This ^^^^^^

 

Your local DAV or VFW will have volunteer VSO's. They are excellent at the process, but they don't deal with a lot of aviators so you may have to do a lot of explaining. Also, some state Veterans' Departments have full time paid VSOs who are excellent. I am in Vermont and used the state military affairs people, they were great.

 

Careful about what gets discussed, and especially written down. You don't want a paper trail anywhere that hints at unreported no-go health conditions.

If it were me, I might even call them anonymously for an initial consult. I'm sure they'd be cool with that.

Again, if you need help get it for sure.

 

This is kind of like writing a resume. You can pay some high-dollar dude/gal a bunch to write you a resume but at the end of the day, you have to sit in front of the hiring committee and sell that resume to them. Might as well do it yourself so that you are intimately familiar with what's on it.

I did a minimum amount of research, filed, and received 60% six months after the initial filing. I also rest comfortably knowing nothing that I filed will mess with my faa medical. I was 100% honest with the VA and the FAA.

 

Except that it’s not, and VSOs exist specifically to help you with this process. They’re also completely free and are (usually) experts at navigating this process, especially when it comes to denied claims that are actually legit.

It’s great that you had a straightforward claim and received no pushback from the VA, but that’s not the case for everyone.

It’s certainly doable to go it alone, but why? It’s not like a VSO will keep you in the dark about what’s on your claim. I was intimately aware of what was on my claim, and I didn’t have to do any of the ***** work.

VSOs also don’t fall prey to the ‘suck it up’ and ‘play hurt’ mentality that many pilots have for 10+ years, that sometimes follows them into their separation/retirement physicals and VA claims. This is not a flight physical, and many people have legitimate claims for things that they probably wouldn’t think to claim, and a good VSO will help with this.

Anyway, not a knock on anyone who does it themselves, but it’s totally unnecessary. You’re making a claim and representing yourself to the VA here… would you defend yourself in a court room without a lawyer? Just my $2.

Edit: I have a decent bro network for VA stuff because of a previous job. If anyone is looking for a VSO rec, feel free to PM me your geographical area and I’ll ask around.

 

You do you.

It should go without saying that not all VSOs are created equal. There is a litany of stories about VSOs screwing it all up.

Seriously, 1 day of reading the VA benefits wiki on Reddit and I filed the next day. It's really not that hard.

My brother, purple heart, mucked around with the top VSO from the bro network in the state for years but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter because the filing date is what matters. File now.

 

Copy all. I sent my letter of intent to file and am now getting records ready. Thx

 

Very true. AOPA medical is a great resource to talk over anything potentially disqualifying first, I am sure they would help craft a VA submission that wouldn't hang you later. The $75 or whatever inflation has done to the price would probably be money well spent.

 

I’ve heard good things about Wounded Warriors VSO services from some people aviators who used them.

I used DAV years ago and they made everything easy. I had minor stuff.

If you don’t do it yourself…


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What % are you guys seeing? Is the return worth the work?