Readers of Tom Philpott's Military Update column sound off.

Vet Advocates See Old Pattern in New Disability Board

As a 34-year Air Force veteran and retired judge advocate who represents veterans in Medical Evaluation Board/Physical Evaluation Board proceedings, I was dismayed in reading your article on the new Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR).

Because I'm in Colorado Springs and an Air Force Academy graduate myself, I often represent cadets who are processed through the Air Force disability system. They get the worst of both worlds as the role of the [academy] superintendent in making commissioning decisions has been eliminated, and yet, because of a quirk in the law, cadets do not get a lump sum disability payment when separated because they are not considered on active duty for pay purposes.

Hence, the 10 percent disability rating is rubber-stamped for cadets, some of whom find themselves just weeks away from commissioning.

I have a cadet client who has been badly treated in this process, and had hoped the PDBR would be a fresh set of unbiased eyes.  This appears not to be the case from your article.  The tone seems to be that the PDBR knows that chances of judicial review are slight, given the cost, and thus it will give only grudging lip service to the congressional purpose of this board.

SKIP MORGAN
Colonel, USAF-Ret.
Colorado Springs, Colo.

I used to represent soldiers going before the Army Physical Evaluation Board at Fort Lewis, Wash. Unfortunately, the situation is far worse than your article on the new Physical Disability Board of Review suggests.

The Army does not low ball disability cases; it intentionally reduces benefits for soldiers with disabilities, especially those with mental disabilities like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injury, and also skeletal/muscular injuries.

I cannot put into polite language how angry and frustrated I am with the current situation, and how badly those who served have been and are being treated by Army's Physical Disability Agency (PDA). This is largely due to the views of a few senior staff.  During one video teleconference, a senior staff member of the PDA stated that, in his opinion, PTSD was a junk diagnosis" and that people claiming to have PTSD were not different than people getting on a bus after an accident so they could file a claim."

I cannot stress enough how badly some soldiers are treated and betrayed.  There was some hope that what's been done to these people would remedied by the PDBR that Congress ordered to be set up last year.  Now, even that has been turned into a fraud.

Don't so much believe what I allege but ask questions yourself.  Why it is that the Army uses rules more restrictive than any other service?  Why it is that so few soldiers are able to appeal their cases?  Why it is that so few soldiers merit benefits compared to members of other services yet the majority of causalities have been Army?  Why it is that the Army appears to be able to rewrite federal law and to deny basic legal rights to soldiers?

DAMON GULICK
Via e-mail

I retired in 2003 for length of service.  Before retiring, the Army disability board determined that none of my aliments disqualified me from continuing to service.  I am now rated 90 percent disabled by the VA.  That's 90 versus 0 percent.  The Army certainly uses a different type of math.

SCOTT ENIX
Via e-mail

During my 30 years as a veterans advocate, I was constantly disappointed by the way the military handled servicemen and women who had to leave for disability. The Physical Evaluation Board continually under rated their disabilities, giving 10 or 20 percent ratings and cashing them out.

PEBs are supposed to use the VA rating schedule but they never used it properly.  I always instructed my serviceman to appeal if they felt the rating was inadequate.  The appeal would send them to San Diego where they would be assigned an attorney to represent them before the board.  The attorney often would try to persuade them from entering the hearing, advising they could lose the percentage of disability they'd been awarded.  It frightened the guys so bad most of them would accept the cash out.

When filing their claim with the VA, the final award was always higher, but the VA would deduct the cash out money from their VA disability check until the cash out amount was recovered.

On several occasions when the VA rated a person higher than did the service PEB, we would go back to the Navy to try to get them to reverse their decision and award the same rating granted by the VA.  Not once were we successful even when we had filed the claim with VA within 30 days of discharge.

The injustices went on and on.

LENA SWANSON
Bremerton, Wash.

Congress needs to look at this situation with the PDBR again before final decisions are made.  It seems the program has been implemented without all of the facts being made known to the public. This is not fair to the veteran.

Every case should be thoroughly reviewed, but veterans should know more before they decide whether to apply to the PDBR or to the service's Board for Correction of Military Records.

SHARON D. BOWEN-HINDS
Via e-mail

What about those of us caught up in the system who cannot prove our claims because medical records were lost, leaving us to play this game of he said, she said."  The service should have given us our records and told us to maintain them.

I've looked up people who were stationed with me when I injured, got statements and even that was not enough.  I am requested to produce records from a hospital that got rid of records that were 30 years old.

What help do we have?

RAY HALSELL
Via e-mail

Second Chance On Redux

Those of us who took the bait and collected the money are really worried and upset now.  The military should allow us the opportunity to give the money back and get the high-3 retirement program.

MOHAMMAD I. TABASSUM
Sergeant First Class, USA
SHAPE, Belgium

Letters may be edited for clarity or length.  Write to Military Forum, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA  20120-1111, send e-mail to militaryforum@aol.com or visit www.militaryupdate.com.