Tag Archives: transition

Behind the curtain: The VA Claims Process

Posted by Mike Grice on

In my last post I wrote about my experience with the Veterans Administration during my physical exam process.  It took a few months to get through the paperwork and and to actually see doctor or two, and now I am waiting for the results.  And I am now in month three of waiting…

So why does it take so long?  Sure, there are zillions of us new veterans entering the system, but there must be a method to their madness.  After doing a little research, I found out that there is indeed such a method and that is what this post is about: the VA Claims Process.

My faithful readers have already seen the first part of the process in previous posts, but to make sure nobody gets left behind I will recap my adventures up to this point for those who are just joining the party:

The purpose of the VA medical evaluations and claims process is to document any injuries or physical issues that were caused or exacerbated by military service.  The evaluation is important for two specific reasons; first, if a servicemember is injured while on active duty it is important for that injury to be documented in case it requires treatment after they get out of the military and second, in cases where the servicemember has incurred chronic conditions or disabling injuries they are eligible for financial compensation.

If a veteran breaks his ankle while on active duty, for example, and gets out while while he is still going through physical therapy he isn’t out of luck.  His injury still requires treatment, so it is annotated during the physical exam and he will be able to use the VA medical system to get through the necessary physical therapy and get back on his feet.  Once he is better he goes on his way and he may never need the VA again.  However, since the VA evaluated his ankle and documented the injury, in case the veteran needs future treatment he is in the system and can still have that service-related injury treated by the VA in the future.  Taking the example further, if the veteran with the broken ankle is left with a limp for the rest of his life he will likely be evaluated as having incurred a disability.  Depending on the rating that the disability is assigned (I will devote an entire future post to disability assessment and ratings- don’t worry!) he may be eligible for a small disability check every month.

So being evaluated by the VA is important!

Back to my case.

I started my VA evaluation process as soon as I went on terminal leave, and before my EAS I had completed all of my physicals.  As I posted earlier, however, I slowed down the evaluation and claims process because I submitted the incorrect DD-214, which was caught by the case manager and rectified after I sent in the correct copy.  Although it seemed a bit random to me, there actually is a pretty well defined process that claims go through, which shouldn’t have surprised me because after all the VA is a governmental agency that runs on thoroughly bureaucratic processes.

Here is a breakdown of just what those claims processes are, starting from when my claim was initiated in my first meeting with the VA representative after going on terminal leave:

“Claim Received” – Your claim has been received by the VA. If you applied online with VONAPP (Veterans On Line Application – the web based application for VA benefits) Direct Connect, you should see receipt in your list of Open Claims below within one hour. If you applied through the U.S. mail, please allow mailing time plus one week for us to process and record receipt of your claim.  (Note – the process steps and descriptions are from the VA website)

“Under Review” – Your claim has been assigned to a Veterans Service Representative and is being reviewed to determine if additional evidence is needed. If we do not need any additional information, your claim will move directly to the Preparation for Decision phase.

It is during this phase that my errant paperwork was discovered.  It took about a month, but the system works because the claims representative discovered that I had submitted the incorrect paperwork and notified me.  It cost me a little time, but once I sent in the right documentation, my claim continued along to the next step.

“Gathering of Evidence” – The Veterans Service Representative will request evidence from the required sources. Requests for evidence may be made of you, a medical professional, a government agency, or another authority. It is common for claims to return to this phase, should additional evidence be required.

“Review of Evidence” – We have received all needed evidence. If, upon review, it is determined that more evidence is required, the claim will be sent back to the Gathering of Evidence phase.

I was contacted during this phase to provide a more detailed description of how I incurred an injury while in Iraq.  Again, the system works because the VA identified, through their due diligence, that I did not have enough documentation to support a portion of my claim.  So I filled out the form and described the situation in greater detail, and with receipt of the completed form my claim moved further along the path to completion.

“Preparing for Decision” – The Veterans Service Representative has recommended a decision, and is preparing required documents detailing that decision. If more evidence is required, the claim will be sent back in the process for more information or evidence.

This is where my case currently sits.  It has been there for a couple of months.  I did receive a letter last week from the VA apologizing for the delay in processing, so I know that my file isn’t lost behind a filing cabinet or being used as a doorstop.  I do appreciate that they took the time to let me know that they were just behind schedule and that they were still working on my case.

“Pending Decision Approval” – The recommended decision is reviewed, and a final award approval is made. If it is determined that more evidence or information is required, the claim will be sent back in the process for more information or evidence.

“Preparation for Notification” – Your entire claim decision packet is prepared for mailing.

“Complete” – The VA has sent a decision packet to you by U.S. mail. The packet includes details of the decision or award. Please allow standard mailing time for your packet to arrive before contacting the call center.

So I have three steps to go, and hopefully it won’t take too long!  The good news is that I am eligible for VA healthcare because I am a veteran regardless of when they complete my package.  Having it done will be helpful, however, because then all of my information will be in the system.  It will also be good to know if any of the mileage that comes with a 27 year career in the Marines results in a disability rating…

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Lessons Learned:

1.  It takes time.  A lot of time.  I have been working through the process for six months, with the clock starting with my first VA appointment.  It is important to meet with the VA as promptly as possible once you have your DD-214 in your possession because the process is so lengthy.  You procrastinate at your own peril…as I wrote about in a previous post, if you can get your case initiated within 60 days before your EAS you will have your case reviewed by the locally by the VA instead of having it sent to their main evaluation center.  The anecdotal difference is about eight months- I was informed that it should take about four months after all of your information is provided for a local review as opposed to a year or so for a national level review.  It pays to be prompt!

2.  Get all of your ducks in a row before you initiate your package.  Missing or incorrect paperwork will stymie you progress, so avoid having the VA go through the nutroll of contacting you to update the package.  In my case, I provided the incorrect DD-214 and had to provide greater detail about an injury, and both of those transactions took time.  I recommend that when you fill out the pre-appointment paperwork that you go into excruciating detail in regards to any injuries that you suffered. The few extra minutes that you take filling out the form may save you the loss of a month in processing time later.

Final Physical exam finally finished!

