Many service members understand the frustration of being wrongfully denied disability compensation from the Veterans Administration. In my experience I have observed veterans who became frustrated with the process and ultimately gave up. This is most unfortunate. If you have suffered an injury or illness due to your military service, you should be compensated under federal law. However, the failure of many service members to understand the VA system can cause self-inflicted problems.

I recommend the following five best ways to present persuasive disability evidence as an effective strategy:

1. Recognize your mission and ensure that everything you submit helps further your mission.
2. Tie your evidence to your military service.
3. Use the power of narrative to paint a compelling picture.
4. Understand the role of the VA claims examiner.
5. Use overwhelming firepower by finding multiple sources to support each of your claims.

Recognize Your Mission

Preparing for a VA case is like preparing for a military mission. The most junior soldiers have simple tasks in preparing for a mission, usually checking that they have all assigned equipment and that their weapons are functional and their vehicles are operational. At the strategic level, there is immense planning that occurs before military operations are conducted. The logistical and personnel challenges to move an army into a theater of operations is immense. Yet the individual soldier does not have to be concerned with all of that; he just focuses on his role to accomplish the mission. The military decision-making process starts with Step 1: Receive the Mission.

Now if you are a veteran applying for VA disability, your mission is to achieve the highest disability rating that your case warrants. You are not expected to know what disability percentages your disabilities warrant when first applying for VA disability. Instead, you should focus on applying for disability for every illness or injury that you are currently suffering from that was caused or aggravated during your time in service.

Tie Evidence to Your Military Service

The most persuasive disability evidence is that which is clearly tied to your military service. Let’s say, for example, that you were a paratrooper, injured your knee during a jump, and had no previous history of knee pain before entering the military. However, after the jump your military medical records documented time at sick call, surgeries, physical therapy, etc. These medical records are solid evidence that your injury was service connected.

Use the Power of Narrative

Do not forget the power of narrative. Storytelling is essential to the human experience. Write your VA injury statements in a way that tells a story. For example, “I was training for the Army 10 miler team in Germany and running significant miles each week. After the race, I suffered from runners’ knee in my right knee for several weeks and went to sick call.” This short narrative paints a picture of what happened and will help the VA examiner visualize the humanity in what occurred.

Recognize the Role of the Claims Examiner

Another important doctrine when preparing for military operations is to think like the enemy. This is so central to army doctrine that one of the primary staff positions is intelligence, where the primary focus during the planning cycle is to help the commanders and staffs understand the tactics, capabilities, and vulnerabilities of the enemy forces.

An understanding of what the VA examiners do is of similar value. VA examiners look at hundreds of applications each week. They see some that are poorly worded or illogical. They can be overwhelmed with their caseload. Many of them are patriotic, hard working Americans that take their role very seriously. Most of them do not have a significant science or medical background. Thus, if your disability is unusual, you will want to ensure you frame your medical evidence in a way that you think a layperson will understand.   

Use Overwhelming Firepower And Present Multiple Sources to Support Each Claim

Overwhelming firepower is a key component of many military operations. In the field artillery, we focus on massing indirect fire at critical points to destroy, neutralize, or suppress the enemy. The most effective modern military attacks include direct fire, indirect fire, close air support, naval gunfire, and whatever other weapons are available.

You can use a similar strategy to ensure that your evidence supports your disability claim. For example, suppose you are claiming PTSD. You should gather medical evidence from a treating physician to prove you have been injured and the extent to which that injury impacts your life. You could support this medical evidence with affidavits of knowledge from family or coworkers that testify to their observations of the impact your PTSD has on you. You can further support your claim by having your treating physician fill out a VA survey regarding your PTSD. Now, instead of a single piece of evidence regarding your disability claim, you have five data sources that all show  you should be given a high disability rating percentage.

In Conclusion:  The Road to Success

Keep these “5 Best Ways to Present Persuasive Disability Evidence” in mind as you work with the VA claims process, and you will give yourself the best chance of success. If you feel you are in beyond your depth and need some help, reach out! There are many organizations that volunteer to help veterans with VA cases.

Military Law Attorney Paul E. Tennison has over fourteen years of military experience, including time spent as a commissioned officer in Korea, Germany, and Poland. Paul understands the struggles that service members and veterans face when dealing with the VA. He has been personally involved in many cases where the VA ignored relevant evidence at the regional office level, and those are issues that Paul focuses on in VA appeals where he provides significant value to veterans. If you have been dealing with a difficult VA case, contact Paul at Cole Law Group in Nashville 615-490-6020 to learn how he can help you.

I was unaware of the traditions of military challenge coins until I arrived at West Point. As a cadet at the United States Military Academy, I often interacted with Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers who had on their desk or in their office a large collection of military challenge coins. I would sometimes recognize the unit insignia of a well known Army unit or a combat operation or training center that was displayed on a specific coin.

