Richard Blumenthal wants answers for 26,000 wrongfully discharged veterans

Blumenthal backs veterans' personality disorder discharge lawsuit

By MARK SPENCER, mspencer@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
7:05 p.m. EST, December 28, 2010



HARTFORD — —
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday endorsed the efforts of veterans groups to get information from the Department of Defense about troops wrongfully discharged on the basis of personality disorder.

Vietnam Veterans of America and its local chapter in Hartford filed a federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in federal court in New Haven Dec. 16. The suit seeks information from the defense department about why some 26,000 service members since 2001 have been classified as having personality disorders and discharged, making them ineligible for many benefits.

The veterans groups, represented by the veterans' clinic of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School, are concerned that many of those discharged may have post-traumatic stress disorder and are therefore eligible for benefits.
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Blumenthal backs veterans' personality disorder discharge lawsuit