[sweetmtn]

I will add one that my son suggested..if you EVER have a medical issue..YOU PERSONALLY make your own copy of the paperwork! Medical paperwork tends to disappear all the time! When you finally get out of the navy and need those..they will no longer be there in your packet unless YOU made copies and kept them! Here is one example from my son: he fell onboard ship while on deployment..injured his shoulder. Since they were at sea, they couldnt do an MRI, but x-rays showed a problem...they said he would have to wait til they got back from deployment to have any further tests or any treatment..well..they get back from deployment, NO RECORD OF IT EVER HAPPENING! Thank god we had pictures, however the navy hospital said it was too late to do anything...so to this day, my son has a crooked shoulder and nothing can be done about it...the VA hospital did do all the tests, but my son is not confident in the medical care from the VA, so is going to have it taken care of privately from his health care plan.