Posted by Mike Grice on

I left you, my constant reader, pensively hanging after my last post about my Veterans Administration physical.  How did everything turn out, you wonder?  Well, I am still wondering how it all turns out too.

The VA has become a very busy governmental agency during the last few years.  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have spurred the dynamic growth of all of the armed services, and now as combat in Iraq has ended and Afghanistan winds down there are many thousands and thousands of new veterans leaving the service.  The burgeoning numbers are compounded by the government’s budget deficit and military belt tightening as the growth that the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines experienced in the latter part of the last decade retrenches and the population of the armed forces shrinks back to pre-war levels or lower.  Add all of us new veterans to those from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the Cold War and pretty soon you have a pretty huge population of veterans for the VA to oversee.

At any rate, the meteoric rise in the VA population has slowed some things down, and one of those things is the completion of the disability rating evaluation.  The disability evaluation is performed by the VA to document and, if required, compensate veterans for physical or mental conditions that were caused or aggravated by their military service.  The process is a pretty fair one but it requires the veteran to put some effort into ensuring that all of the documentation is in their record and that they attend all of the required appointments.

In my case, I initiated the process right after I checked out of the Marine Corps and started my terminal leave.  On that day I turned in all of my required files (including my original medical and dental records) and received my orders back to civilian life as well as two versions of my DD-214, known as “Member 1” and “Member 4”.  With these documents in my hands I then went to the Veterans Affairs office on base and made a walk-in appointment to see what to do next.

After waiting about a half hour to see a counselor, I went in and professed my utter ignorance of what to do and laid myself before the mercy of the VA.  Fortunately, the lady who took my case had seen plenty of knuckleheads like me before and she professionally ran me through the requirements.

“Do you have your DD-214?”

I handed it over.  Well, actually I handed her a copy.  The original is probably the most important document you will receive during your transition because it is the only universally recognized form of proof that you served in the military, and it is your ticket to the dance that is the VA.  As an aside, when you check out make sure to ask for a half dozen or so “Certified True Copies” of your form because some agencies will not accept a FAX or photocopy.  The admin shop will make copies and stamp them as certified, which will come in handy later.  Trust me.

“Do you have your medical record?”

I patted the thick folder on my lap.

“Have you been pre-screened?”

I explained that my record had been evaluated by the Disabled American Veterans counselors during my Transition Assistance Class, and I showed her the form that they filled out.

“When do you EAS?”

I told her that my last day was New Year’s Eve, and she paused.  In a speech that she had obviously given hundreds of times before she explained how the timeline for VA claims works.  It is important to file at the right time, she said, because depending on when a vet files has a tremendous impact on how quickly the case will be evaluated.  Based on your EAS if you file too early, your package gets sent off to a regional evaluation center and it may take up to a year to get evaluated.  In my case, since I was three months from my EAS I fell into the “too early” category.  If you file too late your package gets sent off to the same place and it will likely take a year.  Too late is defined as after your EAS.  She explained that if you submit your claim 60 days or less before your EAS then your case will be evaluated by the local VA office, and that the turnaround rate is about four months.

My choice.

She smiled at me across the desk and sweetly inquired if I would like to submit my claim today or if I would like to submit it in a month or so….

A month later I was sitting across the same desk from the same nice lady.  Since I was now in the “sweet spot” of claim submission I presented her with all of my information and got started.

Here is what she needed to get initiate the claim:

1.)  Photocopy of my medical and dental record.  These accompany your claim during the evaluation, and you will eventually get these back.

2.)  Copy of the pre-screening checklist that was performed at the Transition Assistance Class.

3.)  Copy of your DD-214.  Not just any copy, mind you, but the “Member 4” copy.  Why do I know this?  Because I submitted the wrong one, of course, and had to resubmit the correct one a month later (which slowed down my claim).

With the thick packet in front of her she began making some phone calls.  Although I had completed my military physicals I now had to have my VA evaluations completed.  After ten minutes or so of coordinating dates and times, she handed me three appointment reminders for the three evaluations that I would need to complete in order for my case to be adjudicated.

These three appointments were totally on me.  I was required not just to show up, but to complete the pre-appointment paperwork, which was basically a questionnaire that asked about each and every item that I had identified as a malady or injury that was incurred during my service.  Things like a dislocated shoulder (When did it happen? How?) to a broken ankle (what treatment did you receive?  Any surgery?).  The paperwork was a little daunting, but without it your claim will not see the light of day.

Anyhow, I made it through all three appointments, and by the time my EAS came and went my claim was wending itself through the local VA office.  It has been about four months now, and I have been eager to see what the result will be….

…and yesterday I got a letter in the mail from the VA.  Wow, I thought, she was right!  Less than four months and I got my results.  Sweet!  Smugly I opened the letter.

Not so smugly I read what it said.  “Dear Michael,”  it read, “we are sorry to inform you that your case is still under review….”  D’oh.  It looks like I still have a month to go, but that’s OK.  The good thing about being retired is that time is not necessarily one of my problems.  I can wait.

__________

Lessons Learned:

1.)  Talk to a VA counselor as soon as you can.  Make an appointment while you are still on active duty if you can, because even if they can’t help you until you go on terminal leave they can explain the processes and procedures that you will need to follow to obtain evaluations and benefits.

2.)  Schedule a meeting immediately after going on terminal leave.  You can officially start your evaluations and benefits requests when you have your DD-214 and final orders.  It really behooves you to start as early as you can because the VA is a bit overwhelmed with the huge number of new veterans applying for benefits.  If you wait all you do is compound the problem.  It is a first in, first out system that is irrespective of military rank or position.  Don’t think that your uniformed high ranking muckety-muck status means anything to the VA because it doesn’t.

3.)  Get as many “certified true copies” of your DD-214 as possible.  I have had to give out several so far, and it is easy to get them when you check out.  Much less easy later, trust me.

4.)  Make sure to provide the correct documentation to the VA.  It cost me a month because I submitted a “Member 1” vice a “Member 4” DD-214 with my claim.  What’s the difference?  As far as I can tell there is one additional block of information on the “Member 4” version.  Apparently it is a pretty important block!

