Lars O’Shea

@derek_debus The process of appeals and what vets have to do about it.

I’m going to do a thread on VA benefits tomorrow. I’m going to cover: ✅The purpose of VA benefits ✅ The requirements to get a rating ✅ How “VA math” works ✅ Why “disability” looks “fraudulent” to the uninformed ✅ The problem with claims sharks Anything else I should cover?

@phiIawnba @US_deporable @NnPnemck VA disability ratings is not worker's comp, Judy.

@Mhdeeeez @US_deporable @NnPnemck If your still able to work a full time job in spite of your “disability” then it’s not a disability

To those who have served in combat in the military, please know the complaints you are seeing about these clips are not aimed at you. Most American-loving people in this country would have no issue with you being taken care of for life for that sacrifice. The frustration is with the people who are clearly taking advantage of a broken system.

@j_fishback are there really lawyers and firms with a 100% success rate?

Hire a lawyer who loses your case? Don’t pay him. Order chicken, get shrimp? Don’t pay them. As Florida Governor, I will only pay government contractors when the job is done fully, correctly, and on time.

@nolanwpeterson not long ago, there was a long running tv ad for a class action settlement about the toxic water system at Camp Lejeune that had caused death, cancers, and disabilities.

Helluva time to single out veterans’ disability claims as a ‘broken system.’ I don’t know what veterans this guy knows, but the men and women I served with in Iraq and Afghanistan are 1000 times more likely to NOT claim disability for the things they rightly should. They measure their sacrifices against those who lost their lives or suffered horrible wounds, and then downplay the damage done to their bodies and minds over years of repeated combat deployments. And by the way, what some people call ‘fraud’ is often a misunderstanding of the long-term health consequences of war. Just look at all the cancers and other ailments we now know are linked to burn pit exposure - and which may take years to manifest. And there’s the 2023 Pentagon study that found that U.S. military aircrew had 24% higher cancer rates than the general public.

@phiIawnba @US_deporable @NnPnemck and you're a licensed medical provider who treated that veteran? all VA claims are reviewed and diagnosed in person by a doctor AND has to be service connected and not a simple "trust me bro".

@Mhdeeeez @US_deporable @NnPnemck Claiming “Depression” as a disability caused form going to 2 school for 2 yrs is abolished bullshit Also there endless amounts of companies that guide vets into working the disability system to get maximum bennies. The cat is out of the bag

@NMalliotakis i am willing to bet none of them had family affected by Cuba's communism

For 67 years the communist regime in Cuba has oppressed its citizens. It took their homes and businesses, beat jail & murdered those who spoke out. Cubans work like slaves for $10-15 a month, can’t own anything and have little access to food & basic necessities. They’ve lived in misery NOT because of the USA but because communism is a total & utter disaster!

@derek_debus they must not look hurt enough to that expert

Famed expert on “real disability” opines that no veterans have a real disability!

@sunnyright they are mostly found in academia, a union job, or work in government.

How are these people real

@EmmaRincon they wanted a full on communist experience and are getting it.

Todos los zurdos que fueron a hacer turismo a Cuba se quedaron sin electricidad y sin Internet. Están de a poco conociendo el verdadero comunismo.

@TheIOGuy or make you ruck/long run a day after a profile expires.

Inservice Commanders don't help either. "I'm canceling your back surgery for NTC." Army Med when you get back: "Sorry our next appointment isn't for another 4 months." Reschedules and: "Sorry you are on the Euro Rotation. Business Rules, you can't have appointments..cancel."

@ebrockwayink 🎯great post.

The heart of the VA “disability” debate isn’t policy, it’s the word itself. Disability is a term loaded with misunderstanding and stigma. Uninformed veterans and civilians negatively react to the idea of compensation for someone who appears physically “able.” That reaction is conditioned by decades of Hollywood cultural imagery that includes disfigurement, prosthetics, and World War I–style shell shock. In that frame disability is limited to something visible and severe. But that’s not what the VA system is built around. What veterans leave service with are limitations. Some immediate, others latent but predictable based on exposure, wear, and mathematical and science-based risk. These are measurable, actuarial realities. The system isn’t designed for public adjudication based on anecdotes or subjective thresholds of “hurt enough.” Yet many people implicitly treat VA disability like workers’ compensation, which invites a kind of vigilantism and an eagerness to identify fraud. It mirrors the logic of true crime culture: find the bad actor and expose the scam! In practice, that instinct often targets legitimately suffering veterans, turning them into suspects and criminals rather than beneficiaries. What’s missing from the conversation is the underlying purpose: the VA Disability program is, functionally, a quality-of-life compensation model. It acknowledges that service imposes lasting costs, not just on the individual, but often on their family and long-term well-being. But of course the current terminology obscures that reality. “Disability” narrows the public’s understanding to visible impairment, when the system is actually compensating for diminished lifetime capacity and risk exposure. If the goal is clarity and legitimacy in the public mind, the VA should reconsider the term itself. The whole damn thing… its language, framing, and branding. Because as long as we rely on a misunderstood word, we’ll keep having the wrong debate. And veterans will lose.

