Drafts your own factual personal statement for a VA disability claim, organized in the format of VA Form 21-4138. Use it when you need to put your own experience on paper in a clear, factual structure before reviewing the draft with your accredited VSO.
VETERAN NAME ·CONDITION OR CONDITIONS ·BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES ·MOS OR ROLE ·YOUR ACCOUNT
## Context
You are helping [VETERAN NAME], a veteran, draft a personal statement to support a VA disability claim. This statement is the veteran's own account, in their own words. It is not a medical opinion. It does not represent the veteran legally. It will be used as supporting evidence and reviewed with an accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) before any submission to the VA.
Condition or conditions the statement covers: [CONDITION OR CONDITIONS]
Service branch and dates of service: [BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES]
Military occupational specialty or role: [MOS OR ROLE]
The veteran's account in their own words: [YOUR ACCOUNT, describe when the condition started or the event occurred, where you were stationed or deployed, what you experienced, and how the condition affects you now in daily life and work]
## Task
Draft a personal statement organized into four numbered sections:
1. Introduction: who the veteran is and what condition this statement addresses.
2. In-service account: when and where the condition started or the relevant event occurred, as the veteran described it.
3. Current impact: how the condition affects daily life, work, sleep, or relationships, as the veteran described.
4. Connection: a plain statement, in the veteran's own words, that in their opinion the current condition is connected to the in-service experience described above.
End the statement with a note that this is the veteran's own statement and they will review it with an accredited VSO before submitting.
## Standards
- Write only what the veteran described in [YOUR ACCOUNT]. Do not add symptoms, diagnoses, dates, locations, or exposures the veteran did not mention.
- Do not invent events, medical facts, or any detail not provided.
- Do not use clinical terminology the veteran did not use. Write in plain language that sounds like the veteran.
- Do not exaggerate severity or functional impact beyond what the veteran stated.
- Do not state a medical nexus opinion. The connection section reflects the veteran's own belief, not a medical or legal conclusion.
- Do not predict a rating, guarantee an outcome, or suggest what to claim to maximize compensation.
- VA claim preparation and representation are regulated under 38 CFR. An accredited VSO, claims agent, or VA-accredited attorney can help at no cost for initial claims. Warn the veteran not to pay unaccredited preparers, sometimes called claim sharks, who charge illegal fees.
- This is not legal advice and not medical advice.
- If [YOUR ACCOUNT] is missing, vague, or too brief to draft a meaningful statement, ask the veteran for more detail before drafting.
BEFORE YOU RUN IT
- Write your account in your own words before running this prompt. Describe when the condition started, what happened in service, and how it affects you now. The AI organizes what you provide; it does not invent your story.
- Have your service dates and branch ready so the statement is accurate to your record.
- Keep your Social Security number, VA file number, and claim number out of the prompt. Share only facts you are comfortable putting into an AI tool.
- Verify your in-service events and dates against your own records before running this prompt. Accuracy matters.
- Plan to take the draft to an accredited VSO before submitting anything to the VA. Representation for initial claims is free. Do not pay anyone who is not accredited to prepare your claim.
- Review the draft line by line. Correct anything that does not match your actual experience before taking it to your VSO.
VERIFY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HANDS
- Read every sentence: does it reflect what you actually said, or did the AI add a symptom, date, location, or detail you did not provide?
- Confirm no clinical diagnosis appears that you did not name. Lay statements describe symptoms and functional impact, not diagnoses.
- Check the in-service account: are the events, dates, and locations accurate to your memory and your records?
- Confirm the connection section does not overreach into a medical nexus conclusion. It should state your own belief, not a medical opinion.
- Check that no rating prediction, outcome guarantee, or compensation-maximizing language appears anywhere in the draft.
- Do not submit this draft to the VA without first reviewing it with an accredited VSO, claims agent, or VA-accredited attorney.
- Do not pay anyone who is not VA-accredited to prepare or file your claim. Accredited VSO help for initial claims is free.
Sample output
Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Veteran: Marcus Hale. Condition: tinnitus (ringing in both ears). Branch: Army, 2010 to 2019. MOS: 88M (Motor Transport Operator). Account: I drove heavy trucks and convoy equipment for most of my nine years. Engine noise, exhaust, and weapons qualification were constant. We had hearing protection but we did not always use it during long convoys because you needed to hear radio traffic and the road. Since I got out in 2019 the ringing in my ears has never stopped. It is worse at night and I have trouble sleeping because of it. My wife says I have the TV up too loud. I never had ear problems before the Army.
