Again, though, he was the one who made the decision to misrepresent the truth. I can totally envision these guys not having any mental health issues but claiming they do so they can get a little extra scratch from the government, thinking it's not big deal because they know they are fine.
These disability cases make me even more angry because these guys are defrauding the taxpayer. These are not victimless crimes - that's OUR money.
I can't even imagine having such a wonderful job and life and risk throwing it all away for a couple extra bucks.
***TLDR warning rant***
Buddy, you have no idea how prevalent and rampant the attitude of gaming the VA rating system is. You have to understand that although these airline pilots (by implication commissioned officers) and their high salaries, seem especially egregious by the relative lack of financial hardship of a 200K+/yr earning airline job PLUS military officer retiree (presumably these folks are also retired after 20 years flying in the AF or USN), the majority of VA payment recipients are enlisted who do less than 4 years, and yet attain equally egregious amount of disability ratings. I personally know a cool dozen acquaintances of my wife (mostly Army, which is also a trend, though my wife was enlisted AF), all who are gainfully employed, perfectly capable and functioning but who have come to rely on that money to keep up with their overextended lifestyles in civilian life (that and the sticker shock of earning a paycheck that is 100% taxable, aka no more BAH to tax exempt 25% of your gross income).
Now, the consumer overextension has nothing to do with being prior military, that's just being a typical American. The fact remains though, they're all maligning after a very short non-casualty REMF period of service. Some as little as 90 days before they ringed the bell, and the military put them on ice for 3 years before med discharge, all the while receiving active duty pay and benefits while they wait. But it's considered unpatriotic to accuse a veteran of such a thing. Thing is I'm not a civilian, so I can and do. And the VA raters, doctors, and counselors are all in on it.
The psychology behind it is that "everybody does it", aka tragedy of the commons. If you don't do it, you're doing so at your own expense since it's candy for the taking. Add a bit of financial hardship by the enlisted crowd with lower earning potential on the outside, and VA payments become a de facto lifetime pension for maligning for 90 days on active duty. And Lord strike me down if I'm lying, I know one of the said dozen fits that narrative literally. My own now deceased uncle, who I never had a relationship with and who fought my father over inheritances and money squabbles for more than 30 years, did 30 days at Ft. Benning during the Vietnam draft, claimed mental breakdown, and was given a medical discharge out of BMT and a payment for life. He was a sick soul, and I gain nothing from stomping on the memory of someone I have never considered a military peer nor one whose service was ever honest nor honorable in my eyes. But the fact remains we have hundreds of thousands of people like him on the VA rolls. Billions in payouts, I looked it up this morning at the DOD's Office of the Actuary (they collate VA payment info with their retirement system info).
I know two people who I won't describe their affiliation to me, as most people know where I work and I don't wish to start another flame war. These cats both have 90 pct ratings and fly for two major airlines AND are in active flying status in the military. The ratings were a result of a very well employed series of appointments with rating-happy doctors and bureaucrats; contact information that is passed around the squadron like almost officially sanctioned guidance as part of outprocessing. It may be legal, but it's dishonorable in my eyes.
And I'm not talking from the cheap seats: I don't have a VA rating and neither does my wife, and she had an episode of her undiagnosed condition (at the time) while in Active Duty (unknown pathology, not duty connected that we could prove without maligning, treatment and management which I pay for out of pocket mind you). Technically we could have easily maneuvered for some allocation of payment for life. According to the gallery we're suckers for leaving money on the table. Nah, we're just Honorable, because that word means things in this house. For people who squabble paycheck to paycheck, those principled stances are considered a luxury. Of course they don't recognize the "long ball" behind living like they do vs living like I do, and how these things make a difference in outcomes, but I'm not gonna convert anyone so I just digress.
BL, I don't have any compunction in recognizing that just like there's welfare abuse on the civilian side, we have bona fide welfare abuse on this side of the fence too, and I dare anyone question my patriotism in casting a critical light on the VA maligning cohort.
The system is broken, and in need of sweeping cuts and reform. The majority of payments are not justified, the military recognizes the signs of maligning (PTSD trends were the latest canary in the coal mine, but there have been plenty), but it has become normalized as a freebie pension on your way out from a touch n go in the military, ime. Ultimately, it hurts the truly afflicted, those who legitimately have a level of debilitation that makes gainful employment vis a vis a competing civilian a true disadvantage. We're all innocent in Shawshank though, and one's plight is always the worst, but that doesn't make it so. I've seen the truly broken, and it's a "you know it when you see it". Then I see the majority of people receiving VA payments, and I just shake my head. I'm telling you, it's not outliers, it's a majority trend. Flame suit on.
