All across America and around the world, this
is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And
now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry.
And welcome to veterans radio. My name is Dale
Throneberry CW to helicopter pilot in Vietnam
Welcome to our program today. I'm really excited
to have you here. We've got two great guests
We're gonna be talking with dr. Rebecca Grant
about what is happening right now in Iran and
some of the military aspects of it and some of
the potential dangers, I guess, in continuing
what is going on, how Iran is reacting and so
on and so forth. Many of you are familiar with
Dr. Grant. She's been on our program. many many
times Explaining what is going on in the world.
So I'm looking forward to talking to with her
shortly I recorded her interview earlier this
week and then the second half of the program
we're going to be talking with Trinidad Aquarium
and he is the founder and CEO of vets forever.
It's a veteran service organization That helps
veterans with their claims through the VA benefits
program. It's an interesting interview. I just
finished that recently. And I'm looking forward
to you meeting Trinidad. He seems to be a great
guy. And so we're going to get into that right
now by going straight to my interview with Dr.
Rebecca Grant. Joining me now on Veterans Radio
is Dr. Rebecca Grant. Dr. Grant is a national
security analyst based in Washington, DC, specializing
in defense and aerospace research and national
security consulting. She's the vice president
of the Lexington Institute. which is kind of
a center right think tank headquartered in Arlington,
Virginia, focusing mainly on defense and security
policy. Dr. Grant has been on our program more
than any other guest over the last 20 years.
And she is the one person that I trust entirely
because she always tells it exactly like it is.
So Dr. Grant, welcome back to Veterans Radio.
I'm glad to join Veterans Radio once again. All
right. So tell me what is going on. in Iran.
What is your take on the whole thing right now?
So over three weeks into Operation Epic Fury,
and our air and sea forces have destroyed over
9 ,000 targets in Iran. What this means is that
we've significantly degraded the things we're
going after. That was Iran's drones, their missiles,
their Navy, and their integrated command and
control. along with taking out the leadership
targets that support that. So we're looking at
a win in terms of our ability to operate in Iran's
airspace, a win against their naval capabilities,
but still continuing to work that target set
and get after the last of their drone and missile
launchers. And of course, looking now to see
what is the end game. in Iran. We know the USS
Tripoli is just arriving in theater with Marines
on board and indications perhaps that we'll see
at least a quick reaction element from the 82nd
Airborne being called to be ready for a mission
in the Middle East as well. Yeah I was kind of
concerned I guess myself when I saw that oh the
82nd Airborne is you know back you know in action
and being sent over there. So the the things
that are going on right now at least from what
I'm able to discern from the various news sources
is You know, the Gulf of Hermos is is a bottleneck
as far as shipping is concerned And it looks
like Iran is going to kind of try to focus on
disrupting that more than anything else. Well,
Iran thinks that Hormuz is still a card in play
for them. Now, the facts are that some ships
have transited through the straits bound for
destinations like India and China, and some of
Iran's shadow fleet tankers have gone through.
But the vast majority of the larger bulk crew
commercial carriers don't want to risk a transit
through the straight. It's not like it's exactly
closed. but more that the shippers are unwilling
to resume their normal routes. And, you know,
those things don't turn on a dime. They really
pre -plan the shipping routes. And so they're
wanting to see a level of confidence. That said,
it's been a couple of days now since there's
been an attack on any ships in the Strait of
Hormuz. And what's happening is that the U .S.
Navy and with Operation Epic Fury is putting
together a great surveillance over the strait
and also taking out anything that floats and
has Iran on the side of it. been briefed that
A -10s have been strafing Iranian naval boats.
That would be a sight to see, I tell you. And
of course, some attacks on things like their
underground storage facilities for the anti -ship
cruise missiles. You know, the anti -ship cruise
missiles, they're not gonna take out an oil tanker,
but they are certainly a heavy threat. Iran had
a lot of them. And so we're getting after both
the weapon storage and the coastal batteries.
I think it's gonna take a little bit longer.
The trouble is, you know, you're not going to
have an escort where it's like a World War II
style convoy. It's more about playing zone defense
and putting ships all the way up, indeed, up
to the top of the strait by Kuwait, as well as
around that turn show point going past the isthmus
there in the Strait of Hormuz that we think about.
And, you know, for the ships, it's kind of a
narrow channel. You've got it two mile wide in...
a two mile wide inbound lane, a two mile wide
outbound lane. And to the shippers, that means
that they're kind of an easy target. I think
that we will see some help from our European
and other allies like Japan and South Korea who
depend on this oil flow. But it is going to take
working a little bit more of that target set
before shipping gets back to normal. But I think
it's more a matter of days. Do you think that
we were a little bit surprised by the resistance
that Iran is continuing to put up, even though
we've kind of blown so many different things
to smithereens? Right, and it is still a combat
zone, even though their drone and missile launches
are down to just a fraction of what they once
did. The big surprise to me was Iran's heavy
missile and drone strikes against its nearest
neighbors, like the United Arab Emirates. I mean,
they're just 30 miles across the strait. And
Iran's attacks on all the countries in the region,
starting from Turkey. all the way down through
all of the Gulf states. And then, of course,
a couple days ago, Iran fired extremely long
range missiles towards our island based in Diego
Garcia. It's out in the Indian Ocean. But remember,
Dale, this is a major forward base for our B
-2 Spirit bombers, the stealth bombers, also
our B -1s and B -52s and a big naval support
facility there on the atoll. Now, luckily, our
U .S. Navy with their standard missile Three
popped up an interceptor and hit one of those
Iranian missiles for an exo -atmospheric kill.
