This is via John Cole who got it from the LA Times:
Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq-by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries.
In each case, the Pentagon ruled that their disabilities were not combat-related.
In a little-noticed regulation change in March, the military's definition of combat-related disabilities was narrowed, costing some injured veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits-and triggering outrage from veterans' advocacy groups.
The Pentagon said the change was consistent with Congress' intent when it passed a "wounded warrior" law in January. Narrowing the combat-related definition was necessary to preserve the "special distinction for those who incur disabilities while participating in the risk of combat, in contrast with those injured otherwise," William J. Carr, deputy undersecretary of Defense, wrote in a letter to the 1.3-million-member Disabled American Veterans.
A U.S Marine double amputee
This shit makes my hard charging Devil Dog blood just fucking boil!
Not only should we NOT be cutting benefits and narrowing the definitions of what a service related disability is but we should be giving these young men and women who have served their nation and given their blood in that service EVERYTHING WE FUCKING OWN!
EVERYTHING!
Do they need a new home? Give it to them! An education? Pay for it! A new fucking car? Take 'em down to the dealer and have 'em pick it out. A blowjob? Get on your fucking knees and start sucking!
These young men and women took their lives and their youth and put them at risk on behalf of us all. And then, having served our collective needs they have returned shattered and ruined in many cases and what the fuck do we do?!?!
We strip them of the meager fucking resources that we've allocated for them and tell them, "Sorry Charley, but your shitty life wasn't worth nearly what you thought it was. Now go away and stop bothering me."
You may not agree with the wars that we fight but they get fought on our behalf because we, WE order these good young men and women to fight those wars. This is a republic remember so nothing that gets done isn't done in our collective names.
And that includes ordering men and women into combat that results in their being maimed and killed on our behalf.
The level of chickenshit that we as Americans are prepared to stoop to or to have perpetrated in our names, all for the purpose of saving a couple of bucks, is simply mind boggling.
And were it not for their inherent honor and idealism, if our troops ever came to realize what a nation of feckless cowards this is and that they gallantly serve not a single one of them would ever go into combat on our behalf and the government would be forced to draft all you sorry assed motherfuckers instead.
That's all.
