Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 I just noticed that my VA card expires today. I guess I'll dash over after breakfast and get that problem sorted out. I hope they take a new photo. The one I've had for the last ten years looks like it was taken by the same folks to take high school year book photos, wanted posters, and those abominations on my driver's license. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Everything I get from Va says bring Va ID. I never had one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 FWIW DD214 for Veteran ID The DD214 is a crucial document for veterans, serving as proof of military service and discharge status. It’s often required for various purposes, including: Veteran ID Card: A digital copy of your DD214 is necessary to obtain a Veteran ID Card, which is a federally recognized form of identification for veterans. You can upload a scanned copy of your DD214 when applying for the digital card. VA Benefits: Separation/discharge information on the DD214 is essential to prove eligibility for VA benefits, such as healthcare, education, and compensation. Funeral and Burial Benefits: The DD214 determines certain funeral benefits and reimbursements. Identification: The DD214 is an acceptable form of military/veteran identification for many government and private organizations and businesses. To obtain a copy of your DD214: You can request it online through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Provide proof of identity and eligibility, such as a valid government-issued ID and your Social Security number. If you’re the next of kin of a deceased veteran, you’ll need to provide proof of death, such as a copy of the death certificate, letter from the funeral home, or published obituary. Note: As of September 2022, all new Veteran ID Cards are digital. If you already have a physical card, you can continue using it, but a digital copy of your DD214 is required for new applications. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 My VA card had expired in June , so I went to the VA , they took a pic , and said I would get a new card in the mail CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 FORTY!! If you’re no longer a veteran, does that mean that you’re back to “rookie” status?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Lizard Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 While getting an updates on your picture....Don't forget those hanging at the post office.... Texas Lizard 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 They expire? I don't see an expiration date on mine anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 right about the center of the old card that is the card they used to check me in for the Drs appt , Tues am , expired early June CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 I think they want people to use the old one but submit a digital copy of the DD214. Not sure. New ones have to go the new way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Sloe Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 I got a note from the VA saying my card was expiring. I'll let it expire. I won't be going back. BS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 thinking this is at least the 4th , if not the 5th card from em very good chance I have lost count , CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 My oldest and best friend tells me that it is all about how you present yourself. He has gotten top shelf treatment from the VA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 I never saw a need for a card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 Didn't know they expired. Looked and mine expires in 2027. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 11 Author Share Posted October 11 On 10/10/2024 at 1:16 PM, Blackwater 53393 said: FORTY!! If you’re no longer a veteran, does that mean that you’re back to “rookie” status?? I doubt it. I never was a rookie. I was born broken in, pre-armored and armed, and ready to romp and stomp. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 11 Author Share Posted October 11 18 hours ago, Rip Snorter said: My oldest and best friend tells me that it is all about how you present yourself. He has gotten top shelf treatment from the VA. So have I. That's how I found out my card was expiring. Walked up to the window, showed him my card, he took a picture, a signed a document, he took my picture and pushed a button on his computator thingy. I'm good to go for 45 days and should get my new card before that. Not counting the time to walk to and from my car, 19 minutes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 My care from the VA has been EXCEPTIONAL for years. In fact the care I have received is the only reason I have survived. When My most recent card expired, I just stoped at "registration." the nice lady said "How can I help you" and I showed my card had expired. Took my new picture and my new card came inna mail. Easy Peasy you betcha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seminole Sam Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 23 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said: They expire? I don't see an expiration date on mine anywhere. You are still "Volunteer Indef". When you retire your retired ID will be set to expire the day you turn 65. This is because your medical category changes from "Tricare Prime/select" to "Tricare for life". Basically because you have to start paying for Medicare. My retired ID card now just says "Retired" and will not change again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 On 10/10/2024 at 2:12 PM, Texas Lizard said: While getting an updates on your picture....Don't forget those hanging at the post office.... Texas Lizard Have you noticed that most pics that aren't taken by friends and relatives ( and some that are) all look like they were taken by the same people that take pictures for wanted posters, driver's licenses, and high school year books? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 On 10/10/2024 at 5:00 PM, Barry Sloe said: I got a note from the VA saying my card was expiring. I'll let it expire. I won't be going back. BS Pray tell, why not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 On 10/10/2024 at 5:00 PM, Barry Sloe said: I got a note from the VA saying my card was expiring. I'll let it expire. I won't be going back. BS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 1 minute ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: Pray tell, why not? Never mind. I see you are in the greater Phoenix Megemess and their VA really sucks. I was sent down there and when they released me I told the doctor and some others standing around "I will die in the parking lot before you ever get me in this place ever again. If Im am brought there unconscious I'll find a way out as soon as can." The doctor ran into me almost a year later in the Prescott facility and asked if I remembered him. I said I did and he told me that he had transferred to Prescott because he finally discovered that I was right. Shortly after that it was rumored that the entire Phoenix facility had been restaffed and remodeled. Turned out to be untrue. I feel the same way about Yavapai Regional / Dignity Health 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Sloe Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 Mine is the Tucson VA. The last time I was there it felt like they were trying to kill me. I went in with high blood pressure, 188/115. They kept me 2 nights, lowered the BP to 144/92, and sent me home with no meds and no follow-up. I went to see my regular Dr, he reviewed the my VA files, didn't like what he saw, sent me to a cardiologist. To