That's 65 ,000 feet up in mid course. We think
the other Iranian missile didn't function properly.
But that just proves that Iran will still go
after critical infrastructure. And I've been
surprised at the extent of their missile capabilities,
the extent of their attacks on every country
in the region. And to me, it proves that they
were really a worse threat. than I realized.
Was there an imminent Iranian strike on the table?
I don't know, but certainly to characterize Iran's
threat as imminent, I think was correct. And
we almost waited too long to get after the Iranian
missile and drone capability. We needed to destroy
it all. Yeah, it was much, much more. Many more.
I can't think of many more missiles and everything
else than I was. expecting and many of the more
long -range Missiles that I don't think that
we were all aware of or at least you know People
weren't talking to us about it. Mostly. I think
we thought they were short short distance ones
and They've certainly Come to face and you know,
it's not that Iran are the good guys. Absolutely
not They're just it is sort of an evil Empire
and that they've got to We have to continue,
I think, putting the pressure on them, because
I think that they're feeling that they're kind
of getting themselves backed into a corner here.
And it's almost like catching a raccoon in your
garage. He's going to come at you with everything
he's got to get you away. And I'm concerned about,
I wonder how long this is going to go. And what
could be the final result? the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard seems to be still having an awful lot of
power in whatever government that is there since
we wiped out most of the leadership. But where
do you see this going as far as cleaning this
up or ending this? Because I know we have this
new 15 -step proposition out there. Yes, I see
really two key indicators. One will be when Admiral
Brad Cooper, who is the commander of US Central
Command, reefs back to the president and to Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Cain, that the target
set is completed. You know, as the airstrikes
begin, it's often the case that the additional
targets appear and you spot a missile facility
that you didn't know was there. You see Iranian
military forces maneuvering in a place you didn't
expect. That adds to the target list. So the
first thing I want to see is Admiral Cooper.
He's not going to tell you and me, but he'll
brief to the president that he feels the target
set is largely complete. The second thing is
the negotiations is clearly some type of back
channel. President Trump refused to name any
names as to who the U .S. is talking to in Iran.
We've heard recently too that But Pakistan may
be playing the role of intermediary, which is
good. The Pakistani military is very professional.
They also have ties, you know, professional ties
to Iran. So that would be a good interlocutor.
Then what President Trump's going to ask for
is an accounting for the highly enriched uranium.
Maybe it's buried so deeply we don't need to
worry about it. Maybe we need to put it on a
truck and drive it out of there somewhere. But
accounting for that highly enriched uranium is
going to be a big deal. There'll be other elements
to that plan. And I think, as our previous discussion
showed, the Strait of Hormuz will figure very
prominently. I'm curious to see, too, what happens
with Kars Island. About 90 % of Iran's crude
products are loaded through terminals off Kars
Island. You know, we only get about 2 % of our
petroleum products through the Strait of Hormuz.
But China gets a lot. So does Japan, South Korea,
and many, many other countries. So this will
have to end with more or less with Iran not able
to interrupt shipping. So that may look like
the U .S. or international coalition in control
of the Strait of Hormuz. Those are the end games
I'm looking at. Do you have any input or any
ideas about what you think that maybe the Russians
are doing as far as helping the Iranian with,
you know, targeting and so forth? Such an interesting
question. I don't think the Russians can stop
Operation Epic Fury or make any real military
impact. Did they perhaps supply probably two
types of intelligence, maybe some access to their
version of GPS called GLONASS that gives satellite
coordinates? some technical information on U
.S. military systems that the Russians have collected
up. But I got to tell you, too, I think the Russians
are going to be standing back and saying, wow,
look at this demonstration of precision air power
and of precision sea -based missile defense from
the Navy, which has just been unbelievable. We'll
start to see reports soon about the USS Tripoli
in theater. And then again, yes. yet another
layer of power. Of course, the primary and terrible
connection between Iran and Russia is that Russia
has set up a factory in Tatarstan in Russia to
make Iranian Shahed drones, the very ones that
our forces have been shooting down. About 57
,000 of those Iranian -made drones have been
used by Russia to attack Ukraine. And sadly,
Russia's drone factory is out of reach. we're
forgetting about Ukraine, you know, while we're
all involved in all these, you know, everything
that goes along with Iran. I'm kind of concerned.
