I've been following this reddit page for a bit and just want to thank all of the positive vets out there supporting each other. I just received my decision today and was rated at 70%. Im not really an emotional person but for the first time in as long as I remember, I cried at least 3 tears of joy. Just a bit of back story, I served from 02-06 and got out because it really wasn't my cup of tea. I had some good times and made a lot of friends, never got into any trouble but those were some harsh times and experiences for me. I've attempted several times to pursue disability but my issue was I didn't have a DD-214. I was honorably discharged and left my duty station around 45 days before because of leave accrual. My 214 was supposed to be sent to my home of record but never was. I know I should have stayed on top of it much more at that point but you know, young and dumb. Anyway, 20 years later, still no 214 (or any STR for that matter), so after more attempts than I can count, no one I felt could really help me. It was frustrating and infuriating at the same time. I spent countless hours calling and on the phone with the V.A. but got nothing from it. It wasn't later until someone from reddit told me to reach out to Aardvark, a company that retrieves 214s, so I did and they sent a letter that said they could not obtain it either but they sent me a notarized N.A. Form 13038 that is supposed to be a substitute. Well it worked and I finally got things moving after 20 years. I would be mad that not one person from the V.A. told me about this form, but I finally have things moving forward so it's hard to be upset right now. I just wanted to share my experience and once again thank the vets helping vets here. It means a lot and more people need to support our vets in general.
Also, I do have a question as all of this is new to me. I placed an intent to file (and it does say this on the v.a. site) for April 2025. Will I get back pay to that date and if so is it something I need to pursue or will that happen automatically since it obviously shows in the system? I would normally assume since it shows in the system it would be but from my experience dealing with the V.A. I feel like nothing can be assumed.