# VA Navigation — The Door Is Not the Decision

**Semantic kernel:** A registry exam, health-care enrollment, clinical referral, disability claim, accredited representation, Vet Center service, and crisis response are different doors with different criteria and records.

## Grounded anchor

The Gulf War Registry exam is free to eligible Veterans, does not require VA health-care enrollment, and is separate from a disability compensation exam or claim. VA health care, WRIISC referral, disability compensation, accredited representation, Vet Centers, and crisis support each have their own authority and criteria.

## Moving toward

Current official information, the correct program, an accountable human contact, clear records, participant Consent, a receipt or appointment, and a visible appeal or remedy path.

## Moving away

The maze: stale cached rules, duplicated forms, dropped handoffs, informal authority, missing records, unexplained denial, or a symbolic reading mistaken for an eligibility decision.

## Sense → Choose → Act → Learn

- **Sense:** Identify the actual question: health concern, registry, clinical referral, enrollment, claim, appeal, accredited help, counseling, family support, or crisis.
- **Choose:** Compare the current official pathways and what information each requires. The fitting next move may be a warm handoff rather than another document.
- **Act:** Make only a participant-authorized connection. Do not submit, disclose, or decide on someone's behalf without explicit Authority and Consent.
- **Learn:** Record whether the handoff connected, what the official response was, and what remedy exists—without copying private details into the shared graph.

## Questions

- Which door has authority to answer this question?
- What record proves the handoff occurred?
- If the door closes, what appeal, remedy, accredited representative, or alternate service exists?

## Current official pathways

- Gulf War Registry: <https://publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/gulfwar/benefits/registry-exam.asp>
- Gulf War health care and WRIISC: <https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/benefits/health-care.asp>
- Gulf War disability guidance: <https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/gulf-war-illness-afghanistan/>
- Vet Center eligibility: <https://vetcenter.va.gov/VETCENTER/eligibility.asp>

## Freshness boundary

Captured 2026-08-27. Recheck current official sources. This card is orientation, never adjudication.
