1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,960 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:19,720 And now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 3 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,920 Hey, welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:31,000 My name is Dale Throneberry. I was a CW2 helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 1969. 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,760 Centuries ago, it seems like now. 6 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,680 Welcome to our program. This is our monthly benefits program. 7 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,840 So if you have any questions, start getting on the line. 8 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:45,000 Hopefully you can do that. The number is 734-822-1600. 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:51,200 We're going to have retired Brigadier General Caroline Falzone from Legal Health Veterans. 10 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:57,280 She is going to be on. David Sames, who is the executive of the 11 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,920 Washtenaw County Veteran Service Office, is going to be joining us as well. 12 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:07,200 And I also have a pre-recorded interview with Attorney Mike Cox. 13 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:13,000 Mike has been working on the Camp Lejeune water issue for a number of years. 14 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,880 And I was able to sit down with him earlier in the week. 15 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,200 So we are going to be able to get his recording. 16 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,880 And you can hear what's going on with the Camp Lejeune case. 17 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,760 Like everything else these days, it's going to require a lot of patience from everyone. 18 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:32,680 Because it seems like many of the systems that are out there are overwhelmed. 19 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,560 Some of the systems, I was just reading an article on military.com. 20 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,520 Some of the systems for even for tricare are transitioning over. 21 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,520 And there are all kinds of things going on that are delaying appointments, 22 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,440 delaying information and so forth. 23 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,160 So for our veteran community, especially out there, 24 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,760 we need to be as patient as we possibly can. 25 00:01:54,760 --> 00:02:00,360 Everybody's working on this thing, trying to get it all fixed up for all of you out there. 26 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:06,680 Before we get into the program, we had to make sure that we do thank our sponsors. 27 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:11,560 We are, I should say, we here at Veterans Radio are so appreciative of the support 28 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:16,160 that our corporate sponsors and you as individuals have given us. 29 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,920 Of course, we start with legal help for veterans. 30 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,960 Legal help for veterans specializes in veterans disability claims. 31 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:31,640 You can give them a call at 800-693-4800 or go to their website, legalhelpforveterans.com. 32 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:36,480 The National Veterans Business Development Council, better known as NVB DC, 33 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,800 is the nation's leading third party authority for certification of veteran known businesses. 34 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:50,680 For more information, go to their website, NVBDC.org or give them a call at 888-237-8433. 35 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:56,480 Remember, if you are a veteran known business and you want to do business with the federal government 36 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,520 and many corporations, you need to be a certified veteran known business. 37 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,760 That means that just one worker for you can't be a veteran. 38 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,600 That's not a veteran known business. 39 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,920 So you've got to get certified and these are the folks that can help you the most. 40 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,040 That's the National Veterans Business Development Council. 41 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:14,680 Give them a call. 42 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,800 I think you'll find out they've got great information, put on a lot of seminars, 43 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,720 how to get into the system, how to work with the system and so forth. 44 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,960 Their number is 888-237-8433. 45 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaking of franchises, how's that for it? 46 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:32,920 Segway, right? 47 00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:37,360 Pure Clean, better known as the paramedics of property damage. 48 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,120 Each Pure Clean office is independently owned and operated. 49 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,800 In fact, Pure Clean is one of the nation's leading restoration franchise networks. 50 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,480 It is made up of entrepreneurs just like many veterans. 51 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:54,840 And in fact, veterans get a 25% off discount off of their franchise fee. 52 00:03:54,840 --> 00:04:00,600 So go for more information, go to pureclean.com. 53 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:06,520 The Ann Arbor, better known as the Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 54 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,760 For more information, go to va.gov. 55 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,160 And Arbor Healthcare. 56 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,520 And of course, we have two local of VSOs. 57 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:20,680 The Irwin Press Corps and American Legion post 46 and the Charles S. Kettles Vietnam Veterans of America, 58 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,160 Chapter 310, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. 59 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:29,960 If you'd like to support Veterans Radio, please go to our website, veteransradio.org. 60 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,880 Click on the donate button and thank you in advance. 61 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,680 Got two pieces of news for you here. 62 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,840 There are two events coming up that I think are really important. 63 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:39,680 Actually, there's three. 64 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,840 I'll get to the third one in a second. 65 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,680 So the first one, to remember last month we introduced this, 66 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,680 is that Team Red, White, and Blue is having a fundraiser 67 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,920 and they're going to run for whatever reason. 68 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:57,480 This is what these people do. 69 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,280 They're going to run across the country from May 2nd to May 17th. 70 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:09,280 They're going to run carrying a flag all the way across the country from San Diego to Washington, D.C. 71 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:10,840 So that's Team Red, White, and Blue. 72 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:14,800 And they are looking for support, obviously, as is their main fundraiser. 73 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,120 And I think it's something that we could all get behind. 74 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:24,800 So go to teamrwb.org or just Google in Team Red, White, and Blue, 75 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,760 and you'll find out information of how you can support this incredible trip across the country. 76 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:30,680 I think it's cool. 77 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,360 So we'll be talking to them once they start doing this running. 78 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,080 But I wanted to make sure that you're aware of that. 79 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:44,040 The other thing that's coming up is on April 5th here locally in Southeastern Michigan 80 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,880 is the Fisher House Annual Fundraising in Detroit. 81 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,120 This one is called Songs of Service. 82 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:58,440 And the guest speaker is going to be none other than our good friend here on Veterans Radio, Doug Bradley. 83 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:04,600 And Doug has written numerous books about the music of Vietnam, actually, 84 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,960 and I think he's kind of spread out with music of other conflicts. 85 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:16,320 He's also a participant in Warrior Songs, which is a group out in Wisconsin 86 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:24,920 that puts together veterans and songwriters together, and they write songs as a form of therapy 87 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,600 and also has written some incredible music. 88 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,920 It's a way to get these guys' songs and stories out there. 89 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,400 So Doug is going to be the guest speaker. 90 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,600 It is on Saturday, April 5th. 91 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,160 We're going downtown this year. 92 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:43,720 It's going to be at the Brook Tower in Detroit, starts at 4.30. 93 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:50,400 For more information on this, go to fisherhousemichigan.org and click on the Events button. 