My first column…

Posted by Mike Grice on

I like to write, and I am also very privileged that there are a fair number of people out there who like to read my ramblings about life, the universe, the Marine Corps, and everything else.  I was very fortunate recently to be brought onboard to the North County Times, which is a newspaper that services the northern part of San Diego county.  I write a bi-weekly column on Marine Corps and military issues, and I could not be more thrilled to be an official no-kidding columnist!

Since it is my first one, I decided to post it here for those of you outside the North County Times delivery area.  They are good, but sadly they can’t send teenagers pedaling across the country with newspapers in their bicycle racks just for all of you, my faithful readers.  Fortunately the internet makes the pedal powered Pony Express obsolete.

Here is a link to the column:  http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/columnists/grice/grice-career-in-military-can-take-you-far/article_06ec3230-1336-5d70-bf8f-9d38fd841edb.html

Please surf in and take a look!  If you like it, feel free to drop in a comment or two…

Here is the column in its entirety:

America is a truly wonderful place, and one of the main reasons that it is the greatest nation on Earth is the freedom of her citizens to follow any path that they choose. Our leaders are not appointed by divine right or by royal decree, but instead they are chosen by the people. Anyone can be the president, or a fireman, or a professional dancer, or a teacher, or anything at all.

Anyone can even be a United States Marine.

It’s pretty obvious why young men and women would like to grow up and become president, but why would anybody want to become a Marine? That is a fair question, and plenty of folks have asked me that during my years of wearing the Marine Corps uniform.

I think back to when I took that bold step and joined up —- and for me the reason was that I really wanted to serve my country and to see the world. Like so many others, I intended to serve my enlistment and move on. What I didn’t expect, however, was that nearly three decades would pass between the day I signed up and my last day in uniform.

Things were a little different back when I enlisted. Ronald Reagan was in his first term of office, mullets were somehow acceptable haircuts, and parachute pants were all the rage. At the ripe old age of 17, I made up my mind (despite my mother’s pleas to the contrary) and joined the Marine Corps.

What a ride it turned out to be! I would travel the world to places that I had only seen in National Geographic magazine, experience interesting cultures, and meet truly fascinating people.

Over the decades that followed, I deployed to the Pacific Rim, to Central Asia, and to the Middle East. I found myself helping the newly founded nation of East Timor rebuild itself after a devastating war in the late 1990s, and fought insurgents in both Iraq and Afghanistan. My travels in uniform took me to places in the United Kingdom, through Africa, and into the land down under. My international gallivanting was punctuated by assignments and training exercises across the United States.

I became an itinerant adventurer. My travels took me far and wide, and along the way I became a little like Goldilocks on her misadventure with the three bears. Some places, I found, were just too hot. Try Texas in July or Florida in August; it’s not just the blistering heat, but it’s the drenched-in-sweat humidity that made me happy to leave them behind. Other spots, however, were just too cold. Try Oklahoma in January or Virginia in February, where you experience the joy of shoveling snow as your nose freezes off the end of your face. Not for me.

As for garden spots overseas, well, to be honest, I found the good old U.S. of A. to be the best country on Earth. Despite the allure of raising kangaroos in Australia or learning how to choke down haggis in Scotland, there is really no place like home.

So, like Goldilocks tasting her porridge and testing her beds, I found a place that is just right. Humidity? Not so much. Sometimes, perhaps, but it never sticks around long enough to give you prickly heat (if you don’t know what “prickly heat” is, trust me on this, you are better off not knowing).Cold and snow? Nope. I don’t even own a parka anymore, thanks to the weather in the land of “just right,” and as for a snow shovel —- well, my coastal happy place doesn’t require one.

Of all the places that I have traveled, of all cultures I have experienced, and of all the people I have met, there is only one place that makes my family’s inner Goldilocks deliriously happy: sunny San Diego.

What’s not to like? There is a beach next to the ocean, which is a refreshing change from the many deserts in which I have lived where the sand stretches to infinity without a longboard-worthy wave within a thousand miles. In the winter, mountains are rich with snow that my family can frolic in within an afternoon’s drive.

The rich cultural tapestry of Southern California makes for endless adventure as we visit the tall ships in San Diego Bay or check out the heritage (and great food!) in Old Town. We have attractions like Sea World and Legoland and the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, which, for those unlucky enough not to live here, are once in a lifetime vacation destinations.

So I have indeed served my country and seen the world, and the best part is that my family and I ended up here in San Diego.

For young men and women who are looking for something meaningful and different, then maybe the Marine Corps is worth your consideration. For those moms out there who shudder at the thought of their little angel wearing a set of dress blues, I can promise that you will be proud.

And who knows? They may end up finding their “just right” happy place along the way.

 

Thanks for reading!!!

Getting the band back together

Posted by Mike Grice on

Thursdays come and go once a week, so generally speaking they aren’t particularly significant.  Compared to Friday. which is everybody’s favorite weekday it doesn’t amount to much.  Pretty much everyone agrees that Thursday is better than Monday, but it can’t hold a candle to Saturday or Sunday.  Nope, Thursday is pretty much just an average day in the grand scheme of things.

Except for this past Thursday.  Last Thursday, March 1st, marked the 61st anniversary of the birth of the Marine Corps unit that I served in during three tours to combat.  On March 1st 1951 the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company unfurled its flag on its way to fight in the hills of Korea.  Since that time ANGLICO Marines and Sailors have deployed across the globe and fought in places like Beirut, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  They stood on the frontiers of American interests during the cold war and set the unequalled standard for professionalism and skill in the realm of fire support (employing things like mortars, artillery, naval gunfire, attack helicopters and jets) and communications (with the capability to talk via radio to pretty much anyone, anywhere, and at any time).

So this past Thursday, March 1st, was special because it was the 61st birthday of such a fantastic organization.  It was even more distinguished, however, because the Commanding Officer, Marines, and Sailors who currently serve in 1st ANGLICO threw a little birthday party and they invited any and all veterans of 1st ANGLICO to come on down to Camp Pendleton and share in the big day.  And come we did- from those of us just down the road in San Diego to others who traveled thousands of miles across the country to share in the big day.  All told there were nearly 50 veterans and their wives in attendance, with veterans who were with the company when it was brand spankin’ new and headed for Korea to those of us who just left last year.

