Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Why do young veterans think they’ll stay fit forever, and that the VA disability process is only for broken-down veterans? Guess what? Your knees, back, and hearing didn’t get that memo. The smart strategy here is to file now, while everything is still fresh in your memory and you can secure buddy statements from people you can actually find. If not, 20-30 years from now, you don’t want to be playing catch-up, trying to remember which jump messed up your back or hunting down battle buddies who’ve scattered across the country or world. Filing early isn’t admitting weakness – it’s strategic planning for your future.
The Strategy That Changes Everything
Here’s what most young veterans don’t realize: establishing service connection early is like conducting proper mission planning. You’re not just filing a claim – you’re developing your operations plan, analyzing all courses of action, and executing the best strategy before the battlefield changes. Smart Jarheads, Birdmen, G.I.s, Squids, Coasties, and Rocketeers don’t wait until they’re under fire to plan their mission.
The Smart Play:
- File for VA disability benefits NOW while you’re young
- Establish service connection for any conditions, even minor ones
- Document incidents while you can still find your battle buddies to corroborate what happened, especially if it’s not immediately in your service record
- Later, when those conditions worsen (and they will), you simply file for increases
- Skip the nightmare of fighting for initial service connection decades later
Specific Examples That Hit Home
Think about it:
- That hearing damage from the training exercise occurred when the unit ran out of earplugs
- Your back that “only hurts when it rains” now, but those joint issues from carrying a 70-pound rucksack on 10-mile marches will haunt you as you get older way more often than just when it rains
- Sleep disorders that develop from deployments and fire watch rotations
- Chemical exposures – like that training exercise as a rescue swimmer in toxic sewage water (yes, you’ll need to prove you were in the area, but document it now while it’s fresh and you can find another Coastie who was with you!)
Why This Works
Your knees might feel fine at 25, but at 45? That’s a different story. Your back might be solid now, but after years of living life, having kids, and everyday injuries – those old service-related injuries have a way of reminding you they exist.
If you’re in a car accident 20 years after your service but you KNOW your back was messed up during that field exercise on Mt. Fuji – how will you prove what happened then versus what happened in that accident? Without established service connection, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle to separate your military injury from your civilian one.
The difference:
- Filing early: “I need to increase my rating from 10% to 30% because my knee got worse”
- Filing late: “I need to prove this knee injury is connected to my military service from 20 years ago”
Guess which one is easier to win?
The 0% Victory Strategy
Getting 0% service-connected is actually a HUGE victory – and here’s why:
The 0% Strategy:
- You’ve officially established that your condition is connected to your military service
- The VA has acknowledged the link between your service and your injury/condition
- You’re now in the system with a documented service connection
- When that condition inevitably worsens, you file for an increase – not a new claim
The Alternative (and why it sucks):
- Wait 20 years until your knee/back/hearing is really bad
- Try to prove service connection from scratch
- Fight the VA examiner who questions whether it’s really related to your service
- Spend years gathering evidence you should have collected decades ago
- Battle buddy statements from people you can’t even find anymore
Real Talk from Sarge
My own experience perfectly illustrates this strategy. When I filed my first claim in 1998, I received 3 service-connected disabilities at 0% – and I was devastated. I felt like I had failed, like the VA was telling me my injuries didn’t matter. What I didn’t realize at the time was that those 0% ratings were actually my golden ticket.
Years later, I discovered that having established service connection made all the difference. Instead of fighting to prove my conditions were service-related, I simply had to demonstrate they had worsened over time. Those “disappointing” 0% ratings became the foundation for my eventual 100% P&T victory in 2021. Without that initial service connection established, I would have spent 23 years battling for recognition instead of working within a system that already acknowledged my conditions.
The irony wasn’t lost on me – what felt like defeat was actually the easiest path to increases. I had unknowingly set myself up for success by establishing service connection early, even though I didn’t understand the strategic value at the time.
Success Story: I recently helped a Marine in his 20s who had only filed for his tinnitus years earlier – he was stuck at 10% and then 30% for seven years. But he quickly realized that the rigors of his service really took an effect on his back, his neck, and even his mental health. Once he finally found Sarge, we got him 100% Permanent & Total in less than one year. With his back pay, he bought a house for his family, and with his Permanent & Total rating, his entire family now has healthcare. That’s the power of filing early and filing smart – but it’s also proof that it’s never too late to get what you’ve earned.
The Other Side of the Coin
Some people feel they don’t want to be a burden on the system, or they don’t need the money. Listen up – it’s not about the money, and it’s not about being a burden. It’s about being counted. It’s about memorializing what your service did to your body and mind, because the VA collects that data and that’s how they support the addition of presumptive symptoms and conditions.
That’s how Agent Orange went from being just Agent Orange to also including fibrosarcoma, Hodgkin’s disease, hypothyroidism, bladder cancer, larynx cancer, lung cancer, tumors, malignant tumors, and Parkinson’s disease. There are now over 50 presumptive conditions for service in Vietnam, in addition to Agent Orange exposure. You’re really helping the entire veteran community by ensuring that the VA knows what service did to you physically and mentally. Your claim isn’t just about your benefits – it’s contributing to the data that helps future veterans get the care they’ve earned.
Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It
- Inventory your body and mind – What hurts? What’s different since you got out?
- Gather your evidence – Medical records, buddy statements, service records
- Seek civilian medical attention when you get out – this creates the paper trail you’ll need
- File your claim – Even if it’s just 0% service-connected, you’ve established the connection
- Document everything – Keep records of how conditions progress over time
- File for increases when conditions worsen – not IF, but WHEN
Remember: Sometimes there are deadlines, so don’t wait. The biggest thing to remember is to seek civilian medical attention when you get out of the military if these conditions or injuries still bother you.
The Bottom Line
0% service-connected isn’t “losing” – it’s strategic positioning. You’re not getting paid yet, but you’ve secured your legal right to benefits when that condition progresses. And trust me, I’m talking to all Jarheads, Birdmen, G.I.s, Squids, Coasties, and Rocketeers – those conditions WILL progress.
You’re not being greedy. You’re being strategic. You served your country, and your country owes you these benefits. Don’t let pride or the “suck it up and drive on” mentality cost you decades of fighting later.
Your future self will thank you.
This is exactly what I cover in Chapter 4 of Operation FUBAR. Need help developing your early filing strategy? Schedule your free consultation with Sarge. Because you served. You earned it. Now file with confidence.
IGY6 – I Got Your Six
🎖️~Sarge
Julie Muster Bryson
Founder, Boots 2 Benefits, LLC
U.S. Army Veteran | Expert VA Disability Claims Consultant
📧 sarge@boots2benefits.com | 📞 443-924-6809
🌐 www.Boots2Benefits.com
“You served. You earned it. Now file with confidence.”
️ Even Sarge isn’t infallible—I’ve been known to mix up my left from my right during formation 🤷♀️, so always double-check everything I tell you because while my heart’s in the right place ❤️, my brain occasionally goes AWOL 🧠💨, and the last thing we need is a friendly fire incident!