@phiIawnba @US_deporable @NnPnemck the list of disabilities the VA recognizes are all public information, Judy

@US_deporable @NnPnemck @Mhdeeeez Exactly! It’s called DISABILITY! Unless they are disabled then what exactly are they being paid for life for ??? I cannot stand this level of entitlement

@LeighWolf yeah, it was kind of long

@Mhdeeeez I knew people weren't actually going to read the entire post.

Just because you can collect VA benefits doesn’t mean you should. The visceral reaction some will have to this statement underscores why the VA system is so broken. Finding a way to get the VA to sign your paperwork doesn’t make your benefits ethical or moral if you know you shouldn’t have them (or know you don’t need them). Fraud is both a legal and ethical question. The system is there for those who need it, not those who want it. While normies slog through years of BS to get compensation for real issues, the gray market “consultants” get bogus ratings for thousands of others. Sure, it may not flag on an audit for illegality, but it’s still unethical and immoral. (And also still fraud). The military is at it best when troops act with the highest integrity in all things, it’s very sad to see we’ve been debased to mere legalese as we decide who will receive our finite resources for disabled veterans. To put it more bluntly, you should be embarrassed to show your face in public if you did two years in the Navy reserve and are collecting disability for “anxiety.” I don’t care if the VA said yes, if that’s the totality of your chart, what you’re doing is unethical and immoral. I guarantee you there will be many who cannot even comprehend the concepts I’ve outlined here. To them the VA is just an infinite free money machine and they’re going to take as much as possible even if they know deep down they don’t really rate it or they don’t really need it. Many haven’t even considered the ethical and moral component of their decision on whether or not to pursue these benefits. For the record I am entitled to VA disability benefits but have never pursued a VA disability rating…mainly for the reasons I’ve outline above.

@American_cracka @outsidelife0987 @derekahunter @PeteHegseth @SeanParnellASW @SeanParnellUSA @SecWar Or brutally hazed

@outsidelife0987 @Mhdeeeez @derekahunter @PeteHegseth @SeanParnellASW @SeanParnellUSA @SecWar Maybe he was molested by his instructor.

Dear @PeteHegseth @SeanParnellASW @SeanParnellUSA @SecWar, please get this man and all people like him off the disability teat. Thank you.

@nypost Well, she needs another 19k

Shrinking socialists: AOC spends $19K on psychiatrist known for ketamine therapy trib.al/yKHpjG5

@thestinkeye Most people who served will never have the same mind, body, and soul like they did before joining.

You should start by visiting your local recruiter's office. If you won't do that, or, as it appears, you are medically disqualified, I recommend you write to your Congressmen and Senators to have them change the laws that very clearly and explicitly define what constitutes specific disability compensation ratings and how those ratings are calculated. Keep in mind, I (and every other vet) made a bet with our nation: I will sign on the dotted line, and, if I make it to the end of my service, I will have earned certain benefits (including those offered by the VA). If not? I get a military funeral, and my wife gets a folded flag. The fact that you are going out of your way to find the <1% who may have defrauded the system is an interesting thing for someone who has never made the aforementioned bet to do. Now, why do we offer such benefits? Because we are an all-volunteer military, and these kinds of benefits are what is required to attract and retain the kind of talent that is required to defend this nation and your right to sh!t all over them with your baseless accusations.

@derek_debus Plenty of low IQ reactionary people think that disability ratings should only go to combat vets and not to the one who never deployed but broke his back falling off an obstacle course.

Military disability fraud is not rampant. People think it’s rampant because they don’t understand the system, how it’s designed, or how it functions. It’s for sub 1% fraud rates in comp program, which are aggressively investigated and prosecuted by OIG. But idiots on the Internet love spouting off opinions on topic they know nothing about.

@LeadingReport she should get a refund

BREAKING: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly spent about $19,000 from campaign funds on a psychiatrist.

@maybedanielleee you don't know what's in his medical records and how long it took him to get a rating. 10 years ago the VA process took at minimum 1 year but that has since changed.

When I was a social worker, two of my clients were exposed to Agent Orange. The process to get approved for VA disability benefits was absurd. The disability claim, military records, test results, medical records, and "scientific proof" that the condition was caused by Agent Orange... Then the test results were not accepted, so they had to do more. This went on for YEARS. How these people are doing it, I have NO idea.