I distinctly remember the first time I was personally awarded a military challenge coin. As a cadet, I volunteered to be on the Color Guard during my sophomore year. As part of my Color Guard duties that year, I often carried general officer flags during parades. One day, as I was performing that duty for the Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General Robert L. Caslen, the General surprised me by shaking my hand and thanking me for doing an excellent job in performing my duties. He presented me with a coin bearing one star and the West Point insignia that to this day is the military challenge coin of the highest rank that I have been awarded.

I received three more coins while at West Point. Two were awarded during my cadet troop leadership training experience at Fort Hood, Texas, with the Regulator Battery with the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Unit, while the last one was granted following a three week internship with the US Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command in Orlando, Florida.

I received five coins during my 2.5 years with the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey and Hovey Korea. Four of those coins were awarded during my time as a company fire support officer at the First Tank Battalion, 1-72AR. The fifth was granted during my service as a fire direction officer, platoon leader, or personnel officer for the first battalion fifteenth field artillery regiment “First to Fire!” During my 1.5 years in Vilseck, Germany with the 2nd Cavalry regiment, I did not receive any coins.

During my time with the Tennessee Army National Guard from 2015 until the present, I added seven coins to my collection. I was awarded the coin of the 278th ACR by COL H. Warner Holt, II in 2016. COL Holt told me on numerous occasions that he was glad to have me as a part of the unit and helped me feel welcome in the TNARNG. I enjoyed working with COL Holt during his time in command. I was awarded the Regimental Fires Squadron coin by LTC John King in a ceremony where I was recognized as the Squadron Officer of Annual Training at Fort Hood, TX in 2017. Several of my Soldiers later told me that was the only time they remember someone assigned as the logistics officer (S-4) to have been recognized by the Squadron leadership for outstanding performance.

Before my deployment to Poland I was at Fort Bliss, TX, for mobilization. While there, I was able to catch up with my friend LTC Brad Fausnaugh. Brad and I had served together in Germany with the Field Artillery Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. Brad told me he wished me the best of luck on my upcoming deployment and presented me with the coin of the 2-3 Field Artillery. While in Poland I received a coin from the Romanian Blue Scorpion Air Defense unit and a coin for Operation Atlantic Resolve that shows where US Military bases in Poland were in 2019.

The coin that I am most proud of bears my name and that of my teammate, 1SG Dustin Dunn. During our Poland deployment, 1SG Dunn and I decided to purchase coins to commemorate the deployment for our Battery. We picked a design that turned out to be an excellent symbolism of our deployment, and the significance of the coin is very meaningful to me. On the front appears the crossed cannons of the field artillery with a red background, as red is the traditional branch color of the Field Artillery. The Bulldog at the center of the coin is the Battery mascot. The script on the front states BRAVO BATTERY TF2 eFP POLAND and the Field Artillery motto, KING OF BATTLE. On the backside of the coin, the Battle Group Poland logo is featured which includes a map of Poland overlayed with the flags of our four allied nations that worked together in the Battle Group: Croatia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. During a ceremony in January 2020, we awarded these coins to each Soldier in the Battery in recognition of their contribution to the success of the BULLDOG Battery mission in Poland.

The final challenge coin in my current collection was received on September 12, 2020. LTC John King awarded me with the Regimental Fires Squadron coin as he thanked me for my leadership of the Bulldog Battery over the past thirteen months. September 12 marked the successful completion of my second command of a field artillery battery in the Tennessee Army National Guard. I will forever be proud of the fact that I commanded 105 Soldiers in a forwarded deployed training mission and brought every Soldier back home safely to Tennessee.

After 10 years of service in the Army, I can look at each of my sixteen coins and be reminded of my experience in the Army. Examining them helps me remember and reflect on my time as an Army officer. Being introspective I can examine what I learned from each of these experiences, whether it be perseverance through adversity or the ability to learn from mistakes. Overall, I am quite thankful that I have been able to travel and grow as a leader in the Army. Being stationed in Korea, Germany, and Poland has greatly affected my world view and helped broaden my perspectives. Having successfully finished my time as a company grade officer, I look forward to future challenges and giving my best effort to each mission for which I am assigned. Perhaps I will continue to add to my military coin collection during the remainder of my service in the Tennessee Army National Guard.

Note:  Robert L. Caslen Jr. would later command the 25th Infantry Division and was promoted to LTG as the Superintendent of West Point. Caslen retired from the Army in 2018.  On July 19, 2019, Caslen was selected as President of the University of South Carolina, a position he currently holds.

The US Military’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps is a system through which many college students can pursue an undergraduate education while conducting military training that prepares them for a period of service as a commissioned military officer. According to the US Army, “The overall mission of the Army ROTC Program is to produce commissioned officers in the quality, quantity, and academic disciplines necessary to meet active Army and reserve component requirements.”¹ Army ROTC includes a chain of command starting with a Commanding General and going down through a Battalion Commander and Professor of Military Science (PMS) to individual cadets.

