Thursday, November 15, 2012

Guard & Reserve Denials


Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Lawyer

In order to receive VA disability compensation, you have to prove a service connected disability.  The disability has to occur on active duty as compared to monthly training in which National Guard and Reserve have traditionally participated.  But since 9/11 the Guard and Reserve components have made up about 40% of the active duty assignments both here and abroad. 
It is not clear that VA understands the way that DOD utilizes these components today. New data obtained by Veterans for Common Sense under the Freedom of Information Act shows the denial rate for claims filed by reserve component combat veterans is 4 times higher than for post-9/11 combat veterans who were active-duty members. 
Guard and Reserve troops tend to be older and have less years of service than active troops. These facts may make proving claims more difficult.  This discrepancy has come to light and we hope the VA and National Guard leadership work to eliminate this disparity.

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