Who can you call to confront a medically retired veteran who is collecting a check and doing illegal drugs?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:55:18 -0400

I know a few soldiers who've been medically retired and there seems to be nothing wrong with them. They collect pay checks and do a lot of wrong things (Marijuana, and others). I feel as though they are just stealing from the Army and setting a horrible example.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 8 at 2017 8:59 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:59:27 -0400

Pretty much anyone. What you describe is a reportable offense and you could report it to almost anyone within the CoC.

Response by SSG Pete Fleming made Jul 8 at 2017 9:03 PM

SSG Pete Fleming — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:03:29 -0400

Unfortunately there are a lot of such cases. Proving it can be hard. There are investigators and such but they often have their hands tied as no one wants to be the one who says a Vet hasn't earned their benefit... It isn't right or fare to those who deserve it. It also takes money and resources away from those who legitimately deserve them. But on the flip side there are those was have a right to a disability but have never tried to collect, perhaps it balances out... I don't know.

Response by AA Joseph Moody made Jul 8 at 2017 9:33 PM

AA Joseph Moody — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:33:07 -0400

Marijuana is borderline reportable anymore in the silly villain world and if they are medically retired self medicating is not an unknown thing. I'm not in your shoes and I don't know who you are or what expertise you have or what these people have done to give you that impression. As it is more than one that you have seen ((if I am reading this right)) I would suggest waiting a moment before acting and perhaps finding some guidance in your leadership to offer you some advice.

But if you have to act, I would suggest the inspector general, but if you do feel as if you must act, I would suggest leaving your contact info when you file the complaint. If nothing else you owe it to them to give them the option to look you in the eyes.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2017 1:29 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 01:29:49 -0400

Well a call to the local PD may be proper.

Response by SGT Christopher Hayden made Jul 9 at 2017 4:18 PM

SGT Christopher Hayden — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 16:18:17 -0400

The Cops?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2017 6:49 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 18:49:41 -0400

Do you have any knowledge of the actual facts about their medical conditions or did you just self diagnose them from a distance? While it's possible they fooled everybody, there was at one point a chain of command and doctors involved in determining they should be medically retired. So I would be very reluctant to accuse someone of faking. It's sort of like the way I'm against soldiers challenging vets about stolen valor. Senator John McCain gets 100% disability payments from his time in service. But you can't necessarily see all that's wrong with him by observing him on TV. And why do you seem to be so concerned about the "wrong" things they do? If they weren't doing marijuana, and were straight arrows, would you still feel like reporting them about their retirement checks?

Response by CW4 Guy Butler made Jul 10 at 2017 8:05 PM

CW4 Guy Butler — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 20:05:49 -0400

VA policy on medical marijuana:
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/medical-marijuana.asp

It kind of reminds me of SGT Shultz...

VA and Medical Marijuana – What Veterans need to know - Public Health

An explanation of VA's policy on medical marijuana

Response by LTJG Edward Bangor Jr made Jul 12 at 2017 6:48 PM

LTJG Edward Bangor Jr — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 18:48:48 -0400

If you think they are defrauding the government in order to collect a medical retirement, I think an IG call would probably be the best bet. People do regularly abuse things like Workman's Comp, so I wouldn't put a fraudulent medical retirement outside the realm of possibility.

If the only issue is their personal choice of medication, I'm not sure if it's worth the bother to do anything about it. They are entitled to VA care regardless of usage. If permanently medically retired, there's a lot of aggravation on the military's part (form my understanding). Someone would need to be reactivated to face court martial. If all you've got evidence-wise is a witness account of someone smoking pot, I don't imagine the JAG to be super keen on going through that whole process. Simple possession is a summary offense is many jurisdictions, the same level of crime as a rolling stop at a stop sign. If someone got caught with a few pounds on them, maybe it'd be a different story.

So you could try local law enforcement, but unless you live in the quietest of towns, most cops don't really care about simple possession (my dad is a retired cop, and I have friends and family that are LEOs). A call likely would not provide probable cause, leaving the cops to knock on the door, get told that the person inside isn't getting high, and that's the end of the discussion if there isn't a state marijuana law. There are usually crimes that require less effort and/or have a bigger public safety impact that they'd rather deal with.

All in all, there's not a ton that can be done.