directly served in combat?

Because I was in the Pentagon on 9/11/2001 when American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into our building by Muslim terrorists. I helped evacuate kids from the Pentagon Child Development Center (CDC) and had to "take cover" near the Pentagon Marina when United Airlines Flight 93 was approaching DC for a second attack. I was one of only 70 people ordered by SECDEF Rumsfeld to go back into the burning Pentagon on 12 SEP 01 where the intel community (IC) told us we had to be prepared for follow-on CBRNE attacks by al Qaeda terrorists and we had to go outside to breathe fresh air every 15 minutes because our mission spaces had the highest levels of carbon dioxide in the whole building. The "non-combat" stress of that environment still haunts me every day when I come across people who said it never happened because there are no video/photos of an airplane hitting the Pentagon, Snopes/Fact Checker media says there was no evacuation of the CDC kids, there were no heroes that day, the IC failed to warn of an attack, or my personal favorite, "So how do you feel about President Bush your Commander-in-Chief launching missiles at you on 9/11 to start a war just to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent Muslim civilians?"

I've also gone through all the VA screenings, therapies, counseling, and PTSD treatment tools, but now the VA says there is nothing more they can do for me. My flashbacks during the early days of COVID when our Commander ordered us to immediately put on masks which fogged up my glasses and I could not see to do my contractor "support" mission, sent me into a panic mode in an enclosed space without windows just like 9/11. The VA had no sympathy for me that day and has discontinued all PTSD treatment while sending me to the "black hole" of NGO treatment programs that conduct intake interviews and never have "room for me" after that.

However, I was honored last year to have found two sisters who were rescued from the Pentagon CDC on 9/11/2001 that are both graduating or graduated from a military service academy 20 years after the terror attack.

I guess my bottom line is that ANY veteran who applies and goes through the rigorous VA screening process for PTSD, even if they were never in "combat" situations or deployments, should be given the same access to PTSD treatment with an equivalent VA disability rating depending on the level of their condition.

https://www.dnronline.com/news/rockingham_county/never-forget-elkton-honors-remembers-9-11-with-service/article_62de4b0a-d0d9-55fa-bd97-a9e6b58b2b4d.html

I respectfully request that any and all of my brothers and sisters-in-arms refuse to reply to any post that is made by an anonymous poster. I joined this site with the understanding that I would be connecting with actual fellow Veterans. If RP allows un-verified people, I may as well join instagram or tik-tok!!!

You are correct THE VA DOES NOT CARE NOT MNOW NEVER DID. PTSD has nothing to do with firing a weapon but a event. PTSD can occure at the time of the event or years later no two solders react the same. I recall a reporter claiming PTSD after firing an AR-15 one time at a range. In short move on with your life it is not your problem chances are you do not have all the facts unless you are the person you are talking about

Very important article. One of the tenets of service is integrity. One year, two years, twenty years combat or not, be honest about your very important service to America. Turn him in to the IG.