A degree does not make a veteran immune to disability.

When the story becomes your own

I served in the United States Navy from 1983 to 2005 and retired as a Chief Petty Officer. Afterward, I spent much of my civilian career working in information technology for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

During those years, I heard veterans describe struggles with the very systems intended to support them. Some of those stories were difficult to believe. Living through my own experience has given me a different understanding of how exhausting it can be to explain your circumstances repeatedly and still feel that the central issue has not been addressed.

I was removed from my VA position for medical inability to perform. That phrase has consequences far beyond an employment record. For me, it meant losing a career, stability, and part of the identity I had built around serving others.

I live with PTSD and other health conditions. Memory, concentration, stress, and the ability to sustain work can be difficult. I am not claiming that I cannot contribute or do any work. I am saying that my limitations are real, and that the conditions under which I work matter.

The records tell a longer story

These difficulties did not begin on the day my employment ended. My VA records include earlier reports of concentration and memory problems, mental-health treatment, and descriptions of difficulties functioning at work. Later medical documentation also discusses how PTSD and depression affected my occupational functioning.

My understanding of these records is that they deserve to be read together with my medical removal and my present circumstances. They show a history that needs individual consideration. A single appointment, qualification, or job title cannot tell the whole story.

I also recognize that medical records can contain different observations at different times. I am not presenting every entry as proof that I cannot work, or claiming that a diagnosis automatically establishes entitlement to a particular service. My request is for a fair review of the complete picture.

My education did not disappear. Neither did my disability. The question is what kind of work I can realistically sustain now.

A degree can reflect what someone accomplished earlier in life. It does not, by itself, establish that a person can return to an occupation after a disabling change in circumstances. That is the concern I keep bringing forward.

What I am asking VA to consider

I am seeking reentry into Veteran Readiness and Employment, commonly called VR&E, specifically to pursue the Self-Employment Track. I am also asking for an individualized determination concerning a Serious Employment Handicap.

My reentry efforts have involved applications, reviews, additional evidence, and requests for clarification. My current request follows earlier denials. What I want is a clear explanation of how my documented limitations, medical removal, and current employment barriers are being considered in relation to this specific goal.

I am not asking anyone to ignore eligibility requirements or guarantee the success of a business. I am asking for a meaningful opportunity to develop a realistic plan and understand what assistance may be available.

When an agency has determined that a veteran cannot perform a particular job for medical reasons, it is reasonable for that veteran to ask how rehabilitation services might help create a workable next chapter. Those are different decisions, but they concern the same person living with the same limitations.

Why self-employment matters to me

I cannot control whether an employer offers me a job. Building a business gives me an opportunity to shape responsibilities, working conditions, and support around what I can sustain. It still requires work, accountability, planning, and help.

Through Veteran Elite Services LLC, I want to build a business that creates value and helps veterans. My vision includes bringing together people with complementary skills so that the responsibilities do not rest on one person trying to do everything alone.

I am working toward assembling that support. I am not claiming to have a fully staffed team already in place. I want to identify the right people, define realistic responsibilities, and develop an arrangement that accounts for my limitations while allowing me to contribute meaningfully.

Living with mental illness can make that process more difficult. People who care, communicate clearly, and bring the skills I need can make a difference. Seeking that support is part of taking the goal seriously.

Why I keep asking questions

The hardest part is trying to reconcile the medical reasons for my removal with the barriers I encounter when seeking help to move forward. It can feel as though I am being asked to prove my limitations again while earlier achievements are treated as the answer to my current needs.

I do not claim to know every regulation or every reason behind an agency decision. I do believe that a system serving veterans should explain its decisions clearly, consider the person’s current circumstances, and look carefully at the support that could make meaningful work possible.

When I believe the evidence supports my request, I will keep asking: What is missing? How was the evidence weighed? What would a workable path forward require?

This is personal, but it reaches beyond me. Other veterans also face the difficult space between the work they once performed and the work they can sustain today. Their qualifications and past service should not make their present limitations invisible.