QUESTION
How do Cold War veterans with combat experience obtain combat benefits, and is their eligibility automatically recognized?
1:12:17
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158 sec
Cold War veterans with combat experience, like Timothy Pena, can obtain combat benefits through a claim process, which is not always automatic but can result in recognition based on specific combat zones.
- Timothy Pena filed a claim in 2015 for disability due to PTSD, resulting from his service in the Persian Gulf, and obtained 70% disability.
- Pena’s PTSD was attributed to witnessing a suicide, with underlying conditions of depression and anxiety.
- The Iranian hostage siege classified the Persian Gulf as a combat zone, allowing veterans of that period to be considered in a combat zone.
- Council Member Holden highlights that not all Cold War veterans' combat experiences are recognized, posing challenges in obtaining benefits.
- The testimony reveals the difficulties Cold War veterans face in having their service in combat zones recognized for benefits.
Robert Holden
1:12:17
Tim Tim, let me ask you something.
1:12:18
You because you said you're a Cold War veteran, but yet you're getting combat.
1:12:23
Services or benefits.
1:12:25
Right.
1:12:25
Did you have to apply for that or the debt they just naturally consider you in a combat?
Timothy Pena
1:12:32
I I so what I ended up when I filed my claim, I filed my claim in 2015.
1:12:40
And so at that time, I was just filing a claim for disability.
1:12:48
And I ended up getting 70% for PTSD.
1:12:54
And PTSD is more or less So my underlying conditions were depression and anxiety.
1:13:02
I had witnessed a a a suicide while we were in in the Persian Gulf.
1:13:10
And just never got past it.
1:13:12
And I went for years and years without being diagnosed in some finally, I got diagnosed in 2017 and real it opened up a lot of doors for me.
1:13:23
So it was determined because of the Iranian hostage siege.
1:13:28
That was a combat zone, the whole Persian Gulf.
1:13:31
So all of us that served in that period of time, in that position part of the siege, and I think it was, what, a 100 and 44 days or something like that or 444 days are actually in a combat zone.
1:13:47
And these are the type of things that that they don't know.
Robert Holden
1:13:50
Yeah.
1:13:51
There's a lot of cold war veterans that had, you know, they had periods of combat, which are not recognized.
1:13:57
So that that's why in your case, it's obvious that it, you know, it was.
1:14:02
But there's over the years, the Cold War extends.
1:14:05
Originally, the Cold War was considered before the Vietnam.
1:14:09
You know, when when I was growing, it was before the Vietnam era.
1:14:13
And then but then we've had cold war, you know, even now.
1:14:17
So, obviously, but we do have skirmishes.
1:14:20
We do have battles.
1:14:21
We do have actioned by our service members.
1:14:26
So your case is very interesting because I I just wanted to see who was it difficult like you said, it it really wasn't difficult to to get it.
1:14:35
They recognized it on their own.
1:14:38
But it's like I just wonder about other cold war veterans who were constantly having these battles paperwork.
1:14:45
And and that's what I think we need to we need to try to break through that area area area.
1:14:53
Thank you so much.
1:14:53
Thank you all for your testimony.