"Injured soldiers trying to leave military slowed by red tape; Long wait causes some to turn down jobs, delay college" August 19, 2011|By Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Staff Sergeant Nicholas Lanier has entered what he calls the “vast unknown.’’ A combat veteran and father to four daughters, he cannot remain in the military because of a serious back injury suffered in Iraq.
But he cannot accept a civilian job because he does not know when the military will discharge him. He has no idea how much the government will pay him in disability compensation related to his injury, so he cannot make a future budget. He just waits....
Thousands are like Lanier, not fully fit to serve but in limbo for about two years waiting to get discharged under a new system that was supposed to be more efficient. And the delays are not only affecting service members, but the military’s readiness as well. New soldiers cannot enlist until others are discharged.
The government determines the pay and benefits given to the wounded, sick, or injured for their military service. Under the old system, a medical board would determine their level of military compensation and the service member would be discharged.
Then the veteran would essentially have to go through the process again with the Veterans Affairs Department to determine benefits. While they waited for their VA claim to be processed, many of the war wounded were going broke.
Under the new system, which started in 2007 and will be completely rolled out at military bases nationwide next month, the service member essentially goes through both disability evaluation systems at the same time before leaving the military.
But the new, supposedly streamlined, system is still such a cumbersome process that it has left many service members in limbo, they say. A typical service member’s case is handed off between the Defense Department and the VA nine times during the new integrated process....
Troops have had to turn down job offers and delay starting college because they do not know when they can leave military service, and stress is added on an already vulnerable population.
As their cases are processed, many live in the military’s outpatient warrior transition units, where they can get extra support, while others do work for the military that they are physically capable of doing.
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"Genes may influence PTSD, study says" September 06, 2011|Associated Press
CHICAGO - A study of college students’ reactions to shootings on their campus gives fresh insight into how genes may influence the psychological impact of traumatic events.
The researchers found that symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder were more common in Northern Illinois University students who had certain variations in a gene that regulates levels of serotonin, a brain chemical linked with mood that is the target of popular antidepressants.
The researchers say the results could someday lead to new treatments for PTSD, and also could help predict who will develop the condition, which could be useful for soldiers....
You know what else would be helpful? Not sending them into endless wars based on lies.
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"Readjustment; Gardner rehab center helps young veterans to cope with life after war" August 23, 2011|By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
GARDNER - Jacqueline Rosario’s hands are full. A US Army veteran of the Afghan war, the 30-year-old single mother is attending Mount Wachusett Community College while juggling the hyperactive demands of a 5-year-old daughter and 14-month-old son.
She also is a recovering opiate addict whose life disintegrated into a dependence on medication she originally took for a back injury suffered during a 12-year military career.
But life is improving for the Templeton native. Ensconced in a new, two-bedroom duplex with toys on the floor and inspirational sayings on the walls, Rosario is turning the corner through a program that provides disabled Iraq and Afghan veterans low-cost housing, free education at Mount Wachusett, and therapy tailored to their physical, occupational, and emotional needs.
The private, nonprofit program, called the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center, is based on this simple premise: to give struggling young veterans and their families the tools they need for a life after war....
If you are lucky enough to still have one.
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Also see: Veterans’ families frustrated by grave thefts