Enrollment in ROTC is voluntary. Some students will take ROTC classes because it interests them, yet have no obligation to continue military service. Other students, such as ROTC scholarship recipients, will be required to sign a contract at the commencement of their scholarship. The goal of many ROTC cadets is to graduate from their respective colleges and secure a commission as an officer in the US Military at approximately the time of their college graduation.

Can I Disenroll From the Army ROTC?

The US Army lists 16 different reasons a cadet may be disenrolled from ROTC. A scholarship or a non-scholarship cadet may be dismissed for one of the following:

• To receive an appointment or enter into an officer training program other than ROTC
• To receive training under an Army Medical Department program
• At cadet’s own request
• Withdrawal or dismissal from the attending academic institution
• Medical disqualification
• Failure to maintain required GPA
• Personal hardship
• Height/weight or physical fitness test failures
• For being an approved conscientious objector
• Dismissal from advanced camp training
• Positive drug urinalysis or alcohol abuse
• Misconduct
• Inaptitude for military service
• Undesirable character
• Indifferent attitude
• Breach of contract.

CC Pam 145-4, PMS Guide for Enrollment, Retention, and Disenrollment is a good reference to better understand why cadets should or should not be disenrolled. That regulation describes what actions ROTC Battalion Commanders and PMS should take when disenrollment is required, including information on how to notify cadets and appoint a board of officers when necessary.²

Can I Appeal A Dismissal From the Army ROTC?

The US Army gives cadets the right to appeal their dismissal to a panel of officers.³ Importantly, each cadet has a right to appear personally before the board or officer when considered for disenrollment. A cadet may be assisted in this hearing by any “reasonably available military officer” or by a civilian attorney at the cadet’s expense. The Army limits an attorney’s representation in such an appeal by stating: “The counsel may not represent the cadet at the hearing, although counsel may be available to give advice.”⁴ The purpose of the board is to allow the cadet to present his or her case and allow the officer or panel of officers to recommend an outcome to the Commanding General of US Army ROTC Cadet Command (ROTCCC) for a final decision.

What Is the Appeal Process for An Army ROTC Disenrollment Decision?

The appeal strategy will differ based on the reason for the disenrollment cited by the Army. For example, if disenrolled for a height/weight or physical fitness test failure, the cadet should read the Army Regulation that specifies the Army’s Weight Control Program and Physical Fitness Test requirements. The regulations specify what actions are required to remediate failures. Thus, a cadet that fails one of those only one time, should not be subject to dismissal. Some Professors of Military Science who are good at their job will only dismiss ROTC cadets that clearly failed to comply with Army regulations. Others may be a bit trigger happy on the dismissal decision and not follow the requirements of all applicable regulations. Pointing out that the Army has failed to follow the appropriate regulations in the specific case of the cadet at issue is a successful appeal strategy in many cases.

An appeal will proceed like a court hearing, except a cadet may not have an attorney advocate on his/her behalf. Most cadets should prepare an opening statement arguing why the Army’s decision to dismiss is erroneous. A cadet may then call favorable witnesses to testify on his/her behalf. After the witnesses testify, the cadet should use a closing argument to discuss why the evidence presented shows that the Army’s decision to dismiss is erroneous.

After the hearing, the Officer or panel of Officers presiding will write a memorandum of record to the Cadet Command with a recommendation. This recommendation will next be forwarded to the Cadet’s PMS for a recommendation. Ultimately, the Commanding General of ROTCCC or his designee will make a final decision on whether the Cadet is disenrolled. The Commanding General’s decision is final. There are no further rights to an appeal.

What Are the Potential Outcomes of An Army ROTC Disenrollment Appeal?

Army scholarship ROTC cadets may have a huge amount at stake during appeals. Disenrollment may mean owing the Army all scholarship payments here-to-fore received, which could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, disenrolled scholarship students may be involuntarily ordered to active duty within 60 days after they have or would have completed their baccalaureate degree requirements. A successful disenrollment appeal will result in continued cadet status and the potential to commission as an Active Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard Officer.

Summary

A military law attorney can be of value to you in a potential ROTC dismissal appeal. Nashville Attorney Paul Tennison has served our country for over a decade as an active duty Army and Army National Guard officer. Paul has successfully represented Tennessee service members in numerous military law matters, including ROTC dismissal appeals. If you need an experienced attorney to advocate for you, call Cole Law today at 615-490-6020 to explore how Paul Tennison can help you navigate, litigate, and/or resolve your military law matter.

References

Army Regulation 145-1

US Army Cadet Command Regulation 145-1

US Army Cadet Command Regulation 145-9

CC Pam 145-4, PMS Guide for Enrollment, Retention, and Disenrollment

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¹ Army Regulation 145-1 paragraph 1-5.

² CC PAM 145-4 paragraph 6-2.

³ AR 145-1 paragraph 3-43(b).

⁴ Id.