What do you, kind of a quick transition, what
do you see going on between, you know, Ukraine
and Russia right now? Well, the same, same situation
obtains, you know, Russia is continuing its attack
and its illegal invasion. I think that maybe
a good part of Operation Epic Fury, as pertains
to Ukraine, is that this is a weakening of the
Russia -China -Iran -North Korea alliance, because
Iran will be defeated here in Operation Epic
Fury, and that is good in geopolitical terms.
But another thing, too, is look at the air defense.
A lot of that Ukrainian air defense is based
on American technology. We're going to hear some
stories now about how a lot of our new counter
drone systems have functioned very, very well
against Iran's drones in Operation Epic Fury,
starting with our Air Force and Navy fighters
that are pretty good at taking them down, but
going also to the ground -based point defenses.
And there are a lot of them. I'm talking Coyote.
vampire, slam ram, a lot of things that have
been modified and updated for lessons of the
Ukraine airspace now being applied in the Iranian
airspace. So what do you think is going to be
going on over the next couple of weeks? Well,
it'll be a very interesting couple of weeks.
Again, Central Command finishing up the target
set. We will also see, I think within a few weeks,
we'll see an uptick in traffic through the Strait
of Hormuz as the threat diminishes there. But
that's going to take some planning. The Allies
have a lot they can contribute, anything from
their P -8 radar planes to, of course, their
destroyers with their Aegis radars. it would
be very helpful. So I think we'll see some allied
response down along in the Strait of Hormuz and
hopefully fewer and fewer missile or drone shots
of any type coming out of Iran. It may not go
completely to zero, but I think we'll see that
number continue to fall. And then very interesting
to see what becomes of Karsh Island. That and
there, you know, I just saw something about Bushar.
Is that their atomic energy something up in the
north? east part of the gulf well they do have
a nuclear power plant yeah that's right right
then it's just the one the russians are building
up another one but they do have what they were
but they do have their nuclear power plant so
uh this is also you know president trump had
threatened to attack uh the the power plant infrastructure
no specific details not thinking that's more
liquid but i we would certainly hope to see some
real negotiations going on with Iran, but wow,
they've been a slippery customer. And I think
we have to rate the success of Operation Fury
really on military terms, the destruction inflicted
on drones, missiles, Navy, and the prevention
of Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That
is the metric for success. I couldn't agree more.
And I think the whole idea is to just get everybody
to the table and figure out how they can. And
this whole thing to the benefit all concerned.
Right. And I think we have to we're going to
hear some incredible stories as our as our forces
complete their mission in Operation Epic Fury.
More than 50 ,000, probably a good bit more than
that deployed Army air defenders, Army and Kuwait,
Marines, Marines on the Tripoli, United States
Space Force watching all those missile launches
and keeping the navigation going. And of course,
the U .S. Air Force. U .S. Navy carrying out
a tremendous operation, over 50 ,000 American
service members in Central Command running this,
making America safer, making the Middle East
safer, and giving Iran a chance at a new future.
Okay. I think that answers the questions for
today. Thank you very much for joining me and
explaining what is going on right now, and hopefully
when we bring you back in a couple of weeks we'll
have a better story even. to tell our audience.
Thanks so much, Dr. Grant. Thank you. OK. All
right. Thank you, Rebecca. It's always a pleasure
to talk with you. We're going to take a real
quick break here to announce what's going on
with the Medal of Honor Conference in Detroit.
And when we come back, we'll be talking with
Trinidad Aquari from Vets Forever. The Congressional
Medal of Honor Society Convention will be held
in Detroit from September 29th to October 3rd
of 2026, featuring the largest gathering of living
Medal of Honor recipients. It brings together
as many as 60 living Medal of Honor recipients
for a series of public and private events aimed
at sharing their heroic stories and promoting
the values of the Medal of Honor, such as commitment,
integrity, courage, sacrifice, citizenship, and
patriotism. This event will also include community
engagement activities along with recipients to
connect with the local Metro Detroit students,
veterans, and active military members. This convention
represents a unique opportunity for the City
of Detroit and surrounding area to honor its
military heroes and foster a spirit of patriotism
and community engagement. You can learn more
about this upcoming convention at medalofhonoredetroit
.com. You can go there to support it with financial
resources and volunteer support. Let me tell
you about one of these men, Thomas Norris. He
grew up in Florida, but his family moved around
a lot because his father was in the U .S. Navy.
So he spent time in Michigan and Wisconsin, ultimately
in Washington, D .C., in the Maryland area. He
enrolled in the University of Maryland majoring
in sociology, of all things, with a focus on
criminology. He wanted to be in the FBI. He distinguished
himself as a wrestling star in the ACC in the
mid -1960s. But about that time, he had to focus
on the Vietnam War. He wanted to be a pilot,
but he was disqualified because of his eyesight
and his depth perception. Well, he was good enough
to volunteer and get through the Navy's elite
special operations force, the SEALs. And in April
of 1972, when two American aviators had been
shot down, it was Norris, who volunteered, and
he had to hide and crawl and maneuver for multiple
days, hiding as a fisherman alongside a South
Vietnamese commando. They found the first pilot,
carried him out at daybreak under every threat
of searching. The second rescue pilot took even
more nerve, or journeyed, I should say, by a
sampan, blending in with the local population.
