National Guard Benefits

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Do any of you guys have any idea what federal benefits NG personnel get from the VA or the Federal Government?

I was contacted by an individual asking about possible help for a family member at the VA and the chance for a VA Pension.

What I was able to find out...and it was not much...is that National Guard personnel are not considered Veterans by the VA unless they had been activated by Federal Order. And, even then only for the days that they were actually on orders. Does the infamous 91 day rule apply?

Do the states have something similiar to the VA for these guys? Are they considered State Employees when the Govenor calls them out? I know they are under the command of the Adjutant-General of the state and it looks like they are considered militia by the guys in Disneyland East.

You really have to have a sense of patriotism to be in the Guard. You get called out for every crappy situation...and are not considered a Veteran? Man, that sux.

Any ideas? I need some help on this one.
 

bsummit

Arkansas Chapter Leader-Retired
I am retired from the National Guard and the rules are a little different when it comes to the VA. I know if you get wounded while on active duty in a war zone you have the same benefits as any veteran. Anything that is service connected. I am in the process of being evaluated for agent orange from Vietnam. The percentage of disability is based on the VA's decision. A National Guard Retiree can receive all his medical treatments from the VA but you have to use your health insurance (tri-care) as co-pay
Basically a NG Retired person has the same benefits (medical,dental, etc.) as an active duty retired person. I have Tri-care Prime for my medical and all drugs can be issued by any military installation at no cost or you can receive all your drugs thru mailorder.
The benefits I receive from retiring from the National Guard is well worth staying in for 20 yrs.
States do not offer any benefits for retired National Guard. If the Gov. calls you up you are under the control of the ADJ. Gen. of that state and receive pay from the federal gov't.
Lefty I probablly didn't answer all your questions but i hope I got close

Bill
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Some quick checking finds that if you retired from the Michigan National Guard, they add an additional $50 per month to whatever pension you get from the Fed. They do not provide any other benefits beyond what the Fed provides. The extra $50 is only for Guardsman. Retired Reservists, like me, don't receive it.
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
I am retired from the National Guard and the rules are a little different when it comes to the VA. I know if you get wounded while on active duty in a war zone you have the same benefits as any veteran. Anything that is service connected. I am in the process of being evaluated for agent orange from Vietnam. The percentage of disability is based on the VA's decision. A National Guard Retiree can receive all his medical treatments from the VA but you have to use your health insurance (tri-care) as co-pay
Basically a NG Retired person has the same benefits (medical,dental, etc.) as an active duty retired person. I have Tri-care Prime for my medical and all drugs can be issued by any military installation at no cost or you can receive all your drugs thru mailorder.
The benefits I receive from retiring from the National Guard is well worth staying in for 20 yrs.
States do not offer any benefits for retired National Guard. If the Gov. calls you up you are under the control of the ADJ. Gen. of that state and receive pay from the federal gov't.
Lefty I probablly didn't answer all your questions but i hope I got close

Bill

Thanks, you gave me more information than I could dig up. I hope the person that emailed me reads this.

I don't think this individual did the full burst of 20. But, it looks like he has about 18.

I understand about the VA and AO. I got all my benefits under their presumptive rulings on AO. If you were in Vietnam, you were exposed to AO. This goes from the opening of hostilites til the last dance. If you have certain diseases they are automatically assumed to be because of the AO. They are ruling on high blood pressure being service connected not sure how long that will take.

Appreciate your efforts.
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Some quick checking finds that if you retired from the Michigan National Guard, they add an additional $50 per month to whatever pension you get from the Fed. They do not provide any other benefits beyond what the Fed provides. The extra $50 is only for Guardsman. Retired Reservists, like me, don't receive it.

The Reservists of today often have more combat time than some AD people. Thanks for the information.
 

flamingknitter

Well-known member
I was in the National Guard for 16 years, my husband served for 35 years total, with most of them in the Guard. I was considered a veteran because I was deployed for more than 180 days during Desert Storm. Our medevac unit back filled a MAST unit in Texas so we never went to the Sand Box. It is my understanding that 180 days is the magic number: to be considered a vet, get disability benefits, get medical benefits while you are on orders. If something happens to you while you are on FEDERAL orders, you are treated like a regular full time military person. If you are on STATE orders, like for fires, floods, earthquakes or search and rescue - then you fall into the state system. State workmen's comp, and whatever benefits you can get from the state, are not very good. You have to fight for whatever you get.

My B-I_L was injured in a helicopter crash during a fire. They were picking up a bucket of water and the compressor failed and they lost altitude and settled back half way on the shore and half way in the water. Settled is probably too gentle a word for what happened. All three were hurt some, but my BIL broke his back and was out of work for a while. He still has trouble. It was a hard fight to get any compensation out of the state. And then to add insult to injury, when he applied for VA benefits from his injuries from his active duty time, they blamed everything on the helicopter accident.

Being a guardsman is really a special calling. My husband was a pilot and I was a helicopter medic in the busiest guard unit in the state. When we went on active duty and the state had to catch us up on wages - we got over $10K. That is how far behind the pay system was at the time. It is better now. We did our weekend drill, two weeks minimum summer camp, flew two extra nights per month and were available for last minute call ups for any emergency that might come up. My husband deployed a total of three times between 1990 and 2004. I just said farewell to some of the guys I trained, they are on their third deployment since the middle east thing started again.

On the bright side - you are rewarded for what you do in the retirement system which is based on points. Points are accumulated by attending drill, summer camp, completing correspondence and residence courses, extra duty pretty much on a day per point basis. Drills are worth more points. The value of the point is determined by rank and longevity. It takes more than 20 years to get a Guard Retirment!! When I got out at 16 yrs, I only had 14 years for retirement. Art's Guard retirement was considerably higher than his active retirement.

Probably still didn't answer your questions but I still have some connections if there is something specific.
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Thank you. I'll add that info to my stuff. Military types are so different from the civilians.
 

ct0218

Well-known member
I am a retired Army Reservist, 28 years, CSM, and as stated the benefits are very similar. Like Michigan, several states offer additional benefits but are minor in value. That check that hit my bank today is nice, and so will be the Tri-Care once I need and start receiving that. Your state NG HQ should have a RSO officer that can answer all your questions. I know we have that in our service, and I would think the Guard does also.
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
I am a retired Army Reservist, 28 years, CSM, and as stated the benefits are very similar. Like Michigan, several states offer additional benefits but are minor in value. That check that hit my bank today is nice, and so will be the Tri-Care once I need and start receiving that. Your state NG HQ should have a RSO officer that can answer all your questions. I know we have that in our service, and I would think the Guard does also.

I'll make note of that. More ins and outs than spaghetti.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Another site

Lefty, since you're accumulating benefit info, here's another site I came across. If veterans/retirees are looking for long term care insurance, they might peruse this site and compare it with other insurers.

http://www.opm.gov/insure/ltc/
 
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