More than 22,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries and mental health disorders have been discharged from the Army for “misconduct,” an investigation by National Public Radio has found.
Because the soldiers did not receive an honorable discharge, the veterans are not eligible for retirement and healthcare benefits to which they would be entitled otherwise.
Top Army brass say the firings do not violate a 2009 law passed specifically to ensure that soldiers returning from war with severe brain injuries and mental health disorders receive fair treatment because those dismissed did not have issues severe enough to affect their judgement, or because they had recovered from their injuries before the misconduct occurred.
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