How much/what does VA share with FAA?

[Anonymous]

I'm a pilot at a legacy most of the month and a military reservist some of the month. I'm very strongly looking at retiring from the military in the next year or so. And just to be clear, although I don't think I'm very broken on the mil medicine side and am not looking to get a VA disability rating, IF the VA sends me a check I'll report it on my FAA medical. Likewise, if there's something I know has a diagnosis on the mil side I report it on my FAA forms. I'm not looking to play games.

With that said, since the FAA started scrutinizing VA records a few years ago, how deep a dive does the FAA do on this? My concern is that something is documented on the mil side years/decades ago that never made it to the FAA or the way I reported it doesn't sound the way whatever's in my military/VA documentation. I've recently heard a horror story of someone that got tagged with a mental health concern by the military - apparently without their knowledge - which later caused significant issues when the FAA compared noted.

Is this a "not a big deal", "the FAA would like to ask me to correct the record", or "straight to pilot jail" sort of thing?

 

[hindsight2020]

Career AF Reservist here, this topic is common and daily in my circles. I'm not fond of "guest" mode drive-by topics, they reek of trolling, but I'm bored so I'll bite. It's still good info for lurkers.

To your question: It's a matter of disclosure, that's all. Your post seems indicate you don't fully understand the process. There's no "I'm not looking to get a VA rating" and "but I'm getting a check" from the VA, in the same sentence. You're not obligated to seek a VA disability rating from the VA at all, you choose to pursue one. If you do, you'll receive a rating (even zero is a rating, and a zero rating is of value, but that's outside of this post's scope).

You're already a dual hated 121/flying Reservist. Your medical records, even before any VA disability claim, are supposed to be congruent anyways between your class IIa (for USAF.. Army and USN call their recurring rated pilot medical class something else) and your FAA class I. If you haven't had a problem so far, you just don't have a problem to worry about.

The only way in which a VA disclosure mismatch can occur with the FAA, and "surprise you" to the point of criminal threat, is if you're embellishing with the VA side to max grift, and ommitting the severity, or not disclosing at all on the FAA side.

In your case, given I'm assuming you're not actively omitting conditions to the FAA that are currently known and approved or waived by the DoD branch, then a VA claim process won't amount to anything for you as a current .mil reservist airline pilot dual hatted type.

What I think you're "hearing about", is referring to the cases where people were max grifting off the VA system and actively omitting disclosure or conditions or the acuteness of conditions for the purposes of mining the VA determination process. A flawed system that looks for certain verbiage from the preferred signatories (yes, a corrupt enterprise at its core) in order to document support for assigning certain rating values, especially to get to 100. This scheme can then run afoul of the qualifying criteria of an unrestricted FAA class I.

But the cases that made it to the news are not innocent cases of "VA wrote something mildly different from what I wrote on MexExpress, and I found myself illegally deported to CECOT", which is the hypothetical you seem to be concerned about. That's just a canard used by the tournament players who give .mil a bad name in 121 land, to spook the innocent into circling the wagons as a .mil collective, and support maintaining the status quo system for the benefit of the grifters who resemble the remark.

People oft misunderstand my criticism of the rot in this system as advocacy for not filing for a disability rating. That's a complete mischaraterization of my position, again because I'm calling them out for the grift they're abusing. My position is that there is zero reason to fear a VA claim, if you're not rating mining.

So be honest, don't play FAFO games with, or let those "preferred counselors" who your squadron buddies likely already probably referred you to do the same, with the wording/diagnostic coaching of your medical record during the VA appointment, and you'll be fine. You'll get a rating largely reflective of things the FAA should already know about because you've been flying 121 as a flying .mil reservist.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement.

 

[Lindberg]

Career AF Reservist here, this topic is common and daily in my circles. I'm not fond of "guest" mode drive-by topics, they reek of trolling, but I'm bored so I'll bite. It's still good info for lurkers.

