Brohammer- the system is in fact so bad that even MH Provider's within US DVA system are in fact afraid to "call" out those they firmly "believe" are in fact "faking" or "exaggerating" their issues.... (I know as have heard same from a MH providers in US DVA system since I sadly "joined" eons ago!)
They are trapped by the system "their" profession has created or at least "highly" encouraged! I.e. for example- they give themselves the "escape" clause on diagnosis that "may not be accurate-or to said effect" but if make mistake that involves something beyond "horrid" happening to veteran, or common citizen's, will not in fact recant as no "liability attached" due to said "escape clause" but if on other end- know "faking/ exaggerating" simply afraid to "call-out," so to spaek, as for actual "fear of liability" or other "ramifications"- say if said "individuals or clients/ patiemt's" go out and do something "deliberately" to prove them wrong.....so these MH Professional's are in fact in Catch-22, by their own "system!" Tragic..but very real....
Yes I certainly feel trapped. I know I’m fine, I know the doctors know I’m fine, I’ve been telling them that from the get go (the diagnosis came inpatient elsewhere), yet they didn’t start to change the course of treatment until I received my orders out, like instantly and also change my medication to generic (save money). The worse part is they suspended my clearance, now getting any fed job is going to be a hassle, and I could have gotten jobs for private contractors making 100k a year plus easily, I know a lot of people in the contracting world. So I lost my military career and any subsequent civilian career with the skill set I had.
I don’t know what a lawyer would do, in regards to my medical situation/disability pay etc. I don’t know what I’d fight exactly, it’s not a situation where I feel I have symptoms and they are forcing me out of treatment, so I’m not exactly sure what I would contend with? The only thing I’m thinking about getting a lawyer for is unsuspending my clearance and the doctors are on board with providing evidence of my improvement and also that my diagnosis never elevated to a “chronic” state, that it was in fact temporary.
I may not ever be able to get back in the military, but I still believe there is a chance to appeal my clearance suspension, as that goes quite far beyond my commanders initial recommendation to suspend it while in treatement.
Also, as I have mentioned, I am a private pilot and having a chronic mental condition bars me from flying, I won’t lose my license as having an acute diagnosis. It’s a passion of mine and I don’t want to have to give it up.
In the end, I will likely (more than likely) be medically separated and receive a severance after my re-eval as it was an involuntary separation that was based on a good track record with the military. In my mind that is fair. I don’t feel like I need any medical treatment, I haven’t this whole time. Why should I get free medical care, when there are others out there suffering from war injuries, bad PTSD, TBI etc. It does suck that it ruined my career, but it still did happen. Even a temporary mental break would cause a seperation from the military. I’ve gone through my bouts of anger of feeling screwed over (and it still rekindles at times) but I keep reminded myself that things could be far worse and I’m happy that I really don’t have the condition that I was med boarded for as it would keep me from living a normal life.
I can go on to a job at another level of government, that has really good health benefits, good retirement and have a rewarding career. I am a bit fearful of not getting hired on, but I have already been getting referrals and contacts for interviews in fields that I’m interested in that have some similiaritues to what I did in the military. I was very very negative about my whole ordeal, but am now looking at things in a different light and realise it can turn out all positively. Heck, I can stay in the area of my choosing, but a house and so on. There are many pros to not staying in the military and if I worked private contracting jobs, I would more than likely have to move to the DC area, which I would not be fond of.