Sgt. X had no idea that the little machine in his pocket was about to capture recorded evidence of something wounded soldiers and their advocates have long suspected — that the military does not want Iraq veterans to be diagnosed with PTSD, a condition that obligates the military to provide expensive, intensive long-term care, including the possibility of lifetime disability payments. And, as Salon will explore in a second article Thursday, after the Army became aware of the tape, the Senate Armed Services Committee declined to investigate its implications, despite prodding from a senator who is not on the committee. The Army then conducted its own internal investigation — and cleared itself of any wrongdoing.
When Sgt. X went to see McNinch with a tape recorder, he was concerned that something was amiss with his diagnosis. He wanted to find out why the psychologist had told the medical evaluation board that handles disability payments that Sgt. X did not, in fact, have PTSD, but instead an “anxiety disorder,” which could substantially lower the amount of benefits he would receive if the Army discharged him for a disability. The recorder in Sgt. X’s pocket captured McNinch in a moment of candor. (Listen to a segment of the recording here.)
“OK,” McNinch told Sgt. X. “I will tell you something confidentially that I would have to deny if it were ever public. Not only myself, but all the clinicians up here are being pressured to not diagnose PTSD and diagnose anxiety disorder NOS [instead].” McNinch told him that Army medical boards were “kick[ing] back” his diagnoses of PTSD, saying soldiers had not seen enough trauma to have “serious PTSD issues.”
Those selfish wimps! Obviously, they should die in combat or off themselves so as not spend money on treatment that’s needed for investment banker’s bonuses. Cripes!
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Bean counters dictating medical care. I thought only HMO’s did that… Guess not.
Because most vets have PTSD.
Alfred1 (#3),
This long predates the Obama administration, he’s been in office less than 80 days. Start with the Korean War and just keep moving forward in time. No administration has helped our vets, including your beloved Nixon, Reagan, and the two Bushes, nor Carter or Clinton…
This is a sad state of affairs and we all have this to look forward to when we have government run healthcare for everyone.
The government makes the decision on who gets what in other countries and you might end up dying waiting for coronary bypass surgery or any of a number of other things.
Of course none of this will apply to our wonderful legislators since they will exempt themselves and keep their sweetheart medical coverage. Maybe it will be like the bank for Congress that had to be shutdown in ’91 because the congress wrote 8,500 bounced checks. Free no interest loans because it was taxpayer funded.
Until the sheeple realize that it is both sides that are screwing them it will stay the same. I don’t hold out much hope since Obomba will control the banks, auto companies and healthcare and he is trying to get control of the Internet which would give him the ability to shutdown “portions” that he deems necessary.
Nice
#5–Diesel==I agree with you. Only SOCIALIZED MEDICINE can provide the services our fighting boys need and deserve.
Once care is paid for “thru” the government, it won’t matter if the Dx is PTSD or anything else==our veterans and everyone else will get “the care they need” instead of the shell game that goes on today costing the system billions in overhead and waste.
OBamaGod is focused on changing healthcare. It might even help.
#7–Alfie==I thought you were a christian, or, at least god fearing, or at least moral?
Just a hypocrite huh?
#3, Alphie, the Quaalude Queen,
Queenie, how many effen times do you need to be told, READ THE ARTICLE. Get your head out of your bible and into the real world,
#6 bimbo said “OBamaGod is focused on changing healthcare. It might even help.”
I admit that you deserve SOCIALIZED MEDICINE because you are as dumb as you are stupid. May the lord god Obama grant your wish, dumbass.
The soldiers are getting screwed by a bunch of bean counters.When you support going to war you must support the vets….period.
bobbo…he’s a hypocrite on a mission from God. That makes it OK.
And Alfie, recall that Rumsfeld left, in part, due to scandals in vet health care during his watch.
You seem fairly smart about certain things, but attention to detail and facts clearly isn’t your strong suit.
Alfred1 (#7),
Darn right says me! As a veteran of the US Army in 1991 with a reconstructed left shoulder, I can speak with great certainty on this issue. Are you a veteran with an injury?
What’s the big deal?
The military is getting an early exposure to Obama’s Universal Health Care rationing program.
After putting the troops in harms way for bogus reasons, and now trying to screw them after they come back wounded… can anyone seriously say that the Republicans support the military any more than the Democrats? Time for that old myth to die.
Alfred1, it sounds like you are using this to go off on a political tangent, when what’s really important is how people who sacrifice for our country are treated. This shameful disregard for our soldiers’ mental health has been going on through many administrations. As someone whose father spent his first year back from Vietnam throwing himself under the bed any time a helicopter was overhead, I personally don’t care who is in office when it comes to this issue. I just want the government to do the right thing.
What’s the big deal?
The military is getting an early exposure to Obama’s Universal Health Care rationing program.
Atta boy Benson… way to support the troops. Not.
@debegray
You used “government” and “do the right thing” in the same sentence. Are you trying to be funny?
