Some Vets Victimized by DoD

I came across this infuriating article in The Nation this weekend entitled “Disposable Soldier”. The article detailed how the military, through the auspices of the Department of Defense, has been erroneously diagnosing soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan–more than 22,600 since 2001–with Personality Disorder (PD), a preexisting condition of which symptoms emerge in childhood.

These diagnoses are made by medical doctors, not by psychiatrists. In other words, these diagnoses are made by people without the qualifications or training to do so. (You wouldn’t let your plummer fix your teeth, would you?) Family members are not consulted in these cases, though testimony from them could easily dispel these false diagnoses. The veterans are then denied medical benefits from the U.S. government for the rest of their lives, thereby becoming victims of egregious lies.

Denying veterans benefits they deserve is not new. Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange–which causes an array of medical issues and birth defects in offspring–are still being denied by the U.S. government. Most recently, veterans exposed to VX nerve gas during Operation Dessert Storm have been denied access to medical attention for their exposer.

This situation is a different animal all together.

Some veterans now are being erroneously DISCHARGED  based on FALSE diagnosis of “Personality Disorder” when they have other legitimate injuries, such as Traumatic Brain Injuries or a fractured pelvis (see article). This is far beyond just denying benefits. This is outright lying so the government does not have to provide medical care for wounded vets.

Worst of all, false diagnoses of PD could result in a dishonorable discharge, an inability to secure future employment, and an inability to secure medical benefits of any kind without paying through the nose.

So here is my message to the yellow-ribbon bandits: put action where your ribbons are; really support the troops. Stand up against this injustice. Don’t let the Department of Defense deny veterans benefits they have rightly earned.