To your question: It's a matter of disclosure, that's all. Your post seems indicate you don't fully understand the process. There's no "I'm not looking to get a VA rating" and "but I'm getting a check" from the VA, in the same sentence. You're not obligated to seek a VA disability rating from the VA at all, you choose to pursue one. If you do, you'll receive a rating (even zero is a rating, and a zero rating is of value, but that's outside of this post's scope).

You're already a dual hated 121/flying Reservist. Your medical records, even before any VA disability claim, are supposed to be congruent anyways between your class IIa (for USAF.. Army and USN call their recurring rated pilot medical class something else) and your FAA class I. If you haven't had a problem so far, you just don't have a problem to worry about.

The only way in which a VA disclosure mismatch can occur with the FAA, and "surprise you" to the point of criminal threat, is if you're embellishing with the VA side to max grift, and ommitting the severity, or not disclosing at all on the FAA side.

In your case, given I'm assuming you're not actively omitting conditions to the FAA that are currently known and approved or waived by the DoD branch, then a VA claim process won't amount to anything for you as a current .mil reservist airline pilot dual hatted type.

What I think you're "hearing about", is referring to the cases where people were max grifting off the VA system and actively omitting disclosure or conditions or the acuteness of conditions for the purposes of mining the VA determination process. A flawed system that looks for certain verbiage from the preferred signatories (yes, a corrupt enterprise at its core) in order to document support for assigning certain rating values, especially to get to 100. This scheme can then run afoul of the qualifying criteria of an unrestricted FAA class I.

But the cases that made it to the news are not innocent cases of "VA wrote something mildly different from what I wrote on MexExpress, and I found myself illegally deported to CECOT", which is the hypothetical you seem to be concerned about. That's just a canard used by the tournament players who give .mil a bad name in 121 land, to spook the innocent into circling the wagons as a .mil collective, and support maintaining the status quo system for the benefit of the grifters who resemble the remakr.

People oft misunderstand my criticism of the rot in this system as advocacy for not filing for a disability rating. That's a complete mischaraterization of my position, again because I'm calling them out for the grift they're abusing. My position is that there is zero reason to fear a VA claim, if you're not ratomg mining.

So be honest, don't play FAFO games with, or let those "preferred counselors" who your squadron buddies likely already probably referred you to do the same, with the wording/diagnostic coaching of your medical record during the VA appointment, and you'll be fine. You'll get a rating largely reflective of things the FAA should already know about because you've been flying 121 as a flying .mil reservist.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement.

Nicely cogent and coherent answer to the question. To summarize: if you tell the VA you have a condition, whether or not it's b*******, you'd better tell the FAA as well. You are required to complete the MedExpress form to the best of your knowledge. That means you're not legally obligated to disclose what you don't know. And you're not required to dig. However, if you forget something material, the FAA might not believe that you just forgot. But you don't remember having tonsillitis when you were 12? No one cares.

This is not legal advice.

 

[bbchien]

And a further caution. The VAH's mission is to diagnose, award and treat. They will hardly ever declare health. It is a ONE WAY track.

 

[Jon Wilder]

And a further caution. The VAH's mission is to diagnose, award and treat. They will hardly ever declare health. It is a ONE WAY track.

Will you elaborate on the "one way track"?

 

[TCABM]

Will you elaborate on the "one way track"?

The VA compensation exam requires a documented injury or condition in your military medical records. The exam establishes, for disability purposes, the extent of that injury or condition.

For example, I had a decent sized melanoma removed while on active duty (among other things). The VA exam confirmed I had melanoma through pathology records then measured the square inches of skin grafts and scarring I had as a residual of the melanoma. Since there was scarring and it impacted my ankle, they also measured the range of motion I had left.

All that quantifiable data was then fed into a formula that spit out a rating for the disabling condition. They provide a very detailed and well documented characteristic of the disabling condition and its severity. The lowest rating one can receive is 0%, although there are usually things that are excluded because the condition was not able to be evidenced in the exam.

In return for the disability, I get a disability rating, a small check every month, and the Va pays me to see a dermatologist every year for a FBSE and deal with anything found in the FBSE.