94 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,840 We will be there from Veterans Radio, and hopefully we'll get to see a number of you 95 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:56,640 there on April 5th. 96 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:57,960 So that's for the Fisher House. 97 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,800 And the last thing is I just want you to mark your calendar. 98 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:10,640 For Sunday, September 28th, it's going to be our, I think it's our fourth radio on the river. 99 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,440 And we are going to be moving out a little bit more. 100 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:17,720 We're going to be at Freedom River. 101 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:27,640 It's a space out north of Ann Arbor on the Huron River and also there are lakes and everything else out there. 102 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:36,800 And we are going to have the Michigan Flight Museum is going to be there with a UH-1 Huey 103 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,120 providing rides for people that want to pay for a ride. 104 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:41,360 So that's just the beginning. 105 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:48,320 That's the first act that we've been able to book for our annual fundraiser. 106 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:49,600 So mark that calendar. 107 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:51,520 Sunday, September 28th. 108 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:53,640 No football that weekend. 109 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:54,880 So it's all right. 110 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,040 You guys can do that. 111 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:58,760 Okay. 112 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,800 So as I mentioned, I had an opportunity to talk with Mike Cox earlier in the week. 113 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:08,680 And just to kind of remind you, and I know he in the interview, he does the same thing. 114 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:14,840 But the water in Camp Lejeune was toxic. 115 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:21,360 And many people were starting to suffer diseases from cancers, especially. 116 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:34,040 And they finally set up a fund to pay out, distribute funds to the families and survivors of those people that were stationed at Camp Lejeune, 117 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:38,720 which pretty much marines for about 20, 30 years there. 118 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:39,920 He's going to talk about that. 119 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:44,320 So, Derek, if you've got that all lined up, let's go right now. 120 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,880 We're going to be talking, as I mentioned, with Mike Cox or the Mike Cox law firm. 121 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:50,440 Here we go. 122 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:52,760 Joining us on the line right now is Mike Cox. 123 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:54,240 He's a lawyer here in Michigan. 124 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,680 He's a former attorney general of Michigan. 125 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,320 And he's also a Marine Corps veteran. 126 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,920 And we've had Mike on the program before talking about what's going on with Camp Lejeune. 127 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,040 And so I just wanted to bring him back today to see what's happening. 128 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,800 So, Mike, welcome back to Veterans Radio. 129 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,600 Well, it's great being on Veterans Radio once again. 130 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:17,000 You guys do a great service, and I'm so happy to help out. 131 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:18,440 Well, thank you very much. 132 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,440 So, you know, what is going on with Camp Lejeune? 133 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:28,360 Is that time period passed or are people still eligible to file claims? 134 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:35,600 Well, the time period has passed that ended August 10th of 2024. 135 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:36,600 Excuse me. 136 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,520 It ended, yeah, August 10th of 2024. 137 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:49,680 So, folks are no longer eligible, but 550,000 Marine sailors and their family members who 138 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:58,280 lived at Camp Lejeune for over 30 days between December of 51 and late August or end of 1986. 139 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:00,680 And so, we have put in claims. 140 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:07,080 And so, Dale, things are moving along, but you know how it is in the military, you know, 141 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,280 a hurry up and wait, right? 142 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,200 So, that's what we have going on right now. 143 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:18,760 I think former President Biden and the Republicans and the Democrats in the House and Senate 144 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:24,440 in 2022, when they enacted this, it gave the opportunity. 145 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:33,400 They were well intended, but I don't know that they did enough planning to execute quickly. 146 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:38,760 And so, now there are about 550,000 claims and I'll break it down a little bit. 147 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:45,800 The Department of Navy thinks anywhere from 50 to 100,000 of those are duplicates. 148 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,320 And that's a function of a couple things. 149 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:52,160 Sometimes folks put in with more than one lawyer. 150 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,120 That happens sometimes in these kind of cases. 151 00:10:54,120 --> 00:11:00,760 And other things is that, you know, the Navy had software, they had different iterations 152 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,120 and we think a lot of duplicates were created that way. 153 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,960 So, that's like the big picture. 154 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:13,840 A couple smaller things that may matter in the nearer future for your folks, the listeners 155 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,840 here, or anyone who just cares about this issue and cares about taking care of Americans' 156 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:25,520 lives, is that the Department of Navy has made it a limited group of offers, settlement 157 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:30,680 offers, and they're called elective option offers. 158 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:36,800 And the criteria to me seems a little too rigid and not realistic. 159 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:43,240 But if any of your listeners were a Camp Lejeune eligible person, they had a Tier 1 160 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:49,920 disease as a result of the polluted and tainted water, and have kidney, liver, cancers, leukemia, 161 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:55,520 bladder cancer, or non-Hodgkins, you may be eligible for an offer right now. 162 00:11:55,520 --> 00:12:01,120 And the basics and the most important thing is reach out to your lawyer who put in the 163 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,000 claim for you or filed the lawsuit for you. 164 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,160 That's where I'd start with. 165 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,760 But that gives folks a little idea who might be eligible for an offer. 166 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:16,440 The thing that's been the sticking point between veterans and their lawyers and Department 167 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:25,440 Navy is that these initial offers are promised on you getting diagnosed within 35 years of 168 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:29,760 leaving your duty station at Camp Lejeune. 169 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:36,800 So my last day at Camp Lejeune was April 15th of 1983. 170 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:45,480 And so if I had been impacted during my time being out in the field, doing drills and exercises, 171 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:50,960 getting ready for Okinawa, coming back from Okinawa and Korea and Japan, I would have 172 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:58,320 had to been diagnosed within 35 years of April 15th of 1983, which would have taken me up 173 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,720 to 2018. 174 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:06,280 And you and I both know that cancer, and I think every doctor knows, most anyone knows 175 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,720 that cancer precedes at different cases and levels. 176 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:17,680 And so if someone got diagnosed in 2019 or 2020 or if God forbid, I would get a, if I'd 177 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,720 put in and got a diagnosis in 2022, I wouldn't be fit the offer. 178 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:28,920 But nonetheless, that's some movement by the Department of Navy to move these cases along 179 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:32,480 to try and get relief for the impacted veterans. 180 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:38,440 So any of your listeners who may be impacted, please reach out to your lawyers and talk 181 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:39,760 to them about that. 182 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:44,440 Even if you take the settlement, the process is a little cumbersome, but it's certainly 183 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:45,440 worthwhile. 184 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:46,440 A big picture. 185 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:47,440 Okay. 186 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,200 So that's about 10% of the picture. 187 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:50,200 I'm sorry. 