Were you medically boarded out, Mike? The process my son-in-law went through took over a year. Initially, the military wanted to do a very risky surgery on his neck which could have resulted in his being paralyzed from the neck down. He declined the surgery. The result of this was that the military decided to medically board him out rather then give him a different position that wasn't a physically demanding and that wouldn't further compromise his upper spine.
He had planned on having a long career in the military. That obviously didn't work out. He achieved the rank of E-8 in less than 15 years. Had he been able to continue service until full retirement age, there is no telling how far up the ladder he could have gone. Prior to this happening he was geared up to become a Warrant Officer.
Like in your case, the army kept records of all his knee and back surgeries through the years as well as the various other treatments for his array of medical conditions including treatment for PTSD. He also kept records over the years of all this stuff. Like I said, the process to determine his level of disability was very long and involved. It is still going on to this very day, as he went before a SSD Judge for his SSD claim this morning.
Despite that he would probably never have to work because of his disabilities, like you, he enrolled in college to finish his education so he can eventually go back to work instead of living solely off disability payments. My son-in-law is 41 years old. -Not the most ideal age to be starting over again.
These jerk wads here who slam folks who qualify for disability have no clue what they are talking about. I would venture a guess that most of them have never served in the military nor, do they personally know people who have and who were injured to the point of being disabled. They suggest that disability is granted like it's no big deal to qualify. We both know differently. Their comments are actually laughable and somewhat sad.
Simple Simon said the U.S. (and our allies) aren't fighting for freedom, they are pillaging for resources. Does he take advantage of said resources? Probably. So whether it's freedom or resources, he and all the rest of us are beneficiaries. If these folks spent time seeing how other people have to live in places like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq they'd think twice before making asses of themselves.
