Rodger Greek was a Marine and a dear friend who was part of our family. He did two tours in Vietnam before the age of 20. He told me that when he got out, he felt discarded, and threw away every award and paper that tied him to the service — he had never entered the VA system. Several years before his death, we obtained his documents, for without them, he could not access the system that cared for him in his last year of life. I look back and knowing his health conditions that were service-connected, I am confident that had he decided to do so, he would have been able to receive VA compensation as well.
MST survivors often do the same: leave with no documentation, not knowing or caring about the status of their discharge, unaware they could apply for VA benefits or enter the system, because at the time, they were too broken to ask. Many were separated for behaviors or conduct that were directly related to their trauma — alcohol, AWOL, misconduct — and received other than honorable (OTH) discharges that they believed disqualified them from everything.
Here's what many don't know: the VA has its own standard for determining character of discharge for purposes of MST-related care and benefits. A veteran with an OTH discharge may still be eligible for VA mental health treatment related to MST, and may be eligible to apply to the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) or the Discharge Review Board (DRB) to upgrade their discharge status. This is underused and worth telling every OTH MST client.
Ruth's Truth: It may look like there is nothing to work with, but there is usually more than you think.
#RuthsTruth #MilitarySexualTrauma #VeteransLaw #DischargeUpgrade #BCMR