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Yeah, I wanted to do a story on one of the translators and people that work in the villages (NTC) but was quickly told no because if it gets out, their families could be killed and a whole bunch. I've always thought it was important to take care of the ones that helped us. Good work man, I have my TDIU appointment in 2 weeks. How fast is the turn around typically to know if you got it? I'm super nervous because I am really depending on it. I know how fucky the system is over technicalities and I'm just dreading the worst. It's not like I'm faking it, but I guess it's because my old commanders and NCOs were always calling me a faker or something along those lines because pain is invisible and unless you have something visibly wrong with you, they just straight called bullshit. Like I have panic attacks just making appointments or making class on time. I have to force myself to let myself come in late so that I'll calm the gently caress down. My teachers know about it and they're supportive. I also rely on my wife to wake me up through my alarm. I'll sometimes be able to get up when it goes off, but there are many occasions where I have no recollection of either smothering the alarm with my body, constantly hitting snooze until it stops, turning my phone off, or whatever. This includes putting it where I had to physically get out of bed. My brain just refused to wake up, so now my wife helps me. Without her I'd be a mess.
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Sep 27, 2017 20:45
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John Oliver did a 15 minute piece on how shamefully we treat translators, and I imagine it's just gonna get worse with this administration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QplQL5eAxlY
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Sep 27, 2017 20:54
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My school just told me that I need to pay my student health insurance and that the VA won't pay it under Post 9/11 GI Bill. Is this correct? I've been googling all morning trying to find official verbiage on whether student health insurance is covered under Post 9/11 GI Bill. Seeing as how I am required to have insurance under ACA/Individual mandate, I feel like the GI Bill should cover it. It's a hefty bill at $2700.
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Oct 3, 2017 16:53
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Howard Phillips posted:My school just told me that I need to pay my student health insurance and that the VA won't pay it under Post 9/11 GI Bill. I think they might be right, I was in community college like 8 years back while working full time and my job's health insurance was allowed to stand in for the mandatory student health care. So that was much cheaper but I was still paying for some form of health care. If it were me in your situation I'd see if you can maybe swing some means-based exclusion (if you really can't afford it). Or maybe you have the option to just pay by the month for the insurance and then shut it off after the first month and pay the ACA fines which might be much less. Comedy option, get all your books from the student store/library, photograph them into ebooks with your phone, return them, and then you can use the $200/mo book stipend to pay the insurance.
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Oct 3, 2017 17:15
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Howard Phillips posted:My school just told me that I need to pay my student health insurance and that the VA won't pay it under Post 9/11 GI Bill. Why does the school say you have to have their student health insurance? If it's an ACA mandate thing, tell them you're covered as a veteran by the VA and they can pound sand. I don't understand why your school would require you to have their health insurance. Zero VGS posted:the $200/mo book stipend The what?
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Oct 3, 2017 17:36
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Howard Phillips posted:My school just told me that I need to pay my student health insurance and that the VA won't pay it under Post 9/11 GI Bill. Nah, that's not right. I don't know the particulars of your school/situation, but you have health insurance covered by the VA. This is entirely separate from the Post 9/11 GI Bill so you're not going to find any documentation about health insurance. So technically your school is correct in the sense that Post 9/11 GI Bill won't pay for your health insurance, but again it's an entirely different thing. You just need to enroll at your local VA and you'll have insurance. As a student with very little or no income, the care will be free. Every year when I waive the student health insurance, I just notify them that I am covered through the VA and all parties move on until the next year when I again waive the student health insurance.
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Oct 3, 2017 17:42
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McNally posted:Why does the school say you have to have their student health insurance? If it's an ACA mandate thing, tell them you're covered as a veteran by the VA and they can pound sand. I don't understand why your school would require you to have their health insurance. Let me Google that for you: https://www.google.com/search?q=gi+bill+book+stipend $1000/yr for books, so it's less then I remember. You can still just pocket it and not buy books. They should pay it automatically with BAH. I assume he's not disabled hence is not covered by the VA for health insurance.
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Oct 3, 2017 17:45
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Zero VGS posted:Let me Google that for you: https://www.google.com/search?q=gi+bill+book+stipend Okay, yeah. I thought you were talking about something else entirely, some monthly benefit I'd never heard of.