An example of this was a skin condition I had related to really dry, cold air while stationed in Colorado. It was diagnosed and treated with a topical cream but after retiring in warm and humid south Texas, the condition resolved with no scarring or disfiguration.

What the VA won’t say is I am healthy. They’re not doing wellness exams.

 

[wellknow]

So the disability doesn’t need to have anything to do with an injury that occurred because of a vets service? they get disability payments because they got sick while in the armed forces?

 

[Kenny Phillips]

So the disability doesn’t need to have anything to do with an injury that occurred because of a vets service? they get disability payments because they got sick while in the armed forces?

The armed forces seem to not really care if you are really sick; a friend recently started collecting $2K per month "disability", when he's quite physically and mentally capable of any job (he has a physical side gig, and is a teach full time.) Grinds my gears when I see someone really struggling getting no more.

 

[Velocity173]

So the disability doesn’t need to have anything to do with an injury that occurred because of a vets service? they get disability payments because they got sick while in the armed forces?

The majority of ratings have to be service connected but there’s also non service connected as well. But, the VA is very liberal in what they determine to be service connected. If it happened during service, there’s a very good chance they’ll show it as service related.

Washington Post did an article last year and exposed the VA shenanigans. Of course the usual veterans groups came out of the woodwork clutching their pearls. They claim all those service related injuries (Athletes foot, hair loss, ED, eczema, etc) are legit.

 

[Velocity173]

To the OP, the majority of the pilots that have gotten caught were getting VA disability and hiding it from the FAA. If you’re not receiving disability, I seriously doubt the FAA is going to scrub your medical records. But, I’d also make sure you don’t have anything in them that conflicts with your MedExpress questionnaire.

Honestly I’m not even sure why prospective civ pilot vets even bother to hide their VA disability these days. I used to work with a guy getting 100% and just found out the other day a pilot in my local EMS program is getting 100%. Pretty much makes more ($52K tax free) in VA disability than the flight paramedic sitting behind them. I also know several friends at 60% or more and they said it wasn’t difficult in getting their FAA physical. All the FAA cares about is the paperwork trail is in order. Try and hide it, and they’ll come after you.

 

[TCABM]

To the OP, the majority of the pilots that have gotten caught were getting VA disability and hiding it from the FAA…..

This. MedXpress question 18.Y specifically asks about disability benefits.

18.y. Medical Disability Benefits.

Searching MedXpress User’s guide, they explicitly mention VA benefits.

“For example: Veterans Affairs (VA), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI),
workers' compensation, and any other disability benefits.”

If you’re going to get hung, it’s because you failed to disclose since the applicant acknowledges they’re aware it’s a violation of law not to disclose as part of the application.

Listing 14 of 16 (or however many conditions a veteran was rated for but leaving out the sleep apnea or PTSD rating used to be the big ones, but I don’t follow a lot of the .mil
to airline stuff anymore.

When I did my FAA medicals, I had no problems fully disclosing everything, but then again there was nothing in my .mil or VA rating decisions to hide.

What always got me was the guys who spent a career subscribing to a core value of Integrity, then suddenly becoming so flexible about their integrity when it came to MedXpress. I really lost a lot of respect for some dudes over that.

The saddest part of it all is the member has to decide to opt-in to the VA disability process; it’s not required. Those intentional decisions to opt in, then maximize their award with dubious claims is premeditated fraud, done knowingly and willingly.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I’m curious, if a vet was never stationed OCOUS, spent their entire time in an office on a military base in CONUS, when separating they could also claim disability for things such as tinnitus, hair loss eczema, athletes foot, fibromyalgia?

Conditions that a lot of the general population also develops over their lifetime.

As for the VA, how to they prove the veracity of a vet claiming to have developed tinnitus or fibromyalgia. They just take their word for it?

This seems to be a recipe for fraud and abuse.

 

[Doc Holliday]

This seems to be a recipe for fraud and abuse.

In government? Naahhhhhhhh, never happen.........