And what a day it was!  The Marines and Sailors of the company set up a series of briefings and displays to show how the unit operates as it enters its seventh decade of existence.  We saw the newest equipment and were briefed on the latest combat techniques, and it was truly impressive to see such a great bunch of Marines and Sailors so proudly share their trade with the older generation.  Before lunch in the most excellent new chowhall on Camp Las Flores (which is the home of 1st ANGLICO) there was a brief but impressive ceremony where a birthday cake was cut and the eldest ANGLICO veteran shared the first slices with the commanding officer.  The vets were then honored to be present as a half dozen or so Marines were promoted to the next higher rank; the Marine Corps promotes their best and brightest at the beginning of the month, so we were fortunate to be able to attend such a significant event in the lives of these young and motivated warriors.

Then, off to lunch.  For me it was a tremendously rewarding experience because I was able to break bread (or in my case, a turkey Panini sandwich) with brother Marines that I had served with during my last tour.  Now that I am retired I am no longer Lieutenant Colonel Grice (even though my retired ID card says so), but instead the exalted rank of Marine, which all of us who served proudly share.  We are all now brothers unseparated by rank and position, and it was a great time to have lunch with brothers Barnette, Fortson, and Brantley.  We talked about life, deployment, chow, and everything else, and it was a great time.  With men such as these keeping the wolf from the door our nation has nothing to fear.

The afternoon was spent observing the newest training technologies, which was interesting.  For me, it was more thrilling to meet and talk to the veterans of ANGLICO who had served in so many far flung places and had cemented the legacy of the unit into the story of the Marine Corps.  I finally met Vance and Tom, who had served in Vietnam and were simply the most amazing supporters of deployed ANGLICO units as they led care package drives that sent us literally hundreds of boxes from home as we served overseas.  I met Buzz and John and Walt and Joe and countless other vets, and it was truly my privilege and honor to be counted as one of their ranks.  To be with them was to walk in the shadow of giants, and it was truly a thrilling honor just to be around them.

We had cocktails at the old Officer’s Club later that evening, and I was able to chat with another John, with whom I had served in Iraq as well as with a half dozen Marines with whom I had served during my last deployment to Afghanistan.  There were over a hundred people packed into the bar that evening, and the mixture of camoflage uniforms and retiree’s ballcaps was impressive to witness.  Veterans who fought a half century ago traded tips with Marines who were yet thirty years unborn when Korea was hot, and regardless of age or war the connection was genuinely made.  It eclipses nostalgia and enters the realm of true brotherhood, and I was incredibly fortunate to be a part of it all.

So my hat is off to the Commanding Officer, Marines, and Sailors of 1st ANGLICO for putting on such a marvelous event.  I thank you on behalf of all of us who served, and to all who attended, it was simply magnificent to meet you.  It is times like this that wash away the pain, the anguish, and the anxiety that comes with serving the hard master that is the Marine Corps in time of war.  It is times like this that that rejuvenate the soul and remind you that, after all, no matter what you did or where you served, it was all worth it.

For that all to brief moment in time the cross generational band that is 1st ANGLICO got back together, and it was a sight to behold.  To all members of 1st ANGLICO past and present, I say congratulations on your 61st Birthday and Semper Fidelis!

 

Final Physical Exam….or not. Welcome to the VA!

Posted by Mike Grice on

My last post was about the Veterans Administration, and not long before that I wrote a string of posts about what I thought were my last and final physical examinations.  Oddly, I soon found out that the VA and physical examinations are inextricably linked.

Just like peanut butter goes with chocolate and peas like carrots the Veterans Administration and physical examinations go together too.  It turns out that I was right about my Final Physical Examination being the last one that I would go through in uniform, but what I didn’t realize was that it would be immediately followed by my first physical examination by the VA.

The VA, among a host of other things, is responsible for determining whether or not you are eligible for a disability rating (and compensation) for any injuries or conditions that you suffer as a result of your service.  The military’s final physical is just your last checkup on the way out the door; the VA physical is your first checkup on the way into civilian life.  In addition to finding out if you are disabled in any way the VA makes sure that you don’t have any conditions that require additional treatment once you take off the uniform.

There are plenty of examples of both disability related conditions and continuing treatment requirements; for example a disability may range from losing a limb or an eye in combat to tinnitus caused by the roar and whine of aircraft engines, while physical therapy to help recover from knee surgery is a case in point for continued medical treatment.  At any rate, the VA is responsible for caring for the veteran, and in order to determine what type of care a vet requires they need to have their doctors take a look under the hood (or hospital gown, as it were).

As my active duty days drew to a close I had finished all of my required checkups and paperwork to head out to the civilian world.  On my last day in uniform I received my official orders back to my civilian life, and with a handshake and a “see ya later” I set out on terminal leave and prepared for life back on civvy street.  One of my first stops (after recovering from the retirement party hangover) was to the VA office, where I dropped off my DD-214 (the most important document for a veteran – it is your key to benefits and it is the official proof that you served in the military) and began the process of becoming a “customer” of the VA.

Along with my DD-214 I handed over a copy of my medical record (make sure to make an extra copy- this is VERY important, because you turn the original in when you check out on your last day in uniform, and the VA needs a copy to evaluate you for a disability rating and other medical concerns), and the nice lady in the office asked me a few questions.  She then took a quick look at my records and started making some calls.  Within a few minutes she had set me up with three appointments at a contracted medical office that the VA uses to evaluate separating veterans.  She said that I would be receiving some information in the mail, and that it was now on me to ensure that I did everything necessary to complete the evaluation process.  She also said that it could take anywhere from four months (in the best of all possible worlds) to a year or longer (which is not unusual) for my case to be evaluated and any disability rating to be issued.  If I didn’t do what I was supposed to do it could take literally forever, because although the VA is there to help veterans they are not there to hold your hand and drag you through the process.  That’s up to you.

Anyhow, I left the VA office with a few appointments and the pleasant, though pointed, reminder that it was up to me now.  In order to take advantage of all of the great medical benefits that I had earned and to see if I had a disability rating I would need to take the initiative to attend appointments without anybody besides myself reminding me.  There would be no Drill Instructors to tell me what to do next.  Welcome back to the real world.

