Tuesday, August 17, 2010
(graphic: University of North Florida)
U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Missouri) has launched his own inquiry to determine how many veterans have been discharged for “adjustment disorders,” which can have the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But unlike soldiers classified as having PTSD, those diagnosed with adjustment disorder don’t receive any medical coverage from the Department of Veterans Affairs after being discharged. They also lose out on disability payments.
According to Bond’s staff, non-disability discharges (which include adjustment disorder) have increased from 1,453 in 2006 to 3,844 last year, an increase of 265%. During the same period, the total for personality disorder discharges dropped from 1,072 in 2006 to 260 in 2009.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Discharges for Adjustment Disorder Soar (by Kelly Kennedy, Army Times)
Misdiagnosed Soldiers Concern for Advocates (by Anne Flaherty, Waterville Morning Sentinel)
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