 

[Velocity173]

I’m curious, if a vet was never stationed OCOUS, spent their entire time in an office on a military base in CONUS, when separating they could also claim disability for things such as tinnitus, hair loss eczema, athletes foot, fibromyalgia?

Conditions that a lot of the general population also develops over their lifetime.

As for the VA, how to they prove the veracity of a vet claiming to have developed tinnitus or fibromyalgia. They just take their word for it?

This seems to be a recipe for fraud and abuse.

Yeah pretty much. A lot of stuff is obvious service related. I’d say with all the radiation @TCABM was around, there’s a very good chance his Melanoma was a result of service. When I got a flight physical one year in the Army and was told I would get back pain from flying helicopters? Meh, I suppose but 6,000 hrs and 20 yrs later, I still don’t have back pain.

It’s not really the singular claims that strip the tax payers. I don’t have a problem with someone claiming back pain or tinnitus from flying helicopters for 20 yrs getting 30%. That’s nothing. It’s the dudes with like half a dozen getting anywhere from 60-100%. Heck, post 9/11 vets that claim disability, average 9 illnesses / injuries in their rating. Most of any generation prior. Not gonna convince me 9 things are service related or that they even have all those 9 things.

 

[TCABM]

I’m curious, if a vet was never stationed OCOUS, spent their entire time in an office on a military base in CONUS, when separating they could also claim disability for things such as tinnitus, hair loss eczema, athletes foot, fibromyalgia?

Conditions that a lot of the general population also develops over their lifetime.

As for the VA, how to they prove the veracity of a vet claiming to have developed tinnitus or fibromyalgia. They just take their word for it?

This seems to be a recipe for fraud and abuse.

The rateable conditions are codified in Title 38 of the US Code. There are two main categories of rateable conditions, 1) presumptive - because you were exposed to Agent Orange, for example, and later developed one of the designated diseases, and 2) injuries - of all type.

The short version is DOD gets a ‘healthy’ person as documented on their entrance physical (which includes identifying all the pre-existing conditions). DOD weeds out anyone who isn’t healthy enough to serve.

Then, over your military career, you get annual physicals and various ‘injuries’. Those are documented in your medical record. At separation, the VA process evaluates your condition “as returned” vs “as entered” and decides if any of the differences are either presumed to have been caused by service, or an injury caused by service.

Tinnitus, for example, is presumptive due to chronic exposure to loud noises; it usually manifests as loss of hearing as recorded during your annual audiology exam. Tinnitus is a flat 10%, whether it’s one ear or both and whether you lost no hearing or all hearing.

For each claim, there must be a corresponding entry in your medical records and that entry has to be listed in Title 38 AND the condition has to be service connected - that’s the presumptive or injury part.

Take a broken bone for example. The broken bone is an injury. Your medical record has an entry that says something like fell during PT or “crashed motorcyle off duty”.

The broken bone heals, you have no limitations in range of motion, no medical imagining that indicates arthritis, etc. The injury, if service connected is not disabling by VA standards (again codified in Title 38) so the VA decision is either not substantiated by the evidence in the C&P exam or rated as 0%.

That broken bone that happened off duty while playing sand volleyball is determined not to be service connected and the VA states that on the rating decision. Since it’s not service connected, it’s not eligible for a rating.

The process is fairly objective; Congress writes the language that goes into Title 38, the VA validates or invalidates any claims the member makes, and it gets wrapped up in a bow.

Where the challenge lies is Congress included some things that can’t be objectively proven. PTSD is a big one. There’s zero objective way to prove a PTSD claim and one can easily create a story that can’t be disproven to support their claim.

Back pain is another one. Most .mil folks have some physical evidence of degenerative disk disease. The VA’s objective criteria is pain free range of motion in 2 axes; bending and rotating. The claimant can game the exam since the instruction given is to stop movement when the pain begins. The VA has no way to determine if there really is pain.