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Lessons Learned:

1.  Make at least one copy (two if you can) of your complete medical and dental records.  Your separations office on base should let you use the copier to make copies, and if they don’t, you can use the copier at the career counseling center.  If you don’t want to stand over a copier for hours fighting paper jams and toner outages, you can take it out in town to a Kinko’s or other copier business- it will cost a few bucks, but time is money.  Your original record will be turned in to get your orders home, and the VA needs another copy to evaluate.  Remember this:  the VA and the DOD are separate governmental agencies and if you think that they will coordinate your transition for you then you need to take another urinalysis test.

2.  Make sure that you leave the VA office with appointments for physical evaluations.  Your claim for medical benefits will not start until the evaluations are complete, so if you blow off or forget an appointment your case will just languish on some desk somewhere until it crumbles into dust.  If you want benefits, then you need to do the legwork to make sure the process moves along.

From Marine to Veteran

Posted by Mike Grice on

On January 1st of 2012 I officially made the big step out of my combat boots and into my flip flops.  It was indeed a significant and personal event, but it also marked a pretty significant change in my status in the eyes of the federal government.

On that day I became a non-member of the Department of Defense and the newest constituent of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  This jump is significant for a lot more reasons than I realized, and it can be confusing and overwhelming if you aren’t ready for it.

The day you become a civilian again marks the day you can no longer take advantage of many of the benefits you enjoyed in uniform.  If you are moving on after an enlistment or two and are not joining the retired rolls, then pretty much all of the benefits disappear with your short haircut.  No more tax free shopping at the Post Exchange and no more subsidized groceries at the commissary –  you are fully back in the civilian world and get to pay full price (tax included!) for your next pair of cargo shorts.

If you are retiring, however, you are still entitled to some benefits.  You can still shop at the PX and the  commissary, which is nice.  You can take advantage of many of the recreational facilities, too, such as the campgrounds, gymnasiums, and beach cottages.  Your priority slips to one peg below those still on active duty, but that’s ok.   After all, you’re retired now, so you have all the time in the world…or not, but that’s another story we’ll talk about later.

Either way, whether you are retired or simply out of the service, you still have a governmental agency that is looking out for you.

Enter the VA.

So what exactly does the VA do for you?  Well, let me fill you in.  First, a little bit of history.

The Veterans Administration’s lineage stretches back all the way to the Revolutionary War, when the Continental Congress made provisions for pension payments to soldiers who were disabled as a result of their service.  Over the next hundred years or so, the benefits and provisions grew with the nation’s involvement is wars at home and abroad, with the most significant being the war between the states.  Recognizing the sacrifice of those in uniform, none other than Abraham Lincoln said of the importance of the government’s duty to the veteran:

“To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan…”

By the beginning of the 20th century there were many programs to help veterans.  There were veteran’s retirement homes as well as hospitals and other facilities, with the responsibility for taking care of vets shared between several federal agencies as well as the individual states.  With the carnage of the First World War, however, it became evident that a consolidated and coordinated federal system was needed to meet the demands of the many thousands of veterans and their families.

In 1930 the Veterans Administration was created by act of Congress.  It consolidated all of the federal programs and responsibilities under one cabinet level department and took the onus of care off the backs of the individual states.  With the Second World War the department expanded dramatically and became the VA as we know it today.

So what can the VA do for you?  Here is a quick list of some of their major programs:

-Home loans

-Educational benefits

-Life insurance

-Special adaptive housing benefits for wounded servicemembers

-Medical care

-Psychological care

Within those major programs are dozens and dozens of smaller ones.  Take, for example, the educational benefits.  It isn’t just for college!  There are programs to teach you trades and skills completely free of charge, and depending on your status you may even be paid a housing allowance to go to school.

So when you take off your uniform for the last time don’t forget that there is an entire government agency that still has you in mind, and there are a lot of programs that can help you as you explore what is next in your life.  The educational benefits and home loan eligibility don’t disappear on your last day of service, and depending on your disability evaluation or retirement status you may be entitled to free health care as well.  Make sure to talk to someone at the VA during your transition journey.  I guarantee you will be surprised at how much they can do for you!

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Lessons Learned:

1.  Once you hit your EAS date you no longer fall under the DOD, but instead under the VA.  This is a big deal because you can’t go back once you transition over.  I will cover more about how important this is in future posts.

2.  The benefits are astounding in many cases, but it is up to you to seek them out.  Nobody is going to come to your house and educate you on the various programs.  Go to http://www.va.gov/ and look around.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just what the Veterans Administration offers.

The Gap

Posted by Mike Grice on

Marines don’t serve for the money.  You can’t put a price on the hardships, the time away from your family, the danger, or the camaraderie that comes with wearing the uniform in the defense of the nation.  The pay is enough to live comfortably, but certainly no one in the service is getting rich on their military paychecks.

Although you aren’t becoming wealthy on payday you are getting paid for what you do.  The government does a great job of ensuring that you receive what you are entitled to by dropping half of your monthly salary by direct deposit into your bank twice a month.  Despite the fiscal challenges that the nation faces the thought of not paying the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who keep the country safe makes lawmakers squirm and infuriates taxpayers.  Suffice it to say that just like clockwork your paycheck will find its way into your bank account on the first and fifteenth of the month (unless those dates are holidays or weekends, in which case you get paid a few days earlier – which is always nice!).

Those checks just keep on coming, at least until your last day in uniform.  Then things get a little more complicated.

The military pay cycle is pretty simple.  In employment terms, all military personnel are government employees who are paid a base monthly salary in addition to any additional benefit payments that they are entitled to.  The base salary is taxed at the normal federal and state rates, but the benefits are not.  Examples of benefits include things like Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH, which subsidizes off-base housing) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS, which is a meal stipend).  There are many more, like jump pay (for those who find falling out of perfectly good airplanes on a regular basis as part of their job description) and combat pay (that not-so-huge amount of extra money you receive for going to places where bad people shoot at you).