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Oct 3, 2017 18:04
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sharkbomb posted:Nah, that's not right. I don't know the particulars of your school/situation, but you have health insurance covered by the VA. This is entirely separate from the Post 9/11 GI Bill so you're not going to find any documentation about health insurance. So technically your school is correct in the sense that Post 9/11 GI Bill won't pay for your health insurance, but again it's an entirely different thing. I wasn't aware that I was eligible for VA health coverage. I was told at TAPS that since I was voluntarily separating I wasn't eligible for any coverage. So for the few months prior to school starting I was uninsured and looked forward to the student health insurance because it has a good reputation for coverage and care. The school has a "Hard Waiver" program where you are required to prove that you have another form of health insurance otherwise you have to sign up with the University Healthcare provided through Aetna. Not having health insurance is not an option. But the hard waiver deadline has already passed, hence why I'm dealing with the premium which just recently got posted. I'm relatively healthy and willing to take the risk of not having health insurance. I would rather pay the ACA penalty fee than pay $2700 for a year. I called the GI Bill helpline today and explained my case and she referred me to the SCO Handbook (manual for school certifying officials). https://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/docs/job_aids/SCO_Handbook2.pdf. On page 31 it says quote:NOTE: Fees are mandatory charges (other than tuition, room, and applied by the school for pursuit of an approved program of education. Fees include, but are not limited to, health premiums, freshman fees, graduation fees, and lab fees. I know I should have done better research, that's my responsibility. But still I feel like this is a legitimate concern. Also I found out that Stanford and Vanderbilt among many other schools do consider student health insurance a mandatory fee covered under the GI Bill. At the end of the day the university will get their money, so why make a fuss about it? I attached their Health Insurance requirement flowchart. It's University of Virginia. Howard Phillips fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 18:11
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My school will automatically enroll you in health care if you do not opt out of it with proof of your own insurance. This might have happened to you. I would recommend contacting your SVO (Student/Vet Organization) and trying to see if you can get it waived. Most schools will work with you, as mine just reversed a bunch of charges to my student account that was meant to be put on the Vet account, and then rushed to get me my refund.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:47
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Zero VGS posted:I assume he's not disabled hence is not covered by the VA for health insurance.
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Oct 3, 2017 19:58
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You need to separate from your mind the GI Bill and health insurance - they are not at all related and you're making things very complicated for yourself. Speaking to the VA people that run the GI Bill won't get you anywhere because they don't have anything to do with healthcare, and vice versa. Sure, you can use any refund money you get from excess scholarships/benefits to buy a high-speed platinum health insurance plan, but neither the school nor the VA GI Bill are involved in that. All vets are eligible for VA care, as far as I know. It's been very useful to me as a perpetual student that doesn't make any money. You are just means tested to determine what amount you'll be paying for co-pays. If you're a student you won't have to pay anything unless you have some lucrative side-job giving you a steady income. Howard Phillips posted:I wasn't aware that I was eligible for VA health coverage. I was told at TAPS that since I was voluntarily separating I wasn't eligible for any coverage. I also voluntarily separated from a 5 year enlistment and go to the VA for my annual physical and have a regular doctor there. Contact your local VA tomorrow morning and get enrolled ASAP. Then call your school's health office and tell them you are enrolled at the VA and need to be waived from their other requirements. It won't be any kind of new, complicated process for them-- I'm sure UVA has tons of vets. sharkbomb fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Oct 3, 2017 |
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Oct 3, 2017 21:47
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sharkbomb posted:You need to separate from your mind the GI Bill and health insurance - they are not at all related and you're making things very complicated for yourself. Speaking to the VA people that run the GI Bill won't get you anywhere because they don't have anything to do with healthcare, and vice versa. Sure, you can use any refund money you get from excess scholarships/benefits to buy a high-speed platinum health insurance plan, but neither the school nor the VA GI Bill are involved in that. Thanks. Yeah I'm going to contact the VA tomorrow. The university basically told me to gently caress off.
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Oct 3, 2017 23:06
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Howard Phillips posted:Thanks. Tell them to eat poo poo and that you don't want their ridiculously exorbitant health insurance
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Oct 4, 2017 00:53
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Alright I’ve braced myself for the slew of posts calling me retarded but here it goes. Is there any other perk to going through a ROTC program when I go to school at the end of my extended second enlistment other than having a guaranteed commission at the end? I’ve already saved a lot of money and have a couple decent investments and I’m coming out of the Air Force with my civilian certifications in respiratory therapy and of course the post 9/11 GI bill. The way I see it is if I can just get some cushy back office job stamping forms for 10 years until I retired I’d be perfectly fine with that. I’m just looking to see if there are any pros/cons to going ROTC or just trying to go to OTC when I finish school. I won’t have a lot of time when I come back from this deployment to go through TAPS. So I’m just trying to get as much info now as I can while sitting out here between Iraqis getting their limbs blown off.
