Thanks for Your Service.... Now Wait Forever

 "Thanks for Your Service… Now Wait Forever"

Let me tell you a story — one that unfortunately too many veterans can relate to.

Back in 2022, when I heard the government was finally recognizing the long-ignored consequences of burn pit exposure through the PACT Act, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time when dealing with the VA: hope. Real, legitimate hope that someone was finally going to listen — that maybe, just maybe, our suffering was going to be taken seriously.

I filed my claim for maxillary sinusitis and rhinitis in August or September of 2022. I didn’t just randomly come up with those conditions — I’d been reporting them to the VA since 2011. Over a decade of nasal drip, constantly clearing my throat, sinus infections, pressure behind my eyes and cheeks, headaches, ear pain, fatigue, and this blocked-nose, can’t-breathe-right feeling that never lets up. Let’s not even get into the general exhaustion that drags me down during the day.

I didn’t have these issues before Iraq. I wasn’t plagued by these symptoms until I did my time over there in 2008 and 2009, breathing in the toxic cocktail of smoke, chemicals, and garbage that rose from those infamous burn pits. And now, years later, those conditions are still with me — a daily reminder of a deployment that changed my health forever.

So, when the VA came back in June 2023 and said, “Yes, we’ll service-connect both of your conditions… but you get a 0% rating,” I felt two things: shock and insult.

Zero percent. Like it's no big deal. Like it doesn't affect my life. Like it doesn’t disrupt my sleep, weaken my body, or drain my energy. If this is what they consider “mild” or non-disabling, I’d love to know what they think a real problem looks like.

I appealed that decision the same month — June 18, 2023 — thinking the process would be faster now, especially with all the hype around the PACT Act and how “veteran-focused” the system was finally supposed to be.

But of course, that was wishful thinking.

For over a year and a half, all I saw was that my case was “being prepared for a judge.” No updates, no progress, just digital limbo. Then, out of nowhere in February 2025, the status changed — a judge was finally reviewing my appeal. Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel… right?

Wrong.

Instead, everything reset. I had to start over. More appointments. More evidence. More waiting. As of today, I’m in step 3 of 5 — the infamous “Evidence Gathering, Review, and Decision” stage. It’s like a bureaucratic game of snakes and ladders, where one small shift sends you tumbling back down to the bottom, and every rung you climb takes months.

I don’t say this lightly, but it feels like the VA’s motto has shifted from “Serving Those Who Served” to “Delaying Those Who Served.”

What happened to the promises?

What happened to “we’ve got your six”?

What happened to “thank you for your service” meaning more than just empty words on Veterans Day?

I don’t want a medal. I’m not asking for a parade. But I sure as hell want — and deserve — a disability rating that reflects the reality of what I live with every single day because of my time in uniform.

Two and a half years (and counting) for a fair decision is not acceptable. It’s not efficient, it’s not veteran-centered, and it sure isn’t just.

We upheld our end of the bargain. We went, we served, we sacrificed. And now we’re asking the country that sent us to uphold theirs — not just with flowery speeches or catchy slogans, but with real action, real care, and real accountability.

So, if anyone out there is still under the illusion that the PACT Act magically fixed everything — here’s my opinion you didn’t want to know: it didn’t. And until it does, veterans like me will keep being dragged through a system that seems more interested in running out the clock than delivering justice.