rickair7777

You've got a pretty big axe to grind, must have really wanted to be in the military when they rejected you.

This is one of the pilots identified in the original story, ie nothing new.

But yes, this guy probably needs the book thrown at him.

PDRit

I have no axe to grind. There are certainly some honorable people in the military. However my exposure to them at the airline has been for the most part those looking to cut corners, cheat the system and beat their chest. They are quick to yell for USERRA and always start with the “i can’t believe the company, other pilots etc would question my integrity “. All while boasting about something nefarious they did or planning to do.

I’m at the end of my career so I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve been very fortunate and try to be a professional in my work and an accountable and responsible employee to my company. It does irritates me when I see pilots tarnish this profession with greed.

Pilot Muscle

I just read an article today about a Delta Pilot, with prior Air Force service, who had a major depression claim filed with the VA and lied to the FAA saying he never had depression or anxiety while doing his annual class 1 medical. Long story short, he is locked up in prison and won't be flying for a while.

rickair7777

Yes, he's one of the four. Pretty sure he lost his certs and job, but don't know about prison yet. But based on previous similar cases of blatant falsification, he might well be doing club fed.

RadialGal

Last thing we need here is a German Wings or another Auburn Calloway.

beis77

This one hits sort of close to home, I know the guy. Good dude, he was my co-pilot back in ‘05. He clearly made an egregious error here. That said, he served for twenty and retired. I hope for his sake and the sake of his family (wife and small kid) that he just gets a fine and no club Fed. He’s already been fired and won’t ever get hired by an airline again - losing one’s dream job and having a permanent record with a fine seems like penalty enough, (to me at least); without also completely destroying the guy and his family with prison time. I suppose it’s different when you know the people involved...

Excargodog

I remember getting my retirement briefings. I remember the volunteer from the VFW and others talking about VA disability with a wink and a nod. And there were no end if people who were willing to "represent" you to the VA , sometimes for money, sometimes because they thought they were being helpful to "coach you" on "how to maximize your VA disability ENTITLEMENT."

https://taskandpurpose.com/8-steps-w...ability-claim/

https://www.veteranslawblog.org/va-disability-ratings/

https://ptsdlawyers.com/increase-vet...lity-benefits/

Now some of these people - mainly the volunteers - are simply trying to help people navigate a screwed up system. A lot of them however, especially the play for pay ones - essentially coach you on the things to say to get a disability. Psych disabilities are the easiest. Most of them, like PTSD and depression, have no real objective findings and require none to make the diagnosis. Get enough right answers on your DSM-5 criteria and you have it made. Anyone coached properly is almost certain to get the diagnosis and the VA compensation. Basically anyone separating or retiring can defraud the system - if they are willing to perjure themselves. And there are plenty of shysters out there willing to encourage you to do it.

The fact is, anyone with PTSD or a Major Depressive disorder severe enough to warrant CURRENT significant disability probably wouldn't be separating and retiring at all, they'd be TDRL'd until recovered or medically retired. So either this gentleman had it and got over it - in which case he probably ought to have gotten a 0% disability as a placeholder in case the situation worsened, or he never had it at all. Yeah, that's cold, but if he was willing to lie to the FAA there is no good reason to believe he wouldn't have been willing to lie to the VA.

And this is just dumb as dirt, particularly for retiring people because for them it doesn't so much affect the amount of retirement you get as it does the tax status of retirement income you were already going to get.

The fact of the matter is that if this guy put in his twenty and had a standard (not medical) retirement, he is almost certainly not at serious risk for significant problems flying. Even if he had a history of major depressive disorder, they almost certainly would have waived it, albeit perhaps making him jump through a few certufication hoops perhaps, but most likely just accepting the military work up and medical waiver which he would have had to have had if the episode was at all serious - ESPECIALLY SINCE HE WAS A FLYER and even if he was not actively flying because he was in a non flying billet and had met his gates.

So this really ISN'T someone concealing a disqualifying defect in a desperate attempt to continue flying, it was someone trying to game the system for a few hundred bucks a month in tax benefits.

And yeah, he's going to pay an awful price for that, but as the old John Wayne meme goes:

sherpster

Well if he wasnt depressed before then I bet he is now.

rickair7777

Yeah, that sounds about right. He was gaming the system most likely. It's a cultural thing, and you get encouraged to do it when you leave. But an O4+ with 20+ should be smarter than that.

A Squared

haha