4 out of 4 stars
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Let me take a deep breath before stating the long (to put it mildly) title of this book. The Highly Unauthorized and Wildly Fantastic Definitive Veterans’ Guide to Filing Disability Compensation Claims by R. G. Fearing is a comprehensive guide for filing for disability compensation with the Veterans’ Administration (VA). After a twenty-year career in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Fearing finds out what a “nightmarish hell” it is to file for disability. He waited three years for his claim to be processed. I strongly suspect his claim was resolved at that point, due to his story being featured in the Baltimore Sun newspaper. This book was written as a way for veterans to benefit from the knowledge the author gained from his own experiences dealing with the VA.
The book includes clear instructions about how to fill out the claim forms and what type of supporting documentation to attach. Screenshots of website pages are used to accompany many of the explanations. It is also discussed what to do if your claim is not processed in a timely manner or you need to appeal the VA’s decision. In dealing with an overly bureaucratic government agency, the information provided is invaluable.
I give Mr. Fearing a standing ovation for writing such a useful, well written book. The Federal Government should hire him as a Special Liaison and have him set up seminars and train local staff to help veterans navigate the process. I know there are VA offices already set up for this purpose. Let’s face it…if the VA was doing such a good job, there wouldn’t be a need for this type of book.
Many people automatically assume disability compensation means a lot of extra money on top of a veteran’s retirement pay. There is a detailed explanation of the difference between a 50% and higher disability rating and a lower than 50% rating. If the rating is under 50%, the compensation is not extra money; instead, a certain portion of your retirement pay becomes tax-free. In addition, a discussion of the way the percentages are calculated is a real eye-opener. For example, if you have multiple medical problems, the overall rating is not a simple sum of the percentages. For example, you may have four medical problems, each rated at 15%. The first one is rated at 15%. However, the rest are rated as a percentage of the leftover percentage out of 100%. The second disability is rated at 12.75% (15% multiplied by the remaining 85%), and the third, and fourth ones are rated even lower, in a step-down succession. As a result, the total compensation is usually much lower than you would expect.
One of the sparklers here is the conversational, witty writing style. The hilarious comments keep the subject matter from becoming dry. This has to be one of the most entertaining and informative how-to guides I have ever read about any subject.
If I could rate this book higher than the maximum number of stars allowed, I would. In order to stay within the established parameters, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is an essential reference guide for veterans who need to file disability compensation claims. There are a few errors - missing apostrophes or ones that don’t belong, a word that should be plural, and a homophone (hoard/horde). These errors are hardly worth mentioning, given the high quality of this book. I would recommend this guide to veterans and their families as a must read before filing for disability compensation. I thank the author for his military service and continued commitment to helping other veterans. The core values of the U.S. Air Force are: Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do. The VA should learn from Mr. Fearing’s fine example of these values.
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The Highly Unauthorized and Wildly Fantastic Definitive Veterans Guide to Filing VA Disability Compensation Claims
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At the very least, the Federal government should hire Mr. Fearing to overhaul the VA instructions for filing for disability or to manage the customer service dept.
