Condition Spotlight: Winning a PTSD Claim When Your Service Record Shows No Combat

Many veterans assume PTSD claims require a firefight or Purple Heart. That’s false. This episode walks a veteran through a kitchen-table strategy to establish PTSD service connection when the stressor is non-combat (training, accidents, military sexual trauma, repeated harassment, or other in-service events). I name the exact forms (VA Form 21-526EZ, VA Form 21-0781), the evidence the VA actually credits (contemporaneous records, unit histories, buddy statements describing behavior changes, post-service treatment notes, and a clear DSM diagnosis), and how to frame your stressor description so the C&P examiner and adjudicator can link event → diagnosis → current disability. You’ll get practical scripts for a buddy statement, what to ask your provider for in a nexus opinion, and one precise action you can complete today to preserve your effective date.