Off Topic - But Heinous

[JoeRaisin <joeraisin2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

This has been kept pretty well under wraps but the word needs to be spread.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100426/kors

Excerpt:

"For three years The Nation has been reporting on military doctors'
fraudulent use of personality disorder to discharge wounded soldiers
[see Kors, "How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits," April 9, 2007]. PD
is a severe mental illness that emerges during childhood and is listed
in military regulations as a pre-existing condition, not a result of
combat. Thus those who are discharged with PD are denied a lifetime of
disability benefits, which the military is required to provide to
soldiers wounded during service. Soldiers discharged with PD are also
denied long-term medical care. And they have to give back a slice of
their re-enlistment bonus. That amount is often larger than the
soldier's final paycheck. As a result, on the day of their discharge,
many injured vets learn that they owe the Army several thousand dollars.

According to figures from the Pentagon and a Harvard University study,
the military is saving billions by discharging soldiers from Iraq and
Afghanistan with personality disorder.

In July 2007 the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs called a hearing
to investigate PD discharges. Barack Obama, then a senator, put forward
a bill to halt all PD discharges. And before leaving office, President
Bush signed a law requiring the defense secretary to conduct his own
investigation of the PD discharge system. But Obama's bill did not pass,
and the Defense Department concluded that no soldiers had been wrongly
discharged. The PD dismissals have continued. Since 2001 more than
22,600 soldiers have been discharged with personality disorder. That
number includes soldiers who have served two and three tours in Iraq and
Afghanistan. "

And

"Luther's case is not an isolated incident. In the past three years, The
Nation has uncovered more than two dozen cases like his from bases
across the country. All the soldiers were examined, deemed physically
and psychologically fit, then welcomed into the military. All performed
honorably before being wounded during service. None had a documented
history of psychological problems. Yet after seeking treatment for their
wounds, each soldier was diagnosed with a pre-existing personality
disorder, then discharged and denied benefits.

That group includes Sgt. Jose Rivera, whose hands and legs were
punctured by grenade shrapnel during his second tour in Iraq. Army
doctors said his wounds were caused by personality disorder. Sailor
Samantha Stitz fractured her pelvis and two bones in her ankle. Navy
doctors cited personality disorder as the cause. Spc. Bonnie Moore
developed an inflamed uterus during her service. Army doctors said her
profuse vaginal bleeding was caused by personality disorder. Civilian
doctors disagreed: they performed emergency surgery to remove her uterus
and appendix. After being discharged and denied benefits, Moore and her
teenage daughter became homeless."