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Oct 4, 2017 11:49
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The main perk to ROTC is you get to have a mostly normal college experience.
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Oct 4, 2017 13:57
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Cenen posted:Alright I’ve braced myself for the slew of posts calling me retarded but here it goes. Not bullshitting, but does the AF have any program like that Navy's STA-21? If so, you can go to school while on active duty. If you go ROTC, you will still be randomly drug tested and such, and I'm not sure the scholarships are compatible with the GI bill, but I have no idea. The navy used to (probably still does but I'm not sure) have a group of NROTC kids that are non-scholarship and just called college programmers. They participated in most of the NROTC bullshit, but did not have as long of an obligation when they commissioned as the kids who took the scholarship. So that's always an option, too.
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Oct 4, 2017 14:30
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If you're set on commissioning, ROTC is the surest way to go. If you've got your poo poo reasonably together, it's as close to a guarantee as exists in the military. Applying to OTS afterwards...well, you're entirely at the whims of the force structure 4-5 years from now. If we're invading North Korea, you're set. If we have a president with an IQ over 35 and a GOP Congress, manning will be undergoing another round of cuts and selection rates will be low. But man...you're doing to be dealing with 18 year olds who think they're going to be GI Joe, or Robin Olds, or whatever the gently caress and they will drive you nuts. Because your cadre will know your background, and you'll be expected to unofficially mentor this group of Kevin Bacons from Animal House. I would not be surprised if one of the first questions you get when your background becomes known has to do with blood and/or death.
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Oct 4, 2017 14:46
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Cenen posted:Alright I’ve braced myself for the slew of posts calling me retarded but here it goes. If you go ROTC you won't have to use your Post 9/11 GI Bill. Which means later you can transfer your benefits to your spouse or child.
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Oct 4, 2017 14:53
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Maybe. ROTC is not a guaranteed 4-year contract. Here's where each service differs...they all handle contracts differently, but a 4-year contract/scholarship is competitive if it's even available.
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Oct 4, 2017 15:00
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A good way to figure out how it works would just be to call up ROTC at your prospective school and talk to them about it.
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Oct 4, 2017 15:09
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Elsa posted:This is an interesting one, please follow up For fear of incriminating someone I can't really give a lot of details but I figured you guys deserved a quick follow up. We got our man in touch with Advocates Abroad and his the veterans association of the unit he was with, and hopefully at some point they might help him. Unfortunately it won't be from Greece though. Moria, the main camp on Lesvos, is not doing so well and rather than being sent back to Turkey where he didn't feel safe or risking him or his small daughter freezing to death in the winter our man disappeared a few days ago. He has family in Germany and we'll try to keep tabs on him, and help out if he comes to us but there's only so much we have the time and resources to do. We are a healthcare ngo not a legal aid one after all. At least he knows about his options and has finally gotten in touch with someone stateside so even if he doesn't get to go there there might be some support. I'm sorry I don't have better news but this is honestly almost a success story. Thank you guys for your help.
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Oct 9, 2017 12:29
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Hey, I just got a bitchin' credit card that I would describe as vet benefit: https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/bank_cc_limitless_cashback_visa_signature If you have a USAA account, you can sign up for this Limitess Cashback Visa card. It gives 2.5% cashback on all purchases, with no cap and no annual fee. This is higher than any other credit card in existence. They are "piloting" it where it will only let you apply for the card if you live in certain states. I couldn't get it in my state, but the workaround (actually told to me by the USAA rep, lol) is to temporarily change your physical address in your USAA profile to an approved address like in New York, apply, then change it back. They might still try to mail the card out there, so use a family address or mail forwarding service if you need. Put it this way, if you're in a position where you make lots of trips or buy supplies for your job and get reimbursed, the 2.5% can really add up.
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Oct 20, 2017 19:13
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2.5% is pretty good but Chase Ultimate Rewards is hard to beat if you have a Sapphire Preferred/Reserve as you get a 25% bonus when you use their points to buy travel. Between Chase Freedom's rotating 5% categories and my Sapphire Preferred getting 2% on travel/restaurants I'm earning at least $30-$50 a month in points.
