The Al's Garage Podcast with C.T. Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret)

Big Al versus the Veterans Administration (VA) and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) How did the VA's incompetence and the VFW's negligence end with my suicide? My best buddy and service dog, Kemper, left us a year ago and I miss him terribly. So, as I always said to Kemper, Let's Do This! Retired US Air Force officer and disabled combat veteran, LtCol C.T. Sorrentino, discusses the broken VA system is, healthcare and disability claims are a labyrinth of bureaucratic bullshit with the end goal of doing as little as possible in an effort to save veteran lives. The VA looks for ways to fuck the veteran, not help the veteran, all in the name of bureaucracy and government inefficiency while dozens of veterans kill themselves every day. As a combat veteran, I have suffered from PTSD for many years and the struggles of deep depressions and nearly constant anxiety have been debilitating. I learned to self-medicate with alcohol in the military and have been a binge abuser for many years. I have been to the ER 9 times since 2012 and hospitalized 3 times, the latest on December 9th, 2024 after a suicide attempt. In April 2021, Severely depressed and anxious constantly, on August 13th I traveled at my own expense to the USA to attend VA C&P exams for my PACT disability claim and to try to get help for my quickly deteriorating health. The trip was almost a complete waste of time thanks to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) gross mismanagement of my claim and complete incompetence on the part of the VA. They failed me. On December 6th, I accused the VFW of gross negligence in mismanaging my claim to failure and they notified me that they would no longer represent me in my claim! First, Joe Stutzman's negligence in filing my claim incorrectly, then being AWOL when my claim started falling apart in mid-September. On December 7th, I tried to commit suicide because of overwhelming anger at and frustration with the VA and VFW and poor impulse control led to me buying 5 liters of bourbon and locking myself in my room with the booze and a climbing ax. On December 9th, I was restrained beyond my range-of-motion limits behind back after being manhandled by five young, strong Portuguese police officers. My wife had called for help, but was physically prohibited by police in our own home from watching as they threw me around before forcing my arms behind my back as I screamed I'm a disabled veteran¨ over and over and over. I was then transported 30 minutes to the local hospital, my arms restrained behind my back and my full 225 pounds of body weight pressing down on my arms, During my 36 hours in the hospital, I had no vitals taken the entire time, I was tied to bed (hand and foot) for over 14 hours, the nurses were rude with minimum car and I didn't see a doctor for over 30 hours. I was released from the hospital very late on December 10th and beside still being extremely depressed, I was now in extreme pain after the assault against me by police. I have intense shoulder and neck pain, numbness in both hands (nerve damage), bruises, and an abrasion on and pain in my left elbow. December 13th was the 1-year anniversary of the death of my best friend and service dog, Kemper and December 15th was my birthday, but I was depressed to the point of being unable to talk and has continued until present. Then on December 25th, I was abandoned by both of my sons on the worst day of my life. I was extremely suicidal. I have been trying to get help in the US ever since December 10th, but the VA has failed me once again and nobody else seems to care or take Tricare for Life. The VA, VFW, DAV, WWP, and Senator Patty Murray all ignored my pleas for help and, right now, I don't know which end is up, whether this is all physical (long-COVID), mental, or both.