Airman with cancer discharged without benefits

Airman Basic Joseph Weston
Diagnosed with leukemia two weeks into basic.


Airman with cancer discharged without benefits
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 9, 2009 15:57:33 EDT

After a lengthy review, the Air Force has decided that a young airman’s leukemia existed before he entered the service and that he will be discharged without disability benefits, a service spokesman said Friday.

The secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council recently rejected Airman Basic Joseph Weston’s appeal of an October ruling by a physical evaluation board at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Weston, 21, likely will be discharged within a week, said Lackland spokesman Kirk Frady.

“We admire Airman Weston’s desire to serve his nation, and we sympathize with the difficult medical condition he is facing,” Frady said in a statement. “However, existing law and Department of Defense instructions do not allow personnel to receive disability benefits for medical conditions that existed prior to service when the condition has not been permanently aggravated by military service and when the service member has not achieved at least eight years of active military service.”

Frady said the secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council’s review is the fourth and final review.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/03/airforce_weston_leukemiadischarge_030909/%2e



uhc comment: This camper's take: If you're too stupid or lazy or check people out before they are allowed to enlist, tough shit.

They even have a special discharge (entry level seperation), usable only in the first 2 months IIRC. Lackland also has a special unit nicknamed "casual squadron" that deals with this (I spent about a week there on medical hold before going back to basic training).