188 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,720 If you have a question, I was going to jump into the next phase, but no, that's all right. 189 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,200 I was, I was waiting for you to jump into the next phase. 190 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,520 I was just asking if people wanted to, in other words, are you saying that there's a settlement 191 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:05,280 out there that you don't, you didn't really have to pursue. 192 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,480 You just say, okay, I'll take a lump sum and I'll be done. 193 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:09,480 Yeah. 194 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:17,200 So if, if you had put in a, got a lawyer, some people, very few people tried to do it 195 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:18,200 themselves. 196 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:24,240 If you, if you'd put in a claim with the Navy before August 10th of 2024, so you were one 197 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,000 of the eligible ones and within the two year window. 198 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:34,720 If you did that, and you fit those criteria that I just mentioned, you may be eligible 199 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,200 for a payout now. 200 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:44,600 And so I'd urge you to reach out to your lawyer and, and talk to him or her and see if you 201 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,440 fit, if you're interested. 202 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:57,800 Now some of those offers we think, so about 12%, 11% of my clients fit that. 203 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,200 But for a number of them, they don't believe the offer is adequate and I don't believe 204 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:02,200 it's adequate. 205 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,320 For others, it is and it, and it works. 206 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,000 So it's, it's part of it. 207 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,280 These are individual cases. 208 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:15,640 So every individual Marine sailor family member, you know, they can exercise their own free 209 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:20,640 will and decide what's best for them. 210 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:27,160 So for everyone else, that, that, those offers only impact about 10% we think of the Marines 211 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:28,160 impacted. 212 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,000 For the other 90%. 213 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,320 Thank you for your patience. 214 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:40,680 You know, this is, this is the largest litigation ever in American history, as you can imagine. 215 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:45,120 And so for the past year, there, there has been a lot of activity though. 216 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:54,040 There has been daily depositions of, of impacted Marines and sailors, but more so of scientific 217 00:15:54,040 --> 00:16:00,200 experts, doctors, epidemiologists of all sorts. 218 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,920 And they're literally amongst the leadership team and the group of, we're part of a team 219 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:09,200 that involves literally hundreds of lawyers from across the country. 220 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:15,560 It put in money and doing, you know, massive amounts of work. 221 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,240 Literally I don't want to equate it to D-Day, but it's the, it's the legal equivalent to 222 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,520 D-Day in terms of the preparation. 223 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:28,080 So there's going to be 25 trials that have been set for next spring and they're called 224 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:29,680 bellwether trials. 225 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,320 They're kind of like test cases. 226 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:38,480 And ultimately, you know, most civil cases don't get tried. 227 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:43,680 So those half million plus claims are unlikely to get tried, but some of them will. 228 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:48,080 And that will help both sides determine what our fair offers and what our fair settlements 229 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:49,080 are. 230 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:55,080 And those cases, those test cases involve kidney cancer, leukemia, Parkinson's bladder, 231 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:56,080 and non-Hodgkins. 232 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,880 Those are happening next spring or they're set for next spring. 233 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,400 And we think that will move the needle. 234 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,720 But the, but I'm starting off talking about hurry up and wait. 235 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:10,840 You know, this is going to be a process. 236 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,640 So I enlisted for three years. 237 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:18,080 I got in during a time you can list for three years. 238 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:22,800 If you're part of this, if you're part of this claim, you know, it's going to be a three 239 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,320 plus year hitch. 240 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:30,440 So people, I have to use those traits that they learned in boot camp, you know, and be 241 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:37,520 persistent, you know, be, be prepared, persistent and patient. 242 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,920 And a couple of other things, if I have a couple, I have a little time, a couple other 243 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:43,720 notes I can pass along. 244 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:50,200 So anyone out there, and I don't want to sound morbid, but anyone out there, it's good if 245 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:57,280 you talk to your lawyer to designate a next-to-kin in case something were to happen to you, you 246 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:03,880 know, walking down the street of, you know, a meteor hit you, you know, who can then act 247 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:10,480 on behalf of your family to make decisions about your claim. 248 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,720 That would save your family a lot of work later on a probate, but again, talk to your 249 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,040 lawyer about that and they can explain that. 250 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,480 And one other thing that I get asked, like from the very beginning and up to today, and 251 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:29,440 I understand it 100%, we still get the questions, well, if I win a settlement here, will that 252 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,360 impact my veterans benefits, VA benefits? 253 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:33,960 And the answer is absolutely not. 254 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:34,960 Right. 255 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:40,440 So this is a totally separate fund, I guess you could say. 256 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,440 Yeah. 257 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,160 That they're coming out from strictly for Camp Lejeune. 258 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:45,960 Yes. 259 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:54,000 And there may be an offset that would come out of your settlement, but like these elective 260 00:18:54,000 --> 00:19:00,200 offers, and some of them are up to $500,000, there is no offset. 261 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:08,480 So again, I just say that in the setup from day one, your VA benefits that you earn that 262 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,800 you have right now are not impacted at all by this. 263 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:12,800 Okay. 264 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,160 I think that's a good place to end it, that they're not affected. 265 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:23,880 Mike, thank you very much for joining us today and kind of clearing up these things. 266 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:28,680 It's another one of those bureaucratic things that we seem to run into all the time, where 267 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:33,760 as you mentioned earlier on, we got to hurry up and wait and just be patient. 268 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:39,960 Just got to work its way through the system, and I think lawyers like you and other ones 269 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:44,360 that are out there that are helping these men and women, we're all very grateful for 270 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,440 the work that you're doing. 271 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,120 Well, thank you. 272 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:56,200 And I think it kind of tells us what you do every week, talking about veterans issues 273 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,600 of all sorts, and also military preparedness and national security. 274 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:02,840 Well, thank you for that, Dale. 275 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:03,840 Thank you very much, Mike. 276 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:09,880 There are a lot of things going on in the world today, and I would be anxious to have 277 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,600 you back on in a couple of months and see how things are working out. 278 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,200 Absolutely, anytime. 279 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:17,200 Okay. 280 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,200 Thank you very much. 281 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,600 We're just talking with Mike Cox here about the issues at Camp Lejeune. 282 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:26,200 For more information about Mike, you can go to his website, mikecoxlaw.com. 283 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,160 We'll be right back after this message. 