1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,200 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:21,120 And now, your host for today's program, Jim Fossone. 3 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,720 This is Jim Fossone substituting in for Dale Throneberry, thus the technical problems. 4 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:28,200 Let's start with our folks at WAM. 5 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,880 Derek, do you have us? 6 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:32,560 Yeah, I got you. 7 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:33,600 OK, great. 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,400 Wait, good start. 9 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,840 This is why Dale's off on some R&R, asked me to step in. 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,720 He'll probably change his mind about that again. 11 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,800 We had to switch a few technical things to get everybody here. 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,240 But we're glad you're joining us here on Veterans Radio. 13 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:56,040 And I think we've got all our guests now finally on to the right spot. 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,040 Before we begin, we always like to thank our sponsors. 15 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:06,880 We want to thank the NVBDC, the National Veterans Business Development Council. 16 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,800 It's been around now for 10 years, certifying veteran owned businesses, 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:17,640 which is critical if you want to do business with the major corporations in this country 18 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,840 who are trying to place dollar spends with veteran owned businesses. 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:30,000 NVBDC.org administers a rigorous certification process to withstand that scrutiny of both 20 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,600 corporate and government reviewers. 21 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:38,880 You can reach them at 248-648-3500. 22 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:44,080 We also want to thank Sponsored Legal Help for Veterans, a veterans disability law firm 23 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:50,920 with a nationwide practice in the US Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims, the Board of 24 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,440 Veterans Appeals and Regional Offices. 25 00:01:53,440 --> 00:02:01,720 You can find them at legalhelpforveterans.com or 1-800-6934-800. 26 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,320 And a new national sponsor that we're promoting is PuroClean. 27 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,320 It's a leader in property emergency services. 28 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:15,640 It helps families and businesses when they have to overcome disasters. 29 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:23,240 This might be water damage or remediation of fire smoke damage, mold removal, biohazards. 30 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:28,680 PuroClean is known as the paramedics of property damage and it is run by veterans and has a 31 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:34,600 special veterans program if you want to get into this business and get a franchise. 32 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:41,480 So look up PuroClean.com 800-775-7876. 33 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:52,440 This is our benefits weekend, if you have a benefits question, please call in at 734-971-1600. 34 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,880 And we'll try to answer your questions and give you some information maybe you don't 35 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:58,040 know. 36 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,040 And that's why we're starting with one of our always favorite guests, we haven't talked 37 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:07,360 to them in a while, Brian Hayes, Director of Communications at the VA Medical Center 38 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:13,040 in Ann Arbor, Brian Zavette and always has a wealth of information. 39 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,640 So let's start there, Brian, welcome back to Veterans Radio. 40 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:18,880 Oh, thanks Jim, I'm glad everybody's back. 41 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,280 We took, we were off for a little while. 42 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:26,080 It's nice to see everybody back on now, but yeah, if I've got a minute, I'd love to tell 43 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,360 you all the great stuff going on right now at VA Ann Arbor. 44 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,720 Well we'd like to have that and you're missing Dale and he probably will never give me the 45 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:39,040 microphone again after my technical hiccups, but we got to go in here and we're interested 46 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:43,040 in knowing what's new at VA Ann Arbor. 47 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:47,240 Well it's live radio and anything can happen, but probably, you know, since we met last 48 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,960 time, the biggest news is we opened a brand new clinic in Ohio and Findlay, Ohio, we've 49 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:58,280 got a brand new 7,000 square foot clinic there that's serving about 3,000 veterans in the 50 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,960 Hancock County and surrounding counties there in Ohio, south of Toledo, hoping to be able 51 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,600 to get them the care they need, primary care, mental health, blood draw, some of those kind 52 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:08,600 of services. 53 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,960 Now those, you know, that'll reduce, you know, we have 3,000 veterans who were able to reduce 54 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:19,160 their travel time, some of them up to an hour, who have to go to Toledo to get their care, 55 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,920 but now they can just go there to Findlay and we're really happy about that. 56 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:28,880 That they're at 1720 East Melrose Avenue in Findlay and if you're from that area, it's 57 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,840 where the old Social Security building used to be. 58 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:37,920 Right, right, before you move away from there, I want, maybe this is a good place for you 59 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:43,680 to explain, people might be thinking, well, why does Ann Arbor, what's Ann Arbor and 60 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,560 Findlay, Ohio got to do with each other and I don't think the general public, certainly 61 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:53,320 the veteran public, probably doesn't know how big your regions are and what you cover 62 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,200 and it's not just here, it's really all across the country. 63 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,560 So give us a little bit of insight into that. 64 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,440 Yeah, just a real brief sort of, you know, inside baseball and on how the VA is set up 65 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:08,600 and, you know, we have healthcare systems, for example, so we're the VA Ann Arbor healthcare 66 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:14,640 system is also a Detroit system, a Battle Creek system, Cleveland, you know, Dayton, 67 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:20,400 we're all part of systems in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana and we're what's called a vision 68 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:26,560 a veteran integrated service network when we're a vision 10 and we have 10 medical centers 69 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,440 in that vision. 70 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:33,680 And so our medical center is divided up into a region that's called a catchment area. 71 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:38,880 And so now, you know, our catchment area dips all the way down just south of Findlay, goes 72 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:46,160 all the way up to Flint, all the way west to Jackson and east into Canton, we bought 73 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,000 up against Detroit. 74 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,560 So we just have a massive area. 75 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,240 And how many veterans are in that vision? 76 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:55,240 What's the estimate? 77 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:01,520 Oh, the whole vision about, I think 300,000 something like that. 78 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:07,800 That gives our listeners some size and these visions are all over the cover the whole country 79 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:13,440 and have, you know, big collections of veterans that they're trying to serve is in quite a 80 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,720 spread out regional territory. 