To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Protect Vets From Losing Care Due to Bad Paper
Congress must introduce legislation to protect veterans from being denied life-saving care they have earned for injuries and illnesses sustained in service.
Why is this important?
My name is Josh Christmon and I am a Purple Heart recipient and U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq.
You can see my story here : www.stp-sf.org/bad-paper
Vets like myself are coming home with PTSD and physical injuries and are in need of medical care and disability benefits. But the military’s practice of considering symptoms of PTSD and TBI to be misconduct, instead of symptoms of medical conditions that require treatment, are stripping vets of the benefits they have earned.
In my case, when I returned home from Iraq, I smoked marijuana once as a way to escape my PTSD. Instead of getting medical treatment for my conditions, I was given an Other than Honorable discharge. This left me unemployed, without benefits, and without needed medical care for the injuries sustained during my time in Iraq.
You can see my story here : www.stp-sf.org/bad-paper
Vets like myself are coming home with PTSD and physical injuries and are in need of medical care and disability benefits. But the military’s practice of considering symptoms of PTSD and TBI to be misconduct, instead of symptoms of medical conditions that require treatment, are stripping vets of the benefits they have earned.
In my case, when I returned home from Iraq, I smoked marijuana once as a way to escape my PTSD. Instead of getting medical treatment for my conditions, I was given an Other than Honorable discharge. This left me unemployed, without benefits, and without needed medical care for the injuries sustained during my time in Iraq.