Torrey’s Mailbag

Attention veterans, active duty military, family members and loved ones:This page is dedicated to submitting your questions so I can answer them and help you get the benefits and treatment you deserve.  You may have a question about veteran benefits, or perhaps you are having issues or problems that have come up in your journey with the VA and Department of Defense. or maybe you hit a dead end on getting treatment.  If you don’t know what to do, where to go, who to see…I likely have the answer for you.  If I don’t know, I know someone who will know.

This Mailbag Page is all about information sharing and helping each other through a very complex system and process. 

There was no one to turn to when we went through the system, and many times the VA or DoD would misdirect us or give out incorrect info.  I don’t want that to happen to you.

So if you have a question that you need to ask, a problem that you need help with, or just want to have a sympathetic ear to hear your frustrations… Submit your questions or comments via my web contact form.  I will repost your questions here, along with the answer.  This way someone in your situation can get the answer too.  Don’t worry, I will redact all identifying information before it is published.

However, keep one thing in mind.

I get a lot of email.

I do the majority of my work in helping veterans by email, as my phone would be ringing off the hook all day if I published my phone number to give out free advice.  Since I live in a funky time zone, getting interrupted at 6am means I’d never get any sleep.  If I don’t get sleep, I get cranky.  It would also trigger one heck of a PTSD episode for my husband to hear me talking on the phone all day.  (I talk his ear off enough as it is!)  So if I do not respond immediately, don’t be upset.  If I don’t call you after you request a return call, don’t be offended.   Lastly, if you like what I had to say and found that it helped you, pass it on.

And most importantly… Thank you for your service and sacrifice.  It is my honor to help you any way I can.

 

DISCLAIMER

I’m not a lawyer.  This isn’t legal advice. I refer a lot of veterans to lawyers because I have limits to my knowledge. I’m offering this advice to you based on my personal experiences as well as what I’ve learned from others over the years. The process of filing a claim for disability compensation at the VA is not supposed to be a legal process, it’s an administrative process.

I’m offering advice on how that game gets played.

As soon as your claim becomes “legal” work, I will always refer you to a lawyer. That occurs (in my mind) when your claim goes to the Board of Veterans Appeals or to a higher court.

The VBA has hundreds of lawyers earning nice paychecks to defend against you. For you to not have a lawyer as soon as you even remotely need one is foolish and self destructive.

This site offers you advice on how to do the administrative work yourself. If you have a good case, if you do this first level of work properly, if you’re patient…you probably won’t need the lawyer and eventually you’ll have a fair adjudication from VBA.

Keep in mind that my work is offered a guidance only and there is no warranty, express or implied.