81 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,320 And the number I quoted is approximate and that's the number of veterans that we serve, 82 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:20,320 right? 83 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,800 That doesn't that's not all the veterans that are in the area. 84 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:28,160 So for example, you know, in Ann Arbor, we serve about 70,000 veterans a year and our 85 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:35,240 healthcare system complete about 654,000 appointments just out of our system. 86 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,240 But there's about 100,000 veterans in our in that area. 87 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,480 So there's a few that we could would love to have come get their care at VA. 88 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:44,480 That'd be great. 89 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,240 Well, we'll talk, we'll talk about that a little bit how they do that with general. 90 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,720 But I interrupted. 91 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:52,720 Go ahead. 92 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,440 I'll just go through the news you want to pass. 93 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,240 Just a couple of things, you know, briefly, you know, transportation is always a conversation 94 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:03,400 when it comes to, you know, getting veterans to their appointments and in the Michigan 95 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:08,200 area, what's called the Michigan market, which is the Michigan medical centers that are part 96 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:13,440 of the vision, which includes Battle Creek, Detroit, Ann Arbor and Saginaw. 97 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:19,160 You know, we've partnered together for the transportation navigation hub for veterans. 98 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:24,160 And what that is, it's a one stop shop, the number that veterans can call if they need 99 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,000 a ride to their appointment. 100 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:27,240 And we can get that done for them. 101 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:28,800 So let me give you the number real quick. 102 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,800 It's 877-VET-LIFT. 103 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,920 And that's the number you can call. 104 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,760 It's 877-838-5438. 105 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,160 And that operates between 7am and 5pm. 106 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,040 And if you need a ride to get to your appointments and we can get to you, we'll make sure that 107 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:47,040 happens. 108 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,760 And what we ask is that we need a three day notice to be able to organize that. 109 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:58,040 And Brian, is that just for appointments at the hospital or also at the clinics? 110 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,440 Where can I get a lift to? 111 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,080 That's the clinics and the hospital, right? 112 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,000 So real important for people to know. 113 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,000 That's right. 114 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,000 So yeah, we have 10 locations of care now with the addition of Findlay. 115 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,120 And we can get to all of those. 116 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:19,240 If you go to our website, narber.va.gov, the very top of that is a little section called 117 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:20,680 need a ride. 118 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,840 And there's a website that you can click there. 119 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,720 I'm not going to read off that website because it's just a really long government name for 120 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:27,820 a website. 121 00:08:27,820 --> 00:08:31,640 But if you click on that hyperlink, it'll take you to all the information you need about 122 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,000 getting rides and veteran transportation. 123 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,600 So it's a really helpful resource, I think. 124 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,440 1-887-7-VET-LIFT. 125 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,640 And that's Monday through Friday, 7am to 5pm. 126 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,320 And just please give us 3 days notice so that we can organize that. 127 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,200 We can't just, you know, just run a vehicle anywhere, right? 128 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,320 It takes a little while to do the logistics of that. 129 00:08:53,320 --> 00:09:00,620 And Brian, because many of these programs are nationwide, is this concept of making transportation 130 00:09:00,620 --> 00:09:08,120 available to veterans to get to their VA appointments something that you see across the country? 131 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:12,720 Yeah, it's, you know, sometimes it's a problem, you know, in a lot of areas. 132 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,640 And we're doing everything we can to make sure that, you know, we get our veterans to 133 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:18,040 their appointments. 134 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:25,000 And so this is a, this is, this was kind of an innovation that we did here in Michigan 135 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,200 that other VA medical centers haven't done yet. 136 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,080 And I think they're starting to roll it out for themselves. 137 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:34,800 So this is something that we did exclusively here that's going really, really well. 138 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,560 So hopefully we're going to roll out all other, hopefully other, you know, regions will be 139 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:40,240 able to roll this sort of thing out. 140 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,960 So again, we're talking about, you know, veterans in Michigan, just being able to call that 141 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,720 number and set up their appointment. 142 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:46,720 So it's very simple. 143 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,960 A lot of times VA implements a program, sort of a pilot program, see how it works, see 144 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:56,120 what the costs really are, does it really meet the need and then they're able to get 145 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:57,320 funding to roll it out. 146 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,880 Is that hopefully the concept? 147 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:00,880 I think so. 148 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,600 And, you know, so we were able to roll ours out very successfully and we're hoping that 149 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,640 VA is all over the country or we'll kind of follow our lead, not to brag, but Ann Arbor 150 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,400 leads in a lot of things when it comes to innovation and VA. 151 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,840 There's a lot to talk about there. 152 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,040 I think they call that a humble brag. 153 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:20,920 I think that's a humble brag. 154 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:22,440 That's a humble brag. 155 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:23,440 Okay. 156 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:28,760 So, so coming up Friday, by the way, everybody knows, actually, I think Monday, I'd say 8, 157 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,240 9, 10, yeah, Monday is Veterans Day next Monday, but we're doing our Veterans Day program 158 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,880 this Friday due to availability of some speakers to come and talk to us. 159 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,400 And I know, Carol Ann, you're going to be there. 160 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,800 So we're going to do our Veterans Day program this Friday at the Medical Center in the auditorium. 161 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,880 So please join us there for that. 162 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,160 Carol Ann, I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but she's our keynote speaker this 163 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:53,160 year. 164 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,680 So that should be a really nice, I'm excited to actually see that. 165 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:56,680 I'll be there too. 166 00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:58,400 You better get going on each. 167 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,120 Brian, could you do me a favor? 168 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:05,240 Could you announce the time because I think everybody thinks Veteran Days programs are 169 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:06,520 at 11. 