So, all of these things are added up, resulting in your gross monthly pay.  Taxes and any other allotments (allotments being automatic withdrawals from your pay for things like Serviceman’s Group Life Insurance or savings bonds) are then subtracted, and the result is the money that is due to you for your service.   That amount is divided into two equal payments, which are in turn dropped into your bank account on payday.

It is important to remember that the month is divided into two portions, with the first half of the month being paid for on the fifteenth and the second half of the month being paid on the first of the following month.  This is very important to remember as you transition, because if your last day in uniform is the end of the month then your last paycheck is due the next day, and it will include all of your service up to the day of transition.

Well, it’s supposed to.  It’s not that simple.

Your last paycheck most likely will not show up when you expect it to.  Unless you are very fortunate, it will be delayed for a few days or weeks.  Although each service has slightly different regulations on your final mustering out pay, they all have the same basic requirements: the final paycheck must include all pay and benefits due to the separating servicemember minus any obligations that he or she owes the government.

This can be pretty surprising if you don’t expect it.  What obligations can you owe the government?  The obvious ones are any fines that you incurred by getting in trouble, but if you stayed on the straight and narrow you should be good, right?

Not necessarily.  The bean counters hold your final paycheck in their possession until all of the possible ways that you could owe money are doublechecked.  These include (but are not limited to) charges for any equipment that you may have lost (remember turning in all of your gear to the Consolidated Issue Facility?) or adjustments to benefit payments (for example, it is not uncommon for your combat related payments to be properly adjusted for a few months after you return from theater, and any overpayments will be recouped by the government).  Your final paycheck will also settle up any additional amount that the government owes you for things like unused leave.  The long and the short of it is that your final settlement paycheck is most likely not going to show up on the same schedule as you are accustomed to.

If you are relying on that check to pay for necessities then you are in for a rude surprise.  No amount of begging or complaining will make that paycheck show up any faster.  You can help yourself, though, by making sure that all of your ducks are in a row as you check out.  Make sure that all of your gear is turned in, for example, and include the receipt showing a zero balance with your checkout paperwork.  Stop by your admin shop and make sure that your pay and allowances are correct before you check out- deal with any problems up front and you won’t have to wait as long for your final paycheck because you are making the bean counter’s job that much easier.

In my case, my final paycheck took 26 days from when my terminal leave expired and it showed up in my bank.  Welcome to “the gap”.

The retirement pay cycle is monthly, as opposed to the bi-monthly system that active duty personnel enjoy.  Your first retired check is due on the first of the month after you retire, which means that you are not going to receive a paycheck at all until a full month after you get out.

This can be quite disconcerting if you don’t plan for it.  When you retire you are going to have a month without a paycheck so make sure to be ready!  Don’t put yourself and your family in the sad position of having to eat sawdust and oatmeal until you retirement check shows up.  Sock a little extra into savings ahead of time or mooch a few bucks from your relatives to bridge the gap, but make sure that you are prepared to go for a month without a paycheck.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

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Lessons learned:

1.  Your final paycheck will be held up as the accountants settle up all of your accounts.  If you are relying on it to cover immediate expenses then you are in for a tough financial time.  Plan ahead!

2.  Your final paycheck will be reduced by any payments you owe the government and increased by any payments the government owes you, so it will most likely be an amount that may differ significantly from your normal pay amount.

3.  Unlike the bi-monthly active duty pay cycle, your pension is paid monthly with your retirement check arriving the first of the following month.

Albert Einstein, Don Draper, and Supercuts: a newly discovered dilemma

Posted by Mike Grice on

Adapting to retirement has been interesting, to say the least.  Not that I am truly retired, mind you.  My permanent address has not changed to a fishing boat on Lake Placid, and am still years away from heading to restaurants in time for the Early Bird Blue Plate Special.

Fishing and discounted dinners aside, one thing cropped up that I hadn’t really paid much attention to but needed some attention right away.  I stepped out of the shower the other day, and after toweling off my head I looked in the mirror and almost fell over.  Where for decades I had sported a closely cropped Marine haircut (although not as closely cropped as most, to be quite honest) I now saw that I was doing a pretty decent impression of Albert Einstein after he stuck his finger in a light socket.  I had hair going everywhere- straight up, sideways, backwards, you name it.  Frightening!

It snuck up on me.  Really, it did!  I had been using a comb for the first time since the ’80s, but hadn’t been paying much attention as I “did” my hair every morning.  I was able to part it after a month or so, which was pretty neat.  It started tickling my ears, too, as it grew over them.  Also pretty neat.  I toyed with sideburns.  Neat again!  But it just kept growing.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not complaining.  I am thrilled to have hair!  Plenty of my friends don’t, suffering from the relentless onslaught of middle aged baldness.  Fortunately, I come from a family unfamiliar with the ravages of excessive hair loss, and now I am reaping the rewards of such a hirsute lineage.

Anyhow, as much as I enjoyed growing out my hair it was now becoming annoyingly unsightful.  In addition to it being grey in places where it used to be brown, my attempts to tame it with brush, comb, and hair gel (!) it still managed to do whatever it wanted.

Time for a haircut.

Where do civilians get their haircuts, anyway?  I had been going to the same suite of barbers for decades.  It is a very simple process when you are in the military, and especially so in the Marine Corps.  The uniform regulations state that a Marine haircut must graduate from zero (meaning no blocked cuts allowed) up to a maximum length of three inches on top.  Not a lot of room to work with, but even so there are about a half-dozen varieties of authorized Marine styles: the “Mr. Clean” Bald look, the fresh out of bootcamp “High and Tight” (shaved around the head with a patch of hair on top) the ’50s inspired “Flat Top”, and the “I really don’t want one of those other haircuts” Regulation haircut, in low, medium, or high style (the low, medium, and high in reference to how closely you want it cropped on the side of your head).  After my overly enthusiastic embracing of the High and Tight Flat Top as a young and motivated NCO I gradually seasoned my sensibilities and embraced the sedate Senior Officer’s Low Regulation.  Just enough on top to push over one way or the other, but not long enough for the Sergeant Major to question my gender (“Gee sir, would you like some mousse to go with your flowing tresses?  When are you going to start braiding it?”).

