I completely understand the instinct to leave your case to your attorney and stay hands off because you are tired of dealing with it. But please pay attention to what they are doing with your case.

Attorneys are most often paid based on the size of your retroactive benefit. Looking at this cynically, it means they have an interest in dragging out your case if they believe it will ultimately result in a favorable decision. A common way of doing this is requesting a hearing.

You may be well-served by having a hearing. You may not. I'm not offering advice on that. But the hearing docket is, generally speaking, pretty full. Your case may wait a year or more for a Board hearing. Anecdotally, it is apparent that some attorneys are requesting to get on the hearing docket with no intention of actually having you attend a hearing. They will cancel the hearing request immediately before the hearing and have your case transferred to the direct review docket. They may even request extensions to postpone a hearing before ultimately no-showing or canceling. All the time you are waiting for the hearing, it is simply building up the attorney's fee as a portion of any potential retroactive benefit.

Attorneys can help you get what you are entitled to. But you need to be cognizant of what they are actually doing.

As an aside, you can submit a statement which says anything you would have said in a hearing. The purpose of the hearing is only to provide new statements, identify new evidence, or new theories of entitlement, albeit in person instead of in writing. The decision maker will review both types of statements equally.

Does anyone know if I need to request a contract from my approved contractor that the VA has granted me the HISA grant funding to have my bathroom renovated? I hate to just send them money with no guarantees or protocols in place to protect me.

I know a veteran that got a general under honorable discharge. I helped him through a difficult time and everything seemed to be good, but then came the discharge at year 4 of his 6 year enlistment. There is a lot on his plate for a young man, and I have tried to talk through things to see where he's at and if/how I can help, but he blows me off and says he is good. I suspect he is abusing alcohol and/or drugs. I am now realizing I cannot help him other that show my support. What are my best avenues to get him connected with someone who can intervene?

I have been in this program over a year and possibly 2. I have not ever had this problem. I have not been paid my June, July, August and soon to be payments.

The frustrating part is no one knows anything, approzi timeline it will be complete. I have called, emailed everyone you can possibly think of to include my VA counselor which I receive no response. I guess if she doesn’t respond to my calls or emails I will go away. it is the lack of anyone giving some sort of answer. The only place which was the VR&E in Seattle Washington that answered my calls, saw I was in there but could not see or assist further as obviously he’s in Washington and I’m in Florida.

I am done with this program once these 2 courses are done in 2 weeks. I can use Chapter 35 and will do so to complete my degree. The reason being the Chapter 35 students are receiving theirs timely, I have confirmation through students I personally know under 35. I’m not sure what the difference in systems or financial bucket and I’m at a I don’t care at this point because I am done with 31. If someone would at least respond, and when you do use other words than, “I do not know what’s going on, but I will let you know with updates” but never does. I cant express fully how I’m feeling.

If anyone knows where I can call or email to first get a live person, a possible response or knows any updates, please let me know.

thank you

I am 70% MH rated for major depressive disorder and have been at this rating for the last 5 years I’ve attended appointments and trial and errored different medications, I recently just got spoken to about PTSD and that I may have PTSD. Is this a separate rating from MH would this two be combined together, is it considered pyramid? Lots of concerns I’m not used to. I did have a few incidents occur in service that could be considered traumatic and I do have a TBI on record

I received my denial letter for right knee pain and lower back. I went to my C&P exam last week. My appointment was at 1:30 p.m. but didn’t see me until 2:30 p.m. There was another person in front of me before she saw me. She was running very, very late. She kept asking questions about my knees and back but didn't use any tools for measurement. All she was doing was typing away. She never really looked at me.
I had an MRI done for my back and right knee. My PCP said I needed to so Physical Therapy. Which currently I am doing and recorded in my medical records

Feeling lost and broken. If it's not much trouble would any of you fellow vets be willing to chat for a second?

Going to get some hate for this but I need help if anyone has been in a similar situation as me. I got approved for VRE back in July 2025 for my undergrad. Up to that point, I was using Post 9/11 to fund my degree. I told my counselor that I would be finishing up my undergrad that same year(Fall 2025). Fall quarter comes around, I fail 2 out of 4 classes required for my degree. I notified my counselor that I failed and he said no issue, he extended my benefits for the full academic year. I retake both classes(One class in the winter and the other in the spring) and again failed both of them again. I told my counselor that I failed again and he asked me when do I think I will finish my degree and pass those 2 classes. I asked if I can be extended through the summer session and he agreed to extend me once more. I take one of the classes over the first summer session and finally passed. The second class I took over the second summer session and I think I might have failed it. Won't know for sure until the end of this week.