170 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,000 So could you? 171 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:09,000 Some are. 172 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Some are. 173 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,000 Some are. 174 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:12,000 Some are. 175 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,000 Some are. 176 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:14,000 Some are actually ending at 11. 177 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,840 But yeah, so we're, we're, our program is at 9.30 and it'll end at 11 o'clock. 178 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,240 So 9.30 to 11. 179 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,960 It makes sense that it would be at 11 because of, you know, the way, you know, make it the 180 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:27,160 way 11, 11, 11, the way we didn't call it Veterans Day. 181 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,760 We called it Armistice Day, the way that rolled out. 182 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:35,000 But just remember, it's Friday the 8th, 9.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the 183 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:36,080 Medical Center. 184 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:42,160 And then simultaneously and over that, we're also doing a Veterans Day Appreciation Event, 185 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,520 which is running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 186 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,880 And that's going to be in the Geister and Welcome Center of the Medical Center, where 187 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,600 we're going to be doing, you know, information, enrollment. 188 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,480 We'll have some refreshments there. 189 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:55,120 Hopefully just make a whole thing of it. 190 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,560 So that's, that's all going on next Friday as well. 191 00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:58,560 Okay. 192 00:11:58,560 --> 00:11:59,560 Well, you touched on it. 193 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:00,560 So I'll bring it back up now. 194 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:06,480 As you mentioned, you'd like to service more Veterans as all VA hospitals would. 195 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:07,560 You mentioned enrollment. 196 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:14,200 I know we've talked with David Sames, who's the director of the Washburn County Veterans 197 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,480 Affairs Department and Carolina Enrollment before. 198 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:23,120 But Brian, go ahead, give your spin on enrollment and the importance of it. 199 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:28,920 Oh, man, I mean, I think it speaks for itself getting enrolled in VA care. 200 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:34,440 But I guess my main pitch, what I always tell is if you've tried before, try again, because 201 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,280 the rules change constantly. 202 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,800 I just changed some stuff recently. 203 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:43,360 David actually will probably know better than I would about the specifics of what has changed. 204 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:48,720 But I know they're changing some of the priority groups and who can get in for health care 205 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:49,720 there. 206 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:55,040 So my big pitch is always, you know, yeah, I mean, you can get free or almost no-cost 207 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,480 health care through VA if you're a Veteran. 208 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,480 And if you've tried before and been denied for whatever reason, please try again. 209 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:03,480 That's always my pitch. 210 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:04,480 David, jump in. 211 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:06,480 He's giving you the opportunity. 212 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:07,480 Yeah. 213 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:16,680 And then with that as well, if somebody had maybe applied in the last five, 10 years, what 214 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:22,720 was told to me as well, if, let's say, you get out of the service and you enrolled at 215 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:30,320 one point in time, then you took a break for 20, 30 years, you can always go back even 216 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,760 though possibly you're over the income threshold. 217 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:41,760 But if you signed up at one point or another, then you can get re-enrolled back into that. 218 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:46,200 And sometimes even some of the call center people don't know that. 219 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,200 You know, you'll get some people that are on top of it and then you'll get some people 220 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,000 that, well, you make over that and you're not eligible. 221 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:02,160 But if you ever have applied in before and receive care, maybe you in college and then 222 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:08,920 now you're 50 or 60, you can re-enroll if you had done it in the past. 223 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,600 Carol Ann, generally, I know this is a big issue for you. 224 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,880 I hear you tell many Veterans about just enroll. 225 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:18,600 You don't know if you're going to be eligible. 226 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,200 You don't know when you're going to need it. 227 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,880 Go ahead, weigh in on Brian's subject. 228 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,240 Well, that's exactly true. 229 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:34,720 And just recently, a couple of the wives, the spouses, have tried to get Veterans in. 230 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:41,640 And Brian and David were real helpful because Veterans aren't finding their DD 214s. 231 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,800 And it's real critical to take that with you when you enroll. 232 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,440 And you're right, Jim. 233 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,240 We don't know when something's going to happen. 234 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,680 You might be told you're over the eligibility. 235 00:14:53,680 --> 00:15:01,480 But if you're a Vietnam Veteran, I've been seeing lately that they have let you in and 236 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,120 they're catering to that. 237 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:08,360 And also, World War II Veterans, believe it or not, there are some that are coming to 238 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,040 the front and wanting to be eligible or get benefits. 239 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,600 And they're saying, why didn't I do this earlier? 240 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,160 So that's just a little bit about eligibility. 241 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,360 Brian, we took a detour here, but I was building off your comments. 242 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:27,440 What else do you want to tell us about what's going on at the Aang Arbor VA? 243 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:33,000 I had actually gone through the things that I wanted to promote today on the show. 244 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,960 So that was a good timing to add that extra little bit. 245 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:37,960 Hang on. 246 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,440 I know the general's got a question that you may or may not be able to get to. 247 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,360 And maybe David can weigh in on it too. 248 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,240 It is, Carol Ann. 249 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,280 Go ahead, ask your question of David and of Brian. 250 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:57,480 Well, Brian and David, this is my first time in 13 years that I've had this little problem. 251 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,120 One of our Veterans is seeking a clothing allowance. 252 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:09,960 So we put it in as going VBA and they said, oh, no, no, it's a VHA issue. 253 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,520 So resubmitted it and called over. 254 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,600 And they said it's in the prosthetics department. 255 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:24,200 And so we have tried like two or three times to get this veteran, his clothing allowance. 256 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:30,040 And I won't go through the criteria and the reason he needs it, but he is going through 257 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,120 his own clothes a couple of times a month. 