Not your typical blog post, but being that my audience has a lot of military, I feel the need to put this out there to help others understand the ass pain of transition. Any transition in life is a process. Whether it’s from the time you start driving, to the transition to college or entering the real world, the only constant is change. Once I retired, there was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I no longer had to worry about sending a text for accountability, I no longer had to worry about getting called in for something random, I was simply free.
Although my time in uniform was over, the transition still continues. One of the things that Soldiers do whenever they move to a different location or a different unit is an administrative action called “Inprocessing”. In civilian speak, it’s known as “Onboarding”. Newcomers go to their Admin Office and are typically given a checklist with Points of Contact, Phone numbers, and if you’re lucky a map to show you exactly where to go. You go to each of these locations, let them know you are Inprocessing, and are administratively entered into all the unit’s systems to show that you exist. It typically requires you to bring a copy of your orders, maybe verify your ID card, or sign some paperwork. You’re allotted a certain amount of time to do it, but if you knock it out as fast as possible – you could just chill at the house while using the excuse that you’re still running around Inprocessing. Anyway, I digress.
The best way I can describe exiting the Active Duty Army and entering the VA system is CHAOS. You’re basically Inprocessing yourself into the VA. Should be easy enough right? Ummm….NO. Let’s put it this way. There is no checklist. There is no Admin nerd telling you where to go or what to do, and there is no map pointing you in the right direction. Instead, what you have are numerous emails, letters from the VA, and “barracks lawyers” who lead you astray on wild goose chases thinking they are helping you. They mean well, but the reality is – every vet has different circumstances and different ratings so what worked for some may not work for you.
The very first day that I retired, I received about 20 emails from the VA. Each of those emails had links to websites telling me what my various benefits were and what I needed to do next. Aside from the emails, were just as many physical letters from the VA saying the exact same thing. So what do you do with all of this? Well, you read all of it. As you read all of it, you inevitably have more questions, so what do you do next?
Well, you call the VA. At least that’s what I did. The VA has a system called the “Solid Start” program. It is a system aimed at helping newly retired vets figure out what to do next. Perfect right? First of all, no one was tracking me on this thing and I literally called the number accidentally as I got lost in the phone menu from hell in the VA system. I luckily spoke with a counselor and told her that I was still sifting through all the email and regular mail to try and make sense of it all. I told the counselor that I had a few priorities I wanted to tackle first – Enrolling into the VA Medical System to start receiving care for my regular appointments, Applying for Veteran’s Readiness & Employment (VR&E), Enrolling into Dental Care and then understanding the benefits for schooling, tax exemptions, etc.
After listing it all out, she took notes of everything and sent me ANOTHER EMAIL. This email basically was a copy and paste of links from the other 20+ emails I received from the VA saying the same thing. So what did I do next? I physically went to a VA Benefits Counselor. Luckily for me, the benefits counselor is a friend of mine who just retired a year before me and just started working there. He was telling me about how rough it is in the beginning after retirement, so I figured he could help me sift through it all in person. He did. If there’s any advice I can give newly retired vets, it’s to go see someone in person. Take all the paperwork and emails you’ve received, sift through it as best as you can and write down every damn question you have. Then go to a VA Benefits counselor and freaking ask.
About a month has passed since I submitted a Form 10-10EZ and my DD214 to the VA Liaison at the Army Medical Center to enroll in the VA Healthcare system. I patiently waited to be contacted for my first round of appointments and hadn’t heard anything. So I submitted again and waited. Then I was told by the VA Strong Start counselor NOT to wait but to be proactive and call to make appointments since I had already submitted my paperwork. So I did.
“Hello, I’m a newly retired Vet. On my last week of Active Duty, I submitted a Form 10-10EZ and DD214 to the VA Liaison to enroll in the VA Healthcare system. This was about a month ago. I was calling to make my first round of regular doctors appointments.”
“Congratulations on retirement and WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD SIR! Hahahahahaha! Can I get your Name and last four please?”
I give it to him
“Umm sir, you are still listed as active duty. You need to fill out a 10-10EZ and submit your DD214 first before we can see you.” he says
“I did. I submitted it to the VA Liaison on post last month. I have her name and phone number as well. I have an electronic copy of both documents on my phone, can I just email it to you right now?” I asked
“Unfortunately no sir. The system is unsecure, so you can’t email it. You either have to physically bring it over or fax it over.” He said
“Did you say Fax? You guys still fax? I don’t have a fax machine and I don’t have access to one cause I live in the 21st century man…” I laughed
“Sorry, I can’t help you then sir. Either call the liaison back to resend everything, print out a copy and physically bring it over or fax it. Until then, our system doesn’t show you enrolled. I can send you an email with the documents you need as a reminder if you’d like” He says
God no. Not another damn email. Fuck.
“No thanks. I’ll call the VA Liaison myself and figure it out, thanks” …for nothing, I thought.
All the while, I’m awkwardly wrapping up my previously made appointments with my primary care doctors. It’s weird how you slowly start to relax from the stress and start feeling all the aches and pains you were numb to while on Active Duty. I’m still checking into my regular docs hoping they don’t kick me out yet cause I’m now in a retired status. I’m on a limited time with them so I was hoping that the VA had enrolled me after about a month. I figured that by the time my doctor’s appointments were done, I could seamlessly transition to the VA. Guess not.
As for my pay. That’s screwy as well. I used to get pain once a month throughout my career. The Army pay system had suddenly changed this and everyone is now mandated to get paid twice a month. My final paycheck was split in two but spread out over a period of 2 months. I received the first half of my paycheck two months ahead of time and had no idea what was going on. I called the pay office, was told what was going on and to be patient because my last paycheck was going to be weird. I expect no less from the Army.
As for my retirement pay, it should come immediately. Fingers crossed. The disability will take 30-45 days. Ugh….
If there’s anything I’ve learned to hate about the US Government, it’s the amount of paperwork and redundant systems they have to get anything done. On top of that, it’s just slow as all hell. I’m sure that after I get enrolled into everything, things will get easier. Staying positive for now. Wish me luck