Finally, there’s the part in Title 38 where Congress instructed the VA that the tie goes to the service member; that is, unless a claim can be conclusively disproven, the claim is to be approved.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Velocity and TCABM , thanks for the explanation! Much appreciated.

Anecdotally, based on what you have seen/heard/read, what percentage of claims would you guesstimate to be bogus? Maybe 30% or is that on the high side?

 

[hindsight2020]

Anecdotally, based on what you have seen/heard/read, what percentage of claims would you guesstimate to be bogus? Maybe 30% or is that on the high side?

I mean, if you believe bimodal distributions are gee chucks innocuous, I have a beachfront property in Ar Raqqa I think you'll find very attractive.

Every single one of the 100 pct cases I personally know, are a fraudulent result of professional rating-mining consultant services making a mockery of the VA disability process. Every single one of them. It takes professional help to hack the rate-stacking as an able-bodied claimant. The ones with actual legit skeleto-muscular/nerve permanent injury, the shot lower discs, dang near concrete necks one tweak away from watching their kids high school graduation from a wheel chair, the organ deteriorations that even affect their class I. I've seen the MRIs, look like someone took a baseball bat to these people's back and neck. Those guys? 60%. *throws arms up* Can't make it up if I tried.

They need to curtail the payment system, and bolster the expansion of direct provision of care. Like feeding the panhandler directly vs giving him 20 bucks to buy food. No longer hungry all of a sudden, religious miracle fable style. Do the same with the VA and watch the little grift vanish overnight.

 

[Clip4]

Reminds of the police officer who was on total disability for a on duty back injury and thought he could teach unarmed self defense at the police academy.

 

[TCABM]

View attachment 149084….

For context, ~ 3 in 10 living veterans have some VA disability rating. Of that 30%, it’s estimated that 1 in 5 (20%) have a 100% rating.

The challenge getting to 100 is VA math; it’s not additive at all. FrEx, the lowest way to get to 100% without having a terminal illness that’s service connected is 4x 50% conditions.

Normally, 50% disabling means the same condition exists in both limbs (bilateral). Pes planus (flat feet) in one foot is between 0-30%, while if evident in both feet, it’s a flat 50%.

The two outliers were sleep apnea and PTSD. Sleep apnea used to be a flat 50% and didn’t require a sleep study to diagnose. Just a complaint you didn’t sleep well. As for PTSD, there’s a variable rating from 0-100%, but it’s hard to disprove “nightmares” triggered by the smell of jet fuel in the morning when you spent 3 tours deployed racking up the Air Medals for dropping bombs in anger and then reviewing the BDA footage during the Friday afternoon Greatest Hits parade at roll call.

 

[AvNavCom]

The short version is DOD gets a ‘healthy’ person as documented on their entrance physical (which includes identifying all the pre-existing conditions). DOD weeds out anyone who isn’t healthy enough to serve.

That's the theory, anyway. I can tell you that right now those "we reached our recruiting goals early" numbers they trumpeted to the media are because we're waiving absolutely everything and then it's biting us in the ass downstream. A bunch of kids coming in not even making it through training before going VFR-direct to Medical for psych (oh god, so much psych), substance abuse, food allergies, and musculoskeletal conditions the likes of which I'd expect to see in a geriatric clinic. I literally had one not even finish checking in to her command before showing up at the clinic demanding psych services because she was anxious and depressed, waving well-healed cutting scars on her forearms. "Fraudulent enlistment!" we want to cry from the trenches since this stuff is clearly present before service but not disclosed on the paperwork, but the powers-that-be have it set up so that they're in just long enough that we can't say "thanks for playing" and just show them the door. Instead, they get the full med-board, act as a drag on the unit and the clinic, and exit the military before their first enlistment is up asking "how do I get the maximum from the VA?".

And they wonder why the docs are burning out like candles in mil med.

 

[mryan75]

I'm not looking to play games.

With that said, since the FAA started scrutinizing VA records a few years ago, how deep a dive does the FAA do on this?

These two sentences do not follow morally or ethically.

 

[hindsight2020]

These two sentences do not follow morally or ethically.