to save a 53 -year -old airman, call -signed
Bat 21 Bravo, who had been captured for 12 days
or avoided capture for 12 days with a broken
wrist and loss of about 45 pounds. For that effort,
Norris received the Medal of Honor in 1976. The
heroics were such that a 1988 movie, Bat 21 with
Gene Hackman and Danny Glover, was made focusing
on all the actions around that crash and survival,
but not focusing on what Norris did, because
a lot of it was still confidential. After service,
he applied to join the FBI, and he became one
of the founding members of the Bureau's hostage
rescue team. You can learn more by going to the
Congressional Medal of Honor Society site at
CMN. and remember to visit medalofhonoredetroit
.com. We are back here on veterans radio my guest
today is Trinidad acuity and he is from the vets
forever He is the CEO of vets forever and he
is a Navy veteran seasoned leader in the professional
Nonprofit sectors in 2022 he co -founded vets
forever a law group with VA accredited attorneys
after his own frustrating experience pursuing
benefits as a 100 % P &T disabled veteran. He's
passionate about providing hope and clarity to
other service members through legal representation
for VA disability claims, military discharge
upgrades, and many, many more. So without further
ado, here is Trinidad Akiri on Veterans Radio.
And so welcome. We're going to get this recording
right this time. I love it. Thank you so much
though for having me on very excited for today's
conversation Well, tell me all about what what
veterans forever is Yeah, absolutely. So we are
a law group with VA accredited attorneys and
agents that literally help veterans from the
VA clean process from A to Z This really started
out of a labor of love from back A few years
ago on my own journey, when I was sitting around
watching my son play Little League baseball,
and I was sitting next to a retired Navy chief
and those fathers that remember how expensive
these baseball bats are, I asked him, I go, how
are you paying for your baseball bat? And he
said, I'm using my VA disability money. And I
looked at him and I was like, I didn't understand
what that was. Now I've been 20 years, for context,
I was 20 years out of the service. And I had
no clue what he was talking. And so he, as he
explained it to me, I said, well, yeah, I, you
know, I have all these same issues you do and
a bit more. So I went to the DAV and I became
a life member and the whole nine and I filed
for like 20 things. Well, 18 of those 20 were
denied and that sense of frustration and anger
and like, cause I felt the service, right? Like
I felt like I was being, you know, that I was
a liar, you know, all the negative emotions that
one feels. So, you know, instead of getting angry
about it, I dove into the 38 CFR to understand,
okay, what is it that the VA is actually asking
me? Like, what is it the things that I need to
do to get to point A to point B? And because
of that journey and understanding some of the
technicalities that come with the VA claim process,
I was able to get myself to 100%. And at that
point, I was like, no veteran. should have to
go through that two and a half years, three years,
and I'm one of the lucky ones to get to that,
you know, to the rating that they deserve. And
so that's where Vets Forever was founded with
that sole purpose is how can we provide a quality
service to our veteran community and help them
throughout all of that red tape. And over the
course of our journey, we hired a a retired JAG
officer who became accredited, passed all the
background checks, the tests that we need to
do. I myself, I'm like literally just got to
take the test, then I'm a credited agent. I went
through that process. So it's important for us
to do things the right way and know that veterans
can assure that their claim is in trusted hands
and care. I can understand your frustration.
I've been there myself and many, many veterans
that I know over the last 20 years of doing this
program. That's one of the main complaints is
that you just, you don't know where you're supposed
to go. And we constantly encourage people to
work with an accredited VSO, county service offer,
even law firms and so on and so forth that are
helping out. But it's still very frustrating
to go through the steps that you have to go through.
as you mentioned in your case you know 20 years
later mine was similar only it was 30 some odd
years later before somebody told well you know
you're entitled to this thing and i said i am
oh okay i didn't know that um even if it's just
tinnitus um you know yeah exactly it's kind of
eye opening it's like i didn't know right and
i think Yeah, I think that the military itself
or DOD, whatever you call it, you know, it doesn't
do a really effective job of helping the veterans
go through this. You mentioned that you utilize
the DAV. And I know that, you know, many of the
different organizations have their own specialists
in helping, you know, kind of get through the
muck of working with the VA disability side of
the whole thing. What do you think the main issue
is with this? Is it just lack of knowledge or
people don't think that it applies to them? I
honestly think it's a myriad of different things.
So first and foremost, as you mentioned, you
know, they train us to be three or four months
of training to become a warfighter, but they
give us a 90 page slide deck to become a civilian
again, right? and that's through that TAPS class.
So they're just throwing this funnel of information
on the warfighter who just came out the lines
to check off the box that leads to the TAPS and
will receive the information. And that information
is mission critical when it comes to, hey, you
know, especially on VA claims, it's like, hey,
you were entitled, you should absolutely file
for your BDD, your benefits discharge at delivery.
And you can do this as early as six months before
enlistment. Numerous amount of veterans that
I talked to had no clue what I was talking about.
