Shocker: Injured Iraq War Veterans Deliberately Misdiagnosed to Avoid Treating Them

I saw an ABC news report today that was as shocking as anything I've heard done to our troops by our government. Americans are risking their lives fighting for their country and are then discarded when they suffer PTSD so that the government doesn't have to take care of them. This is evil. It is a betrayal.

ABC profiled Jonathan Town was discharged in 2006 after suffering injuries obtained after a rocket exploded two feet above his head:

The rocket blast left Town with hearing loss, headaches, memory problems, anxiety and insomnia. For his wounds, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

But when he returned to the states seeking treatment for those very wounds, the Army quickly discharged him, asserting his problems had been caused not by the war but by a personality disorder that predated his military career.

It is a sinister ploy by the military:

It is known as a "Chapter 5-13" — "separation because of personality disorder." The Army defines it as a pre-existing "maladaptive pattern of behavior of long duration" that interferes with the soldier's ability to perform his duties.

In practical terms, this diagnosis means the personality disorder existed before military service, and therefore medical care and disability payments are not the military's responsibility. But some veterans and veterans' advocates have been vocal in their belief that personality disorder is being misdiagnosed in combat veterans.

This article is from June:

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) has joined a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues led by Senators Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to ask Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to launch a full review of the personality disorder discharge process across the Armed Forces. The letter comes after multiple reports that personality disorders are being used as a excuse to discharge U.S. service personnel with service-connected injuries to avoid disability and medical benefits payments.