THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT: One way to reduce the benefit load

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

One way to reduce the benefit load

With all the wounded veterans that have been and continue to be created by the Bush Wars, some in the military are doing their part to reduce the numbers.

Dave Philipps is a reporter at the Colorado Springs Gazette, located in Fort Carson’s hometown. He began to hear stories about soldiers like Jensen, and has spent months writing a series documenting numerous battle-damaged soldiers forced out of the military without benefits.

"If they kick out these soldiers in a way that they get anything other than honorable discharge, then they don’t automatically qualify for the VA [federal benefits for veterans]," Philipps said. "They get their education benefits taken away. They can’t even apply for unemployment. And so, they’re really left with nothing."

It’s called being "chaptered out." Soldiers may be discharged for reasons ranging anywhere from tardiness to substance abuse, and more serious crimes like assault. Many have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and some also have traumatic brain injuries (TBI), both of which can influence behavior and judgment.

Philipps said the number of soldiers getting kicked out for misconduct has gone up every year since the war in Iraq began. Since 2006, 76,000 soldiers have been chaptered out, Philipps calculates.

"If you just look at the army combat post where the most soldiers are, the post that might be most affected by PTSD, [there is a] 67-percent increase," he told America Tonight. "So it seems to suggest that a lot of the misconduct is being driven by these constant deployments."

Getting rid of the troublemakers, i.e. the ones who need the benefits the most, may help some officers polish up their rap sheets but it is a most shameful action in a nation that lured most of them into private wars in the guise of patriotism and now seeks to discard them like an empty MRE pack. It is in keeping with the character of the people who sent them to war.

// posted by montag @ 1:35 PM