More Than 50,000 Afghanistan, Iraq Vets Are Challenging Their 'Bad Paper' Discharges In A New Class-

[douglas9]

NEW HAVEN — Through the efforts of a Yale Law School clinic, more than 50,000 U.S. Army veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are part of a newly certified class-action lawsuit that challenges the less than honorable discharges they received.

A federal judge Friday certified the suit for those veterans who developed post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or other mental health conditions in the service and subsequently were pushed out for infractions that could be attributable to undiagnosed mental health problems stemming from their military service.

Steve Kennedy and Alicia Carson, Army veterans who served at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, were the named plaintiffs in the April 2017 suit on behalf of themselves and tens of thousands of others who have been similarly affected in order to ensure fair treatment when veterans apply to have these service characterizations changed.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and co-counsel at Jenner & Block.


https://taskandpurpose.com/army-bad-paper-discharges-lawsuit/

[OhNo-Really]

1. Break em & Dump em

exceptionalism again

most likely to save $$ in medical VA services.

[qazplm135]

2. it's complicated

There are multiple categories for how those folks got in and how they got out:

1. Lowered recruiting standards for "bodies" meant we let in folks who were at a higher risk for committing misconduct. We see that today because our annual crime rates are lower and lower compared to the time period involved. So are our discharges and courts-martial. This category is unfortunate because we set them up for failure, but inherently another argument is that they were given a chance and failed.

2. A desire to get rid of folks quickly. Courts-martial are slow, administrative discharges/procedures are much faster. Crimes that might ordinarily be a low-level court-martial were handled as administrative discharges. You get rid of the Soldier faster and you get a replacement faster. This is a mixed group, some from category 1 and unfortunately some from the next category.

3. It is absolutely true that the military had and to some extent still has a responsibility problem with as you say breaking Soldiers and then dumping them when their utility goes away. There is also the mental health stigma that has not gone away. PTSD does not lead to every crime of course. It doesn't cause you to steal for example, but it certainly can lead to drug use, alcohol use, and domestic violence. One of my JAG brethren proposed a special system that was a hybrid of judicial and rehabilitative for PTSD Soldiers who committed misconduct. Unfortunately, while hailed as a great idea, it hasn't really gone anywhere.

[denbot]

4. True, but the one category they all fit in to was that they served.

If it was related to active,or presented concurrent to service, they should have access to the V.A. Health System. That soldier Bergdahl should have never been re-inducted after washing out of Coast Guard boot, but he was, and did what a unstable person would do.

If the Military found someone able enough to put on a battle field, the V.A. should have a place ready for that someone in the our health care system, no questions asked.

[Cold War Spook]

3. I was lucky my mental health problems started in 1966.

1967 I received an honorable discharge and the VA has taken very good care of me. If I was in the army now with the same problems, I guess I would probably be screwed.