Personal Statement of Marcus Hale
In Support of VA Disability Claim: Tinnitus
1. Introduction
I am Marcus Hale. I served in the United States Army as a Motor Transport Operator (88M) from 2010 to 2019. This statement describes the ringing in my ears that I believe is connected to my military service.
2. In-Service Account
During my nine years in the Army, my primary duty was driving heavy trucks and convoy equipment. I was regularly exposed to sustained engine noise, exhaust, and the sound of weapons fire during qualification. Hearing protection was issued and used at times, but during long convoys I and others would remove it to hear radio communications and road conditions. This was common practice in my unit. I had no ear problems before I enlisted.
3. Current Impact
Since separating in 2019, I have had a constant ringing in both ears that has not stopped. It is worse at night, which makes it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. My wife has noted that I keep the television at a higher volume than before. The ringing is present every day.
4. Connection
In my opinion, the constant ringing in my ears that I experience today is connected to years of noise exposure during my service as a Motor Transport Operator. I had no ear problems before I enlisted and they began during and continued after my service.
Note: This is my personal statement in my own words. I will review this draft carefully and take it to an accredited Veterans Service Officer before submitting it to the VA.
CUSTOMIZATION Run this prompt once per condition. A focused, single-condition statement is clearer and easier for a reviewer to follow than a statement covering multiple conditions at once. If your condition involves mental health, toxic exposure, or military sexual trauma, note that in your account and let your accredited VSO advise on additional evidence types and presumptive conditions. For appeal situations, the same prompt works: describe the original in-service event and add what has changed or worsened since your last rating decision.
Helps a fellow service member, family member, or friend write their own factual statement describing what they personally witnessed or observed. Use it when someone who supports your claim needs help putting their own observations on paper in a clear, factual structure.
WRITER NAME ·VETERAN NAME ·WRITER RELATIONSHIP ·WRITER'S OWN ACCOUNT ·CONDITION OR SITUATION ·TIME PERIOD
## Context
You are helping [WRITER NAME] draft a buddy statement (also called a lay statement) to support a VA disability claim for [VETERAN NAME]. The writer is not the veteran. The writer is [WRITER RELATIONSHIP, e.g. fellow soldier, spouse, parent, or friend]. This statement contains only the writer's own first-hand observations. It is not a medical opinion. It does not represent the veteran legally.
What the writer personally witnessed or observed, in their own words: [WRITER'S OWN ACCOUNT, describe what you saw, heard, or observed directly. Include when and where you observed it, your relationship to the veteran, and any relevant details about the situation.]
Condition or situation the statement addresses: [CONDITION OR SITUATION]
Approximate time period the observations cover: [TIME PERIOD]
## Task
Draft a buddy or lay statement organized into four sections:
1. Introduction: who the writer is, their relationship to the veteran, and what condition or situation this statement addresses.
2. What the writer personally observed: the specific events, behaviors, or changes the writer witnessed, as the writer described them. Include when and where observations were made.
3. Impact the writer observed: how the veteran's condition appeared to affect the veteran's daily life, work, or relationships, based only on what the writer directly saw.
4. Closing: a plain statement that this account is based on the writer's own personal observations and is true to the best of their knowledge.
## Standards
- Write only what [WRITER NAME] described in [WRITER'S OWN ACCOUNT]. Do not add observations, incidents, or details the writer did not provide.
- Do not invent events, symptoms, diagnoses, or dates.
- Do not state or imply a medical diagnosis or medical nexus opinion. The writer describes what they saw, not what caused it.
- Do not exaggerate what the writer observed. Write only what they said they saw.
- Do not predict a rating or guarantee an outcome.
- The writer represents only their own observations. They do not represent the veteran legally.
- VA claim preparation and representation are regulated under 38 CFR. Accredited VSO help for initial claims is free. No one who is not accredited may charge a fee for claim preparation.
- This is not legal advice and not medical advice.
- If [WRITER'S OWN ACCOUNT] is missing or too vague to draft a meaningful statement, ask for more detail before drafting.
BEFORE YOU RUN IT
- The person writing this statement should describe only what they personally saw, heard, or observed. Second-hand accounts and things the veteran told them are less useful than direct observations.
