Senaotr Kirsten Gillibrand's office issued the following yesterday:
Local Long Island Veteran Prompts Senator Gillibrand to Introduce New Legislation Requiring Mental Health Professional on Military Review Board
Bill Would Ensure Service Members With PTSD Get ‘Fair Shake’
Garden
City, NY – After hearing from a local Long Island veteran who was
discharged from the military as the result of an undiagnosed mental
health condition, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation
that would require the panel that reviews military discharges to have
at least one mental health professional on its board. Senator
Gillibrand’s legislation would ensure these service members’ appeals are
expertly reviewed – and that the records of service members who were
improperly discharged for an incorrect reason, or with a less than
honorable rating, can be corrected.
“The
men and women of our military risk their lives to protect our county,
and we need to ensure they receive the care they earned and deserve,”
said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“Too many of our service members have been discharged as a result of
an undiagnosed or improperly diagnosed mental health condition. It is
important that a mental health professional be included at all review
board hearings, ensuring that our service members receive a correct
diagnosis and treatment for mental health injuries like PTSD, TBI and
MST.”
“Although
much has been done by the military to reduce the stigma against
invisible wounds, many of those suffering from PTSD, TBI or MST, avoid
getting help in order to preserve their careers, and as a result, go
undiagnosed and untreated while in the military. Sometimes, symptoms of a
service member's mental health injuries can be misinterpreted as acts
of misconduct while they're in the military, ultimately resulting in a
discharge that is less than honorable,” said Kristofer Goldsmith,
president of Student Veterans of Nassau Community College. “Too many
veterans have been denied an honorable discharge without ever being
properly screened by qualified mental health professionals, and this
legislation will make sure that these vets are finally afforded that
opportunity.”
“Mental
health injuries have become the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and this legislation is a needed measure to
appropriately review and potentially alter certain discharge statuses,”
said Paul Rieckhoff, the CEO and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
John
Javis, Director of Special Projects for the Mental Health Association of Nassau County and the Chair of the Veterans Health Alliance
enthusiastically supported the legislation. "We encounter many veterans
that have been shut out of invaluable services from the VA including
mental health, healthcare, housing and employment due to their discharge
status. This inability to access earned services and benefits can lead
to hopelessness and suicidal thoughts."
“Men
and women who have fought for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan
deserve the best care possible and they must receive adequate and fair
treatment upon discharge from the military,” said Andrew Roberts,
Director of the Office of Military and Veterans Liaison Services for North Shore-LIJ.
After
graduating Mepham high school in 2003, Kris enlisted with the Army as a
Forward Observer and was trained to direct artillery fire. He deployed
to Iraq in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III, where his
primary duties were focused on intelligence reporting from the field.
These duties included the photo documentation of victims of torture
found by his unit in a mass grave. Kris was diagnosed with Chronic
Depression, Personality Disorder and Adjustment Disorder when he sought
mental health treatment while on active duty.
He
left the Army in 2007 with a General Discharge, with a narrative reason
for separation listed as "Misconduct: Serious Offense" after he
attempted to take his own life. This type of Discharge status made him
ineligible for the Post-9-11 GI Bill, and his mental state left him
unemployable for years after leaving the Army. Kris was properly
diagnosed with severe PTSD just two months after his discharge by VA
doctors. With seven years of treatment from the VA, he is now in the
process of recovery from severe PTSD and is going to Nassau Community
College under the Voc Rehab program. Kris is the president of Student
Veterans of NCC, and is working to help to build a strong network of
veterans on Long Island. He has applied twice to the Army Discharge
Review Board to have his discharge upgraded to Honorable, and his appeal
has been denied both times. At his last discharge review hearing, a
physician with no background in mental health was called as an expert
witness by the Army Discharge Review Board to review his mental health
files.
Nearly
one million current or former service members were diagnosed with a
mental health condition between 2001 and 2011, including at least 30,000
who were diagnosed with “Personality Disorder” or “Adjustment
Disorder.” It was later found that many of these men and women, who
were discharged from the military without access to care or benefits,
were improperly diagnosed and unjustly denied access to the services,
care and benefits they had earned. A Discharge Review Board is a
military panel with the legal authority to review military discharges.
Service
members who receive a less than Honorable discharge can be denied
access to many of the services, care and benefits to which they could be
entitled, including G.I. Bill benefits, and can encounter various
obstacles when looking for work or housing.