Anyhow, I digress.  Week in and week out for years and years I had plonked myself in the fine naugahyde splendor of the base barbershop and asked for a “low reg.”.  A few minutes later, the barber’s work finished, I looked in the mirror to see myself exactly as I had looked the week before after my last haircut.  It didn’t matter if it was in Camp Pendleton, Okinawa, Iraq, or Afghanistan, the same ritual took place.  “Hello.  Low Reg.”  Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  “Done.”  And that was that.

Now I was flummoxed by what to do.  I feared going to a military barber because I knew what the outcome would be, so instead I cast my gaze to the local strip mall.  Civilians get their hair cut too, and where else but at a hair-cuttery sandwiched between Men’s Wearhouse and GNC?  SUPERCUTS, of course.

So into SUPERCUTS I went.  It was quite bewildering.  There was a little seating area with magazines; not too different from the military side, but there were no copies of Guns and Ammo or Soldier of Fortune here.  Only US and People.  Good thing I didn’t have to wait long enough to find out how many more kids Angelina and Brad adopted last week.

A very nice young lady greeted me, and after explaining that I needed a haircut, I was introduced to another nice girl with an “i” at the end of her name.  Brandi or Candi or something like that- very different from the surly and generally grumpy barbers I was accustomed to.

She sat me down in the chair (which, to be quite honest, was not a real barber chair, but then again, she wasn’t a real barber, but a “stylist”) and asked what I wanted.  I explained again that I was newly retired and didn’t want to look like Albert Einstein.  As I talked I glanced around the shop and saw a pastiche of pictures- hair models with gelled spiky hair next to mullets next to wavy haired surfer dudes.  I opted for something bit more conservative.  I asked for the “Don Draper” look from the television show Mad Men.  After she got done laughing she set to work.

“I’ll thin it out here on the sides.  You have a lot of bulk.”

Bulky hair?  Really?  I guess that explains the Einstein look.

“How about the sideburns?  How low do you want them?”

Decisions, decisions!  How low do sideburns go?  I stabbed my cheek with my index finger at about mid-ear.

“I’ll get rid of the fuzzies, too.”

Fuzzies?  Nobody wants excess fuzzies, which I learned are stylist-speak for neck hair.  Fuzzies be gone!

After ten minutes snicking scissors and buzzing clippers she was done.

“Gel?”

Sure, said I.  She worked it into my newly-shorn locks, and in no time I looked almost nothing like Don Draper but significantly less like Albert Einstein.

Victory!

I quickly paid at the register, and after turning down the generous offer to set me up with a bewildering variety of hair care products I left the shop with a freshly stamped “frequent customer” card.  Just think…nine more haircuts and my tenth one will be free!  At the current rate I’ll be claiming my free shearing some time in 2014, but who am I to complain?

The little things, part 3: Dental insurance. Who knew?

Posted by Mike Grice on

A few posts ago I addressed the need to sign up for health coverage now that I have crossed over into the land of the transitioned.  It also left you, the constant reader, hanging on the edge of your seat to find out just what I would do for dental insurance.  The suspense must be killing you, so I’ll get straight to it.

TRICARE offers dental coverage, but it is under the moniker Delta Dental.  I don’t know why they call it that, but they do.  At any rate, the Delta Dental program is pretty much the same on active duty and when retired, with the principle difference being that now the retiree has to pay for it.  Before transitioning, dental care was the same as medical care – all you needed to do was go to the dental clinic and you were taken care of.  Your family, on the other hand, needed to be covered by Delta Dental in a similar manner to how they were covered by TRICARE, so it isn’t that much of a change for them if they were using the plan already.  It is a bit of a change, however, if they weren’t.  In case your family has not been using the dental plan or in case you are moving to a new home, you will have to follow the same protocol as TRICARE enrollment and find an in-plan dentist.

The decision to enroll is time sensitive, because if you wait too long there are some significant ramifications to your coverage in the form of limited coverage.  If you enroll within four months (120 days) of your retirement date then the entire range of treatments are covered (with varying deductibles and whatnot) immediately.  If not, you have to wait a year (365 days) for some expensive little things like crowns and bridges and implants and orthodontic work.  Hmmm….you say.  I don’t need braces, so maybe I’ll just roll the bones and wait to enroll until I really need dental care.  Maybe that works for you, but what about the kids?  Your decision to delay enrollment may seriously impact their ability to get orthodontic work, or more likely it will seriously impact your wallet when you find that they won’t be covered for a year because you chose not to enroll.  Probably a good idea to go ahead and sign up!

The cost is pretty reasonable, and the coverage is competitive with other dental plans.  For an individual the cost is around $45.oo per month, and for a family of four it is around $150.00 or so.  The actual rates vary by location, but these are good ballpark figures to work with.

Here is what your hard earned money gets for you:

Exams and cleanings are fully covered.

Fillings are 80/20 (meaning that Delta Dental covers 80% and you pay 20%)

Endodontics, Periodontics & Oral Surgery (root canals, gum treatment & extractions) are 60/40

Dental Accident Coverage is 100/0

Cast Crowns & Onlays, Bridges, Dentures, Implants, Orthodontics are 50/50

Deductible: $50 per person, $150 cap per family, per benefit year (Oct 1 – Sep 3o)

Maximum: $1,200 per person, per benefit year

Dental Accident Maximum: $1,000 per person, per benefit year

Orthodontic Maximum: $1,500 per person, per lifetime (good for kids with crooked teeth!)

You can check out all of the ins and outs of Delta Dental at their website.  Here is a link to a very informative pamphlet that explains the plan in much greater detail:  http://www.trdp.org/dwnld/MM042%20Brochure%200411%20web.pdf

To get started, you must pay the first two months’ premiums up front, and you can enroll by mail, online, or by telephone.  Very convenient!  It helps if you ask the dentist that you would like to use if he or she is in the network, before enrolling.  It will make things a lot simpler because then you don’t have to play “find the dentist”.  Ask around – everyone has a dentist they like, and if your friends are former military then the odds are that they are using an in-plan provider.

So get out and find a dentist – and get moving quickly if you want to ensure immediate full coverage for you and your family.  Don’t wait for a filling to fall out or for a tooth to start aching- if you do then you will be out a lot of money that you could have saved with a phonecall and a few minutes of your time!