Or did you know you have up to 12 months after
your discharge, that is still considered a presumptive.
And again, so this lack of knowledge from DOD
or DOD, whatever we're gonna call them, to the
war fighter. it's just not enough and it's not
enough care and energy. And so we wrote a white
paper on that transition because a lot of the
negative press that veterans get today, you know,
from mental health issues, you know, suicide
report came out. A lot of these things are white
papers predicated on my theory of Maslow's law.
Like when you look at Maslow's law hierarchy,
you know, the basic foundational level is food,
shelter, water. And so when you transition out,
you've lost your community. You know, you no
longer wear that uniform, your band of brothers
and sisters, your housing, your funding, your
healthcare, all that's gone day one. And it's
good luck to you, Charlie. So if you don't have
that BDD claim in to get at least half some sort
of healthcare and financial income coming in,
you know, whether it's 10 % or whatever percent
that you achieve and receive that monthly compensation.
that small amount of money could make or break
the difference and reduce those financial stressors
that could cause some of that anxiety that a
lot of veterans face within the first early months
of that transition. And so that is kind of a
bit, and I've talked to a lot of great nonprofit
leaders around, and that financial stressor is
one of the key indicators for folks wanting to
harm themselves. Other things are, there's so
much misinformation out there. I call it the
YouTube experts. You can go on there and they'll
just tell you the things that you do without
really having it clear to find knowledge of each
veteran's different. So their theory is if you
throw a bunch of paperwork at it, then it will
resolve itself. And by the way, you can charge.
out these extra hidden fees like nexus letters
or pay for a dbq by seeing some of their own
doctors and we hear about the va cracking down
on that so there's all of this negative stuff
and they can afford to put this information out
into the public because they have these massive
budgets in a contingent i'm trying to fight is
to say listen when you hear it enough then people
assume that it's true and that's not true You
know when you hear the word accreditation, that's
not a marketing term that is Accreditation is
a certification of trust badge by the government
by the va that these folks are qualified I absolutely
send people to the vso all the time. I go see
your local vso go see you know, you know, the
legion, the VFW doesn't really matter or an attorney
or an agent, but as long as they say that they
are BA accredited, you're going to be in good
hands versus being taken by one of someone that's
taking advantage of you. So there's a lot, you
know, and lastly, I'll say this or some folks
that are now saying that the accreditation are
like lame sharks, which blows my mind. And I'm
like, because you know, the way the whole fee
structure is set up. So again, A lot of noise,
bottom line, in the current YouTube hemisphere.
That's not necessarily correct. And then we don't
do a good job on the front end during the transition
to allow our service members or future service
veterans to say, hey, you know, these are the
things you should do while you can. While it's
a presumptive, it's easy. Don't wait. I always
say, don't be like Trinidad. Don't wait 20 years
to file your first claim. Please. Let's take
advantage of those claims now. Well, it's interesting
what you're saying, because obviously you are
at least a generation or so behind me when it
comes to filing these claims. And I've been out
of this service for 50 some odd years now. And
I still run into veterans who have never filed
a claim. And they've, oh, I've had this issue.
I can't hear. I can't do that. And all these
other things. Really kind of simple things that
you know, they just didn't weren't aware that
they were entitled to and they always take Especially
the hearing aid thing was it was I'm talking
these guys. Oh, I just spent you know $6 ,000
on my hearing aids. Why? Because you know you
were in the service you were near artillery and
all these other different things You're entitled
to this hearing loss. They may not give you any
money, but they'll give you free hearing aids
and And that's that's some of the other things
that you know that you are talking about and
I I have to admire what you're you know You're
attempting to do because there is so much misinformation
That's out there due to you know, the internet
and all these, you know, the youtubers and everything
else that's out there Plus there's some rather
unscrupulous organizations that will charge you
money to file a claim 100 % agree. I mean Our
number one thing that we hear people say is,
I just don't know where to start or what to claim.
Like myself, right, when I first started, there's
850 plus items that a service room could claim.
Now, that doesn't mean you're eligible for all
850, but what is unique to you, especially when
it's based on your MOS, your rate, you know,
what is it about your journey? And that's, for
me, I enjoy that. because I even though it's
you know you hear the same stories if you're
11 bravo okay these are probably the the key
things that you're gonna i'm gonna encounter
um the toughest challenge is especially for the
the vietnam vet era is and even uh some of the
peacetime and of course well it's all errors
i would say is given the veteran the veteran
has to give themselves permission to be a little
vulnerable And that's a hard pill to swallow
sometimes because we are trained to push through
the pain to accomplish the mission, ignore what
our feelings are because it's not doing the unit
any good or my band of brothers and sisters may
laugh at me, whatever the case, the cultures
are very different amongst the services. But
the point is, if I don't give myself permission
to say, yeah, I'm a little hurt, I'm a little
weak, I don't have to push and live through this
pain. then you have a great shot of getting successfully
service connected. So when we go through these
C &P exams, and they're scary, right? Because
you don't know what to expect. You don't know
what they're going to ask. So as I help veterans
prepare for these exams, it's like, give yourself
permission. It's 45 minutes of whatever, insert
verbiage there, of so you can tell your story
appropriately, tell your truth to the evaluator
who's just simply trying to determine, you know,
do you have a disability? And if so, then how
much should you be rated at? Because if you withhold
that information, if you push through the pain,
then you're not, you're only hurting yourself.
