What VA? Poor CO's, Bye to our Brave Men

[Lt COL USAF Ret]

Welcome Lt Col!

My Father served 22 years in the USAF...as a retired military man, he and my mother get their medical care outside of the VA system...thru tricare now, or Champus previously...

Why is it that you are using the VA as your medical of choice when you should be covered to go to any doctor at all or any hospital at all, off base/outside the VA, or rather, in the private sector? I believe you said you were in for 28 years and also retired....I am presuming it was honorable...so, maybe I am missing something on why you do not have Tri-Care?

If I were you, I would give up on the VA....my husband is a disabled vet and the service is shit poor around here...we are paying thru an employer for private insurance....the VA is overburdened and underfunded...I agree with ya!

Care

You're missing the point-I have Tricare. I'm talking about a line of duty injury from back in the Kosovo war, which the VA won't give anything up to me for it, because the military doctors were scratching their heads about what to do-screw that, I'm on the phone to the Chief Surgeon at Rush that happens to be a Harvard Grad. I'm going to him and pay for it myself. Ya get it now?

 

[Gunny]

You're missing the point-I have Tricare. I'm talking about a line of duty injury from back in the Kosovo war, which the VA won't give anything up to me for it, because the military doctors were scratching their heads about what to do-screw that, I'm on the phone to the Chief Surgeon at Rush that happens to be a Harvard Grad. I'm going to him and pay for it myself. Ya get it now?

I get it now. Whether or not you like it, and regardless the right or wrong of it, you circumvented the system by having the surgery outside the military and the VA isn't going to pay for it.

I learned the hard way that not having that statement of nonavailability means it comes out of your pocket. And by having surgery outside the military you absolved the military of repsonsibility for the injury.

Before you start barking at me again, I didn't make the rules, I just know what they are, generally. Being shitty to me or anyone else in this thread isn't likely to change them.