Vietnam Veterans of America sent letters Tuesday night to both President Obama and President-elect Trump asking them to work together to help veterans who were kicked out of the military for behavior linked to post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury.
John Rowan, the national president of the veterans’ service organization, wrote that he would like to see Obama issue a blanket pardon to post-9/11 veterans who were administratively separated with an other-than-honorable discharge because of service-connected PTSD or TBI, and that he would like to see that executive action upheld by the Trump administration next year.
“Through an executive order, President Carter erased the felony-level offense of draft-dodging for thousands of men who refused to serve their country during the Vietnam War,” Rowan wrote. “We believe that veterans who have done their duty and served their country deserve similar consideration before President Obama leaves office.”
At least 22,000 troops have been kicked out of the military with other-than-honorable discharges for behavior that likely stems from post-traumatic stress suffered during combat ranging from repeatedly being late to formation to drunken driving to getting into fights. These behaviors can be caused by symptoms of PTSD, such as insomnia or self-medication.
Veterans who are kicked out with other-than-honorable discharges are also ineligible for veterans’ benefits, including access to healthcare at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.
In addition to upgrading the other-than-honorable discharges to honorable, the letter also asks Obama to immediately give all veterans access to PTSD and TBI screenings at VA health centers, regardless of their discharge status, to ensure everyone who served has access to help.
“President Obama should start working now with President-elect Trump to ensure that this program extends as long as it takes for every applicable veteran to be properly screened and granted the appropriate pardon. This action has the potential to save lives, and is not without legal precedent,” the letter says.
Many Vietnam veterans suffered a similar fate. Rowan writes in the letter that it would be “righteous” to issue a pardon for all Vietnam vets as well, but that Obama should “at least save the current generation of America’s warriors an unfairly marginal life as outcasts in the nation they have so faithfully served.”
Members of Congress have been trying to overturn other-than-honorable discharges for veterans as well. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., this year introduced the Fairness for Veterans Act, which would give veterans the benefit of the doubt if they appeal the discharge. Under the bill, officials evaluating the appeal would start the process with the presumption that PTSD or a traumatic brain injury contributed to the cause of an other-than-honorable discharge.
The Pentagon is not supportive of the bill because it sees it as stripping some authority from the chain of command. Other lawmakers are concerned about the cost of the proposal, which could run in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions.