- Be specific about when and where you made the observations. Dates, locations, and context make statements more useful.
- Keep your Social Security number and the veteran's VA file number out of the prompt. Share only facts you are comfortable putting into an AI tool.
- Review the draft against your own memory. Correct anything that does not accurately reflect what you actually observed.
- The veteran's accredited VSO can advise on whether this statement covers what is most useful for the claim. Plan to share the draft with the VSO before it is submitted.
- Confirm the facts in this statement against your own recollection, not the veteran's account. These should be your own observations.
VERIFY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HANDS
- Read every sentence: does it describe what the writer actually observed, or did the AI add an observation, symptom, or detail the writer did not provide?
- Confirm no medical diagnosis or medical nexus language appears. The statement should describe what the writer saw, not what caused the veteran's condition.
- Check that the statement does not include second-hand information the writer heard rather than observed directly. First-hand observations are what matter.
- Verify dates and locations are accurate to the writer's recollection. Do not leave in any date or location the AI invented.
- Confirm no rating prediction, outcome guarantee, or compensation-maximizing language appears anywhere in the draft.
- Have the writer review and sign off on the statement as accurately reflecting their own observations before it goes to the VSO.
- Do not submit this statement without coordinating with the veteran's accredited VSO.
Sample output
Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Writer: Thomas Garza. Relationship: served with Marcus Hale in the same truck company, Army, 2012 to 2016. Account: Marcus and I drove convoys together out of Fort Bliss and during a deployment to Kuwait in 2014 and 2015. We spent long hours in the cab of heavy trucks. The noise was constant. I remember we would take our hearing protection off during long legs to hear radio traffic better. We all did it. After we both got out I stayed in touch with Marcus. He complained about ringing in his ears starting pretty soon after he got out. When I call him he asks me to repeat myself more than he used to. At his house the TV is noticeably loud. Condition: tinnitus. Time period: 2012 to present.
Buddy Statement of Thomas Garza
In Support of VA Disability Claim for Marcus Hale: Tinnitus
1. Introduction
My name is Thomas Garza. I served in the United States Army from 2012 to 2016 and was assigned to the same motor transport company as Marcus Hale at Fort Bliss and during a deployment to Kuwait from 2014 to 2015. I am writing this statement to describe what I personally observed during our service together and after Marcus separated.
2. What I Personally Observed
Marcus and I drove heavy trucks together on many convoys during our time at Fort Bliss and in Kuwait. The noise level in and around those vehicles was high and continuous: engine noise, exhaust, and when we were at the range, weapons fire. During long convoy legs, I observed that members of our unit, including Marcus and myself, would remove hearing protection to better hear radio communications and the road environment. This was a common practice in our unit.
3. Impact I Observed
Since Marcus separated, I have stayed in regular contact with him. Starting not long after he got out, he told me he had ringing in his ears. When I speak to him by phone, he asks me to repeat myself more than he did when we served together. When I have visited him at his home, I have noticed the television is kept at a volume noticeably higher than I would set it. These are my own direct observations.
4. Closing
This statement is based on my own personal observations of Marcus Hale during our service together and afterward. Everything I have written is true to the best of my knowledge and recollection.
Thomas Garza
Date: [Writer fills in]
Contact: [Writer fills in if comfortable providing]
CUSTOMIZATION This prompt works for any writer: a fellow service member, a spouse, a parent, or a close friend. The key is that the statement covers only what the writer personally observed, not what the veteran told them. For spouses or family members observing the home and daily life impact of a condition, the observations about sleep, mood, mobility, and activity are often very relevant. For former unit members who can speak to in-service conditions or events, specific details about location, time period, and shared experience are most useful. Confirm with the veteran's accredited VSO what types of observations are most helpful for the specific claim.
