It’s been 19 months since the Department of Defense Inspector General’s (DoD IG) team came to my home for three days, and for each day of those 19 long months, I’ve been waiting for the release of their report on Wounded Warrior Battalion-East (WWBN-E), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It took four months to get their attention, with the help of Congressman Walter Jones (NC) and it took them six more months to get to my house to hear our family’s story.
That’s 29 months of waiting for someone to do something about a huge problem that is affecting thousands of our troops returning from combat. I won’t even mention the months of living with the problems, the crises, dealing with the Marine Corps, and dealing with the Congressional inquiries that took place prior to reaching out to the DoD IG.
It’s no wonder we have so many of our combat veterans giving up and finding themselves using drugs, homeless, suicidal, and in families that are falling apart. It takes someone of great strength to go to war, but it takes someone of greater strength to return home and live within the broken system this nation offers our combat veterans.
The DoD IG report is a total of 126 pages if you include reading the attached documentation. I spent a good part of yesterday reading the report and reading the articles that are beginning to show up in response to the report’s release.
I have mixed emotions about this report. While I’m glad to see that there are some honest and scathing remarks, I’m disappointed to see that the command seems to be getting away with some lame excuses. I’m not sure if everyone is aware of that since most who will read the report have no insight into what was really going on back when all of this took place.
For the most part, I’ve kept myself very quiet over the past three and a half years. At first it was my naivete. I spent most of my life trusting those in our government. I was 100% behind the Marine Corps and bought everything they had to sell – hook, line, and sinker. I still believe in the USMC, but I’ve come to realize that it is made up of the same imperfect people who inhabit planet earth.
Once my bubble was burst and I was able to see the reality of the situation, I became frightened realizing that I had to speak up. At first, I thought it was just one bad Captain. I gathered my evidence and made certain of what was really going on. I’ll admit that because I thought the Corps was made to perfection, I did not really believe what was right in front of me. It took me awhile to convince myself there was really a problem. As the evidence built its case, I began to realize that something had to be done and I was, unfortunately, the one who was going to have to step up and do it.
When I finally found the courage to speak up about this bad situation which our family found itself in, I had no idea that I was opening Pandora’s box and that there would be no end to the nightmare and the suffering.
I started at the bottom – at the source – and began to slowly work myself up the chain of command. Eventually, I had to go outside to my congressional representatives, and when they seemed to buy the dog and pony show being sold to them by the involved USMC officials, I went to congressional representatives outside my geographical boundaries.
I remember the day I pushed the “send” button on my fax machine, sending a letter to each and every member of the Armed Services committees in the House and the Senate. I was shaking and frightened. Being my first time to contact Congress, I just assumed that I had reached the end, the top, and that something would finally, and quickly, be done. After six months of crisis, I was finally going to get this behind us.
That was almost three years ago, and since that time I’ve been living in fear each and every day. It didn’t take me long to realize that nothing was getting done. Our family continued to live in crisis and I could see that my son’s life hung in the balance. With the poor care, and the abusive environment of WWBN-E, I knew that I had to break all the rules and keep moving forward.
Moms do NOT call the Marine Corps. Ever! This includes when your son is an injured Marine, especially if he still has all his limbs and “looks” normal. The signature and invisible wounds of war, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS or PTSD) are stigmatized and ignored. Just because it is talked about doesn’t mean it is now accepted in all military circles.
My son didn’t want me to get involved, but I made an executive decision and jumped in. He was single and had no one to advocate for him. I knew it was my job. I’m glad I stepped in, but my son definitely payed the price.
The more I contacted congressional leaders to look into the situation, the more things heated up at WWBN-E. Things went from bad to worse, but I was determined to save my son so I continued to move forward. I also began to speak up through an anonymous blog. I was afraid to draw attention to my son, so I wrote anonymously, as well as under a pen name. I read every news article that had anything to do with wounded warrior care and then I wrote a blog of response based on what our family was experiencing. Often I would write in generalities and allow my writings to appear as if I was referring to another branch of military service because I was so frightened of the ramifications of my speaking out. I soon came to see that my writing was having an effect. I was contacted by numerous media outlets, and I shared some of our story, but I wasn’t willing to put myself or my son out there, to be annihilated by the Corps.