I'm more charitable to our drive-by anon poster. Essentially, he's captured by the perception that everybody around him is "getting a check", so he'd be an idiot not to. The problem is that there's two camps that make that same utterance, but they come from completely different places. They're often conflated, and that's a problem because one is morally corrupt, the other one isn't.

Three hypothetical scenarios:

1) He's trying to rating-mine. His buddies keep telling him people like username-checks are just a playa hatas, and only suckers "leave money on the table over a principle".

2)His current .mil record is already disclosed through years of class I re-ups while being a concurrent flying Reservist. This is a nothingburger. There's no problem here for our drive-by chatter to make an "unassisted" VA claim, receive his rating based on what's already disclosed, and continue his status quo.

3) Fear a VA claim will end up disclosing things he's been already hiding from the FAA as a dual status 121/DoD-flying-reservist. That one has nothing to do with the VA system issues being discussed here. To wit, he'd be already running afoul of medXpress for years, in present circumstances. VA disability system problems are a red herring on that front. This is the only hypothetical where chatter would have an objective material incentive to bypass a VA claim, since the 121 income dwarfs the potential VA benefit he'd knowingly be gambling his 121 bag over.

I'm giving chatter the benefit of the doubt, and merely emphasizing there's no need to fear #2. If the motivation is indeed #1 or #3, yeah I hope his airline career is negatively impacted.

 

[BillTIZ]

All of this VA, SS Disability, and FAA record comparison hit the head shortly before my military retirement. I stayed away from any VA evaluation during the retirement process. My desire to not risk my FAA medical. I was lucky in my military career to avoid serious injuries. I know I have some hearing loss in the way up there range that even the military was not concerned with and kept me flying. I have had no issues with the civilian AMEs on the hearing test.

Nothing to hide, nothing to fail to report. KISS, Keep It Simple S*****.

 

[KE5BM]

These two sentences do not follow morally or ethically.

I disagree. I'm in a similar situation as the OP. After over 25 years of service, my retirement orders are on the board and I'm going to be starting the VA process in the very near future. I've been fortunate that I haven't sustained any real injuries while in the service but you can bet that my back pain, hip pain, and mild hearing loss are a direct result of hundreds of hours driving around in Coast Guard boats. Now, if I go to the VA and I'm an honest person I would be mildly concerned that any service-related condition the VA determines could be detrimental to my future Class I medicals. I base this on how harshly I was questioned by my AME last year when I applied for my first Class I and I mentioned in the questionnaire that I had been seeing a Chiropractor.

Now, given that over the course of a 25 year career plucking bodies out of the water and a couple interesting run-ins with narcos it's quite possible that a VA rep might want to tag me with some utterance of PTSD. Based on what I'm hearing lately, that could be an instakill on a future Class I.

So, all that to say this...those of us in the military who would like a chance at a career in professional aviation are walking on eggshells as to what we should be discussing with the VA.

In other news, there are confirmed cases of military children who were seen at a military medical facility for mental health issues as pre-teens who cannot join the service several years later due to that treatment.

 

[ateamer]

Reminds of the police officer who was on total disability for a on duty back injury and thought he could teach unarmed self defense at the police academy.

Disgusting. As a retired law enforcement officer who had plenty of injuries, worked hard to get back to work ASAP and had to fight to get timely treatment for some of them thanks to the scammers, I say prosecute him, strip him of the disability pension, and make him pay it all back.

There was an officer a while back who was retired on back injury. A couple years later, they got video of her competing in rodeos. She went to prison.

Zero sympathy for them. Don’t like the job? Quit. Don’t scam, lie, and make it difficult for officers with real injuries.

 

[TCABM]

…Now, given that over the course of a 25 year career plucking bodies out of the water and a couple interesting run-ins with narcos it's quite possible that a VA rep might want to tag me with some utterance of PTSD. Based on what I'm hearing lately, that could be an instakill on a future Class I. …

While it could be, I’m not sure if the VA is still required to conduct the PTSD screening for everyone separating.