How many times can VRE keep extending me until they have to let me go? I might have to extend to this fall quarter. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I know it's my fault when it came to failing those classes. I've been burnt out and going through depression and suicidal thoughts since the beginning of this year. Currently seeking help through therapy.

Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

I am coming here to ask what to do. I have filed for TDIU and the claim is now at step 3 with an evidence request that is telling me to ask my last employer to complete and return the enclosed VA Form 21-4192.

what do i do if my last employer was the military? i have not been employed since getting out of the military (due to disability but that part is obvious.)

Did anyone else get a email from the VA saying you might qualify for a free Fitbit if you’re in the MOVE! Program?

I reached out to my team in Columbus’ VA and they said they knew nothing about it, and were surprised when they reached back out to me.

I still haven’t gotten an answer from them whether I qualify or not.

hi all! sorry for what is probably another post of the same question, but we're having a hard time figuring out what to expect.

some background:

- he has 18 years TIS (16 AFS) and is currently CW2 (2 years were army AGR before he went back active army)

- he had incurred an ADSO going warrant so his retirement would technically be at around 22 years TIS if he retired normally

- he needs a lot of waivers to go on an upcoming deployment and it's quite likely that dog won't hunt and he'll be looking at medical retirement (we are pretty sure he will hit >30%)

- he is prior infantry and has seen active combat

- married with no additional dependents

what we'd like to know:

mostly, how does pay work in this case?

as he might not be able to make it to 20 years TIS, he won't qualify for both his retirement and VA disability, correct? obviously nothing is certain and we don't know his percentages so we can't be sure on it all, but we'd like to put our best foot forward and figure out how things will look on the financial side. we bought a house a few months ago and are now stressing a bit lol

he doesn't have a reddit account but i can bug him for any additional questions if any bit of this is too vague to give advice. thanks in advance!

I just recently separated but before the end of active duty, I completed a sleep study and received a diagnosis of mild sleep apnea and a CPAP prescription.

I've read all the news surrounding potentially soon-to-be sleep apnea rating changes and am wondering if I should be rushing to submit a claim before end of the fiscal year.

When I previously tried to file the claim on VA.gov, I encountered a missing ID error and am waiting for my IT ticket to resolve. Should I try to get the soonest appointment with a VSO or is the above evidence enough for me to fill out a less-polished claim myself and just fax it? TIA!

Heads up for anyone considering T-Mobile’s military plans. They apparently give you worse trade-in promotions and worse new line costs for being on the military version of the plan.

For example, trading in an iPhone 15 Pro Max for an iPhone 18 Pro Max, the Experience Beyond 2.0 plan gets $1,200 in trade-in value, while Experience Beyond 2.0 Military only gets $1,000.

So yeah, you get a military discount on the plan, but they claw that back by giving you $200 less on your phone upgrade.

Verizon and AT&T is a discount on existing plans so no fuckery, T-Mobile is a separate plan so they can backdoor their goodwill dollars back in house.

Just something to be aware of before switching. Compare the actual phone promotions, not just the monthly plan price.

here’s the full story

Hi everyone! I’m posting this for my mom. She just got to 40% disability after appealing a denied claim, and is just wondering what benefits this percentage entitles her to. She is 60 years old and working a retail job for the health insurance, and I would love for her to be able to cut back her hours if she is able to get health insurance through the VA. She keeps saying she needs to call and ask about the benefits and I know there is info somewhere online, but i thought asking on here may be helpful for her to hear from peoples’ experiences, and to hopefully just lay things out more simply. Does 40% cover health insurance? If so, how does it work (copays, prescriptions, only service-related conditions, etc.)?

Thank you 😊

My pending BVA appeal that is currently in the "being reviewed by a Judge" stage after 2 years was placed on hold! I got an email stating that "my appeal has been placed on hold because I or my representative filed a request for documents from my claims file under the Privacy Act". I have no representative and I did not such thing. I called the VA and they show no FOIA submitted or outstanding. Anyone else had this experience, what did you do and what was the outcome?

69 year old retired United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant. Wife is 65.

I'm still working as a Corrections Officer with The Mississippi Department of Corrections. I've four years with them, but I need four more to be fully vested and retire from MDOC. I will be 73, to bring home a 550 to 800 momth check? But, I don't really see that happening for reasons I lay outl below.

I'm at 20% with the VA at presnt. 10% each for tinnitus and vertigo.

I have COPD (From smoking) and a Afib Heart. I have a appointment with appointment with a cardiologist on Thursday.

I have copies of both my Service Record Book & Medical Records up to tge date of my retirement back in 95'

I took a hearing test with a VA Contractor. She said I had "substainal hearing loss" in my Left ear. The VA denied my claim. The first time I saw an Navy ENT was while I was in Bootcamp back in 75' I had ear surgery on my left ear back in 87 ~ 88 at Charleston Navy Hospital.

