Call for Amnesty on PTSD Bad Paper Discharges

Studies indicate that more than 100,000 veterans have been discharged from the military since 2001 with highly prejudicial service characterizations of "Under Other Than Honorable Conditions" (OTH), typically for "commission of a serious offense" or a "pattern of misconduct" while in uniform.

The Case for "Amnesty" for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with PTSD and "Bad Paper" Discharges
JURIST
Guest Columnist Raymond J. Toney of the Law Offices of Raymond J. Toney discusses the case for Amnesty for soldiers with PTSD who received other than honorable discharges...
2 July 2014

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan saw the participation of more than two million American service members.

Over 6,500 died and more than 50,000 were wounded [PDF]. Those statistics do not include the tens of thousands more who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a disorder characterized by behavior changes, sometimes extreme. Common manifestations of the condition include aggression, impulsivity, hyper-vigilance and substance abuse.

The VA estimates that up to 18 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD. The American Journal of Public Health reported findings that 39 percent of returning veterans abuse alcohol. Many, undoubtedly, if not most, are self-medicating, a recipe for disaster. Alcohol abuse is strongly correlated with criminal conduct.

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