You're doing yourself a disservice because then,
you know, that range of motion, you know, is
now, well, you know, he can bend down, touch
his toes. He's good to go. When in reality, you're
you're grunting through the pain the entire time,
you know, and that's not good. Or there was a
traumatic event in the service, but you don't
want to talk about it or bring it up. And that's
in that this service to yourself. So those are
the things that's the hard part veterans have
to face as they go through this process. Well,
we've got to counter that. with getting the true
statements out there and what these veterans
really need to do to, you know, get what they
are entitled to. And I go back to what I said
earlier, there are so many veterans out there
that don't think that they're entitled to anything
because there are other guys, men or women that
need it more than they do. And meanwhile, they're,
you know, they're walking with a cane or they've
got lots of pain or they've got a cancer or they,
you know, something that that they were exposed
to wherever it was, whether it was Agent Orange
or Burn Pits or Fort Lejeune or Camp Lejeune,
I'm not a Marine, so Camp Lejeune. And we are
talking with Trinidad and Cary here from Vets
Forever and his organization's out there trying
to help veterans. And there are so many organizations
out there like Trinidad's that we really encourage
you, go to your VA hospital, they've got Offices
there for many VSOs, American Legion, Vietnam
veterans, all the other ones are there. This
is what we have to do as a veteran community
to our fellow veterans. Just keep, keep pushing
them, you know, be annoying to them until they
get something taken care of. Amen to all of that.
I mean, some of the things that there are a lot
of myths out there, such as when I, and that's
why, again, I always say accreditation matters.
because a good VSO or a good attorney or agent
can look in your record and say, you know, you
know, I'm sorry that you got zero percent for
this condition. You based on your readings, it
should be for the CFR 30 or whatever the percentage
is. And so those folks that can see that file,
your CD file can say you're underrated here,
here and here. We can absolutely ask for an increase.
And that's OK. I had other veterans say, well,
I've been denied. That means I'm done. I'm like,
absolutely not. Oh, no, I know. Seventeen steps
you can take. If you're if you're willing to
fight the fight, you can keep going. That's that's
that's 100 percent right, because we'll only
stop when you tell me to stop because there's
all sorts of theories, entitlement, medical literature.
There's things that we have to advocate for you
and fight because. If we believe in your case
and we say, yeah, you have all of the criteria,
you've met the standard. Again, this takes two
people to approve a claim. It's the VA rater,
the evaluator, excuse me, the evaluator, the
person doing the CMP exam. Hopefully they have
a good day and they do all the right things.
Then the VA rater. The VA, we all knock on them,
but the rater themselves are doing about 27 plus
cases a day. They're going through each case
at a breakneck speed, and if anything's off,
the veteran loses. And that's the unfortunate
truth. We see three out of five claims being
denied today, and it's not right. But we, as
accredited agents, go in and we, our attorneys,
go in and say, There's a CUE here, a clear unmistakable
error or a duty to assist the veteran. You need
to go back and correct this. And we win a bulk
of those arguments because we can adjudicate
that claim, that case before the VA and make
the legal argument and often overturn. So there
are options. It doesn't mean it's the end of
the road. It just means that we just have to
go and explore. Those options so we can get you
to the right percentage Well, the other thing
that goes along with that, of course, is that
your family may be entitled to benefits as well
Especially if you you know if you die and it's
a result of whatever your condition was in the
VA Your family's got going to be able to continue
some of those benefits throughout the rest of
their lives I'll tell you a win that we just
received yesterday and and I'm actually really
You know, me and all three co -founders, it took
all three of us to get involved in this particular
case. It took us two and a half years to adjudicate
this particular veteran. He was a Blue Water
Navy veteran, Vietnam era. He was in the coastal
waters of Vietnam back in 71. And long story
short, his sole purpose to get to 100%, which
he was what we thought that he should have been
at, was so when he passes, because he's terminal
from the cancer, that he would, his spouse, would
receive the benefits. And so we were literally
race against time, putting all the emergent codes,
trying to move this as fast as we can, and looking
at the denials. I mean, this gentleman had death
logs in the 70s that we submitted saying, here's
the ship. I mean literally here's his pictures
like he had his you know, his buddies had taken
back in the 70s. I mean we Everything and the
VA was denied tonight and we finally got before
the BVA and we're finally to be able to get to
somebody that said Full stop. This is ridiculous.
