1 MAY 2022

Post 46 Service Officer:  Gene Klaus, gaklaus28@gmail.com, 859-556-1420

Post Service Officers (PSO) from this area meet with Veterans on Fridays, that VA clinics are open, at the Sousley Campus (Leestown Campus) of the Lexington VAMC.  Time: 07:30 to 11:30 Place: Building 28, room 15.  (Building 28 is at the far right of the complex.)  Other times and places are available by arrangement as needed.

DISCUSSION

3-7-2022

Post 46 Service Officer: Gene Klaus, gaklaus28@gmail.com, 989-284-5972

Post Service Officers (PSO) from this area meet with Veterans on Fridays, that VA clinics are open, at the Sousley Campus (Leestown Campus) of the Lexington VAMC. Time: 07:30 to 11:30 Place: Building 28, room 15. (Building 28 is at the far right of the complex.) Other times and places are available by arrangement as needed.

Discussion

PTSD—a brief description

What is PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)? PTSD is classified as a mental anxiety disorder. The condition is characterized by behavioral and physiological symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressful event – a traumatic stressor. A traumatic stressor involves direct personal exposure to:

1. An actual or threatened death or injury to one’s self, or threat to another individual.

2. Witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to another individual.

3. Learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or close associate.

Response to the event (stressor) must involve feelings of intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Additionally, despite an individual’s persistent efforts to avoid conditions that could lead to the trauma he/she experienced, recurrences of the traumatic event occur (E.g., nightmares, “flashbacks”)

There are several types of PTSD claims recognized by the VA. These include:

1. PTSD due to combat. E.g., POW experiences, events leading to a Purple Heart, close order combat.

2. Non-combat PTSD. E.g., Plane crash, ship sinking, explosions, being a medic/burn unit medic, graves registration unit personnel.

3. Personal Trauma PTSD. E.g., Personal assault (rape, domestic battering, robbery/mugging, stalking, sexual harassment.

4. PTSD due to Hostile military or terrorist activities. E.g., IED explosion or fear of an explosion, incoming artillery, rocket, or mortar fire, small arms fire, attack on your aircraft.

Service connection for PTSD requires the presence of three elements: (1) credible supporting evidence that the claimed in-service stressor actually occurred; (2) a current diagnosis of PTSD, and (3) medical evidence of a connection between the current symptoms and in-service activities (that is a nexus must be demonstrated.)

For a stressor to be sufficient for PTSD, you must (1) be exposed to a traumatic event in which you experienced, witnessed, or were confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury or threat of physical injury to yourself or others and (2) your response must have involved a psychological or physiological state of fear, helplessness, or horror. Examples of proof/Evidence: Combat decorations, combat wounds, witnessing dead or severe injury to others that is documented, being a confirmed POW.

Primary evidence includes, but is not limited to radio logs, flight records, after action reports, and medals. Secondary evidence includes, not is limited to eye witness testimony (buddy statements), letters, and diaries.

The Veteran’s statement provides a description of the stressful incident. In order for the VA search for evidence to succeed, the description must be complete stating names of persons involved (if known), date of incident, unit of assignment, and location. The Veteran’s statement alone is sufficient to establish a stressor occurrence if PTSD was diagnosed while in the service, or the statement is credible based on the Veteran’s duties and event circumstances, and there is no clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. E.g. An IED explosion disabled the vehicle the Veteran was riding in and injured occupants. A Veteran’s aircraft was downed by enemy fire resulting is the Veteran ejecting. The Veteran alone is attacked and fights off intruders.

Each application is evaluated by trained VA professionals on its own merit and by current laws and regulations.

Burn Pit and Agent Orange update:

The VA is proposing adding rare cancers to the presumed service-connected list as related to military environmental exposure. The proposed list includes many respiratory cancers to include:

Squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx and trachea

• Adenoma cell carcinoma of the trachea

• Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea and lung

• Various cancers of the lung

These cancers will join the current presumptive illnesses of sinusitis, rhinitis, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and functional gastrointestinal disorders. There are others determined on an individual Veteran basis.

2. A bill passed by the US House of Representatives on 3-3-2022 would expand benefits for post 9/11 Veterans sickened by burn pits and other battlefield pollutants. The bill includes many of those cancers listed above that the VA is adding to the presumptive list.

1. The bill will also add hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to the list of diseases linked to Agent Orange. This would include another 500,000+ Veteran exposed to agent orange.

2. If the bill becomes law, it will expand the areas on the “use of Agent Orange” list to include all military bases in Thailand between 1962 and 1976, Laos between 12-1-65 to 9-30-68, certain areas of Cambodia, Guam and American Samoa between 1-9-62 and 7-31-1980, and Johnston Atoll between 1-1-72 and 9-30-1977.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where it has bi-partisan support.

Notes:

-Covid VA Update: As of March 4, 2022, two years after the pandemic started the VA is still dealing with thousands of active cases a day. In total over the past 24 months, 609,000 VA patients and employees have contracted Covid-19, with nearly 21,000 deaths (28 per day), 253 were VA employees.

The pandemic has had positive impacts on VA operations, as well as negative. E.g., The VA has increased patient remote video meetings from 2,500 pre pandemic, to approximately 41,000 today. This has given more patients access to VA services. The VA has also supported local civilian hospitals in rural area by sending staff to assist in overwhelmed hospitals.

Remember! 1)Surviving spouses of a Veteran can apply for compensation if the Veteran died of a compensable disease or secondary condition. The Veteran may or may not have been receiving compensation for the compensable condition. 2) Survivors may qualify for a needs-based pension.