My Story of Military Abuse Part 3: Conclusion

After I got back from my surgery and leave, things did change.  I had been working in my battalion personnel office and living in the Bachelors Enlisted Quarters prior to my surgery, but when I got back I was given an ultimatum that changed my life.  My Platoon Drill Sargent, a man that I trusted, approached me and told me that we needed to talk in a private area.  When we got to an empty room, he told me that I had two options:  to go back into full training or they would put me in for a dishonorable discharge and I would receive no benefits for my surgically repaired hip.  He told me that they wouldn't force me to do anything that would hurt me when I got back into training, and that I would not have to repeat any training I had already completed.  Because I wanted to make the Army a 20 year career, I chose to go back into training.

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My Story of Military Abuse Part 2

After I was given the crutches, I was not able to get back into full training and I had to stay after the graduation of my basic training company.  Three months after graduation, I had my first hip operation in Philadelphia and was sent home for a month to recover.  It was amazing how much better I felt after that surgery.  I was able to walk without assistance from a cane or crutches, and I felt confident that I would be back to training in no time.  I went through physical therapy and did not get back to the point where I could train so I started working in my battalion personnel office.

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My Story of Military Abuse Part 1

Seven years ago I signed up for the Army with the intention of being the best paratrooper and best Ranger I could possibly be.  I was physically fit and ready to get past basic training with no trouble.  It was hard leaving my family and new girlfriend, but I did it and was excited for the next 14 weeks of infantry training before I could see my family again at graduation.  I knew that I was going to make the military a 20 year career and that I was going to do some good things for my country.

Me taking inventory of our weapons.

VA PTSD Disability Ratings

Today, many veterans are applying for a disability rating because of their PTSD.  It sounds to me that many that have applied have not been granted a rating that is fair.  It almost seems that the Department of Veterans' Affairs does not realize how debilitating it can be to not be able to sleep at night or to constantly re-live the traumatic events that are causing the PTSD.  This is something that I have lived with for the past five years, and at times it has been difficult to even get out of bed or go out in public.  I have been so agrivated at times that it is hard not to snap on the person who mildly irritates me, and at times I have felt my blood boiling over something that did not really matter.

Debt Deal and Veteran's Benefits

The new debt deal was signed and the government has to make billions of dollars in cuts to government spending.  Multiple sources have stated that these cuts will not affect veteran's benefits, but I am a bit skeptical.  The main reason that I am not so sure that this will not affect benefits is that the government is likely to stop hiring new positions, and we have already seen hiring freezes within the VA.  There are millions of new benefit claims each year and that number is growing.  If they cannot hire more people to compensate for all of these new claims it will make each claim take longer to approve.

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Looking for a Guest Post

I would love to hear some of your stories about what you are going through so I can post it on here.  The more you can share with me and everybody else the better off we will all be.  Thank you all for reading my blog and thank you to anybody that wants to submit a blog post.

Email it to me at redsoxfandade@yahoo.com

Veterans with Disabilities Deserve More

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The Department of Veterans' Affairs is supposed to take care of our fallen comrades when they exit the military, and according to all accounts I have heard they are failing miserably in this task.  Veterans are struggling to pay their bills as it takes over a year for a disability rating to be approved, they have to suffer from PTSD because of the horrible things they went through, and they have to fight the system to get the benefits they are most deserving of.  I know that the people that work for the VA are not purposely depriving Veterans of their benefits, but the system seems to be set up to slow things down and to keep Veterans upset and annoyed.