258 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,040 And so we applied and we've gotten denied. 259 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:42,760 So is there any advice, Brian or David, how to get this veteran a clothing allowance? 260 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:47,720 So let's start a broader question than that, which is sort of a, hey, what is the clothing 261 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:48,720 allowance? 262 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:50,080 Brian, I don't know if you've run into this before. 263 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,120 You know, that's something that I'm just not familiar with. 264 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,240 That's not anything I've ever heard of. 265 00:16:55,240 --> 00:17:00,160 I know that we do, you know, in the medical center, sometimes veterans need clothes when 266 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,120 they're there and our voluntary services folks take care of that and make sure that they 267 00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:07,160 have what they need for whatever reason. 268 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:11,400 But a clothing allowance isn't something that I've ever come across. 269 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:12,960 That's rare. 270 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:14,560 Go ahead, David, I know you've probably got some experience with it. 271 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:15,560 Yeah. 272 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:21,320 So with the clothing allowance, you have to have service connected conditions in order 273 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:26,640 to receive that a certain service connected conditions to receive that clothing. 274 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:33,160 And that's like, if you have a prosthetic that goes through your, you know, maybe it's 275 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:39,920 on the arm and then you're wearing out your clothing or your knees where you have a knee 276 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:45,320 brace and it wears out that, or if you have eczema and you have a steroid cream and then 277 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,080 it affects your clothing. 278 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:55,040 So it has to be a service connected condition in order to relate to get a clothing allowance. 279 00:17:55,040 --> 00:18:00,080 And General, if you have an issue, if it's the Ann Arbor VA and prosthetics, I might 280 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,680 know somebody there that could help you. 281 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,000 His last name is the same. 282 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,160 Last name is mine. 283 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,680 But yeah, I can, I can help you make that connection too. 284 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:11,560 I know the chief of prosthetics myself. 285 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:12,560 So excellent. 286 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:17,400 Yeah, because it wasn't David, one of those you would now, but if you could think of your 287 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:25,360 stomach bladder, having some of those other issues and the veteran is service connected. 288 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:28,680 And so it's just difficult. 289 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:35,680 The VHA person that I spoke to said, Oh, no, you have to put it in to VBA as a claim. 290 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:41,200 Even though once you get it, it'll continue, but it's just been some confusion. 291 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:42,200 So thank you. 292 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,200 I will give you a shout, David. 293 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:48,960 Well, I'm going to jump in and let Brian get off if he's completed his VA Ann Arbor 294 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:54,920 report and we're going to pick this subject back up after we get any final words, Brian. 295 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:56,240 Well, thanks for having me. 296 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,800 It was great seeing everybody. 297 00:18:57,800 --> 00:18:58,800 Great, Brian. 298 00:18:58,800 --> 00:18:59,800 Thank you. 299 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,960 Have a great Veterans Day. 300 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:02,960 You too, Sia. 301 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:03,960 Yeah. 302 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,920 And this is a good example of you don't know what you don't know, right? 303 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:14,240 Veterans don't realize that maybe they have an entitlement to a benefit such as a clothing 304 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:23,320 allowance until they talk to somebody who's got some experience and can kind of cut through 305 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:30,200 some of the red tape that comes up with this. 306 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,160 Have you seen this particular allowance before? 307 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:35,160 Yes, yes. 308 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,560 And you do apply through the Ann Arbor VA through prosthetics, right? 309 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,480 So it's their department that says yes or no. 310 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:50,840 And with that, it is key to, like the general said, it's just a stomach issue. 311 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:56,360 It might be where we might need to get more evidence from their primary care physician 312 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:01,640 to explain why they're going through that clothing, right? 313 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:09,120 Where it's not obvious where it's a brace or if it's steroid cream or you have a prosthetic, 314 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:10,520 right? 315 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:16,800 So that they might need some more information to explain why they need the clothing allowance. 316 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:21,720 And I know this year is the first year that they, once you get the clothing allowance, 317 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,520 you're supposed to apply every year, but now it's going to be automatic. 318 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,200 If you get approved, then every year it'll come. 319 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:32,200 So. 320 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:38,800 Well, I think, again, this is why we do benefits show once a month to talk about benefits that 321 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,960 you guys are running into that maybe people didn't know about or problems that they may 322 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:43,960 be having. 323 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,960 Caroline, any more to add on the clothing allowance issue? 324 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:48,960 No. 325 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,040 I love that they changed, you didn't have to apply every year. 326 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,520 I mean, we'd send out notices and they'd have to, yes. 327 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:02,560 So David, I will call you because I'm sure there's a form and there's a process so that 328 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:08,440 if everybody doesn't have a great resource like us, it is to go through the prosthetics. 329 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:16,760 But when the department that I called for this veteran who is not in Michigan, that state 330 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,920 or that region told me, oh no, we don't do it. 331 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:21,520 You have to call VBA. 332 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,960 And so now I have the official proof that you do go through prosthetics. 333 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:27,960 Yeah. 334 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:34,440 And with reaching out to Jason, we can see what area that is and who's in charge with 335 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:35,440 it. 336 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:43,360 You know, it's, and see, you know, the reason why it's getting denied and get an explanation, 337 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:48,640 you know, from firsthand from the person that deals with applications for clothing allowance. 338 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:53,800 Because, you know, we do everything, you and I do everything veterans benefits. 339 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:59,280 But if you don't do it, you know, but once every five years, you're not as sharp as 340 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,640 you once were, right? 341 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,280 And so that's why I always like to have those key people, which of course our audience won't 342 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:13,160 have all those people, but you're going to have a VSO or some benefits rep helping. 