Practical guides for veterans navigating VA disability ratings, benefits claims, C&P exams, and the federal regulations that govern the process. Written by a medically retired Navy SEAL.
A detailed walkthrough of the VA Compensation and Pension exam process, what the examiner is actually doing, how the DBQ translates your experience into a rating, and how to avoid the mistakes that cost veterans money every day.
The mental health rating formula explained at the level most veterans never reach — the decision points, the traps, the legal protections, and the emotional weight of reducing your mental health to a federal percentage.
Most veterans don't know that VA compensation goes above 100%. Special Monthly Compensation, overlooked conditions, secondary claim chains, and PACT Act presumptives explained with verified 2026 rates.
The series finale. How to fight a wrong rating, who can help you, what buddy statements actually do, and why your VA claim is a campaign, not a single battle.
A step-by-step guide to reading the federal regulations that determine your VA disability rating, doing an honest self-assessment, and learning to describe your conditions in the language the VA actually uses.
How the VA combines disability ratings using the whole person theory, why your numbers don't add up the way you expect, and how to think strategically about secondary conditions, the bilateral factor, and TDIU.
The VA disability system rates every condition using published federal criteria. Most veterans never read them. This post introduces the three regulations that shift the entire process in your favor.