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Monday, March 26, 2012

Thousands wrongfully discharged for personality disorders

Veterans study says thousands wrongfully discharged for personality disorders
By ERIK SLAVIN
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 26, 2012

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The Defense Department violated regulations by discharging thousands of servicemembers under the pretense of personality disorders during the past decade, according to a study by Vietnam Veterans of America and the Veterans Services Clinic at Yale Law School.

The study data — obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests — reinforces previous smaller studies from the General Accountability Office and supports claims by others that the military diagnosed combat veterans with personality disorders to avoid paying retirement benefits to servicemembers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

While PTSD constitutes a medical disability, personality-related diagnoses are considered pre-existing conditions by the Defense Department.

The data showed that 31,000 servicemembers were discharged from 2001 to 2010 because of personality disorders, a group of disorders in which a person’s behaviors and thoughts differ from their culture’s expectations, causing work and relationship problems.

The Army alone discharged 734 soldiers for personality disorders in 2002, but that number steadily climbed to 1,078 by 2007, according to the report, which was released last week.
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3 comments:

  1. Those Who Care About Vietnam Era Veterans:
    My ex-husband is dying because he was denied health care via VA hospitals. He served overseas and refused to follow orders when he was called in to control the Anti-War Protesters. Fed up, with the military, he ended up with a dishonorable discharge after 3 years.
    He has COPD and needs a lung transplant along with Hep C which he obtained when he was overseas which they called (non A/non B) at the time. I know. I have Hep C also.
    People talk about Obama HealthCare; he gave his life for 3 years and stuck up for civil liberties. Yes we need Obama Care and we need VA care at the very least, for someone in his situation.
    What kind of world do we live in when people would pour thousands of dollars into saving a dog and not a dime for someone who risked his life?
    What kind of world do we live in when we refuse a VET healthcare for standing up for OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES?
    We should all be ashamed of our country. He will be deceased within a few months and another VET will be deceased and another and another and another.
    ALL WILL BE FORGOTTEN!
    Please support him in any way you can. I plead with you to stand up to the plate, every demonstrator who protested against the Vietnam War and every Veteran and every citizen in the United States.
    GIVE HIM LIFE! I BEG YOU! GIVE HIM LIFE!

    Don Woods
    6507 Kane St.
    Hodgkins, IL 60525

    My name is Dale H. Woods and my email is
    dale.h.woods@hotmail.com
    PHONE # 760-671-5561
    Don does not give his number out and who would when every single breath is another second of life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dale Woods
    66800 First ST. # 7
    Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am sorry about your ex-husband. The national media is not interested in telling their stories so their suffering is allowed to go on. The general public has no clue what's going on with them.

    ReplyDelete

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