 |
|
|
 Vallarta Living | Veteran Affairs | March 2006 
N.S.O. Training in Nashville
 David Lord - PVNN
| | The Military Order of the Purple Heart National Service Officer Training is one of the best training courses provided in the United States and features some of the finest legal minds in America for Veterans claims. |
I left Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday and arrived here in Nashville three days and 3500 kilometers later. I had time to have a glass of wine at B.B. King's Saloon as my personal salute to the great musician and then headed to the Local Holiday Express, after registration and room assignment to prepare for the training, which would start the next day.
On Sunday, the Military Order held the first classes, it does not waste time when it comes to the business of educating their N.S.O.'S. The Military Order of the Purple Heart National Service Officer Training is one of the best training courses provided in the United States and features some of the finest legal minds in America for Veterans claims.
Mr. Ron Abrams, of the National Veterans Legal Services Project is recognized as a foremost authority on Veterans law, he provides education and the testing that establishes the proficiency needed to do this job.
A one hundred question exam is his opener and it felt like I was taking a state bar exam, in fact I was taking the National Veterans Legal Exam for National Service Officers. Exposing my absolute need for training, this volunteer job is serious business. I will be pleased if I score over 50 per cent on the exam and will let you know how it came out in next week's article regarding my score.
Other topics covered today included a lecture by Colonel Sackett, U.S. Army, on combat-related special compensation (CRSC). I suggest that all retired military check out the benefit. CRSC is a tax free monetary award which is paid in addition to what remains of your retirement pay after the V.A. deduction from your service connected disability compensation check.
This program was set up to compensate injured veteran who completed 20 years of federal service. The website will provide you more information at www.military.com. Since 1891 military retirees funded there own service connected disability, a war wound for example, was compensation paid to you for loss of the ability to produce income, but the money paid for the injury was deducted dollar for dollar from your retirement pay when you completed the twenty years in the military.
Our 75 person class begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. , tonight we return for additional training from 8 to 10 p.m., it is optional but I cannot afford to miss out on any information. I need of every bit of information they will share, these folks serve in the U.S. Veterans Courts of Appeals and offer information not found in manuals and law books.
One of the interesting facts I learned today relates to U.S. Veterans that receive care at one of our private Mexican hospitals, and have that care paid for by Tricare Insurance. They have established the right to an effective date of claim, if filing for a increased in disability as of the date of treatment. If the service provided is related to and connected to an existing disability which is service connected.
I also learned that for a claim to receive the earliest date of receipt we can present it to the nearest Consul Office for a time stamp, so I presume that our Consular Agency will assist us in date stamping the claim.
This date is important for veterans when filling because of two reasons. The first being that if a claim is received before the end of a calendar month, even on the 31st day, the effective date of claim will be considered as the 1st day of that month, the result is an extra 30 days of back pay if the claim is approved for the veteran, since all awards are paid from the date of receipt of claim not the date that the claim was approved.
The usual time for the V.A. to approve a claim is around 22 months for compensation and 8 months for pension. We just had a veteran in Mexico receive one hundred fifty thousand dollars in back pay for a claim filed many years ago, the appeals court and finally resolved the claim so there is one happy veteran out there.
The second reason is it can take weeks for your claim to arrive at the Houston V.A. and if the mail is lost you having made copies that are stamped by the Consular Office will verify your claim date. When I return home I will approach our Consular Officer to set up a procedure that works for everyone concerned.
 David Lord served in Vietnam as combat Marine for 1st Battalion 26th Marines, during which time he was severely wounded. He received the Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation for his actions during the war in Vietnam. In Mexico, David now represents all veterans south of the U.S. border all the way to Panama, before the V.A. and the Board of Veterans Appeals. David Lord provides service to veterans at no fee. Veterans are welcome to drop in and discuss claims/benefits to which they are entitled by law at his office located at Bayside Properties, 160 Francisca Rodriguez, tel.: 223-4424, call him at home 299-5367, on his cell: 044 (322) 205-1323, or email him at mophmx@@yahoo.com or david.lord@yahoo.com.
Click HERE for more Veteran Affairs with David Lord »»» |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us