Get that man You know the rating that he deserved
and we just won just a couple days ago and just
the joy You know goes now I can go in peace You
know when my time is up because I know my wife
and my family are taking care and that's you
know Part of why we do it because you're 100
% right if you don't do it for yourself Do it
for your family members, right because it's the
spouses that are often wondering well aren't
I entitled to and they are but the veteran needs
to get that connection so they their family can
get the respective benefits that they've Also
earn because I don't think you'll argue that
spouses are probably the hardest -working Members
of of any military family unit so they do so
much for our community. Oh, absolutely because
Well, they got to put up with us. That's one
part of it You know, and I think you know I think
you know whatever traumatic events that we went
through especially if we were married while we
were in a service They went through the whole
thing with us I wanted to ask you with the Changes
going on at the at the VA currently have you
seen any difference in the speed or You know
the speed up with claims because they've you
know They've said that they've been able to get
rid of a hundred thousand Backlogged claims and
so forth and I'm just wondering if they're getting
rid of a hundred thousand by just denying them
and saying okay See you later 100 % no, I mean
we like if you had asked me that question 15
months ago I told you it's about 120 to 150 days
on average. Now it's, you know, I'm seeing it
as fast as 30 days. Um, and it's mostly denials
that come through the easy ones like your tinnitus,
you know, they're pretty straightforward, you
know, when you're in artillery to your point,
that's pretty easy case to, um, to win and adjudicate
in 30 days or less, but it's so fast that we
don't feel that the evaluators are looking at
all the evidence. When I review the decision
letters and what evidence reviewed, you didn't
take advantage of the migraine log or the additional
paperwork from the external medical providers
that you're obligated to look at. I don't think
they're taking the time from the cases at least
that we're submitting. I won't say this across
Univer, but they're not taking the time to evaluate
the full package that we're submitting appropriately
so they could properly adjudicate, because I
think it's moving too fast. And while speed is
good, quality is better. And I'd rather have
a slower but more quality outcome to have the
veteran properly adjudicated than I just looked
at your case and you're denied. But hey, I told
you that denial was in 30 days. I'd rather you
take the time you need. And get the right outcome
from that that there are organizations out there
like yours that really are there to help the
veteran and Them, you know them and their families.
That's that's what's so important to me. I have
a nephew Who was an army ranger and landed in
a tree? parachuting And ended up with I think
he said 300 % with everything that was broken,
all this other stuff, but of course you can't
get more than 100. Nevermind, keep my thoughts
to myself here. But the advantage of him was
that as a result of that, his children got educational
benefits, which many veterans I don't think are
aware of. And so you got, two kids that get to
go to school for basically free and continue
their lives. If something happens to him, then
the family also gets aid and attendance. And
there's so many benefits that are out there that
so many veterans are leaving on the table. Yeah,
I mean, some of the top five are some of the
top benefits for those that are at 100%. and
besides the tax -free income, right, that you
receive, is let's say you're not a retiree, like
I did not retire from the Navy, but my family
is covered through Champ VA. So it's healthcare,
it's similar to TRICARE, and they're able to
get healthcare benefits and see outside community
partners in the community, you know, for their
healthcare needs. That's amazing too, Chapter
35. For the kids, you're right, because that,
so like in Texas, We have the Hazelwood Act.
Since I enlisted, that pays for the tuition,
but it doesn't pay for housing and the books.
Chapter 35 covers that. And that's an amazing
benefit. It's like $1 ,400, $1 ,500 to the student
per month. Amazing. There's also federal grant
relief. So if you took out a student loan, I
had one retired, she was a chief. Coming out
and she's going for her doctorate super smart
lady and but she had about a hundred twenty five
thousand dollars in student loans all forgiven
because of that benefit so then there's other
Other lesser -known benefits such as grants So
if you need to change your permanent home your
forever home and put assistive devices like you
know rails or Things to help you get up the stairs.
There's grant money up to a hundred and thirteen
$115 ,000 that you can apply and receive to help
fund those assets for your home so you can move
around a little bit easier. So, I mean, that's
not counting all the individual state benefits
based on your disability rating. Again, I mentioned
Texas, I know Florida, Virginia, and numerous
other states offer property tax exemptions. So
again, these are things that veterans should,
you know, you know, we love to talk about those
benefits. We educate. I always love my favorite
word is I rather educate than sell a veteran.
It's I'm educating you because these are the
benefits again that benefit not only for you,
but if it's your family and if it benefits you,
you know, long term and you know, there's so
many auxiliary things that just touches the veteran's
life that we just don't think about because We
think we're indestructible when we're young,
get a bit older. As you well know, we're like,
we start to become a little older, wiser, slower.
I like I don't like to say it, but the warranty
runs out and rust sets in. And so, you know,
we've got to do that. Well, you know, Trinidad
is the co -founder and CEO of Vets Forever. uh
what is one thing that you know we can end this
up with what is one thing you would like the
veteran community to be aware of what what you
can do to help out and what you know as i mentioned
what's your organization and how they how they
would contact you yeah absolutely i mean we are
all we no matter what i highly highly encourage
all veterans even if you have a question or concern
always seek out your local and county vso see
how they can help and assist you Do that first
and foremost. We partner with the DAV, VFWs,
Texas Veteran Commission. Numerous organizations,
when the complex cases come in where you've been
denied, you're frustrated, you're not getting
anywhere, come seek us out because conversation's
always free. Let's have that conversation. Let's
understand where are you rated? You can find
us on vetsforever .com. You can book a meeting.
