New Law Limits Army and VA Abuses Against Troops
BY TERRY MADICK
The Department of Defense is being forced to acknowledge another cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan that they have intentionally avoided and hidden from the public at the expense of returning combat service men and women that experience psychological problems from their combat experience. Congress has passed a bill that establishes The Fair Mental Health Evaluation For Returning Veterans Act.
This act corrects the injustice of denying benefits for combat related psychological problems by ruling that the condition was pre-existing to their entering the service.
Since 2001 more than 22,00 returning service men and women were discharged from the service because of these bogus designations and if their enlistment was not completed, having to pay back with interest a portion of any re-enlistment bonuses. The benefits denied include treatment for post traumatic stress disorder as well as compensation for the affects of this condition…
The untreated psychological condition may have also been a contributing factor to the increase in returning service men and women suicides experienced in recent years. A question that comes to mind is how these pre-existing personality disorders were undetected when the person enlisted or not discovered in earlier periods of their enlistment before being deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
The only explanation for the Defense Department’s mental health policy is to save budgeted funds for other uses at the expense of psychologically damaged war returnees. This is inexcusable and contemptible as so many other actions of the Bush’s administration have been since the beginning of the war.
The Fair Mental Health Evaluation For Returning Veterans Act will place a temporary moratorium on personality disorder discharges until a comprehensive review of the Defense Department’s mental health policies is conducted by an independent review board. In addition, the Secretary of Defense is to report to the congressional defense committees by April on all cases of personality disorder discharges of service men and women who served in Iraq or Afghanistan since October 2001.
Note: this bill has been in the Military Personnel sub-committee since August 14 without action.
TERRY MADICK IS A TOTALLY DISABLED VIETNAM VETERAN AND RETIRED OFFICIAL OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK NOW LIVING IN MICHIGAN
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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