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Lessons Learned:

1.  You are not automatically covered with a dental plan when you transition.  It is not lumped in with the TRICARE medical plan, but instead is a separate and distinct insurance product.  You need to sign up for Delta Dental just like you did for TRICARE.

2.  Time matters.  If you miss the 120 day window you are assuming some risk that can end up being very expensive should you need emergency care or braces for the kids.  Preventive care is free, so don’t wait for your teeth to start falling out!

3.  Ask around.  People generally like their dentists and are happy to share who they are.  A quick call to their office will let you know if they participate in Delta Dental (and in my experience most of them do). Once you enroll, a stop by the office with your documentation will get you into the dentist’s system and set you up for your first post-service appointment.

Networking and the MEA

Posted by Mike Grice on

The other night I had the opportunity to attend a Marine Executive Association (MEA)-West meeting.  What is the MEA, you ask?  I’m glad you did, because it is a great resource for transitioning servicemen and women because it leads to something we all need: jobs.

The MEA is a networking organization where people like me who are leaving the service can meet others who are transitioning as well as business people who need quality people to join their organizations.  It is informal (after all, the only rank anyone has after they get out is “Marine”) and informative, because most of transitioning military types really don’t know that much about civilian employment.

Here is the writeup about the association from their website (http://www.marineea.org/):

“The Marine Executive Association is a national, volunteer, non-profit organization of former and current active duty Marines who provide assistance to Marines transitioning from active duty to reserve/retired status, leaving the Corps at the end of obligated service or moving from one civilian career/job to another. Transition assistance includes: Resume review; Job hunting and interview tips and techniques; Job posting by employers to the MEA web site; Resume posting by Marines for employer download; and resume and interview coaching by volunteer Marine. The MEA provides a weekly E-Mail list of all jobs that have been posted during the previous week and resumes posted for employer download, review and screening.”

The association is open to all services, and in the most recent meeting that I attended there were Air Force, Army, and Navy vets there too.  Transition is the great equalizer and now that we all dress the same we share the same concerns and have the same need for employment, so the inter-service rivalry goes right out the window.  We’re all in the same boat now.

The meetings are monthly occurrences.  On the third Wednesday of the month the attendees gather to socialize and have a drink at Iron Mike’s, which is the Staff Noncommissioned Officer’s club located in Camp Pentleton’s South Mesa events center.  After a half hour or so, we all migrate over to a meeting room where a guest speaker will talk to the crowd about what it’s like on the other side of the fence.  Our speaker for the last meeting was Kim Shepherd, the Chief Executive Officer of the Alfred P. Sloan award winning placement firm Decision Toolbox.  She gave us tremendous insights into the business world, with a strong emphasis on how to evaluate yourself in order to find what you are really interested in doing in your next career.  Kim was followed by a group of business leaders from the Los Angeles area who are interested in helping veterans learn more about the business world.  They are a group of great Americans who want to help vets find jobs, and they shared some great ideas and recommendations to help veterans make it from job seeker to job finder.

One of the great aspects of MEA meetings is that we get to hear about the corporate sector from corporate professionals, and the insights that they give are priceless.  It isn’t every day that an industry leader takes the time to mentor a pool of job seekers, but it happens at the MEA.  Research has shown that roughly 80% of jobs are found through networking – so getting to know people is certainly in your best interest as you transition!

After the guest speakers are finished we all introduce ourselves.  This is a chance to give your “elevator pitch”, which is a thirty to sixty second sound bite about yourself and what you are looking for.  You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and by standing up in front of a room full of people it gives you a little practice.  It also lets the employers in the room know if you are someone that fits their needs, and I have personally witnessed vets get job interviews on the spot after the introductions are finished; such is the power of networking!

The introductions are the last part of the structured meeting.  Once they are completed the formal part of the meeting is done it is a little like a high school dance as job seekers work their way across the room to meet up with businesspeople who have pitched the opportunities available in their organizations.  It is also when old friends catch up and new friendships are forged, or in other words, the networking tree grows a little stronger and new branches sprout.

It is a great opportunity to get out there and see what the job market is like.  Once you get plugged into MEA-West, you can begin receiving emails from the head of the organization.  He sends out dozens of emails each week, and each one contains anywhere from one to ten or twenty job opportunities.  Many of these opportunities are first listed in Steve’s emails, and a lot of veterans have found employment through the MEA.  One former Marine who left active duty in the 1990s shared that every job he has taken since taking off his uniform has been through MEA-West networking, and he is far from alone.  Even in this tough employment market there are jobs out there.  Networking with the MEA will help you find them, so find out where and when the next meeting goes and belly up to the bar!

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Lessons Learned:

1.  Networking works.  In today’s economic uncertainty there are literally millions of resumes flying around, and the stories about people who have submitted hundreds or thousands of resumes without finding a job are constantly in the news.  The vast majority of employment opportunities are found through someone you know, so increase your chances by getting out there and meeting people.

2.  Help yourself as you network.  If you don’t have personalized business cards yet, then get some printed up.  I personally recommend that you go to a stationary shop and have a set professionally done with only your name and contact information printed on the card.  This is for two reasons: first, you are looking for a job, and it is not the best idea to use the card from your current job to find a new one and second, handing a professional looking and feeling card with your name, phone number, and email address saves both you and the person you are interacting with from writing that info down on a cocktail napkin.  Anybody can print out a flimsy card on their computer, but remember that the first impression is the most important.  Do you want to be remembered as the cheapskate with homemade cards or the kind of person who puts some effort into finding a job?

3.  Carry a resume.  I will write a lot in the future about how to prepare a resume, but attending a networking meeting without your resume (and personalized business cards) is a bit like going to a nightclub in your pajamas – sure, you’re there but you aren’t really ready to participate.  Many employers are looking to immediately fill positions, and the guy or gal with a resume will get the job before the one who doesn’t.  Don’t be that person with empty hands when an employer asks for your resume!

4.  There are countless networking organizations out there.  MEA is just one, but there are commensurate organizations for all branches of the armed forces, for federal employees, civic organizations, etc.  They are all tremendous resources that you can tap for free, and you will certainly meet some great people along the way that will help you along the path to employment.