343 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,360 And they're going to, they should have those type of contacts to help. 344 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:22,720 Well, and we can't assume that whoever the veteran calls in or the rep even calls in 345 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:28,520 and talks to on the phone is maybe as knowledgeable as they should be on all the issues either. 346 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,640 So we're kind of back to, okay, they told me no, but is no really the right answer? 347 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:35,800 Or did I not ask the question right? 348 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,080 Or did the person on the other end of the phone? 349 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,880 Yeah, it wasn't quite their thing. 350 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,800 So you probably run into those sorts of problems. 351 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:46,800 You know what, Jim? 352 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:52,480 I just saw something else and David, please either deny or confirm this. 353 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:58,960 But when I get calls from veterans and I believe it's VHA, I think one of the best places I 354 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:07,040 tell them to stop is in eligibility because in eligibility of a say the Lieutenant Colonel 355 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,860 Charles S. Kettles, you go to eligibility and there's VSOs there. 356 00:23:11,860 --> 00:23:18,280 And there's social workers and they will help you find out, oh, it is prosthetics. 357 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,480 Let me show you where to go or caregivers is social work. 358 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:29,920 And so those are some good examples of, you know, areas to go to. 359 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:35,320 But I think eligibility is the best if you're going into a VA medical center. 360 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:36,320 Definitely. 361 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,880 I totally agree. 362 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:46,720 And that at the VA, that whole portal right there, you can get a lot of questions answered 363 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:51,000 right in that small little office area. 364 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,720 Well I know both of you often refer folks to their social worker for this kind of help 365 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,680 and information at the hospitals as well. 366 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:06,040 I assume that's kind of a good place for them to start as well. 367 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:14,000 So let me ask David, what do you see in these days coming through your department? 368 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:20,800 Well, we're, you know, we're seeing the compensation and pension claims. 369 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,880 One thing I wanted to, you know, we're always talking about compensation, but I also want 370 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:32,040 to let the, you know, the listeners know that there is a non-service connected pension 371 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:36,680 and survivor's pension if you are a wartime era veteran. 372 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:44,480 And that's key when somebody has to go and assist at living or the nursing home and needs 373 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:50,240 some help, assistance with that care, right, for the money. 374 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:59,760 And you do have to be at least one day of wartime and at least 90 days of active duty 375 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:04,920 service before September 8th, 1980. 376 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:14,760 And then after 1980 served at least 24 months or called it to active duty and then serve 377 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:16,320 that period. 378 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:22,720 And where that comes in is, you know, right now assisted living could be, I mean at the 379 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:27,720 low end maybe 5,000 and then the large end is like $12,000 a month. 380 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,080 So anything helps. 381 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:36,960 And if the, if they're eligible, like my office would be happy to help. 382 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:41,600 And it's not always the veteran or the spouse that is coming into your office. 383 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:46,360 It's the daughter and the son and just the relatives that need help. 384 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:54,120 So just check out your local VSO, your county office, your anywhere where you get VA benefits 385 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,080 to help with that. 386 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,320 Well, certainly, and I think you're right. 387 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:06,200 You guys at the county counselors or a national VSO, a veteran's advocate has a lot more 388 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:12,040 knowledge to answer sort of the questions that are bothering not only the veteran, but 389 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:13,040 the family members. 390 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:17,120 And I think they're probably the ones who express it the most. 391 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:21,720 So what we're going to do at this time is I'm going to have Derek go ahead and play 392 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:25,560 our Medal of Honor segment and we'll come back out and talk about some more issues. 393 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:30,600 The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in combat given a member of the Armed 394 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,360 Forces of the United States. 395 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:36,840 There have been over 3,400 recipients of the nation's highest award. 396 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:38,280 This is one of them. 397 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:39,280 Lieutenant J.G. 398 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,840 William Hall pressed the attack, although seriously wounded during the Battle of the 399 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,320 Coral Sea. 400 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,760 Details after this. 401 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,640 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact legal help for 402 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,880 veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 403 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:00,880 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 404 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,880 Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. 405 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,960 Hall was the pilot of a scouting plane in action against enemy Japanese forces in the 406 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,560 Coral Sea. 407 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:17,880 In a determined attack on 7th of May, 1942, Hall dove his plane at an enemy Japanese aircraft 408 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:22,480 carrier contributing materially to the destruction of that vessel. 409 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:27,480 On the 8th of May, facing heavy and fierce fighter opposition, he again displayed extraordinary 410 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:32,560 skill as an airman and the aggressive spirit of a fighter in a repeated and effective counter 411 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:37,520 attacks against a superior number of enemy planes in which three enemy aircraft were 412 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:38,880 destroyed. 413 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,960 Those seriously wounded in this engagement, Hall succeeded in landing his plane safe. 414 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:48,760 The Medal of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio. 415 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:50,680 Military veterans touch everyone's life. 416 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:55,920 I'm guessing right now you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend, relative, maybe 417 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:56,920 it's you. 418 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:01,800 Even the toughest of us sometimes need help but don't know where to turn for support. 419 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,360 You don't need special training to help a veteran in your life. 420 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,240 We can all help someone going through a difficult time. 421 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,560 Learn how you can be there for veterans. 422 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,280 Visit veteranscrisisline.net. 423 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:14,280 Veteranscrisisline.net. 424 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:21,280 A message from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 425 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,120 This is Veterans Radio. 