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What are your thoughts given some basic info? Fraud, Criminal Intent, PTSD & psychology.
An Army infantry soldier completes a first term 4 year enlistment, excited following 9/11. Possibly serves only one overseas tour, and never fires his weapon in combat. Gets out of Army following enlistment and joins Army Guard. Within first year of guard duty (upon orders for overseas tour) claims PTSD threatens to kill his comrades. Is released from duty.
Member has tried for 12 years to get benefits, and finally receives 100% disability. Claims to his family that his PTSD disease is cured. Does not follow psychologists prescriptions, as they are not really needed.
Was member fit for duty when enlisting in the Army Guard? Or did this member fraudulently join having pre-existing condition?
Can this member have concealed carry and go hunting, when he claims PTSD for gunfire?
would you consider this member to be defrauding the government and taxpayer?
Soldier has lied to family members claiming to be heroic sniper, only to reveal as lies later, having never fired his weapon in actual combat. Possibly used similar lies to VA psychologist.
How would you approach situation? VA does not seem to care, and does not offer path for investigation.
An Army infantry soldier completes a first term 4 year enlistment, excited following 9/11. Possibly serves only one overseas tour, and never fires his weapon in combat. Gets out of Army following enlistment and joins Army Guard. Within first year of guard duty (upon orders for overseas tour) claims PTSD threatens to kill his comrades. Is released from duty.
Member has tried for 12 years to get benefits, and finally receives 100% disability. Claims to his family that his PTSD disease is cured. Does not follow psychologists prescriptions, as they are not really needed.
Was member fit for duty when enlisting in the Army Guard? Or did this member fraudulently join having pre-existing condition?
Can this member have concealed carry and go hunting, when he claims PTSD for gunfire?
would you consider this member to be defrauding the government and taxpayer?
Soldier has lied to family members claiming to be heroic sniper, only to reveal as lies later, having never fired his weapon in actual combat. Possibly used similar lies to VA psychologist.
How would you approach situation? VA does not seem to care, and does not offer path for investigation.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
PTSD
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 467
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Every veteran who has served in a combat zone suffers from PTSD at some level. Some very small, some very large.
Some Veterans bring their Anxieties and Mental Issues with them when they enter the military. The nature of Service Connected simply implies that whatever that person did in the Military resulted in less than maximum participation in the workforce.
It is way to complicated to find simple solutions. The process of obtaining a PTSD disability is strenuous and goes thru several level to ultimately reach the level of disability.
War Zones changes people.
I am 90% Service Connected, paid at 100% because I am unemployable. The process I went thru was filled with Psychiatrist, Psychologist, and Counseling visits. Immensely helpful. I function well today, because I do not have to worry about finances. I do not have to worry about medical care. I do not believe I could do it without my VA disability.
You cannot always tell what's in a book by it's cover. Judging others without the benefit of all the information is just rumor mongering and just being a busy body. The professionals in the VA have done their job! None of us, should judge them without having the proper credentials.
Some Veterans bring their Anxieties and Mental Issues with them when they enter the military. The nature of Service Connected simply implies that whatever that person did in the Military resulted in less than maximum participation in the workforce.
It is way to complicated to find simple solutions. The process of obtaining a PTSD disability is strenuous and goes thru several level to ultimately reach the level of disability.
War Zones changes people.
I am 90% Service Connected, paid at 100% because I am unemployable. The process I went thru was filled with Psychiatrist, Psychologist, and Counseling visits. Immensely helpful. I function well today, because I do not have to worry about finances. I do not have to worry about medical care. I do not believe I could do it without my VA disability.
You cannot always tell what's in a book by it's cover. Judging others without the benefit of all the information is just rumor mongering and just being a busy body. The professionals in the VA have done their job! None of us, should judge them without having the proper credentials.
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MSgt Loren Pierce
CWO4 Tony Howdeshell - I agree with you 100%. I served three tours of duty in war zones, worked in the Fire Dept and saw horrific incidents, and then had a career in Law Enforcement and I do not suffer from PTSD. Like you, every visit to the VA ends with trying to make me an appointment to psych to put in a claim for PTSD. It's not hard to fall into the trap especially for the money their trying to handout to everyone these day.s
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1SG(P) Dean Mcbride (MPER) (SPHR)
BS! Your comment about: "Judging others without the benefit of all the information is just rumor mongering and just being a busy body." that is exactly what you are doing when you make the statement: "Every veteran who has served in a combat zone suffers from PTSD at some level." I have experienced a lot of combat situations during three tours in Vietnam plus combat action on Special Operations in Laos and Cambodia. I do not have PTSD! In fact, they did not "Invent" PTSD until after I retired! I am not saying PTSD is a phony ailment - however, to me it appears that lots of sufferers are doing so only to claim "benefits"!
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1SG(P) Dean Mcbride (MPER) (SPHR)
CWO4 Tony Howdeshell - Thank you for a sensible response to the BS about every combat veteran having PTSD!
