Take the Walter Reed scandal, cross-breed it with the U.S. Attorney scandal,and you end up with this. A man who secured VA disability benefits for PTSD, after a long struggle, now sits in jail for receiving those benefits. (Warning: the link, like many/most VA stories, can drive you a little nuts.)
The determination of PTSD-related benefits relies upon medical evidence (such as being diagnosed by five different medical professional that a vet has PTSD) and the existence of an in-service stressor (such as the reality that a man was crushed to death by a C-54 aircraft while an Airman was on duty), per 38 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 3.304(f). All a veteran has to achieve in first-person testimony is corroboration, not verification. The Code defines Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as Service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder; (PTSD) requires medical evidence diagnosing the condition in accordance with 38 CFR 4.125(a); a link, established by medical evidence, between current symptoms and an in-service stressor; and credible evidence that the claimed in-service stressor occurred (38 CFR 3.304(f))].
Officials from the Milwaukee Regional Office and Special Agent Raymond Vasil’s Inspector General’s office were included in the series of e-mails including one e-mail from Vasil dated January 27, 2005, stating: “The U.S. Attorney is interested in prosecuting. He is not 100% yet and wanted me to interview any additional persons I could find that were present when the original accident happened in 1969. … “
I wonder if my old friend J.B. White, former Marine and veterans’ advocate now working for Senator Joseph Biden, can get a little traction on this.
I Ain't Marching Anymore 