sexual assault in the army

[judyc7]

my husband was raped in the army and is still very tramatized...We are trying to get benefits or p.t.s.d
and his anxiety issues along with his heart attack.  he is 60 and started receiving ssd.  paper work is amazing, and  the gov. wants him to remember dates and times, along with specific names and ranks. how can one remember all that?  thats  over 40 years ago.  He is in group for his p.t.s.d. and group tells him that he should not think back on all those  hings that happened to him.  Yet to receive benefits....you must know everything in detail.   Any one out there having similar problems?  My husband cries when we try to fill paperwork and i try to make him remember.

thanks judyc

[veteranadvocate]

The following link should take you to the VA's regulations that covers the issue you that you are working on.  They refer to it as 'personal trauma'.  It is in section 17.

http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part4/subptii/ch01/ch01_secd.doc

Are you working with a veteran advocate or veteran representative?  There are ways of providing evidence to support the claim.  As you know, most incidents go unreported but there are signs of changes in the victim's duty performance and actions. 

Another thing you may want to keep in mind and that is to not lock in on just PTSD.  If there were signs that he suffered from depression and/or anxiety during service then he may want to file for PTSD/anxiety/depression or any other condition that could had been caused by his service time.  It doesn't matter what the VA wants to call it.  It all pays at the same rate.  Too many veterans give the VA an easy way to deny a claim by using the wrong wording. 

It is hard to change direction in the middle of a claim but this may be helpful if the VA denies the claim for PTSD.  I hope this information will be of help to you.