ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius has built a reputation for asking tough questions and taking action on behalf of Arizona families.
PHOENIX — Arizona Air National Guard pilot Christine Kjornes spent years battling the Department of Defense for medical benefits and pay after health conditions forced her from the cockpit.Part of the 161st Air Refueling Wing, Kjornes had volunteered for extra missions around the world for two decades.In 2021, Kjornes was sent to Maxwell Airforce Base in Alabama for a year-long officer training school.
National Guard members, because they are not full-time active duty, need to obtain a Line of Duty Determination to confirm if their illness or injury is service-connected or service-aggravated. “They omitted one of my diagnoses; they changed the diagnostic code on the other condition,” she said. The National Guard Bureau tells ABC15 that it is the “final decision authority” on LOD cases, and “overall, their processes and systems are consistent with law, DoD policy and Air Force regulatory guidance.
Just six Air National Guard cases a year, on average, are appealed to the Air Force Board for Corrections of Military Records, but just one or two airmen win that appeal. "They keep getting told they have a non-line of duty condition and they're returned , and a lot of times they're pushed out in some other way," Weber said."They may just be denied the ability to reenlist. I've seen sometimes it says that they're unsuited."
So, National Guard members and reservists are more often denied monthly veteran disability checks and VA medical care.
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