Vietnam Veterans of America sues for wrongfully discharged

Pentagon has wrongfully discharged nearly 26,000 service members

Let’s say that all of these servicemen and women did in fact have a “personality disorder” before they enlisted. If the military allowed them to enlist, then they accepted responsibility for them from that point on. Considering that a mental health condition like personality disorder would have put them in greater danger during combat and would have endangered the others they served with, the DOD would have known what they were doing, apparently fine with doing it. But that would also be assuming they just didn’t care. There were mental health waivers given out but nowhere near the numbers of discharges. Even if they received a waiver, this should in no way take the burden of care off their shoulders. But it did.

But the DOD did not live up to their duty to take care of them.

“DoD’s compliance with counseling requirement was as low as 40% between 2001 and 2007, as was compliance with diagnosis requirement. In 2008, the Government Accountability Office (‘GAO’) found that ‘DoD does not have reasonable assurance that its key personality disorder separation requirements have been followed’ after reviewing PD discharges occurring between 2001 and 2007.”

They were willing to let them join. They trained them to go into combat. Then they sent them to fight the enemy. Then when their minds paid the price, they were kicked out with nothing to count on. No benefits. No help to heal. No justice after being willing to lay down their lives for this country. Was this honorable? Was this what Washington said was the way to treat them?

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, is directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated”
— George Washington

They returned home changed just as many before them. They saw the others having to fight for the care they were promised with a honorable discharge in their hands. They saw them wait in long lines, wait for months, even years, to have their claim honored and they wondered what chance they would have of getting any help at all after what was done to them. They lost it all. They lost faith in this country they were willing to die for. They lost the sense of pride they had when they suddenly could no longer support their families and pay their bills. They lost the faith their families had in them when they were beaten down so far there was no reason to try any longer.
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Pentagon Wrongfully Discharged

Vietnam veterans know what it is like to be treated with such little regard and they also know what it is like to fight for honor. They have taken the lead in fighting to make sure that the 26,000 troops discharged under “personality disorder” will finally get some justice.

Group sues over personality disorder discharges
By Kelly Kennedy – Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 15, 2010 13:30:29 EST
Vietnam Veterans of America filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday demanding records for 26,000 veterans who it says were “wrongfully discharged” for personality disorders.

The Defense Department’s “personality disorder designation prevents thousands of wounded veterans from accessing service-connected disability compensation or health care,” said John Rowan, VVA’s president.

Personality disorders are considered a pre-existing condition, which means that service members receiving administrative discharges for those disorders have no opportunity to get disability compensation or medical benefits.

An investigation by Congress into the use of this type of discharge in recent years discharges found that many service members separated for pre-existing personality disorder had served in combat and displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Personality disorders typically develop before age 18.

“They said they corrected it, but they did nothing to remedy these people they pushed out,” said Chuck Luther, a combat veteran who was separated for personality disorder. The Veterans Affairs Department has since diagnosed him with PTSD and traumatic brain injury and awarded him a disability rating of 95 percent.

We know there are men and women being kicked out over anxiety disorders even now but these wrongful discharges started with personality discharges. They have been left with nothing.

VA mental health professionals say that if someone experiences adjustment issues due to combat stress for three months, the diagnosis should be changed to PTSD. Service members discharged because their PTSD interferes with their ability to perform their jobs automatically receive a disability rating of 50 percent and health care benefits. Discharges for adjustment disorders do not bring the same benefits.
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Group sues over personality disorder discharges

There is no data available about what happened to them when they were kicked out instead of being treated. Did they lose their homes because they had no income? Did they lose their families? Did they end up homeless? Did they commit suicide? How many? Commanders didn’t care what happened to any of them after they were no longer of service at the same time advocates were telling them to seek help. Most of the people in this country didn’t seem to care either. No one was really willing to put up a fight for them until the Vietnam Veterans of America had seen enough suffering for something that should have never happened.