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Notes -
I think it’s really necessary to look at the MoS when evaluating soldiers. I personally know guys in the military who would only face physical danger in a black swan scenario. I also know special forces soldiers who face double digit percent risks of death and/or disfigurement. I think we need to look more at MoS than just “is he a veteran” to determine both the danger the soldier was in and the esteem we should give his service.
Does the VA medical pension system even meaningfully look at what role the applicant had? Admittedly my views are probably overly colored by Caleb Hammer participants and Twitter rage bait but there did seem to be a lot of PTSD/Tinnitus/Sore Back/never left the country 100%ers
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