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War vets dismissed with wrong diagnoses, denied benefits



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This is just wrong. It's another legacy of the Bush/Cheney era. All those politicians who claim to support the troops aren't supporting the troops if they let this happen:

At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely to be suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.
So, we sent these men and women to war, they suffered because of it. And, instead of helping them, the Army kicked them out with no benefits.

Fix it.


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