284 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,120 And we're right back after this message. 285 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:34,680 Welcome back to Veterans Radio. 286 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:36,520 That was Mike Cox talking about Camp Lejeune. 287 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,400 I guess the big message there was try and be as patient as you can. 288 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,160 This whole thing has to work its way through the court system. 289 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:49,520 And as he said, I think there were 25 cases that are going to be adjudicated in the next 290 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:54,480 couple of years or so, and make sure that you designate someone that can continue your 291 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,040 claim if something happens to you. 292 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,920 And yeah, write all that stuff down so that your family knows what you're supposed to 293 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:03,920 do. 294 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:04,920 All right. 295 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:06,840 As it descends, this is our monthly benefits program. 296 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,040 We do have a couple of our guests back here today. 297 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:15,680 We have retired Brigadier General Carol Ann Faust-Zone of the Air Force and also from 298 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,600 Legal Health for Veterans. 299 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:24,000 And we have David Sames, who is the county executive for the Washtenaw County Veterans 300 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:25,720 Service Office. 301 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,920 And sitting in the background over there, we've got our good friend Brian Vahe there. 302 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:36,320 I think Casey has any questions, kind of representing the local veteran community. 303 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,800 So I wanted to welcome both of you to the program. 304 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:41,600 So Carol Ann, welcome back. 305 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:43,200 Thanks, Dale. 306 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:48,800 It was great to hear the update from Mike and we could, Mike Cox, so we could talk about 307 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:49,800 that. 308 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,200 But I think patience is a very important message. 309 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:54,200 Yes. 310 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,320 David, hi, how are you? 311 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:57,320 I'm doing great. 312 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,520 Yes, I concur with the general, definitely. 313 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:08,720 Well, it seems like the word patience is something that we all need to work on with everything 314 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,040 that seems to be going on right now with some of these changes that are being made with 315 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,240 the various agencies across the federal government. 316 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,040 And I know that the VA is going through there. 317 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,040 And Carol Ann and I were talking briefly beforehand. 318 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,240 Carol, I want to say something about the benefits and let people feel good right away. 319 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,120 Well, I think Mike started this. 320 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:33,760 And so I'll continue. 321 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:39,240 His comment is that when you do get a settlement, I think people hear it's going to affect if 322 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:45,440 you're 100% or whatever percentage, it's going to affect that rating and take away stuff. 323 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,200 No, that's not true. 324 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:53,000 And I think with all the changes is coming out very clear from Secretary Collins that 325 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:59,120 if you have a disability benefit, your benefits as a veteran are not going to be taken away. 326 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:07,000 I think in the last couple of weeks, we have gotten a ton of phone calls and veterans are 327 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,800 alarmed that they are going to lose some of their benefits. 328 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,280 They're not going to be able to go to the VA. 329 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:18,520 And I think the issue of their disability rating was going to be reduced. 330 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,480 And no, I'm not hearing any of that. 331 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:29,640 And so I hope there's a little comfort out there that they read the whole story and listen 332 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:35,760 to what's out there on the waves. 333 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:42,520 And if you go to the VA website, and David, I don't know what advice you guys are giving 334 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:44,680 out from the county. 335 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:45,680 It's the same. 336 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,880 I mean, we're getting calls as well. 337 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:53,200 And where it's misinformation out there, and I'm like, well, send me the article because 338 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:58,520 you definitely, like you said, read all of it because I have not read anything that they're 339 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,880 reducing benefits or taking away anything. 340 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:09,640 And just people, of course, in the federal government, there's things going on. 341 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:15,680 But with benefits and your access to the VA, I have heard nothing. 342 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,160 Well, that's good to know. 343 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,480 That's good to know. 344 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,080 I am concerned a little bit about some of these cutbacks. 345 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:32,640 I guess it's only because I jumped to conclusions before I read everything that I need to read. 346 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:39,800 It's too bad that we don't have a representative from the health care side available, like we 347 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,800 normally do during our benefits program. 348 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:48,120 But I was reading an article about, again, it's not going to affect our benefits at all. 349 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:56,400 I think some of the things that I'm concerned about is that the layoffs might affect the 350 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,160 people that write our claims. 351 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:06,080 If those people are missing, the process of we submit our stuff, how long is it going 352 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:14,040 to sit on a desk before it gets moved to the next desk and on up the chain? 353 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:24,000 I did get a letter that really didn't make any sense to me recently about outside exams. 354 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:29,720 And it told me who was going to do the exam, but there was no exam in there. 355 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,360 So I was curious about that. 356 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:37,880 Of course, I tried to call and was on hold for a long time. 357 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,440 And so I mean, that's one of the things. 358 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:46,600 If all the cuts are always made at the bottom, a lot of people at the bottom do a lot of 359 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,520 this gut work. 360 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,240 And that's one of the things that I have a concern with. 361 00:25:51,240 --> 00:25:54,120 I'm sure it'll work itself out. 362 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:58,240 And I think it goes to the same thing that Mike talked about with Camp Lejeune is that 363 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:04,640 we need to really be patient if we can and to make sure that our relatives know what's 364 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:05,640 going on. 365 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:06,640 Dale? 366 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:13,480 Well, you know, I think as we've all talked, you know, Dale, the VA and this process of 367 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,000 disability rating and applying caregivers is another example. 368 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:24,000 And I think we've said this before, whether you go to a county counselor, a great VSO, 369 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:30,880 or come to legal health for veterans or any law firm, don't try to do it by yourself. 370 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,400 I mean, we're not taking away from you that you don't have intelligence and you don't 371 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:36,600 understand. 372 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:42,040 But there's a process out there that all of these groups have, I want to say, mastered 373 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:46,520 and they know how to get the claim in maybe a little quicker. 374 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,280 And caregivers is a great example. 375 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:54,560 All of the individuals that I've talked to in the last four months that have done it by 376 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,320 themselves and sent it into Washington have been denied. 