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GySgt William Hardy
I served in Vietnam when I was 20. I served in Iraq when I was 58. I came back and went to the VA. My VA doctor told me that the older we get, the more your emotions come to the surface. Even though I do not have any noticeable signs right now, it does not mean I will not have symptoms in the future. This the 4th of July. I was reminded yesterday when people set off some loud firecrackers just down the street. Sounded just like the sounds of Vietnam. I jumped. I am 75 and maybe that doctor knew what he was talking about. I also had a FB post about my unit from Iraq. We left in 2007. As of a few days ago when another member took his own life, our death toll is now 22 that we know of . . . we served in gun truck security and no major incidents. I went on several of these missions (I was the Operations Sergeant) and they went smoothly. Who is to say what affects us and what doesn't. It seems that a lot of veterans die by their hands and calling BS is not a smart statement.
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Why do you care? How does this affect you personally?
Also PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder...so anyone can suffer from it if they suffered from trauma. If one is in a serious car accident, sexual assault, etc, you can get PTSD. Childhood abuse, domestic violence. The list goes on. People need to stop thinking you only get PTSD in combat.
Also PTSD = Post Traumatic Stress Disorder...so anyone can suffer from it if they suffered from trauma. If one is in a serious car accident, sexual assault, etc, you can get PTSD. Childhood abuse, domestic violence. The list goes on. People need to stop thinking you only get PTSD in combat.
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1LT Neal Schwartz
TSgt Don Dollinger - Our home was burglarized, they used our pillow cases off the bed to carry their loot. My wife would not sleep in that bed, and she could not touch her pillow. New pillows did not help, we bought a new bed. Her thoughts of them touching things in her house did not go away until we moved out of the area. Then new trauma. She missed her friends and shopping seriously, she cried for two years, almost every night. We made a trip back to visit friends two years later, and saw the disgusting rise in crime, filth, homeless camps, and such in the Seattle suburb we had lived in. After visiting our friends and returning to our new home it all stopped, she was okay again and thankful for the move. She seldom brings up the burglary anymore, but can openly talk about it. This has nothing to do with disability benefits, but may give you some insight as to a woman's PTSD issues that might be quite different than a man's. My issue on the burglary just made me really mad (sever anger), mainly because we know who did it but the police were too cautious to charge them for lack of proof other than their car description and license number from a young man that observed them coming over our fence with the loot on their backs. I was more traumatized by the lack of police's inability to do anything about it I considered a personal lawsuit but the culprits had nothing that could benefit me. Someday they may just get caught and literally taken out, that is my salvation.
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PO1 Janice Ritz
SPC Gloria Anderson - Are you seeing a personal therapist? If you are, make sure you are talking with your therapist about the incident that caused the trauma. Make sure they are writing it down in your record (get your Blue Dot record to make sure). If you're not seeing a personal therapist, ask for one. Demand one. Advocate for yourself. Every single time you go to the VA, talk about your anxiety, depression, and other symptoms related to your trauma with your doctors. And get it documented in your medical file. After 11 years of trying and therapy, I finally receive compensation for my MST related PTSD. Yes, it took a lot of hard work on my part, but I feel better for it and I finally feel vindicated.
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MSgt Don Miller
It annoys the heck out of me to hear PTS “D”!! I do not have a “disorder”!!! I experienced traumatic stress - many times in 26 years and many combat deployments. I “suffer” from post traumatic stress. I don’t “have” a disorder!! Don’t hang that tag on me please.
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No offense but there is certainly a lot of he said, she said, and speculation. As for PTSD, many pepp op or are affecting by things in life differently. It could be that he made up stories about his experience in order to justify his level of PTSD, not wishing to admit that the environment itself got to him. As for telling his family one thing only to recant is a classic sign that he may be dealing with deeper issues, I.e. there is nothing wrong with me, you have nothing to fear I mad me it all up. This is done, in some instances, to take the concern from the family. As for not taking meds, that too is a common issue.
The psychologists at the VA have the distinct advantage of accessing his entire military and medical record, they know where he was, for how long, and in most cases what he experienced.
If he is legit, then his Family should ask to attend a family counseling session with the VA in order to learn how to support him, he’ll he is troubled either way, PTSD or not. So money aside he needs help. Also, the VA reassess all levels of compensation about every five years until about 55. They will also review over 55 if the condition is one that is thought to be repairable. So, if he is a fraud he will be found out, and removed or reduced.
So my first thought would be the benefit of the doubt, if he won’t attend a family session, I recommend his loved ones seek counseling and read up on how to help and cope with him. Soldiers are very adapt at masking their feelings. God Bless.
The psychologists at the VA have the distinct advantage of accessing his entire military and medical record, they know where he was, for how long, and in most cases what he experienced.
If he is legit, then his Family should ask to attend a family counseling session with the VA in order to learn how to support him, he’ll he is troubled either way, PTSD or not. So money aside he needs help. Also, the VA reassess all levels of compensation about every five years until about 55. They will also review over 55 if the condition is one that is thought to be repairable. So, if he is a fraud he will be found out, and removed or reduced.
So my first thought would be the benefit of the doubt, if he won’t attend a family session, I recommend his loved ones seek counseling and read up on how to help and cope with him. Soldiers are very adapt at masking their feelings. God Bless.
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SP5 Bill Belisle
SP5 Bill Belisle I've been searching for my medical records from the mid-60's, with no luck. They were either lost in the famous "St. Louis fire" or misplaced and lost somewhere between my overseas duty and return to the US. You would think that the VA would have a system to track every bit of veteran's info, sort of like the FBI's methods of snooping on American citizens!
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TSgt Daniel Newman
Well the fact family members cant vouch for him and he tells lies of his service. I am sick to God of these phony desk jocks getting over
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