Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
J.T. McKenna penned an article in Rotor Media about the current topic. I believe he managed to get through the entire article without using the word "secret," so perhaps intrepid conspiracy theorist JBird can do so, too.
In 2021, he posted here that his friends were getting "0% placeholders for PTSD," and that he might also, as he retired from the Army. Did he fail to disclose, and is that the reason for his conspiracy rants?
The investigation drawing in Veteran benefits is the tip of the proverbial ice berg. The McKenna article refers to the San Fransisco Social Security Benefits investigation from several years ago, very well known at the time, involving some 40,000 pilots. That was a 18-month investigation. Not a secret, either. The article notes that the VA investigation has been going on for several years, and hasn't been very secret, given that enforcement action has been coming out of the process for some time now .
Not new, not news, not unusual, not secret. The only secrets here are those that the applicants are keeping from the FAA, in violation of federal regulation AND law, when they fail to disclose, on the airman medical application.
Read the article:
https://rotormedia.com/va-disability...20certificates.
So everyone who thinks the medical branch are loose cannons with unchecked authority are conspiracists? Or do you just just not like Army guys? If one of us stole your lunch money then please allow me to apologize for the group.
So for a change, you raise a great point. Should 0% be reported as a disability? That highlights what a huge problem FAA medical secretly investigating VA disabilitists poses. And that, my loquacious friend, is why this is such a grey area that should be treated at the individual level and not with blanket investigations. Its a disability that affects one’s life exactly 0%, so is it really disabling to the point it could one’s flying? Worthy of report because the VA is doing you a solid and making it easier to get through the red tape if/if the issue becomes a problem in the future?
The CFR you cite is clear. The agency requests information (which they do in the form of a standard 8500) if you forget something, are dishonest or are legitimately ignorant (like is 0% a disability?) then the agency…by the law that YOU cited has the obligation to request more info FROM the AIRMAN! Not/not go to a third party organization such as the VA and get it secretly.***Whenever the Administrator finds that additional medical information or history is necessary to determine whether you meet the medical standards required to hold a medical certificate, you must:
(1) Furnish that information to the FAA; or
(2) Authorize any clinic, hospital, physician, or other person to release to the FAA all available information or records concerning that history.
(b) If you fail to provide the requested medical information or history or to authorize its release, the FAA may suspend, modify, or revoke your medical certificate or, in the case of an applicant, deny the application for a medical certificate.***
Still standing by to hear why you called me a liar.