377 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:05,320 You could start the caregivers right at the local level and be approved through your primary 378 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,800 care team. 379 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,960 And that's real critical. 380 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:16,000 If you know where to start and how to fill out the forms, I talked to somebody on Thursday. 381 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:21,080 They waited eight months to get an answer back, did it by themselves to find out they 382 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,720 filled the form out wrong. 383 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,840 So now they got to start all over again. 384 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:33,680 But I gave them some tips how to go back to their team, get a 2688 filled out regarding 385 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:38,400 activities of daily living and started at a different level. 386 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:46,400 So I really do think and I don't care who you go to, call back your person, whether it's 387 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:52,320 the attorney, a county counselor, a VSO and find out what's going on. 388 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:53,640 Utilize those resources. 389 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:54,640 Agreed. 390 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:56,160 Brian, you had a comment? 391 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:04,080 Yeah, actually, I'm one of the guys from Camp Lejeune and also have a number of guys that 392 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:10,760 I'm still in touch with that were there with me and I can't remember exactly, but I think 393 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:17,640 I went through to the VSO office and apparently I'm still on a list because once a year they 394 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,240 send me a thing that's still in the works. 395 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:26,240 And I haven't caught anything that I know of on the list. 396 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:30,640 So for some reason they keep sending me that letter. 397 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:38,280 But the one friend of mine, the veteran in Louisiana, they're working on him big time 398 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,880 because he passes a couple of those problems. 399 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:51,520 And he keeps wondering if he's going to hear back at some point before he comes to his 400 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:52,520 problems. 401 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:57,400 So one of them is a prostate problem he's dealing with. 402 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,840 So we all know how that can happen. 403 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:09,760 So yeah, it's just like from firsthand experience, I tried to tell all my buddies when I got a 404 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:15,040 hold of them that don't go through the lawyer, go through the VSO because that's the right 405 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:16,040 way to go. 406 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:22,120 So half of them had already gone to a lawyer, but that's just what happens, I guess. 407 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,760 So I just thought I'd interject that. 408 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:27,560 So, thank you. 409 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:28,560 Thanks, Brian. 410 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,600 We've got a call on a line here. 411 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:31,600 That's good. 412 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,240 We have Tom from Clinton Township, I think it said. 413 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,360 I had a question on his benefit denial. 414 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,640 So hey, welcome to Veterans Radio. 415 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:46,320 Yes, glad to be able to talk to you guys. 416 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:56,680 My situation I'm caught in is that someone in the state of Michigan has turned around 417 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:01,360 and put my VA health records. 418 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:08,440 They said that they got this from my VA health records that I'm mentally ill. 419 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:17,480 So I went to the VA and I asked them, when did you give the state of Michigan the information 420 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,040 that I was mentally ill? 421 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:25,400 And I went down there at the VA hospital and they said, we never did such a thing. 422 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:36,720 So it's still on my state health records that I'm mentally deranged and the state of Michigan 423 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:41,760 refuses to take that off. 424 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:51,320 And so I've been trying to get it straightened out for now four years and I just find it, 425 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:59,240 you know, I keep running into issues with people that do nothing to get it straightened 426 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:00,240 out. 427 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:15,000 So I might add that I belong to Chapter 154 and about three weeks ago I went to our meeting 428 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:26,840 and they told me that I was no longer able to go there because I disrupt the system there. 429 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:33,480 So they threw me out of Chapter 154, which I can tell you that I've been a member of 430 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:40,680 the Vietnam veterans for over 50 years and have contributed a great deal of time and 431 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:42,840 money to them. 432 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:54,520 And since I can't go there anymore, I joined the VFW and decided that, you know, you got 433 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:55,520 to go somewhere, right? 434 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,320 You got to have some friends someplace. 435 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:02,360 What can we do to help you out? 436 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:09,080 Well you can call the people in the state of Michigan and tell them that they're not supposed 437 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:14,040 to put false information into someone's records, okay? 438 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:22,360 That's a pretty deep, would be a nice thing to have someone get it straightened out because 439 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:32,880 the reason that the state did this was to cover up a huge situation that the governor 440 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,840 didn't want to have come to light, okay? 441 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,520 That's basically what it's all about. 442 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:43,280 They wanted to make sure that I couldn't say anything to anyone. 443 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,600 So they made me crazy. 444 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,560 They turned around and labeled me as being insane. 445 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:55,320 And I'll tell you something, I never stopped, okay? 446 00:32:55,320 --> 00:33:03,000 I'm one of three sons that went to Vietnam and I'm the only one that got home alive. 447 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:08,000 And I got news for that governor and that attorney general that they ought to be up 448 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,840 both in jail at this point. 449 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:16,120 And if you want to know more, give me a call and I'll tell you the whole story because 450 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,120 I have it all on print, of course. 451 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,880 I've been trying to get through this for years. 452 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,840 Okay, hold on here. 453 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,200 Let's see what we might be able to do to help you out. 454 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,880 I'm going to still be... 455 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,080 I called before you, you know. 456 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,240 No one ever called me back. 457 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:36,240 Kellyanne? 458 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:47,400 Well, what I could say is if it's in his medical records as a nurse, documentation is very 459 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:48,400 critical. 460 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,400 And so I try to go back. 461 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,280 I already have it all. 462 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,200 I've had it for years. 463 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,520 I've had it for years. 464 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:04,440 I've talked to, you know, the attorney general for Southeastern Michigan. 465 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,400 She just resigned or she just got changed. 466 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,240 You know what she did? 467 00:34:09,240 --> 00:34:13,320 She told me never to bother her again. 468 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:18,080 And I have a call, I'm supposed to talk to the new attorney general for Southeastern 469 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,600 Michigan and I'm supposed to call her Monday. 470 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:27,240 And I just wonder if she's going to give me the same category as we don't need to hear 471 00:34:27,240 --> 00:34:28,240 from you. 472 00:34:28,240 --> 00:34:36,800 I'll tell you what, Michigan needs to be totally redone. 473 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:43,840 We have a governor and an attorney general that cover up crimes and they do not care 474 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:51,080 about people, people that went to war that could give a damn about. 475 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:52,080 Believe me. 476 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:53,080 Okay. 477 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:54,840 And I have called you before. 