It's a phone call or you can do a virtual meeting,
whatever you're comfortable with. And we just
have a simple 30, 40 minute conversation. Then
we can advocate for you should you sign on. That's
it. And that comes with a guarantee of, look,
we are going to look at your record fairly and
tell you the truth. We're going to be very transparent.
Like, yeah. But at the same time if you are looking
to increase Looking to get your denial overturn,
you know, absolutely come to have a simple conversation
with that's forever We'll take a fair look no
guarantees on the rating, but we will talk about
how we can assist you Okay, I think that's pretty
cool. I mean it's it's always One our audience
is to be aware that there there's so much help
out there for you everybody in the veterans community
is is out there to you know, we The saying is,
you know, when you were in the service, we had
your back. We like to say that we have your back
today as well. And so take that step. If you
haven't, you know, found anybody that can help
you out, take that step. And as Trinidad talks
about, you know, start with your local VSO, see
where it goes and get get the help that you need,
because these are benefits that you are entitled
to. You know, the proverbial you sign that blank
check And this is something that the government
promised that they would help out. So we've got
to hold their feet to the fire and make sure
that they do honor that commitment, just as you
honored yours. So I want to thank Trinidad and
Cary for being on the program and representing
his organization, Vets Forever. The website is
vetsforever .com. And Trinidad, whenever you've
got some more information, please let me know.
I'd be more than happy to have you back on the
program. I love that. Thank you for the extension.
It was a great conversation, and thank you for
having me on today. Thanks very much for talking
with us here on Veterans Radio Trinidad, and
I look forward to talking to you again in the
future, as I mentioned. We're going to take a
real quick break here for our Medal of Honor
feature, so we'll be right back after this. The
Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor
in combat given a member of the Armed Forces
of the United States. There had been over 3 ,400
recipients of the nation's highest award. This
is one of them. Private Dale Hanson killed 12
Japanese soldiers in a one -man attack on their
positions. Details after this. If you have a
VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans' Appeals,
contact Legal Help for Veterans at 1 -800 -693
-4800. They're experts in handling cases before
the U .S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' claims.
Their number again, 1 -800 -693 -4800. Hansen
unhesitatingly took the initiative during a critical
stage of the action and armed with a rocket launcher
crawled to an exposed position where he attacked
and destroyed a strategically located hostile
pillbox. With his weapon subsequently destroyed
by enemy fire he seized a rifle and continued
his one -man assault. Reaching the crest of a
ridge he opened fire on six Japanese and killed
four before his rifle jammed. Attacked by the
two remaining Japanese, he beat them off with
the butt of his rifle and then climbed back to
cover. Returning with another weapon and supply
of grenades, he fearlessly advanced and destroyed
a strong mortar position and annihilated eight
more of the enemy. The Medal of Honor series
is a production of Veterans Radio. Military veterans
touch everyone's life. I'm guessing right now
you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend,
relative, maybe it's you. Even the toughest of
us sometimes need help but don't know where to
turn for support. You don't need special training
to help a veteran in your life. We can all help
someone going through a difficult time. Learn
how you can be there for veterans. Visit VeteransCrisisLine
.net VeteransCrisisLine .net A message from the
U .S. Department of Veterans Affairs. I want
to thank you for listening to today's Veterans
Radio program. And if you have any ideas of subjects
or stories that maybe you'd like to hear on the
program, please send me an email. That's dale
at veteransradio .org. I want to make sure that
we thank our sponsors today. We cannot do this
program without their support. So first of all,
we've got Legal Help for Veterans. Legal Help
for Veterans specializes in veterans disability
claims. Call Legal Help for Veterans at 800 -693
-4800 or go to their website LegalHelpForVeterans
.com. The National Veterans Business Development
Council, better known as NVBDC, is the nation's
leading third -party authority for certification
of veteran -owned businesses. For more information,
go to their website, NVBDC .org, or give them
a call at 888 - Remember, if you are a veteran
-owned business and you want to do business with
the federal government or many corporations,
you need to become certified. That means that
a veteran actually is running the business. So
check out NVBDC for more information. They put
on seminars and training sessions all over the
country. We also want to thank the Erwin Prescor
and American Post 46, that's American Legion
Post 46, and the Charles S. Kettles Vietnam Veterans
of America Chapter 310, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
If you would like to support Veterans Radio,
please go to our website, veteransradio .org,
and click on the donate button. We would really
appreciate it. Today, again, we're going to go
out on a God bless America. This is Jimmy Fortunes.
version of God Bless America. And it's something
that I like to play at the end of each program
to remind us of what a great country we've got
here. And I think that as you listen to the words
of this song, you're going to feel the same way
I do. What an awesome place that we live. So
until next week, this is Dale Throneberry for
all of us here at Veterans Radio. You are dismissed.
God bless America Land that I love Stand beside
her and guide her Through the night with a light
from above From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam God bless America,
my home sweet home God bless America, my home