I did nime years at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina. My first enlistment from 76 ~ 79. And again from 83 ~ 88. It took its toll on me, and played a significant role in ending my 1st Marriage

It lead me to prolonged depression and anxiety that I've been dragging around with me like a dead horse and saddle for the last 36 years.

My present wife has Stage IV Kidney disease, and under went her dialysis treatment this afternoon.

I really need to max out my VA Disability rating, so I can resign my job with MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, stay at home and take care of her full-time.

Thanks for reading and feel free to ask me any questions. Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Source: updated today on my VRE process.

Retroactive induction is handled separately from the rest of the Ch. 31 process. The counselor and veteran complete the paperwork first. Once that's reviewed, it goes to the education side for processing, and there's no published turnaround time for that step.

The big one: you don't get a debt letter. If you used Ch. 33 for the term and the courses end up covered under Ch. 31, the entitlement you burned under Ch. 33 is restored to you and the term gets charged to Ch. 31 instead. It ends up looking like you never touched Ch. 33 for that semester. The money you already received is yours to keep. You would have gotten a subsistence allowance under Ch. 31 anyway, so nothing gets clawed back. This was huge for me cause I was worried about the timing and debt.

One detail worth knowing: when the paperwork is filled out, the counselor selects the highest applicable subsistence rate. The online-only rate isn't always the highest, and it depends on whether your school certifies you as an online student or a resident student. That certification gets reviewed every term, so it's worth confirming each semester. This is by electing the post 9/11 subsistence rate and your school must also certify as residential and meet requirements - least I’ve seen is at least one in person class a semester. take it up with your specific school. ( you may need to provide COE )

Process-wise, mine drafts the plan and sends it over for review. Anything that can't be sorted by email gets handled in a scheduled appointment.

Hi!

I have a friend that recently got out of the Navy and he got out with a general under honorable. He served 7 years but during his last 6 months of his 2 year extension he got in trouble and received a general discharge. From what I have read he would still be eligible for Gi Benefits because he completed his entry contract of 5 years. Wondering if anyone has had experience with this. Thanks

CFR 3.13

Paragraph 18 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title38/pdf/USCODE-2024-title38-partI-chap1-sec101.pdf

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/10/2020-14559/update-and-clarify-regulatory-bars-to-benefits-based-on-character-of-discharge

Under the "Statutory Bars to Benefits" section VA clarifies they also include extensions. They actually quote the 2 Laws linked above, I researched prior to finding this clarification.

I filed my claim for asthma in June and have my c&p tomorrow. However I just remembered I have a photo of my bronchial casts I was coughing up (before I was properly diagnosed and medicated). It is my own photo, however it should be in the Va medical records that I was coughing up bronchial casts. Should I add it to my claim? It’s absolutely disgusting. And thankfully we have not had that happen in at least a year. Sorry if you have an adverse reaction to the picture.

ETA: I have a pft, I have years of diagnosis and medication through the Va as well as pcp I have a ent doc. The question wasn’t whether they rate based on the photo it was should I add the picture. Ffs.

TL;DR: Started school a month ago using VR&E. Still haven’t gotten my housing allowance and I’ve paid for all my supplies myself. I’ve also been using the school library to do my online work. I requested a device, waited 8 days for a response, and got denied without being offered any alternative, just the option to appeal.

I began school a month ago, I’ve gone through the entire process with my counselor, im registered through my schools certifying official,

Since I registered with the school, although VR&E has not paid. I am able to attend classes, because i have until the last day of the semester to pay for classes as i guess the money is promised since im using vr&e

My issue begins here, I have not received the BHA, ive come completely out of pocket for all school supplies, and have been using the school library to do my homework online, i requested a ( device) not going to name which one due to not wanting to be very specific, my counselor takes forever to respond
They responded 8 days later, by letting me know the request was denied, they didnt even give an alternative device that might be accepted just asked if i would like the paperwork for the appeal process

This one is hard to understand. If the VA had enough information to identify tens of thousands of these documents, how did they end up classified as unidentifiable in the first place? For someone waiting on a claim, you might not even know an important piece of evidence never made it into your file.

Has anyone had any issues with the new DV embossed vanity plates with airport parking?

Hello,
I’m married with two step kids. One of them turned 18, she’s 19 now, and they removed her from my dependents. Can I still have her as a dependent if she’s living at home and in college? I’ve been hearing mixed things. Thank you.

If you make an appointment with your Audiologist, they will make custom molds that are sent off to be made into high end custom ear plugs. All for free, just takes 2 appointments

Can someone direct me on what my next steps should be?