478 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:56,200 We want to be able to help you. 479 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:58,720 We don't want to get into the politics of the whole thing. 480 00:34:58,720 --> 00:34:59,720 Yeah. 481 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:00,720 You know what? 482 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:01,720 That's what it is. 483 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:02,720 It's politics. 484 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:03,720 That's the problem. 485 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:06,760 We have a bunch of politicians. 486 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:07,760 They're a crooked. 487 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,680 That's what's the problem. 488 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:14,640 They don't care about people that went off to war. 489 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,760 They don't care about people at all. 490 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,200 In fact, they could care less. 491 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,480 They think they're above the law. 492 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,080 That's the problem. 493 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,080 Politicians do not give a damn. 494 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,080 That's our biggest problem today. 495 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,000 They love money more than they love people. 496 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:39,360 That's true, but I think thank you very much for calling. 497 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:45,400 Why don't you give Derek your phone number and we'll see if we can come up with an idea. 498 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,600 You won't have to give my phone number. 499 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:48,600 Okay. 500 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:49,600 Thank you very much. 501 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,800 Derek, if you would do that, that would be great. 502 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:53,200 All right. 503 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:55,320 I don't have any solution for that. 504 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,160 I'm trying to figure out how to get what I don't know what the state's allowed to do 505 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,880 and not to do. 506 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:05,400 I think that's part of the confusion here. 507 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,560 I don't know if there's any more suggestions. 508 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:14,760 You also have the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency that's right there in Lansing and you 509 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:19,280 dial 1-800-MICH-FET, right? 510 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:25,880 And they have service officers that are expanding that and they have the ear of the legislature. 511 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,240 They have mental health. 512 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:28,960 They have everything. 513 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:40,320 They're interconnected, so that would be my first choice to tell the caller to get a hold 514 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,680 of MVAA. 515 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:48,560 You have Director Brian Love and then maybe they can use their influence because they 516 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:52,560 are all thing veterans to work on that. 517 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,560 What was that phone number again, Dave? 518 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,160 It's 1-800-MICH-VET. 519 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:00,160 Okay. 520 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:07,640 Sometimes you just, you got to be in the hallway at the same time with the same people and 521 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,960 say, oh, by the way, did you know that this is what's happening here? 522 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,280 Let's see if we can fix that. 523 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:14,280 Yeah. 524 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:15,280 Okay. 525 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:19,400 Well, I thought that was interesting. 526 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,360 Anything else going on that we need to be aware of? 527 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:27,400 I know, we were talking briefly before that. 528 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:33,920 If you have filed a claim and it gets kicked up to the next level, and as Carol Ann explained 529 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:42,920 to me, and the next level says, hey, you need to, can you explain remand to our audience, 530 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:43,920 please? 531 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:48,600 Well, I know Dave sees a lot of these and so do we. 532 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:56,600 So as you get a claim and it gets denied, whether it's VSOs, county counselors, or us 533 00:37:56,600 --> 00:38:00,720 illegal health for veterans, we will file the appeal. 534 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:05,480 And there are certain, there are three lanes that you could get involved with. 535 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:06,760 Depends on your case. 536 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,640 It depends on what the decision is to go after. 537 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:16,840 So it goes up to the board and it's called Board of Appeals, Veterans Board of Appeals. 538 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:24,640 And as they start to look at that, if they see that maybe an exam should have been done, 539 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:31,640 maybe it wasn't executed the way that they are suggesting at the higher level, they will 540 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:39,040 send it back down either to that RO that gave you that ruling or put it in the national 541 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:44,560 queue for somebody else, get other eyes on it, another eyeball. 542 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:50,760 It's like a second opinion, but when they send it down, they want there to be more, 543 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,760 as they call it, development. 544 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:58,280 They will sometimes identify the area they're concerned about and they will say, take a 545 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:03,040 look at this, study it, come up with a different answer. 546 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:09,640 Now, the beautiful thing is that when they do remand it, let's say they remand it back 547 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:10,880 to Detroit. 548 00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:18,480 Detroit could peel it apart and look at what the original decision was, send you for maybe 549 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:25,600 a different exam day or the same one with a different examiner and come up with a different 550 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:26,600 solution. 551 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,520 They could decide it at the local level right there. 552 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:36,080 So they might write a decision in your favor and then it doesn't have to go back up with 553 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:37,560 the new evidence. 554 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:42,800 So there's different things that could happen in the different lanes. 555 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:48,680 You have a year to decide what you're going to do, but if the board remands it, there 556 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:55,400 should be a quick decision either from the local level or it goes back up with more information. 557 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,520 Dave, do you got anything else to add that you see with the remand? 558 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:05,000 No, a lot of times I see it's a duty to assist there where they didn't do something that 559 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:11,880 they were supposed to do, either order exam or clarify something or get records. 560 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:17,160 And so a lot of times it's a duty to assist and then they'll make the decision and if 561 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:18,840 it's good, it's great. 562 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:21,760 If it's not, it should go back up to the board. 563 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:22,760 Okay. 564 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,000 Oh, all right. 565 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,920 Anything else that you've been running into recently? 566 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,640 For those out there that are listening, if you do have a question, you can give us a call 567 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:36,960 at 734-822-1600. 568 00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:44,120 The only thing I have is I have some friends over at the Detroit Regional Office and one 569 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:51,640 of them did say that you definitely want to keep an eye, especially if it's the PACT Act 570 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:56,680 or even about liberalizing legislation. 571 00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:59,240 So even though the date's over, right? 572 00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:06,360 And so you finally figure out that, oh, I have a condition that's on the PACT Act list, 573 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:07,360 right? 574 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:13,600 So let's say it's COPD and I've had it since, you know, 2019. 575 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:20,080 So if you have it and you have proof and you file a claim, liberalizing legislation allows 576 00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:25,600 you to go back a year before the date of claim. 