426 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:26,800 I am Jim Fossone, officer of the deck today. 427 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:32,560 With me is David Sims, with the director of the Washington County Veterans Department 428 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:38,880 and General Carol Ann Fossone, retired nurse and answering any of the questions you want. 429 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:41,080 She's with Legal Help for Veterans. 430 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:46,560 We're talking about benefit issues that have come up in their various walks of life over 431 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:48,840 the last month or so. 432 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:54,560 There's one question that has popped up that I think, again, confuses people and maybe 433 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:58,320 not those of us who work in the serial all the time. 434 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,880 That is, what's the difference? 435 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:06,000 My VA doctor said, why do I have to go to a C&P exam? 436 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,280 I think this confuses people as to what these differences are. 437 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,080 David, do you want to take the first swing at it? 438 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,400 Sure, yeah. 439 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:20,440 You give it six, seven years ago, maybe a little bit longer, that your compensation 440 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:27,080 pension exams were, and those are the exams that you have to go to when you follow a claim 441 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,320 for a certain condition. 442 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:38,040 They have to review to see, sometimes it's an increase to see if it's worsen or if it's 443 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,840 need an opinion linking it to service. 444 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,480 The VA hospitals used to do that. 445 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:52,640 Well, it just got overwhelming, so they had to start using third parties. 446 00:29:52,640 --> 00:30:03,040 When you follow a claim, you'll get some letters from Veterans Evaluation Services or QTC. 447 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:09,280 So I believe there's five different organizations that do it around the country. 448 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:13,120 And so you'll get a packet saying, okay, this is the time and date that you've got to show 449 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:14,120 up. 450 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,520 They usually call you as well to see if you can make that. 451 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:23,240 And just remember when they call you, and if you're working and you need it to have it 452 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,160 a different date, they do have a timeframe. 453 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:33,480 I can't tell you what it is off the top of my head two weeks, but they have to have it 454 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,440 the compensation pension within a certain timeframe. 455 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:40,080 But if you can't make it that day, but you can make it the next day, you got to make 456 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:45,160 sure that you let them know about your availability. 457 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:51,560 And they're usually accommodating enough and even have some snowbirds that, oh, I'm in Florida, 458 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:56,040 and they can set up the exam down in Florida if they're not in Michigan. 459 00:30:56,040 --> 00:31:02,680 And, Carol Ann, I know the folks you talk to often run into this problem of maybe not 460 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:05,120 understanding the differences. 461 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,160 Talk to us a little bit about what you've heard from them and how you explain it. 462 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:15,960 Well, there are some times that the veteran claims that they never got a phone call and 463 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:17,720 they never got a letter. 464 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:25,160 And so all of a sudden, they see in or they hear from a VSO or legal help for veterans 465 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,440 or David will call them and say, you didn't go to your appointment. 466 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:31,640 And they said, what appointment? 467 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:39,520 And so we see that maybe they've moved or and then we have to go in and try to get that 468 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,760 denial reversed. 469 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:46,280 And then so we I do quite a bit of that. 470 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:54,480 The other thing that's really, really critical is I'm seeing now David that when that happens, 471 00:31:54,480 --> 00:32:01,920 the veteran needs to let us know, you know, the VSO that's representing them right away, 472 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:09,120 because we are now, at least on our end, we have to tell the regional office why the vet 473 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:14,160 didn't keep his appointment, and they will either approve it or deny it. 474 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:22,280 And so we've had good rationale why the veteran didn't attend that exam. 475 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:23,280 But you're right. 476 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:29,600 If you don't go to the exam, their disability might be denied right out of the chute. 477 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:36,000 And so it's really important to verbalize and get that appointment date and be honest 478 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,000 with them. 479 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:43,040 You might have two or three different opportunities to select a time and you're right. 480 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:50,120 Tell them if you're going snowboarding, Florida, Phoenix or wherever, and they will accommodate, 481 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:58,040 but it's not good for you if you just don't show up and you don't let somebody know. 482 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:03,680 You'll have some of the one offs where they send the paperwork and it was like for yesterday. 483 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,120 So those are easier. 484 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:14,600 But I stress to my veterans that you have to go to these exams or they'll just deny it. 485 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:15,600 Yeah. 486 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,440 And the point I'm trying to get across is that just the fact that you've been at the 487 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:24,720 VA hospital last week for an exam with a doctor, that doesn't mean you don't have to go do 488 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,320 the C&P exam. 489 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:29,320 Welcome back. 490 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,560 We have a little technical problem on my end, not on Derrick's end. 491 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:38,920 Again, my partner, Dale, never let me have the microphone again live. 492 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,240 So I did want to talk about something. 493 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:47,160 It touched a little bit, David, on what you said about the reason you have to use the 494 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:53,240 VA hospital. This is a bit because of the considerable explosion of claims. 495 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:59,000 And just this week, the secretary of the VA was reporting out sort of what has happened 496 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,120 over the last year. 497 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:08,000 The VA saw its highest level of health care appointments ever in fiscal 2024 up about 498 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,200 6%, 127.5 million appointments. 499 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,840 It's just amazing when you think about that number. 500 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:22,640 And a large part of that's because of the adoption of the PACT Act, where 796,000 veterans 501 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:29,480 enrolled in VA health care in the last two years, it's 37% up in 24 months. 502 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:35,240 And even over on the benefits side where we were talking, they've had a 27% increase in 503 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:45,320 benefits and paid out to 6.7 million veterans, $187 billion in benefits in the last year. 504 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:52,400 Are you feeling this sort of increase in activity, David, at the county counselor level? 