shorten this up, I had fluid around the heart. The VA had done the ultrasound but failed ... No more VA for me. BS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 (edited) 1 hour ago, Barry Sloe said: Mine is the Tucson VA. The last time I was there it felt like they were trying to kill me. I went in with high blood pressure, 188/115. They kept me 2 nights, lowered the BP to 144/92, and sent me home with no meds and no follow-up. I went to see my regular Dr, he reviewed the my VA files, didn't like what he saw, sent me to a cardiologist. To shorten this up, I had fluid around the heart. The VA had done the ultrasound but failed ... No more VA for me. BS Amazing how they treated you. Dignity Health did something similar when I broke my back and three ribs.! Almost as amazing: You have a Tucson in Virginia? I lived in Va, (my son was born at Ft. Lee) and we travelled a lot but never saw no Tuscon there. Edited October 12 by Forty Rod SASS 3935 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Sloe Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: Almost as amazing: You have a Tucson in Virginia? I livd in Va, (my son was born at Ft. Lee) and we travelled a lot but never saw no Tuscon there. Nope, we're just south of you in good old Arizona. Virginia? BS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 12 Author Share Posted October 12 Damn! I gotta stop scanning these entries and start reading what they really say. Taylor, you're embarrassing yourself. STOP IT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D. Daily Posted October 14 Share Posted October 14 (edited) The only VA Card I have is one I received shortly after separation in 1971. I have never used it. No ID was supplied when I received a disability rating high enough to receive VA healthcare sans dental. I did provide the NV DMV to get a DL that indicates I am a vet. Every time I've visited a VA clinic or hospital no ID has been required only name DOB & last 4 of SSN. P.S. So far the VA in Reno & Fallon has provided excellent services. I have only used clinical & one ER visit services. The ER was for COVID since the Fallon Safeway pharmacy couldn't find a billing code. Only since it was on a weekend the outpatient pharmacy wasn't open. Had to go to the ER. It was a the quickest ER visit Iv'e had in my life. Should have expected it since it has a smaller waiting room than Kaiser Manteca CA where I went to when I had 6 PE's in my right lung a week and a half after being discharged after CAVG surgery. There was one other in the waiting room and it was only minutes before I was seen by a doctor. It took longer for the pharmacy to deliver the Paxlovid prescription. P.S. I spent many a early AM hour in an ER waiting rooms for my son's ear infections until a kind ER doc told me to administer liquid or chewable aspirin to him. Edited October 14 by J.D. Daily Add P.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Chapo Posted October 14 Share Posted October 14 On 10/10/2024 at 8:26 PM, Rip Snorter said: My oldest and best friend tells me that it is all about how you present yourself. He has gotten top shelf treatment from the VA. I got hit by a car last year on my motorcycle. They paid $137,000 for the BEST ortho surgeon in the region to put my knee back together. But it sure has been like pulling teeth to get them to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seminole Sam Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 On 10/12/2024 at 1:19 PM, Barry Sloe said: No more VA for me. BS I must be missing something here. Why are you going to the VA if you are retired? I technically "retired" from the reserves in 2001 and was a "gray area retiree" and little different from just being a veteran who did one enlistment. I had to use the VA until I turned 60 in 2017, at which point I went on Tricare, which is real health insurance. Now me and my wife use UCLA Medical for everything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 16 Author Share Posted October 16 On 10/11/2024 at 3:21 PM, Seminole Sam said: You are still "Volunteer Indef". When you retire your retired ID will be set to expire the day you turn 65. This is because your medical category changes from "Tricare Prime/select" to "Tricare for life". Basically because you have to start paying for Medicare. My retired ID card now just says "Retired" and will not change again. ht boat sailed almost two decades ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pee Wee #15785 Posted October 16 Share Posted October 16 I was discharged in 1975 with 7 + years in. Started using VA then and can not say anything bad about it, now some of the people working there I can't say anything good about. Got a doctor that I went to the head of the Indy VA hospital about, less than 2 hours they no longer could treat me. I am here because of the good care I received. My VA card has no date on it. I use it about once a month or more. Only the second card I have received, wished I was that young again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seminole Sam Posted October 20 Share Posted October 20 I suppose you have a VA card I never myself had as I was never fully discharged. I went from active duty > Active Reserve > Retired Reserve > Retired. I went right from active duty to being a civilian employee of the US Army and so had Blue Cross and never used the VA. Moved to DHS when that came into being and went from that to being a bodyguard for a California Billionaire you probably never heard of (because thats really the best defense). I'm an armed guard at a film archive full of 50-120 year old movies so the whole SASS theme is just a natural fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted October 21 Author Share Posted October 21 On 10/16/2024 at 9:04 AM, Seminole Sam said: I must be missing something here. Why are you going to the VA if you are retired? I technically "retired" from the reserves in 2001 and was a "gray area retiree" and little different from just being a veteran who did one enlistment. I had to use the VA until I turned 60 in 2017, at which point I went on Tricare, which is real health insurance. Now me and my wife use UCLA Medical for everything. Depending on what the treatment is I get both. From my POV I see no difference in the care I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 (edited) 12 hours ago, Seminole Sam said: I suppose you have a VA card I never myself had as I was never fully discharged. I went from active duty > Active Reserve > Retired Reserve > Retired. I went right from active duty to being a civilian employee of the US Army and so had Blue Cross and never used the VA. Moved to DHS when that came into being and went from that to being a bodyguard for a California Billionaire you probably never heard of (because thats really the best defense). I'm an armed guard at a film archive full of 50-120 year old movies so the whole SASS theme is just a natural fit. Up until the last couple years, unless you had a service connected injury or disability a veteran couldn't really use the VA. There were exceptions but for most veterans the VA wasn't an option. The PACT ACT changed all that. Many veterans that were previously denied treatment at VA facilities are now VA eligible is based solely on when and where they served. Many ailments (especially cancers) that were hard to prove that they were service connected are now automatically service connected. If you are a veteran please please please read up on the PACT ACT. Our country owes us for the sacrifices we made. It's time to collect. The PACT Act and your VA benefits Edited October 21 by Sedalia Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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