I was chaptered in 2015 under 5-17 with 34 months service on a 4 year contract. I was 11B1A stationed at Ft. Bragg.
The narrative at the time (according to my commander) was that I was being chapter for “simple adjustment disorder not amounting to disability.” At the time I was told by my chain of command that I wouldn’t ever qualify for VA disability and not to waste any more of the governments time trying. Basically I was told that since I hadn’t been deployed I couldn’t possibly have PTSD, and since my concussion was from a field exercise (also while not deployed) that didn’t count either. Otherwise stated as, fuck off you weak slick sleeved bitch, and don’t fuck up my door by letting it hit your 4th point of contact otherwise a real warrior is going to have to fix that for you too.
In the last 9 years I have been seriously hospitalized (often for several weeks) over a dozen times because of my mental health, to include a month long hospitalization while on active duty from a suicide attempt. Every time I was in the hospital they asked if I I was a vet, I said yes. They asked if I had seen combat, I said no, they ignored the possibility of PTSD and treated me for basic depression. I have used the Crisis Line dozens of times over the years, and for whatever reason summer of 2023 was finally when the VA Suicide Prev Program reached out to me. I had never talked to the VA before because of the things my CO told me while chaptering me.
I met my first VA primary doctor in September of 2023. He was shocked and disgusted when he realized that I had been kicked out (untreated) with severe PTSD and TBI issues that were apparently never documented in my discharge. He told me to immediately find the VSO that was in the building after our appointment. By December 2023 I was rated 100% P&T.
Since then I have spent more time educating myself.
It is my firm belief that my command instituted ch 5-17 in an inequitable way, and that I should have been sent to MEB/PEB. It is also my belief (based on what my VA docs/case managers/proffesionals have explained) that my command likely broke the law by not sending me to MEB/PEB. I have been told quite a few times that 5-17 chapters got used improperly all the time to kick people out quickly without giving them benefits. My CO wanted me gone. MEB would take a long time. A chapter took just weeks. At the time, I was barely 21. I was stupid, scared, dealing with both the PTSD and TBI issues (likely as well as an adjustment disorder) and just wanted to get as far away as fast as I could from the Army, the only real family I had ever known, because I was convinced by my command that there was nothing wrong with me and I was just another washed out failure.
I know DoD ratings don’t depend on VA ratings. My VA stuff should at least help bolster my claims though, yes?
VA has my individual ratings:
10% L knee
10% R knee
20% Cervical strain
50% Migraines
100% PTSD w/ TBI (yes this is 100% individually. Even without the physical or migraines I would still be 100% P&T)
Although none of those issues came about because I was under fire, I firmly believe that by CRSC definitions they are ALL combat related. Knees and neck are from jump injuries. Migraines and TBI are from a field exercise where during a force ruck I accidentally fell forward and sandwiched my head between 120lb ruck and the pavement. The PTSD is the only part that could be considered non-combat, but given that a team of psychiatrists and neurologists have been unable to determine where the TBI ends and the PTSD begins and the government has a legal requirement to favor the veteran in close calls like that.
TLDR;
I’m pretty sure I got fucked hard by the Army in 2015. I’ve found that I can make an appeal for medical retirement. I’ve found that my diagnosed disabilities were caused by events covered in CRSC requirements. (During hazardous duty and while performing a military maneuver).
Am I missing much? I think I’ve nailed down my points. Should I look for a lawyer? Maybe just fill out the online forms? I don’t know. I know I got fucked. I’m fairly sure I meet the legal definitions for appeals. Not sure where to go next.
The narrative at the time (according to my commander) was that I was being chapter for “simple adjustment disorder not amounting to disability.” At the time I was told by my chain of command that I wouldn’t ever qualify for VA disability and not to waste any more of the governments time trying. Basically I was told that since I hadn’t been deployed I couldn’t possibly have PTSD, and since my concussion was from a field exercise (also while not deployed) that didn’t count either. Otherwise stated as, fuck off you weak slick sleeved bitch, and don’t fuck up my door by letting it hit your 4th point of contact otherwise a real warrior is going to have to fix that for you too.
In the last 9 years I have been seriously hospitalized (often for several weeks) over a dozen times because of my mental health, to include a month long hospitalization while on active duty from a suicide attempt. Every time I was in the hospital they asked if I I was a vet, I said yes. They asked if I had seen combat, I said no, they ignored the possibility of PTSD and treated me for basic depression. I have used the Crisis Line dozens of times over the years, and for whatever reason summer of 2023 was finally when the VA Suicide Prev Program reached out to me. I had never talked to the VA before because of the things my CO told me while chaptering me.
I met my first VA primary doctor in September of 2023. He was shocked and disgusted when he realized that I had been kicked out (untreated) with severe PTSD and TBI issues that were apparently never documented in my discharge. He told me to immediately find the VSO that was in the building after our appointment. By December 2023 I was rated 100% P&T.
Since then I have spent more time educating myself.
It is my firm belief that my command instituted ch 5-17 in an inequitable way, and that I should have been sent to MEB/PEB. It is also my belief (based on what my VA docs/case managers/proffesionals have explained) that my command likely broke the law by not sending me to MEB/PEB. I have been told quite a few times that 5-17 chapters got used improperly all the time to kick people out quickly without giving them benefits. My CO wanted me gone. MEB would take a long time. A chapter took just weeks. At the time, I was barely 21. I was stupid, scared, dealing with both the PTSD and TBI issues (likely as well as an adjustment disorder) and just wanted to get as far away as fast as I could from the Army, the only real family I had ever known, because I was convinced by my command that there was nothing wrong with me and I was just another washed out failure.
I know DoD ratings don’t depend on VA ratings. My VA stuff should at least help bolster my claims though, yes?
VA has my individual ratings:
10% L knee
10% R knee
20% Cervical strain
50% Migraines
100% PTSD w/ TBI (yes this is 100% individually. Even without the physical or migraines I would still be 100% P&T)
Although none of those issues came about because I was under fire, I firmly believe that by CRSC definitions they are ALL combat related. Knees and neck are from jump injuries. Migraines and TBI are from a field exercise where during a force ruck I accidentally fell forward and sandwiched my head between 120lb ruck and the pavement. The PTSD is the only part that could be considered non-combat, but given that a team of psychiatrists and neurologists have been unable to determine where the TBI ends and the PTSD begins and the government has a legal requirement to favor the veteran in close calls like that.
TLDR;
I’m pretty sure I got fucked hard by the Army in 2015. I’ve found that I can make an appeal for medical retirement. I’ve found that my diagnosed disabilities were caused by events covered in CRSC requirements. (During hazardous duty and while performing a military maneuver).
Am I missing much? I think I’ve nailed down my points. Should I look for a lawyer? Maybe just fill out the online forms? I don’t know. I know I got fucked. I’m fairly sure I meet the legal definitions for appeals. Not sure where to go next.