505 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:57,600 Yes. It was really big with the PACT Act. 506 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:07,840 That's where the local hospitals, they started doing town halls in every little county that 507 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:18,000 all around Michigan. And it started with that. And kind of snowballed where we just started 508 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,360 seeing more and more people. 509 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:27,120 I mean, if you look at it, I think Congress, they kind of yelled at the VA where they said, 510 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:32,600 you know, we are spending all this money, but Congress is the one that passed the PACT 511 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:35,280 Act, right? 512 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:41,680 And the big influx, you know, they pushed for all those new service-connected conditions. 513 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:51,320 And then TERA has toxic exposure exams have been a godsend coming in for where they've 514 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:59,720 been exposed to, you know, but I see a petroleum or radiation and now they go to a TERA exam 515 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:06,120 and they have more favorable opinions than just a CMP exam. And that's where it's really 516 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:13,880 connecting those veterans that were in certain areas that we didn't have that before. 517 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:20,880 Well, and I think there's, I give a lot of credit to Congress for recognizing this and 518 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:27,760 for VA for acting on this. We've all known for a long time service has a lot of toxic 519 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:34,760 exposure and that has long-term health effects. We ignored it for a long time. That's why 520 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:41,480 Agent Orange took so long to get here as a recognized problem, not only in Vietnam, but 521 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,320 elsewhere in the world. 522 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:49,960 But now we seem to be, both Congress and the VA seem to be recognizing disabilities associated 523 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:56,880 with other exposures, whether it's Camp Lejeune Water, but elsewhere, are you beginning to 524 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:03,440 see guys come back in who got turned away before, but are now maybe, hey, I heard this 525 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,040 is being recognized now. 526 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:11,240 Oh, yes, definitely. I mean, the big, I went through my files because of Thailand, right, 527 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:17,000 the Royal Air Force bases where, you know, they went in to the air, the base through 528 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:25,000 the main gate where they sprayed it, but only somebody that was MP or on the flight line 529 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:33,400 on the on the fence. Now anybody who were on those Royal Thai Air Force bases are service 530 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:42,520 connected for presumptives of Vietnam. Also, we've done very well for Guam. I haven't had 531 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:50,240 any American Samoa, but that's been a huge part of this. And then also, like I touched 532 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:55,680 on before with the Tara, you know, I've had it where Ford drum, New York, I've never 533 00:37:55,680 --> 00:38:01,000 heard of anything there, but somebody had bladder cancer twice and they were in their 534 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:09,640 twenties and the tear exam confirmed it. So I'm getting a lot more different bases that 535 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:14,600 are not in the news that is very plausible for toxic exposure. 536 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:21,440 I want to talk about one of those because we had we did an interview back in 2021 with 537 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:31,840 a veteran who was at K2 in Uzbekistan, which is an old Soviet base with that we leased 538 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:38,000 part of it from the Uzbekistanis going into Afghanistan. It was a staging area. And what 539 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:48,960 was really amazing was that base was so polluted from the Russian activity and and the American 540 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,240 troops were being staged there and they're saying, Hey, there's there's all kinds of 541 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:57,600 colored stuff and radiation stuff going on back here. We need to do something. So so 542 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:03,720 again, there's a veterans radio podcast for May of 2021 on this issue where we talked 543 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:10,120 about Michael Leiter, who is an Army veteran and a DoD contractor talking about his experiences. 544 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:16,360 Well, just in the news this week, VA is now announcing that, Hey, you know what, maybe 545 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:23,440 certain types of cancer will qualify for those for expedited VA disability claims for those 546 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:29,760 veterans who were at K2. This stuff just constantly changes, doesn't it, David? 547 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:38,800 Oh, yeah, definitely. And I mean, some of the you mentioned a base you've never heard 548 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:44,560 of where there was a toxic problem. Honestly, goodness, I had to look up on a map where 549 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:50,160 Uzbekistan was let alone what K2 was when I did this interview three or four years three 550 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:55,680 years ago now. But that's part of why you listen to a veterans radio, where you hear 551 00:39:55,680 --> 00:40:00,640 about things that may be coming down the road and it took years, but VA is now here. And 552 00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:04,480 you're probably seeing that from bases like guys are coming in and saying at this base, 553 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:08,800 I got exposed to this, but it may take a little time before it gets recognized. 554 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:18,440 Oh, yeah, definitely. And I've had it where I've got it where the in like in Hawaii, you 555 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:27,000 know, I mean, there was a 60 minutes program about the fuel that was stored. And so that's 556 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:34,760 that's one thing. But there was another gentleman that had a rare cancer. And it was through 557 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:43,160 Tara and some good Nexus letters that we got them a service connected death. But any base 558 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:50,440 that you've been on, just doing a simple Google search to see what was exposed on that base, 559 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:55,640 that helps the projection of the claim. So that's what I do. If somebody comes in, 560 00:40:55,640 --> 00:41:01,560 wherever you station, and then I review everything, all the bases that they were at, 561 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:08,600 and then to see if there if it's plausible. And then if we can get a positive tear exam, 562 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:14,680 or if we can get a positive Nexus linking that and usually it has to do with some cancers and 563 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:21,960 exposure to fire foam and all that. So before we move on, and we don't have time to talk about 564 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:28,040 PFAS and fire foam, but you mentioned Tara remind our veterans and their friends who are listening, 565 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:32,360 what a Tara exam is and how it's different than a CMP exam. 566 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:37,560 Yeah. So right, the CMP exam is for your knee, right? So 567 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:46,760 and they'll check out your knee. And then the Tara exam, sorry, a Tara exam is a toxic exposure 568 00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:53,320 exam. So they look and see what chemicals that you were exposed to. And then what condition 569 00:41:53,320 --> 00:42:03,720 that you're claiming. And if there is a 51% chance of linking that to service. That is different 570 00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:09,960 than just the compensation and pension exam, where they're just looking at, all right, the evidence 571 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:17,480 that's here, maybe you don't have a Nexus, or maybe you just have buddy letters with a toxic 572 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:25,400 exposure, you have a doctor that's looking at the exposure levels to see if it's plausible. 