New disability pay policy not retroactive-shit out of luck again

New disability pay policy not retroactive
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, January 26, 2008



Former Army Capt. Hunter Smart of Phenix City, Ala., an injured veteran of the Iraq war, expected to find new severance pay protection in the Wounded Warrior Act section of the new 2008 defense authorization bill.

But when Smart took a close look this week he found a hole in the bill, rather than an extra $35,000.

Smart was pleased to read a few months ago that a provision in the bill would help medically separated veterans. If their disability was incurred in a combat zone, or in combat-related operations, military disability severance pay no longer will have to be recouped by the government before the veteran begins to draw full disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

With this change, Congress is embracing a recommendation of the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission. When veterans see their careers shortened by combat-related injuries, it said, they should get to keep both their lump-sum severance pay and full monthly VA disability pay.

But Smart was disappointed to learn this week that the new severance pay protection will apply only to combat-related medical separations after the bill is signed into law. That means VA compensation for Smart will be reduced over time by $35,000 in severance pay he received from the Army when he was separated as unfit last March.

“That this will not be retroactive is shameful,” he said. “It should go back to cover at least all of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.”
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