05 January 2019

C-123 Agent Orange Veterans: Too Few Know About Our Special VA Benefits


The Buckeye Wing's Tom Scanlon forwarded VBA records on C-123 Agent Orange disability claims. CONCLUSION: The word hasn't gotten out!  Only about 10% of  our vets have had disability claims approved, a much lower percentage of disabilities for our population than others in our age group, plus the overall number of applications is lower than it should be.

Actually much lower, because VA has seen a significant number of claims from obviously ineligible people...passengers, people who might have worked on one at some base, people who were out of the service before Agent Orange was used, or claim exposure long after the C-123s were all retired.

It seems VA might be shutting down its C-123 dedicated claims team in St Paul, believing that most veterans who needed to will have already applied. I don't agree. To me, the low numbers mean that VA and USAF/DFAS simply need to do a better job informing potentially eligible C-123 veterans that anyone with Agent Orange disabilities can apply for disability benefits.

Help get the word out to other C-123 veterans, won't you? Not only are our Agent Orange illnesses going to be cared for, but we get the full range of other VA benefits...compensation, Combat Related Special Compensation (for military retirees,) home loan, medical care, pharmacy, counseling, pretty much everything. You earned it with "boots on the airplane," so get your application in to VA today!


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