I had to go thru the half-hour talk with the screener and it was a nothingburger with 13 deployments, to include 3 in AFG and 1 to OIF among 9 or so total combat deployments. like anything, being truthful with nothing to hide pays dividends.

Lacking an in-service diagnosis of PTSD makes it difficult for the VA to establish service connection (although not impossible), but all the hallmarks of a long career with command/leadership selections along the way and the normal decorations that go along with it generally implies ‘normal’ adjustment.

It’s the guys that crash and burn or claim nightmares or abnormal sleep behaviors while on active duty that may be gaming the system.

 

[Clip4]

Disgusting. As a retired law enforcement officer who had plenty of injuries, worked hard to get back to work ASAP and had to fight to get timely treatment for some of them thanks to the scammers, I say prosecute him, strip him of the disability pension, and make him pay it all back.

There was an officer a while back who was retired on back injury. A couple years later, they got video of her competing in rodeos. She went to prison.

Zero sympathy for them. Don’t like the job? Quit. Don’t scam, lie, and make it difficult for officers with real injuries.

would you opinion change I I told you the guy was in a car crash and based on his injuries the public employer required him to go on a disability ending his career? People assume way too much, such as disability pensions are golden eggs people can actually live on. Usually these represent <50% of what the person previously earned,

 

[ateamer]

would you opinion change I I told you the guy was in a car crash and based on his injuries the public employer required him to go on a disability ending his career? People assume way too much, such as disability pensions are golden eggs people can actually live on. Usually these represent <50% of what the person previously earned,

That would be different.

Our worker’s comp retirement was 50% of base salary, tax-free. Even with no taxes, it isn’t wnough to live on and everyone who got medicaled out had to find employment.

 

[BillTIZ]

So, all that to say this...those of us in the military who would like a chance at a career in professional aviation are walking on eggshells as to what we should be discussing with the VA.

And that is why I stayed away from an VA involvement in my military retirement process. I've got a bum knee from a high school injury, minor flareup on active duty. No issues at retirement so why bother? UltraHighFrequency hearing loss above a range that did not impact military flight medical. Sure a little tinnitus now, but who above 60yrs old does not have some tinnitus. Can still easily pass the civil AME "can you hear me" test.

 

[mryan75]

So, all that to say this...those of us in the military who would like a chance at a career in professional aviation are walking on eggshells as to what we should be discussing with the VA.

But that’s much different than what the OP is saying, which is how much to admit about what they’ve discussed with the VA to the FAA…

 

[KE5BM]

I disagree. I can withhold whatever I want from the VA so long as I'm ok with not getting paid for it. It's illegal for me to withhold from the FAA a diagnosis. One is causal to the other.

 

[TCABM]

I disagree. I can withhold whatever I want from the VA so long as I'm ok with not getting paid for it. It's illegal for me to withhold from the FAA a diagnosis. One is causal to the other.

In general, yes.

But to file a claim with the VA, you have to give them access to your .mil medical record, and that’s where things get sticky. ‘helpful’ VSOs will find everything in your .mil medical record and submit on your behalf for everything that qualifies.

Then, throughout the rating process, if something ‘new’ gets identified they can work backwards to establish either direct or indirect service connection regardless.

The system is not perfect and the VA’s mission, as I stated earlier, to identify, document, and compensate you for disabilities incurred by your service.

 

[mryan75]

I disagree. I can withhold whatever I want from the VA so long as I'm ok with not getting paid for it. It's illegal for me to withhold from the FAA a diagnosis. One is causal to the other.

That’s not disagreeing, with me at least. He is trying to figure out how much of what he’s discussed with the VA can he withhold from the FAA.

 

[KE5BM]

I understand what you're saying. I think we just have a different perspective. The OP is on the other side of the VA process. I'm just now starting it. The difference is I'm going in to the process knowing that I have to guard against unintended FAA consequences. It sounds to me like the OP is now realizing the FAA consequences. That's what I mean by saying one is causal to the other.