577 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:29,560 So it won't go back to the PACT Act because we're past that. 578 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:36,400 But liberalizing legislation is because they changed the law and you had that condition 579 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:44,600 before that law was implemented, you can get a year retro on that. 580 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:51,120 And there is, with anything, there's new VSOs, there's new RVSRs that are training and doing 581 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,640 this type of work and sometimes they miss that. 582 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:58,920 So just be aware about those dates. 583 00:41:58,920 --> 00:41:59,920 Okay. 584 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:05,080 That's really helpful, I think. 585 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,760 Is there so much confusion out there? 586 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:15,920 You know, depending on where you get your news, sometimes it's just off the charts wrong 587 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,200 or it's right, but you don't trust it. 588 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:23,160 And I think that, you know, unfortunately, many people have gotten to the point where 589 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:29,480 they just don't trust whatever they read and that can delay their claim. 590 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:33,080 It can delay a lot of different things that are going on. 591 00:42:33,080 --> 00:42:37,760 And so I'm going to take a real quick break here and do our Medal of Honor. 592 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:43,360 And when we come back, if you have any questions out there, jump right on in in the conversation 593 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:47,600 and give you guys a while to think of things that you might want to bring up for our audience. 594 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:50,440 We're coming up with about 15 minutes to go. 595 00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:53,680 So all right, you're listening to Veterans Radio and we will be back right after this 596 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:55,840 message. 597 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,320 The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in combat given a member of the Armed 598 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,120 Forces of the United States. 599 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:05,560 There have been over 3,400 recipients of the nation's highest award. 600 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:06,960 This is one of them. 601 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:11,920 Captain Lewis Millett was wounded by grenade fragments but refused evacuation. 602 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,920 Details after this. 603 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:18,800 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 604 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,040 Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 605 00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:27,040 There are experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 606 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:31,160 Their number again, 1-800-693-4800. 607 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:36,120 While personally leading his company in an attack against a strongly held Korean position, 608 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:41,480 Millett noted that the first platoon was pinned down by small arms, automatic, and anti-tank 609 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:43,040 fire. 610 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:47,840 Captain ordered the third platoon forward, placed himself at the head of the two platoons, 611 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:51,880 and with fixed bayonet, led the assault up the fire-swept hill. 612 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:57,160 In the fierce charge, he bayoneted two enemy soldiers and boldly continued on throwing 613 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:03,600 grenades, clubbing and bayonetting the enemy while urging his men forward by shouting encouragement. 614 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:08,720 Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest 615 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:10,040 of the hill. 616 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:14,800 His leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile 617 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:19,880 position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild 618 00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:21,560 disorder. 619 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:26,720 During this fierce onslaught, Millett was wounded by grenade fragments but refused evacuation 620 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:30,640 until the objective was taken and firmly secured. 621 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:34,600 The Medal of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio. 622 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:36,520 Military veterans touch everyone's life. 623 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:41,800 I'm guessing right now you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend, relative, maybe 624 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:42,920 it's you. 625 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:47,680 Even the toughest of us sometimes need help but don't know where to turn for support. 626 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,240 You don't need special training to help a veteran in your life. 627 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:53,120 We can all help someone going through a difficult time. 628 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:55,280 Learn how you can be there for veterans. 629 00:44:55,280 --> 00:45:01,960 Visit VeteransCrisisLine.net VeteransCrisisLine.net A message from the U.S. Department of Veterans 630 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:02,960 Affairs. 631 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:13,120 We're back here on Veterans Radio and I just wanted to ask our two experts, are you running 632 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,080 into any unusual claims with the new generation of veterans? 633 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,000 Are there any conditions that are popping up? 634 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:24,520 I know there's probably some mental health issues but I was wondering if any physical 635 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,000 things that you're running into. 636 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:34,400 I think the biggest thing our office runs into is sleep apnea when a veteran gets diagnosed 637 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,120 with sleep apnea. 638 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:40,840 Of course that's not on any presumptive list. 639 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:50,040 And then tying it back to service whether it's exposure to burn pits or herbicides. 640 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:58,000 With that you need a medical nexus linking your sleep apnea to A to service or to one 641 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,120 of the secondary conditions. 642 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:10,240 There's been studies that PTSD could exacerbate it and I've seen it secondary to PTSD but 643 00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:17,560 I've had a lot of issues trying to get that service connected after the fact even with 644 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:24,800 secondary and the studies of linking it to PTSD. 645 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:30,920 I don't know what you have had general in your instances. 646 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:38,720 Dave, it's about the same and proving that you were in Afghanistan, Iraq and exposed 647 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:40,000 to the burn pits. 648 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:45,280 I think it's really important depending on the time. 649 00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:53,640 One veteran literally had a diagram of where they were in condition to the burn pits and 650 00:46:53,640 --> 00:46:58,920 that seemed to get us over the hump with some of that documentation. 651 00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:07,640 But I think the research is very important and if you look back on some of the research 652 00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:09,720 and that's what we try to do. 653 00:47:09,720 --> 00:47:20,640 And once a case is decided by law, whether it's Shinseki or a previous VA secretary, 654 00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:26,560 that's really important because then if it happens to one, we could do the similarities 655 00:47:26,560 --> 00:47:32,160 which I think if you're a veteran and you're out there trying to do this by yourself, you 656 00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:38,520 might not find all the research and the good law evidence that's out there. 657 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:44,240 Another thing that occurred during the week and I want to give a shout out to Dave because 658 00:47:44,240 --> 00:47:52,680 a veteran called me with a big concern about insurance and how could he provide insurance 659 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:54,000 for his family. 660 00:47:54,000 --> 00:48:01,160 He is now 100% and as we well know, his healthcare is great through the VA. 661 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:06,320 But you have a concern for your wife and your dependents. 662 00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:14,560 And so he had called around and got some advice that he could never get Champ VA and he was 663 00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:23,040 a veteran not of 20 years plus because I started to ask him about tri-care and tri-care you 664 00:48:23,040 --> 00:48:26,800 will get Champ VA if it's 20 years or greater. 665 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:34,280 And he was having the worst time and I knew with his 100% total and permanent, she is 666 00:48:34,280 --> 00:48:36,760 eligible for Champ VA. 667 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:43,680 And so just to make sure I was telling the correct info, we had given him some hope, 668 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:52,040 I called Dave to help me validate the process and you feel good sometimes and you hate to 669 00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:56,840 go back but I will go back and say I'm sorry I didn't interpret this the right way or I 670 00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:58,920 gave you wrong advice. 