The Social VETwork

12/17/2018

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10216643754359237&id=1621627720

Dedicated to all servicemembers lost at sea.

12/01/2018

One of the best ways to deal with PTSD is to talk about it. Many people will listen...trust me on this. There's no magic answer or solution--but just to have someone that will listen and provide a little moral support makes all the difference in the world.

11/30/2018

Dedicated to all my fellow Veterans who have suffered the loneliness, isolation and despair living with PTSD. You are not alone.
Let's talk about this together.
My PTSD resulted from performing mortuary service on 24 fallen heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.
It never goes away---the images, the cold smell of blood and burnt/ charred remains, and the anxiety and fear of not knowing what I would see when the cover of the transfer case was lifted from one casualty to the other.
Our mortuary team normally consisted of 3 personnel. It took 2 of us to break open the security seals and remove the American flag draped lid off the steel/aluminum transfer casket, and then the another person to look at the tag and write down the name attached to the body bag (if there was one). Some casualties didn't have bags, and some were just wrapped in plastic wrap. At times the bottom of the transfer case was bloody from leakage. We would have to put a bag of ice under the head, middle groin area, and on the feet. Sometimes there wasn't a head, and sometimes there were just body parts/limbs without a torso, and sometimes just a trunk with legs with no torso or head.
While I was honored to be the last to touch the bodies of my fellow brothers/sisters in arms, to prepare them for their last and final trip back home, I couldn't get over thinking about the fact that this was somebody's husband/wife, father/mother, , son/daughter, or brother/sister. We definitely had female casualties too, but there was disparity in the amount-- not that this makes any difference whatsoever.
You just never get over it but you learn how to live and deal with it.

This is how I deal with it, and this is what helps me make sense of it all;

Terry Kasper-piano

Piano piece

04/19/2018

Before retirement or discharge from the service, it is crucial that you obtain copies of ALL medical records at least 6 months prior to retirement or discharge. I cant stress this enough. In addition, you need to have every single deployment order, training paperwork, TDY (temporary duty) orders--basically your whole military life story, from Basic Training to the very end. This also includes medals, training certs, award citations, and the actual medal order itself from the approving command authority.
No military record is trivial when applying for Veteran's benefits, especially medical and disability benefits. I must add on a personal note however, that honesty and integrity should reside when applying for VA disability compensation.
Many deserving Veterans aren't successful the first go-around and have to appeal their rating decision, because so much money is already tied up on paying benefits to those who feign mental illness, and have served less than 6 months to a year, (with no deployment history, combat exposure).
Take away: Get all your paperwork together, get all of your medical C&P (Compensation and Medical), have all your ducks lined up in a row, and apply for what you deserve using a moral compass. . Many do, but unfortunately many don't, and make funding hard for the chronically disabled and those who truly need it.
Seeing a wounded, paralyzed amputee Veteran, or who is severely mentally inflicted, would be enough for me to make my decision. It's called Integrity, which is one of the VA's core values. It's also a Veteran core value that should be instilled in us all. Otherwise the system will never work and function as it should--to serve our nation's Veterans who truly need it. Hoooaah!!

09/13/2017

Attention Vetetans and active-duty military! Always keep and maintain a copy of ALL your medical and service records. This could mean the difference between receiving earned benefits, and missing out. After all, you have earned it.
Get in touch with your local Veterans Service Organization, American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) for more information. This is not about "entitlements". If you served under other than dishonorable conditions, then you have EARNED any and all benefits available to you, as well as your dependents.
Take away: Maintain a copy of ALL service medical and personnel records.

06/21/2017

Fellow Veterans: If you submit a Privacy Act (PA) request for service records, service medical records, or a claim folder to your local VA office, please make sure you submit an SF-180 (completely filled out) with your signature. You can Google and download these forms. An electronic signature is rarely accepted, and not providing a handwritten signature will only prolong the process of receiving your records. You can also submit any kind of request letter, typed or writte (i.e. Word Doc), but it must have a signature, as well as some kind of identifiable information (date of birth, service dates, etc),
so your records can be found.
If you are requesting records of a deceased Veteran, you must submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with a signature as well.
Veterans should take advantage of awarded and earned benefits available to them.
After all...you've earned it.

05/22/2016

Listen up my fellow Veterans. If there's any advice I could give to those getting ready to separate or retire from the miltary, it would be to get and maintain copies of all medical and service records. Let me know if you need assistance with understanding the process. It's not as hard as you think.
The Social VETwork is all about serving the Veteran, and giving you what you are rightly entitled to. Thank you for your service.

05/07/2015

May is Military Appreciation Month. Thank you to our military men and women who serve this great country.

05/06/2015

The VA has made several improvements in their mission to serve veterans. There was a backlog of at least 500k disability claims last year, and now with the VA's primary mission to significantly reduce paper claims and streamline a more expeditious claims process, the VA is now at a backlog of approx 134k claims---that's a huge step forward. My numbers may not be on the mark, but they are pretty close. Throughout the scandals and frustrations over the years with the VA, you have to give them props for improving its service to veterans. With new leadership and new innovation comes new and improved changes. This is just the beginning. The VA is reorganizing and have created a one-stop customer experience that will allow veterans to have a more integrated access to their earned benefits and health care. The ultimate goal is to have the VA more centered on the veteran. That's pretty good news.

04/13/2015

01/28/2015

My uncle, who is a Vietnam Vet, passed away last weekend. His wife has terminal cancer, and things are bleak, to say the least. While the VA provides burial at a National VA cemetery, they do not help much along the lines of funeral expenses, which at this point will cost at least $4000.00 It's a shame it has to be this way. Veterans and their survivors deserve better.

12/28/2014

Wishing you and yours a safe and happy New Year.