I think the best thing to do is a nationwide protest. Veterans should picket IN UNIFORM. Not at VA facilities, but at Armed forces recruitment centers. They need to get the message out that if you join the military, serve your country, and are injured as a result, you will be treated like garbage. If this is done on a nationwide basis, simultaneously, the effect on recruitment would be devastating.
And you thought the IED’s were bad. Now you get screwed by the good old USA.
#19 Yes! This plan seems workable, and nothing would force them to fix this problem faster than a big hit on recruitment.
“So while the enemy didn’t get you, Obama care will, if you are elderly.”
…Because we love and adore our elderly in this country soooo much. “Over the age of 60 grandpa? Well time to ship you off to the old folk’s farm and forget all about you. Have a nice time losing your mental faculties!”
Dang, Alfred is one sick puppy. Whatever the Republicans do, he’s automatically in favor of, even when it’s screwing the troops out of the health care they need.
I guess the bible told you so, eh pal?
#14, Benson,
The military is getting an early exposure to Obama’s Universal Health Care rationing program.
Another one that didn’t read more than the headline. THIS HAPPENED UNDER BUSH’S WATCH. IT IS NOT OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION THAT DID THIS.
My cousin is leaving on Thursday for his first tour in Afghanistan…
These bastards should be hung from their testicles (or ovaries)…
From the clinicians up to the decision makers, they need this to be done to them, at least to limit propagation of their genes in the gene pool.
#25 They are practicing forced euthanasia in the UK? Really? Have a link or something to support that?
#31 You seem to be under the impression that the SASC should waste time and money investigating something that is common knowledge. The more difficult question is, how do you correct the problem? This PTSD denial has been an issue for going on 40 years now, one made only worse by the deplorable condition of the VA over the last 8 years or so. A mere investigation isn’t going to solve it; rather, a complete overhaul of the veterans services system is in order, to bring it in line to the standards of care expected by, say, congressmen. But until we can stop spending money on silly boondoggle weapons systems that are basically useless and lack interoperability with extant systems, the resources to fix this issue probably won’t exist. Of course, that is made near impossible by the howls of protest every time they even attempt to decrease the rate of growth of military spending, even though we spend 10x anyone else on Earth to produce a fighting force that Sweden could probably wipe the ground with. There is a good reason that the terms ‘FUBAR’ and ‘clusterfuck’ came from the US military. . .
By the way Alfie, got a link on that forced euthanasia in the UK story yet? I didn’t think so. . .
First deny coverage to vets promised by the country
Second, misdiagnose any adverse, to the government, disability
Third, wait until most the victims (soldiers, sailors, sailors) die so benefit payments are minimized
Has anybody heard of Agent Orange before – lost a friend to that non-disability.
Send the review boards, doctors, and all willing participants in this fraud to the front lines until killed in action – or otherwise.
A country of liars has no honor.
Alfie, really! Do you think that Obama is a magic negro who can just put his healing hands on the VA and belch out all the badness in the form of moths? This is a serious, systemic problem, the reaches into the depths of the military establishment, from it’s broken procurement, to the money drain from the industrial complex, to it’s pervasive mission creep. It’s been growing like a cancer on our military since Eisenhower warned us about the growing power of the military industrial complex. And the fact that people like you howl every time they try and change the money flows into the MIC (which is pre-requisite for fixing any of this) makes finding solutions all but impossible.
You want to hear my solution? Cut spending by 90% for five years. Have the military sell off property, resources and worthless weapon systems to whatever idiots will purchase them. Put the marines in charge of all ground ops, and transfer the procurement people from that service to the army proper where they can whip that system into shape a bit. Cut the Air Force to the bone; why do we need all of those expensive 200 million dollar planes when drones are doing most of the actual fighting? Build a bunch of new A10’s, since those see the most action, are dirt cheap, and are desperately needed now. Focus the remaining money on infantry equipment, and reforming the VA.
But if anyone ever tried to do that, people like you would be calling them anti-american and anti-military and all that rot. Meanwhile, Sweden could kick our ass because their infantry are well equipped, well armored, and have decent close air support.
We have the most expensive military in the world, almost more expensive than every other military combined, and we can’t even manage two measly imperial occupations in countries that have been blown to hell for decades on end. Do you really think that is the Democrat’s fault? Or even the Republican’s, for that matter?
Have vets been abused in the past? Yes.
However the buck stops at the White House and the guy in charge now is named Obama. He can fix it or let it go. So far he’s let it go. That means, just like all the other people that let it go, his ethics bleep.
Sure you can say others let it go but if they bleeped for doing it so does Obama. Let’s see if he’s really a step up from these other people many of you like to call bleeps shall we?
*Li’s head explodes*
*sweeps up the floor*
“And now President Obama…with a word, can change the policy…if indeed it is policy…”
And what would that word be? Abracadabra?