Stressor Statement Organizer
Helps you organize your own factual account of an in-service stressor event in a clear, structured format. Use it when you need to put your experience into words to support a mental health claim, particularly for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Symptom Description in Plain Words
Helps you describe your symptoms in plain, factual language for a VA claim or medical appointment. Use it when you need to put what you actually experience into clear words without accidentally overstating or understating it.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Work Impact Statement
Helps you describe in plain, factual language how a service-connected condition affects your ability to work. Use it when you need to put on paper what your condition actually prevents or limits at work, without overstating or understating it.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Daily Living Impact Statement
Helps you describe in plain, factual language how a service-connected condition affects your daily life. Use it when you need to put on paper what the condition actually prevents or limits in your everyday routine.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Onset and Continuity Statement
Helps you describe in plain, factual language when a condition started and how it has continued from service to the present. Use it when you need to establish the timeline of a condition for a VA claim in your own words.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Flare-Up Description
Helps you describe flare-ups of a service-connected condition in plain, factual language. Use it when your condition is not constant but worsens periodically and you need to put that pattern on paper for a VA claim or medical appointment.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Statement Honesty Review
Reviews a personal statement or lay statement you have drafted to flag anything that may be inaccurate, exaggerated, or inconsistent with what you actually experienced. Use it before taking a draft to your accredited VSO.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Statement Outline Organizer
Builds an outline of what to cover in a personal statement or lay statement before you start writing. Use it when you are not sure where to start or what the statement should include, so you can gather your thoughts before drafting.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Helps you describe, in your own words, how one service-connected condition causes or worsens another condition. Use it when you want to tell the VA what you observe about the relationship between two conditions before a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam or when submitting a claim for a secondary condition.
PRIMARY SERVICE-CONNECTED CONDITION ·SECONDARY CONDITION ·VETERAN NAME ·BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES ·SC DATE OR APPROXIMATE ·SECONDARY ONSET DATE OR PERIOD
## Context
You are helping a veteran write a personal statement describing how [PRIMARY SERVICE-CONNECTED CONDITION] causes or aggravates [SECONDARY CONDITION]. This statement is the veteran's own factual account of their observations and daily experience. It is not a medical nexus opinion. A licensed clinician provides the nexus opinion; this statement supports that opinion with the veteran's facts.
The veteran's name for reference: [VETERAN NAME]. Branch and years of service: [BRANCH AND SERVICE DATES]. The primary condition was service-connected on [SC DATE OR APPROXIMATE]. The secondary condition began or worsened around [SECONDARY ONSET DATE OR PERIOD].
## Task
Draft a personal statement (one to two pages) that:
- Describes the primary condition: what it feels like day to day, limitations it causes.
- Describes the secondary condition: when it started, what it feels like, how it has changed over time.
- Explains, in the veteran's own observations, the connection they notice between the two: for example, how the primary condition's limitations force movements or postures that worsen the secondary, or how medications for the primary condition cause the secondary.
- States specific examples with approximate dates or time periods.
- Uses plain, first-person language throughout.
## Standards
This statement must contain only facts the veteran supplies. Do not invent symptoms, severity levels, dates, exam findings, or diagnoses. Do not write a medical nexus opinion, a diagnosis, or any statement implying a clinician-level conclusion about causation. The statement organizes the veteran's own observations; the nexus determination belongs to a licensed clinician. Do not predict a disability rating or guarantee any outcome.
Remind the veteran at the end of the statement that representation and claim preparation are regulated under 38 CFR, that accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) help for an initial claim is free, and that they should have an accredited VSO review this statement before filing. Warn against unaccredited claim preparers who charge illegal fees for initial claims.
If any named variable is missing or the described relationship between the conditions is unclear, ask before drafting.
BEFORE YOU RUN IT
- The name of your primary service-connected condition and the date or approximate period it was service-connected.
- The name of the secondary condition you are connecting, and when you first noticed it or when it got worse.
- Your own observations of how the primary condition leads to or worsens the secondary: be specific about what you do, how your body compensates, or what medications you take.
- Approximate dates or time periods for key changes, not just current symptoms.
- Privacy: keep your Social Security number and VA file number out of the prompt. Share only the facts you are comfortable putting into an AI tool.
- Plan to have an accredited VSO review this statement before submitting it. A medical nexus opinion must come from a licensed clinician, not from this statement.
VERIFY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HANDS
- Check that no symptom, severity level, exam finding, or diagnosis was invented by the AI. Every medical detail must come from your own records or your own experience.
- Confirm the statement contains no medical nexus conclusion. It must describe your observations, not state that one condition caused the other as a matter of medical fact.
- Check that no disability rating, percentage, or prediction of claim outcome appears anywhere in the statement.
- Read for exaggeration: every sentence must reflect your actual experience, not the worst possible version of it.
- Verify every date and time period against your own records before submitting.
- Have an accredited VSO or VA-accredited attorney review the statement before it is filed. Verify any rule or form requirement on VA.gov, because policies change.
