PTSD and Bad Paper Discharges: Why the Fairness to Soldiers Act is Too Little, Too Late

69 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2017

Date Written: February 20, 2017

Abstract

Good soldiers must possess courage and fearlessness to trudge forward when faced with danger. Good soldiers must also be assertive; have nerves of steel; be focused; tenacious; fierce, brutal when needed; ferocious; relentless; and even austere. While helpful and almost required in combat theaters, these same characteristics and behaviors may also be manifestations of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Mild Traumatic Brain Disorder (MTBI); and when exhibited by a member of a combat unit outside of the battlefield, these characteristics and behaviors may lead a soldier down a speedy path to a “bad paper” discharge, as evidenced by more than one hundred thousand service members being separated from the military within the last 10 years with “bad paper” discharge characterizations.

With an increasing number of service members being discharged with “bad paper”, the crisis of this situation lies in the increased number of service members having either delayed or no access to veteran’s benefits as a result of their discharge characterizations; this includes but is not limited to the mental health care needed to treat PTSD and MTBI. Furthermore, this delay in treatment or complete lack of treatment results in a schism between the service member and one of the best qualified well resourced “reservoir of combat PTSD and MTBI expertise, the Veteran’s Administration.”

While there is an administrative process that service members with “bad paper” discharges may use to challenge the characterization of their discharge and thereby seek benefits that were denied because of their discharge characterization, and while President Obama signed into law the Fairness for Veterans Act of 2016 to help facilitate these administrative processes, these administrative processes are still very lengthy and difficult to navigate, especially for services members who are already burdened by PTSD and MTBI.

Without the ability to use veteran health benefits to access needed mental health treatment, service members with “bad paper” discharges find that their mental health worsens; may become criminalized; may render them homeless; may estrange the service member from their families; may result in substance abuse and addiction; may result in suicide and may result in the death of innocent members of our communities. It is the contention of this author that left unaddressed, the consequences that result from the behavior and actions of untreated service members who suffer from PTSD and MTBI on the civilian community will quickly progress from an individual in need of treatment to an overwhelming public health concern.

This article suggests that the United States Government via the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs, owes a duty to its service members. This duty includes the provision of mental health services to all service members who develop PTSD or MTBI during their tour of duty, regardless of their discharge characterization.

Section I of this article introduces the public health crisis that is created when combat unit service members who have been active participants in war theaters are separated from the military with untreated PTSD or TBI and as a result of the “bad paper” discharge have no ready access to mental health treatment once they have returned to civilian life.

Section II of this Article provides a brief history of the origins of the duty that the United States Government has to care for its service members; and a review of how the government provided this care.

Section III explains how difficult it is for service members who are discharged with “bad-paper” to access mental health services.

Section IV of this Article suggests that there be a 6th discharge characterization of “General-Pending”. This “General-Pending” discharge characterization should be assigned to all service members that are eligible for separation under an “Other Than Honorable” discharge characterization, if there is reason to believe that the character and behavior of the service member that makes them eligible for an “Other Than Honorable” discharge can be the result of PTSD or MTBI. During this pending period, the service member is ordered to seek evaluation and treatment; and after a specified period of time, no less than 12 months, the service member is then eligible for a “General” discharge, provided they are cooperative in their mental health treatment.

Ultimately, this article is saying that all service members are deserving of at least, as a minimum health care benefits that include mental health wellness.

Allow this discourse to serve as a call to arms and to transformative realizations that yield preventative and prescriptive actions for the benefit of service members that go beyond what is provided in the Fairness for Veterans Act. And while on December 29, 2016 the Defense Department announced that it is reviewing and potentially upgrading the discharge status of veterans who might have been improperly discharged for reasons related to post-traumatic stress disorder , this too is too late for so many.

This article is intended to remind the United States Government that, above all it has a duty to care for those who have borne the burdens of war . From this duty, the United States Government has a moral obligation to analyze, reflect and implement best methods to serve service members in need.

Keywords: bad-paper discharge, PTSD, MTBI, Post-Traumatic Stress, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Fairness for Veterans Act, soldiers, discharge characterization, VA, Department of Defense

Suggested Citation

Ledesma, Stephanie, PTSD and Bad Paper Discharges: Why the Fairness to Soldiers Act is Too Little, Too Late (February 20, 2017). Thurgood Marshall School of Law Research Paper No. 2920866, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2920866 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2920866

Stephanie Ledesma (Contact Author)

Thurgood Marshall School of Law ( email )

3100 Cleburne Street
Houston, TX 77004
United States
5122282307 (Phone)

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