671 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:04,560 But in this case, I reach out to Dave a lot to make sure the info we are giving to our 672 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,520 veterans is correct. 673 00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:12,440 So search it, get a second opinion like we do in medicine. 674 00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:18,040 So I really want to say Dave, thank you so much for being there and answering those 675 00:49:18,040 --> 00:49:19,040 questions. 676 00:49:19,040 --> 00:49:25,720 Yeah, like I tell everybody, even my staff, I've been doing this for 14 years but I learned 677 00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:27,360 something new every day. 678 00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:34,840 Things change, things morph into different things, laws change and then there's things 679 00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:41,920 that you've never even came across to across for 14 years and then you're like, oh, okay, 680 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:47,000 well, let me, I don't know that answer but let me find out and by doing this type of 681 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:54,240 work, you have a lot of associates around so you can bounce things off and we have a 682 00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:58,400 message board throughout the state of Michigan through the Michigan Association of County 683 00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:04,880 Veteran Counselors that we can throw it on our board and then of the, you know, there's 684 00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:10,480 probably 80 counties that have offices that if somebody has come across that they can 685 00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:13,920 chime in and say, oh, well, I ran into that. 686 00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:20,560 And so it's about the resources and experience VSOs and like the legal help for veterans 687 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:25,480 to, you know, we're not going to not tell them, well, I don't know about that so you're 688 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:28,200 just going to have to find out because we're going to go find out and then we're going 689 00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:30,200 to get them an answer. 690 00:50:30,200 --> 00:50:31,200 Yeah. 691 00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:36,280 And I think that's really important because we can't know everything but you've got the 692 00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:37,520 three pillars. 693 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:44,600 You've got the cemetery, you've got the HA which is healthcare and the VBA side that 694 00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:46,120 we tend to deal with. 695 00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:52,760 And as a nurse, I get really involved on the VHA side, you know, whether it's how to reconstruct 696 00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:59,240 your house, get a ramp, then you go through the different departments in VHA. 697 00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:06,320 And so I think it's really great that we're utilizing all these resources. 698 00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:13,560 I was thinking when you mentioned the the Champ VA or the TriCare program out there, 699 00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:21,080 I thought that was sort of automatic if somebody was 100% or if somebody died as a result of 700 00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:25,200 their diagnosed disease, whatever happened to me. 701 00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:28,040 Is it something I have to apply for? 702 00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:35,160 Well no, but what the automatic is, if you've served 20 years or greater and you're an honorable 703 00:51:35,160 --> 00:51:41,640 discharge on your DD 214, then you get the TriCare for life, the TriCare benefit. 704 00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:44,880 But it just doesn't happen if you're two years, four years. 705 00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:51,320 Now if you get 100% total and permanent, that opens up another lane for your spouse. 706 00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:53,760 And that's where Champ VA comes in. 707 00:51:53,760 --> 00:52:00,120 But if you're a retiree and you've got TriCare for life, then you get the Champ for your 708 00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:02,960 Champ VA for your spouse. 709 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:05,120 That's what automatic is. 710 00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:06,120 Okay. 711 00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:09,880 Well, so the 20 year thing is not that important. 712 00:52:09,880 --> 00:52:10,880 It's very important. 713 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:17,120 Except for the person that has the 100% total and permanent disability. 714 00:52:17,120 --> 00:52:20,880 That doesn't have the 20 years of service. 715 00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:21,880 Correct. 716 00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:22,880 Correct. 717 00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:25,480 So they would be entitled to TriCare. 718 00:52:25,480 --> 00:52:28,200 Yeah, not TriCare. 719 00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:31,000 Champ VA for the spouse. 720 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:32,240 Okay. 721 00:52:32,240 --> 00:52:36,000 You only get TriCare when you're 20 years or greater. 722 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:37,000 Okay. 723 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:38,000 And you don't need, yes. 724 00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:39,520 And you don't need 100%. 725 00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:45,480 You served on active duty or you served combinations and you get TriCare for life. 726 00:52:45,480 --> 00:52:50,200 And then your spouse goes with you and your spouse gets Champ VA. 727 00:52:50,200 --> 00:52:52,040 That's what's an automatic tail. 728 00:52:52,040 --> 00:52:55,520 But this young man did not have 20 years. 729 00:52:55,520 --> 00:53:00,640 I think he had three, but he had the 100% total and permanent. 730 00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:01,880 Okay. 731 00:53:01,880 --> 00:53:04,680 That's what made him eligible. 732 00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:07,040 And part of that is you have to apply. 733 00:53:07,040 --> 00:53:09,320 So it's not, it's in the award letter. 734 00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:15,240 But you get a, you know, a 56 page award letter and it says everything in there. 735 00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:20,080 And a lot of times people read the first page or second page and see what was, what's my 736 00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:23,760 rating not, not going through everything. 737 00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:31,480 And so, yeah, like the general said is, you know, 100% permanent total or IU, you can 738 00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:33,760 apply for Champ VA. 739 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:35,160 Okay. 740 00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:41,720 Another reason that you should contact a VSL or a third party and not try to maneuver your 741 00:53:41,720 --> 00:53:47,520 way through the VA system by yourself, because I am sure that it probably changes pretty 742 00:53:47,520 --> 00:53:51,280 much every day in some cases. 743 00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:58,000 And you know, and as you mentioned also, Caroline, the idea of somebody setting a precedent. 744 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:05,280 So if you, you know, if you get a disability claim for some unknown disease that suddenly 745 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:11,080 says, oh, this is caused by this, then the next person can go in and say, well, you know, 746 00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:16,400 this disease was discovered by the VA and now it's, you know, I'm entitled to this or 747 00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:18,040 somebody else is entitled to it. 748 00:54:18,040 --> 00:54:22,800 So it's really important, I think, to just continually remind our audience that if you 749 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:28,920 do have any questions to go to your local VSL, whether it's, it's a law firm like legal 750 00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:34,920 help for veterans or it's a county VSL or your VVA, VFW, all those other things. 751 00:54:34,920 --> 00:54:36,960 So we've only got about a minute to go. 752 00:54:36,960 --> 00:54:41,400 So if you got 20 seconds, is there anything that you would like to say to our audience 753 00:54:41,400 --> 00:54:42,400 today? 754 00:54:42,400 --> 00:54:48,760 Dave, the other thing to bring up about that is if you go to a lawyer as opposed to the 755 00:54:48,760 --> 00:54:55,000 VSL or somebody in the system, you have to pay the lawyer and it comes out of your settlement. 756 00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:58,520 So isn't that the situation? 757 00:54:58,520 --> 00:55:04,120 Sometimes there's not VSOs in different states that can help, but yes, you know, and but 758 00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:10,440 if you go to an attorney, a new claim, Brian, there's nothing and that happens a lot of 759 00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:14,200 the time that you'll get an award and there's no payment. 760 00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:15,200 Yeah. 761 00:55:15,200 --> 00:55:19,480 So the veteran works all of the legal help for veterans. 762 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:21,680 We work all of that up. 763 00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:24,080 Oh, we got to go. 764 00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:25,800 Thanks for listening. 765 00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:28,920 Until next week, you are all dismissed. 766 00:55:28,920 --> 00:55:38,920 God bless America. 767 00:55:38,920 --> 00:55:47,920 Land that I love. 768 00:55:47,920 --> 00:56:00,880 Stand beside her and God her through the night with the light from above. 769 00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:13,880 From the mountain to the prairie to the ocean white with foam. 770 00:56:13,880 --> 00:56:19,160 God bless America. 771 00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:26,160 My home sweet home. 772 00:56:26,160 --> 00:56:31,720 God bless America. 773 00:56:31,720 --> 00:56:57,720 My home sweet home.