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Oct 20, 2017 19:58
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Zero VGS posted:Hey, I just got a bitchin' credit card that I would describe as vet benefit: I got one of these cards a few months back. I am using it to buy all my supplies and tools for my expensive Voc Rehab program then I submit the receipts to the VA who reimburses me. It is working out pretty well so far.
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Oct 21, 2017 00:00
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Goddamn if I hadn't just opened up a new credit card I would jump on that.
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Oct 21, 2017 02:21
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Cenen posted:Alright I’ve braced myself for the slew of posts calling me retarded but here it goes. AN ROTC program.
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Oct 21, 2017 10:50
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DoktorLoken posted:2.5% is pretty good but Chase Ultimate Rewards is hard to beat if you have a Sapphire Preferred/Reserve as you get a 25% bonus when you use their points to buy travel. Between Chase Freedom's rotating 5% categories and my Sapphire Preferred getting 2% on travel/restaurants I'm earning at least $30-$50 a month in points. Counterpoint. Chase
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Oct 22, 2017 06:14
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if you live an hour away from a VA clinic how hard is it to get them to pay for a civilian doctor closer to where I live? Is there a list of approved doctors or do I get to pick?
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Oct 23, 2017 21:54
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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:if you live an hour away from a VA clinic how hard is it to get them to pay for a civilian doctor closer to where I live? Is there a list of approved doctors or do I get to pick? I live 90 minutes from my main VA clinic and told them that my psych doctor at the local VA out patient facility was irresponsibly prescribing me meds (and he was) and they sent me to an outside doctor that I chose. They also were going to send me local for an MRI. I’m sure there’s a way you can get them to do it.
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Oct 23, 2017 21:57
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NUKES CURE NORKS posted:I live 90 minutes from my main VA clinic and told them that my psych doctor at the local VA out patient facility was irresponsibly prescribing me meds (and he was) and they sent me to an outside doctor that I chose. who did you talk to at your VA clinic?
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Oct 23, 2017 22:05
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Here's a question, do I have a SF50? If so, where can I get it? Also, when employers want a DD214, they typically want DD214-4 right? I'm going to try and do an internship and even though I plan on staying and doing my masters at least, I want to get my poo poo squared away.
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Oct 27, 2017 03:37
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I've never seen an SF50...looks generic enough. Yeah, part 4 is the only one anyone cares about. Make copies for everyone else. Frame one. Keep the original.
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Oct 27, 2017 03:57
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And a scan of the original in case the cloud remains post-Trump
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Oct 27, 2017 05:20
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think employers can request member 4 because that contains the characterization of your service. It wouldn't hurt to voluntarily provide that one, though. e: I was thinking of SF-86, nvm. Naked Bear fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Oct 27, 2017 |
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Oct 27, 2017 22:18
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I'm sure this has been asked, but had anyone here goes a lawyer for VA claims? I've gotten hosed over by the VA again not long ago, and I feel like my vso doesn't really care anymore. I know I will lose back pay, but I wonder if it's worth it.
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Nov 3, 2017 04:03
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bulletsponge13 posted:I'm sure this has been asked, but had anyone here goes a lawyer for VA claims? I've gotten hosed over by the VA again not long ago, and I feel like my vso doesn't really care anymore. I know I will lose back pay, but I wonder if it's worth it. Have you tried refiling your claim recently throug a different VSO? I had some rapid success this summer that I was very surprised by.
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Nov 3, 2017 04:59
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How long does it take usually for an unemployability claim to go through? Had my VA appointments about a month ago, and submitted it back in September (early). I'm not expecting a quick thing, just wanting to know how long I'm gonna be left wondering.
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Nov 7, 2017 20:41
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Soulex posted:How long does it take usually for an unemployability claim to go through? Had my VA appointments about a month ago, and submitted it back in September (early). I'm not expecting a quick thing, just wanting to know how long I'm gonna be left wondering. My experience with the VA tells me that it takes them six months to rubber-stamp a form, and that's after you bring it to the direct attention of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. So.... sometime between now and the heat death of the universe, I guess.
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Nov 7, 2017 20:43
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McNally posted:My experience with the VA tells me that it takes them six months to rubber-stamp a form, and that's after you bring it to the direct attention of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Yeah, this is what I'm worried about.
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Nov 7, 2017 20:44
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