Dave the VSO's blog

VA introduces a health benefits handbook that's customized to your location, needs and eligibility.

VA introduces a health benefits handbook that's customized to your location, needs and eligibility.

Besides the expected difficulties of transtioning back into civilian life, women vets face unique challenges in today's job market.

Mark Thompson, writing online for Time magazin says the number of homeless women vets more than doubled from 2006 to 2010.

Well, they’re not exactly new vessels, just new on the list of ships whose crews might have been exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange. The VA has a database of over 200 ships in service from 1962 to 1975 where exposure was possible. Note that the database includes not just Navy but Coast Guard ships too. If you served on one of these 47 “blue water” ships or any of the ones in the database, you might be eligible for disability compensation.

You got a favorite comedian?  Somebody who always makes you laugh?  Then you know how important timing is.  Ask any really good comic and they’ll tell you timing is everything. Same thing applies to getting some of your VA benefits.  The biggies, medical, disability compensation and disability pension, you don’t have to worry about.  But others do have time windows before they expire.

You got a favorite comedian?  Somebody who always makes you laugh?  Then you know how important timing is.  Ask any really good comic and they’ll tell you timing is everything. Same thing applies to getting some of your VA benefits.  The biggies, medical, disability compensation and disability pension, you don’t have to worry about.  But others do have time windows before they expire.

A coupla weeks ago we talked about the VA’s mobile apps for smartphones.  Here’s the other shoe dropping---Telehealth.  It’s making a real difference in how medical care is delivered.  How?  By using computers and video to bring patients and doctors together. Specifically, by bringing the doctors to the patients, not the other way around.

OK.  Not that hard.  But if it’s something you’ve looked forward to it’s easy to get ahead of yourself and take shortcuts you might regret later.

Like what?  Oh, like that physical and psychological exam the military wants to do.  You don’t want to take the time.  What you want is to speed things up.

Bad decision.  Here’s why:

Paperwork!  I don’t like it either.  But there are certain docs you’re gonna need and you’re gonna need ‘em for other things and you’re gonna need ‘em over and over. That’s just the way it is, soldier.