573 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:33,720 Sort of a much higher professional review of exposures and service locations. Let me switch 574 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:40,840 one more gear here because it's an area that I know the general's bumped into a lot and we have, 575 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:47,560 again, a changing world out there. And this is a good example of it. Carol Ann, you ran across 576 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:53,400 some news that you thought was worth passing along. Well, it's basically not on the VBA side 577 00:42:53,400 --> 00:43:03,880 or the VHA side, but the Pentagon has just initiated a pilot program to shed or launch 578 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:11,000 or launch the medical conditions that are prohibiting a young man or woman to go into the 579 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:19,960 service. And so the Pentagon has just dropped 51 disqualifying conditions as a part of a 580 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:29,880 recruiting push. We always hear that asthma is an immediate disqualifier, diabetes. So they have 581 00:43:29,880 --> 00:43:36,200 said you're going to go in for an evaluation, but let me talk about asthma. If you used an inhaler 582 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:45,640 and it was a childhood condition, they were just eliminating you. Well, that's a huge part. A third 583 00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:53,800 of the recruits a year is what the article was alluding to. So now a part of that allowing a 584 00:43:53,800 --> 00:44:00,040 man or woman get into the service, what they are saying is, okay, you might have asthma. However, 585 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:07,320 if you haven't used your inhaler for four years, we're going to take a look at you and possibly 586 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:16,040 let you go into the service. Some you don't even need an exam for of the 51. You could go in and 587 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:22,600 reapply to that service. So this was good news for me because you would always hear 588 00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:29,080 you have asthma and some other conditions. Forget it. Don't even apply. But that's not true right 589 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:36,520 now. So the Pentagon is conducting this pilot for all the services. And I would encourage you, if 590 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:44,040 you want to serve our country, go back to that service, go back to recruiting station and see 591 00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:52,760 if you now will qualify. Well, certainly again, an example of how in the field in which we work and 592 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:57,960 we're talking about things change and they change regularly. So you've got to stay on top of it. You've 593 00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:05,480 got to have a person like a county counselor or a veteran service officer who's staying up to date 594 00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:11,560 with changing even over on how do I get into military service? You got to stay up to date 595 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:17,720 of what's going on. And I know the general gets asked this question a lot in a world where the 596 00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:24,680 recruiting crisis needs to be addressed. So the DOD is doing something by taking some of these 597 00:45:24,680 --> 00:45:29,800 things and saying, yeah, maybe maybe they aren't what we thought they were. As we're coming up on 598 00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:35,640 time here, I wanted to do a couple of things. David, any Veteran Day events you want to make 599 00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:47,080 people aware of or give your best wishes on? We're just I'm doing one at my local American Legion 600 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:55,240 in Selene, Michigan. We always have free first drink is on us and then also we have a meal. 601 00:45:55,240 --> 00:46:02,200 So but that's if you're in Selene, Michigan, I know a lot of local American Legion VFWs are 602 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:09,560 doing their own thing. And like Brian said, he's doing a couple things over at the at the hospital. 603 00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:16,840 And then there's been people asking me to come and talk. So but that's all I have really. I suspect 604 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:24,040 Brian, this is a good day for David for you to walk in. And if you've never been to the 605 00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:30,280 wherever you are in the country, you've never been to your American Legion post or your VFW post. 606 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:37,000 There's a bunch of welcoming people here. This is the day to go. Have a free meal, maybe a free 607 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:43,320 drink and create some fellowship. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, we embrace all veterans that 608 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:49,640 come in and the auxiliary gets in. We have every veteran that comes in gets a ticket. And then we 609 00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:57,480 do a raffle for certain things. And we're going to have some good prizes there. So and I think 610 00:46:57,480 --> 00:47:04,760 all the legions and VFWs around the United States are doing something. So if you if you've not been 611 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:11,160 involved, this is a good time to maybe step into a hall, meet some men and women who serve like you 612 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:17,080 do. So we'd encourage you to folks to do that for Veterans Day. I do want to do two other comments 613 00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:25,160 before we work our way out of here. One is Veterans Radio received the National Veterans 614 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:34,040 Business Development Council Media Partner of the Year this week at NVBDC's National Conference. 615 00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:40,920 It was a great surprise to be recognized for the work that we do on Veterans Radio. And they were 616 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:50,040 a great host. They had about 300 or so, three to 400 people in the audience. And a lot of 617 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:56,680 veteran owned businesses and a lot of corporate sponsors from Walmart to Amazon to Abbott Labs 618 00:47:56,680 --> 00:48:01,880 to all sorts of different folks. Carolina and I got to go down and receive the award. So 619 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:08,760 really nice, very nice to be recognized. And we met a lot of great veteran business owners and 620 00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:12,680 we'll be talking to them here on Veterans Radio. They were all interested in getting, 621 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:17,960 hey, how do I get my business spotlighted on Veterans Radio? So very nice thing. And we 622 00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:26,680 wanted to pass along that good recognition. And David, you're part of it in our posts like 623 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:32,840 WAM and Derek Stone are part of that. So we wanted to say thanks to everybody who's made 624 00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:38,920 this work for so many years. We would be remiss, we'd probably be the only radio show in the 625 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:45,000 country if we didn't tell you to get out and vote. We don't care who you vote for. But our next 626 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:52,760 commander in chief is going to be decided here. So men in particular, because you're not turning 627 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:58,680 your absentee balance in as fast as the women apparently, men get out and vote. You earned it 628 00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:05,480 by serving. So go do that, whatever stripe you are, but get out and vote. And we've now checked 629 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:09,480 off a box that I think every radio and TV station has to say at this time of the year. 630 00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:19,320 Hey, Carol Ann, what's coming up right after Veterans Day? The Marine Corps birthday. 631 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:28,440 But I was going to say happy Veterans Day to all our Veterans and their families and for all that 632 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:34,440 you do and have sacrificed over the years and try to get out to an event. Even if it's on 633 00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:44,440 November 8th at the VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor at 9.30 in the morning or there's many events 634 00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:50,040 going on in the community. Think of Veteran. It should be every day. I know there's a lot of 635 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:57,560 restaurants giving free meals if you identify yourself as a Veteran. So happy Veterans Day. 636 00:49:57,560 --> 00:50:03,720 And David, thank you for all that you do at the Washtenaw. You're one of the best county 637 00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:10,200 counselors I know. So thank you. I appreciate that and congratulations on your award and happy 638 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:17,000 Veterans Day too. Well, as I said, we're gonna recognize Veterans Day, but as you know, David, 639 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:23,240 if you don't recognize the Marine Corps birthday, there's a whole lot of grief. So we're gonna go 640 00:50:23,240 --> 00:50:34,760 out with the Marine Corps hymn recognizing the Marine Corps birthday. And until next time, you are dismissed.