Vets not getting the care they require
From the Center for American Progress:
In testimony yesterday, members of veterans groups blamed an outdated law for blocking soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan from receiving needed disability benefits. The World-War II-era law "established that veterans who ‘engaged in combat with the enemy‘ receive special treatment when they seek disability compensation, making it less burdensome for them to prove the injury was from their time in service." But many veterans "are struggling to obtain disability benefits because they don’t meet the definition" of having engaged in combat. The veterans that have been affected the most are those with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including nightmares, flashbacks, and "an inability to think clearly or remember things well, which makes performing basic daily tasks difficult." Earlier this month, the Air Force Times reported that "as many as 300,000 troops had PTSD and received inadequate care." According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, only "about half of all disability claims for PTSD are approved." President Obama addressed the problem at his news conference last night, saying, "Unfortunately, over the last several years, all too often the VA has been under-resourced when it comes to dealing with things like post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury."
