Forced-out vets get chance to argue PTSD claims
Vietnam veterans forced out of service for misconduct they now claim was related to post-traumatic stress disorder will have the chance to possibly receive an upgrade in their decades-old military discharge, according to an announcement Wednesday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
The decision by Hagel, who is himself a Vietnam combat veteran, could potentially impact thousands of fellow veterans who were denied military and VA benefits because they received a less-than-honorable discharge during the war.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars applauded Hagel's action, saying it will allow "veterans who may have been diagnosed with PTSD years after separation to submit new evidence and hopefully correct an injustice from the past."
Post-traumatic stress disorder was not identified as a mental illness until 1980. Before that, symptoms were often dismissed as malingering, combat fatigue or shell-shock.
Currently, troops who face a court martial for misconduct such as abuse of drugs, alcohol or failure to follow an order are examined to see if they have PTSD and whether that was a contributing factor to their actions.
More than 250,000 Vietnam-era veterans received discharges that were less than honorable and potentially thousands may have had PTSD, according to Yale Law School data cited by the New York Times late last year.
In such cases, Hagel wrote in a memorandum released Wednesday, "PTSD was not recognized as a diagnosis at the time of service and, in many cases, diagnoses were not made until decades after service was completed."
Given the passage of time and paucity of validating records, Hagel ordered new guidelines be implemented which allow for "liberal consideration" of claims made by Vietnam veterans that their less-than-honorable discharges now be upgraded by military service branches.
"This is our responsibility and the right thing to do for veterans," Hagel said Wednesday. "The new guidance reflects our commitment to those who served our country during times of war many decades ago."