No Doubt "Depleted" Uranium Plays A Big Part
Almost half of new vets seek disability
"America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.
What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.
It's unclear how much worse off these new veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims — the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been granted disability so far.
Government officials and some veterans' advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.
As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11 wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund set aside to pay."
"America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.
What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.
It's unclear how much worse off these new veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims — the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been granted disability so far.
Government officials and some veterans' advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.
As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11 wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund set aside to pay."
posted by nolocontendere at 2:56 PM
3 Comments:
DU was not used in Afghanistan so any claims of DU causing illness there are totally bogus. Far as Iraq goes, there have been no valid claims because the only soldiers who have had DU found in their bodies have no illness. The writer is vastly misinformed. Anyone who would like to know more can write me, I don't bite, but I do not pussy foot around with liars either DUStory dash owner at yahoo groups dot com
Why don't either of you two bloggers have the decency to post your e-mail address so that people can contact you. People who do not have the guts to stand up for their own writing are cowards and really do not deserve to have a blog especially when they haven't a clue about what they claim to be true.
The real reasons for higher number of disability filings is PTSD and traumatic brain injury. You also have more soldiers coming home with severe injury because in past wars, they would not have survived their wounds. Depleted uranium has absolutely nothing to do with the number of filings. Nearly two thousand were tested by VA Medical Center Baltimore and three (3) tested positive for DU contamination. All three were Gulf War vets with DU shrapnel in their bodies from "friendly fire" incidents and all were already being medically watched on at least an annual basis. Good place to learn about DU, http://tinyurl.com/DUQandA skip about five minutes in to question from Gulf War vet Greg Campbell. All of the segments of this over one hour long forum are linked to this page as well. Write me, I do not bite unless you want to push lies, DUStory dash owner at yahoo groups dot com
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