- Do not file this statement as a substitute for a medical nexus opinion from a licensed clinician.
Sample output
Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:
Personal Statement of Marcus Hale
Re: Secondary Condition (Left Knee Degenerative Joint Disease) Arising from Primary Service-Connected Condition (Lumbar Disc Disease)
I served in the Army as a logistics NCO from 2001 to 2012. My lumbar disc disease was service-connected in 2014. I am writing this statement to describe, in my own words, what I observe about how my back condition affects my left knee.
My lower back condition causes me constant pain across my lower back and into my left hip. On most days I cannot stand straight for more than ten minutes before the pain forces me to shift my weight. Over the years I have noticed that I carry most of my weight on my left leg and lean forward to reduce the pressure on my lower back. My wife pointed this out to me in 2017, and I began paying closer attention.
My left knee pain started gradually around 2016. I first noticed it when walking to my car. By 2019 it was constant on stairs. I have not had a knee injury. The only change I can identify is the way I walk and stand because of my back. I walk with a forward lean and I favor my left side. I believe, from my own observation, that the way my back forces me to move has put unusual stress on my left knee over time. I am not stating this as a medical conclusion. That is for a doctor to determine. I am describing what I observe.
I currently take medication for my back pain. One of the side effects listed on the medication is joint inflammation. I cannot confirm whether this affects my knee, but I am noting it so my doctor can consider it.
I am asking the VA to consider my left knee condition as secondary to my service-connected lumbar disc disease.
Note: This statement reflects my own observations and is not a medical opinion. I plan to have this reviewed by an accredited Veterans Service Officer before submitting. Accredited VSO help for an initial claim is free under 38 CFR. I encourage any veteran reading this to work with an accredited VSO or VA-accredited attorney and to avoid unaccredited claim preparers who charge fees for initial claims.
CUSTOMIZATION This prompt works for any secondary condition relationship: orthopedic compensation patterns, medication side effects causing a new condition, or a mental health condition worsening a physical one. Adjust the observations block to match the specific mechanism the veteran notices. For an appeal rather than an initial claim, update the opening to reference the prior denial and what the veteran wants the VA to reconsider. Always route the final statement through an accredited VSO before filing.
Employment Impact Statement
Helps you describe, in your own words, how your service-connected conditions affect your ability to work. Use it when you are considering whether to submit a claim for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) and need to write your own factual account of your employment history and limitations.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Spouse and Family Statement Guide
Guides a spouse or family member through writing their own buddy statement describing what they have personally observed about how a veteran's service-connected conditions affect daily life. Use it when a family member wants to support the veteran's claim with their own first-hand observations.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT All 120 prompts in this library are free with a VetsLearn account: every prompt, every checklist, synced to your account.
Unlock free with an account → Mental Health Impact Statement
Helps you describe, in your own words, how a service-connected mental health condition affects your daily life, relationships, and work. Use it when submitting or supporting a mental health claim or appeal and you want to put your own experience on the record.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Before-and-After Statement
Helps you describe how your functioning changed between before your service or a specific in-service event and after, in your own words. Use it to establish a baseline and document deterioration for a claim or appeal.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Statement for an Appeal
Helps you draft a personal statement to support an appeal of a VA decision. Use it when you disagree with a rating decision, denial, or effective date and you want to put your own facts and reasoning on record for the appeals process.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Clarification Statement
Helps you write a short statement correcting a factual error or misunderstanding in your VA record or a prior decision. Use it when the VA got a date wrong, misidentified a condition, or misread prior evidence, and you want to put the correct facts on record.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Statement Tightening Pass
Reviews a personal statement you have already drafted and tightens it: removes redundancy, sharpens unclear sentences, and organizes the facts without changing what you said. Use it when your draft is long or hard to follow and you want it cleaned up before review.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT What to Avoid in a Statement
Reviews a personal statement draft and flags problems that could hurt the claim: exaggeration, legal argument, unsupported medical conclusions, or language the VA might use against the veteran. Use it before submitting any statement.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT Prepare Your Statement for VSO Review
Helps you organize a personal statement and assemble supporting documents before meeting with an accredited Veterans Service Officer. Use it to make the VSO meeting as productive as possible.
FREE WITH ACCOUNT All 120 prompts in this library are free with a VetsLearn account: every prompt, every checklist, synced to your account.
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