Backstory, served from 2011-2014 which included one tour in Afghanistan from 2012-2013. Served with 4/2 SBCT 2–23 In (Tomahawks!) which was an awesome experience cause let me see some of the west coast, got to train with both Japanese and Albanian armies, and made some lifelong friends.

I got out in 2014 early thanks to Obama wanting to drawdown the military. Option was either reenlist or if your ETS date was within a certain date range and you didn’t reenlist, you would automatically have your ETS date moved up to June 15, 2013. Mine was already set for July 11,2013, so I got out a month early.

While in I got injured several times, once in training and once deployed. While training at Yakima training grounds where it was snowing/raining and I slipt on top of a Stryker ICV during gunnery, due to the top being wet and all the spent brass and linkage on top cause it was during our gunnery, ended up busting my head on the drivers hatch and almost knocked myself out. Got moved to the med tent, got some stitches and put on light duty for a few days. During deployment it was like Deja vu cause I was in process of dismounting from a Stryker while getting it ready to go out on mission, again it was snowing and my foot slipped and I fell from the top, landed funky and both knees gave out and I slammed my back into back of the strykers rpg cage just below where my plate carrier was. Yes, I had x3 points of contact and as my section sergeant said it was quite comical trying to see me catch myself and my hands/feet sliding cause of the snow/ice mixture. Came home, started having issues with my knees and back, went to sick call and got physical therapy multiple times but never really helped.

Prior to getting out, I meet with a VSO and she helped me with my first claim. Filed for back, both knees, ringing in my ears (19K that served with a 11B unit, so yeah), and for the scar on my head. Got 40%, cause they gave me 10% for everything but the scar. I was good with that from 2014-2023, mainly cause I didn’t know any better. I had other issues with my sinuses and some mental stuff, but I thought they would go away after I got out and the VSO didn’t mention going ahead and filing a claim, and I was dumb and didn’t do any research on my own.

Fast forward to 2020, I start having a lot of trouble with my sleep. Either waking up throughout the night, feeling tired throughout the day, or really bad snoring. Granted I was 33 at the time, shouldn’t have all these issues and started talking to some friends I served with, one who had similar issues and told me to go ask for a sleep study. This was in the middle of Covid, and when I called the Durham VA, they said it was going to be almost a year before I could get one. Not feeling like waiting, I went through my private insurance and paid out of pocket to get everything and moved on with my life.

Fast forward to 2023, I was still having trouble with my back, knees, hearing, on top of having getting sinus infections every other month, worsening sleep even with CPAP, and mental health stuff.

From when I got out until then, I was mostly in denial over some of my issues because i didn’t think I had a problem. I hadn’t seen any direct combat (only the aftermath of a few IEDs), but I had to help in the med tent several times during that with local Afghans who had been injured. Add to that we had several close friends who committed suicide after we got back from deployment and other issues I carried back from the deployment. Honestly, there were times I was a real SOB to deal with, at home and at work. Got into trouble at work multiple times, almost lost my wife. Add to that me drinking to cope and constantly building ARs to distract myself from day to day, I wasn’t doing good.

Switched jobs (911 dispatcher) in 2020, right before Covid hit and went from a county agency to a local city agency which paid substantially better, better overall work environment, and honestly better everything. They even hosted a veterans event and I meet a great person who worked for the VA who took the time to actually review my issues with me, help me file the correct claim, and answered all the questions I had.

I went from 40% to 80% because of her helping me out. However, they denied my initial claim for sleep apnea claiming it was cause I was overweight (I am 20-30lbs heavier than when I served). She helped me file the first appeal (since weight gain was due to back/knee issues and sleep apnea associated with mental health stuff). They set up a C&P exam with an ENT but I caught some stomach bug the day of and had to cancel. Was still sick when they rescheduled my second appointment, so they sent the claim back to the VA who despite me calling them, explaining I was sick, and them saying they would reset it all up they proceeded to just go ahead and deny the claim.


Funny enough, during the same time frame of my second claim with the VA, I was being seen to try to get relieve for all my sinus issues and sleep apnea trouble. Finally got referred to an ENT, who used my privately obtained sleep study to justify my deviated septum surgery in an attempt to relieve both my sinus issues and my sleep apnea.The ENT even said herself that my other service connected stuff was certainly worsening my sleep apnea, even if it wasn’t directly service connected and I filed it as a secondary claim. However, because of that surgery I got MRSA and was hospitalized for x6 days and have had a pcc line in my arm for almost a month.

To add irony to the story, the ENT put a consult in with neurology and sleep with the Durham VA who expedited my process to get a new CPAP to alleviate my sleep apnea since my CPAP was compromised due to the MRSA.

I’m working on my second appeal, but looking to use a VSO or the DAV. Anyone have any recommendations or suggestions from their own experiences?

I have no experience with filing a claim for sleep apnea. I did get a CPAP through the VA free of charge but I am also rated 70% UI

DAV was very helpful every time I applied for an increase to my disability rating. I definitely recommend talking to a DAV representative.