Vets face blizzard of red tape, group says

Vets face blizzard of red tape, group says
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 5, 2010 6:28:04 EST

Combat veterans returning to the U.S. often find themselves facing a new, complex and frustrating enemy: red tape.

That is the assessment of a new report released Friday by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Here are some examples of the problems faced by veterans:

• Drew Brown, an Iraq veteran who returned from a 2004 deployment struggling with anxiety and depression, says he asked the military five times over 16 months for mental health counseling before he got a call back. When he tried to get help from the Veterans Affairs Department, he says he was told it would take three weeks to schedule an appointment — which could only be at a far-off location between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m, requiring the former Army sergeant first class to take time off work.

• Air Force veteran Aimee Sherrod, medically retired in 2005 as a result of post-traumatic stress related to a mortar attack on her unit on her second day in Iraq in 2003, received a 10 percent disability rating that she accepted because she thought she would get better. But when she got worse in 2008 during a pregnancy, she discovered that a VA hospital would not admit her as an inpatient because they weren’t prepared for maternity care. Instead, they told her to drop out of school and relax.

• Navy veteran Richard Sanchez, a veteran of Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle and Iraqi Freedom, left the service in 2006 on disability with a recommendation for back surgery for treatment of injuries suffered when heavy equipment fell on him. It took three years for VA to schedule the surgery, about the same amount of time he has been struggling with a disability claim related to post-traumatic stress.

Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/02/military_red_tape_combat_veterans_020510w/