It’s taken a very long time for me to allow myself to be identified, and I’m still not comfortable with it. Besides the fact that I was initially concerned about my son’s safety, I was also concerned about the strain all of this was putting on my relationship with him. He was caught in the middle. He wanted to get out and get help, but he was a Marine and he could see the writing on the wall if he spoke up or allowed me to do so. Though I have opened up and shared what might appear to be a lot of our story, the truth is that I’ve only shared a small part. I wanted to give the system a chance to do it’s job so I have waited patiently for the DoD IG report to be released.
So now the report is out, and I guess I’m going to come out of hiding. I’ve moved most of my old blogs from the anonymous site to my personal blog site bearing my name. I can’t really offer any validity to my story, if I don’t let anyone know who I am and how I have come to be familiar with this situation. Because so much has happened, and because there is so much information which bears a response, I’m going to respond to this report over time, in a series of blog posts. There is simply no way to make this short and sweet.
It is my hope that there have been a lot of positive changes over the past three years, but from my first reading of the report, I see the same pattern of denial, lame excuses, and the allowance to point fingers of blame at someone outside the battalion. If only people were more concerned about the big picture than they were about their own job security. There are a lot of good people who want to speak up, but they know it’s likely career-ending so they just look away and move on.
I am thankful my son survived and got out of there, and I can almost rest knowing I did the best I could to support those who have served this nation and protected my freedoms. As much as I’d like to just move forward with my life and put all of this in the past, I know I can’t sit back as long as there are wounded warriors returning home who need quality care. Every combat veteran needs an advocate. I’m going to do what I can to help other family members learn what they need to do to support their warrior. They aren’t going to get that information from the Department of Defense, that I can guarantee!
About Beth Pennington
This is the next to last paragraph of a research paper I did on PTSD and it has all been cited where needed. Bottom line, if you do not want to read it all is this: The Govt does not care!!
No one, right now, is interested in predicting or preventative measures, which in turn is costing society billions of dollars on treatments and compensation. Pure fact, the military builds a machine, as those parts begin to fail, physically or emotionally, the military, our executive and legislative branches, do not care. That machine has become a liability. They (the military, et all) have built a machine, turned it on and as yet have failed to figure out how to turn it off, and do they really care? All you have left are these pieces, and how do you paint a picture back in focus? (Briggs, 2012)
Now for the whole paper;
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder):
Nature and Nurture
Betty Taylor
PSY 332 – Biological Foundations of Psychology
October 5, 2012
Gretchen Murray
Southwestern College Professional Studies
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder):
Nature and Nurture
Current diagnostic methods say that PTSD is solely the result of traumatic stressors (environment). However there is evidence of genetic linkage, as introversion is a symptom of PTSD. Given the genetic link to introversion and anxiety disorders, a realistic theory could be posited that introversion is not a symptom but a pre-curser to PTSD, as it is too many other anxiety disorders.
To test this would be a rather easy task, given that there are introversion self reporting tests that could be used. A less expensive and more accurate way would be to do genetic testing for that mutation among all the vets that have been diagnosed having PTSD.
In lieu of genetic testing or self reporting, evidence exists to support the utilization of MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) tests, which are already given at induction, being effective in predicting individuals at risk for trauma induced PTSD. These tests are currently being used post-trauma to identify malingerers.
DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria
Prior to DSM-IV there was no PTSD definition which led clinicians to use multiple anxiety disorder diagnoses:
• Paranoid Personality Disorder
• Schizoid Personality Disorder
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Histrionic Personality Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Avoidant Personality Disorder
• Dependent Personality Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Depressive Personality Disorder
• Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder
Currently, the criteria for diagnosing PTSD are published in the DSM-IV-TR (1). There are 6 sets of criterion (A-F).
• A: Stressor (must meet both of the following)
1. The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted by an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.
2. The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. In children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.
• B: Intrusive recollection (must meet one of the following)
1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. In children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.
2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. In children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content.
3. Acting or feeling that the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated). In children trauma-specific reenactment may occur.
4. Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
5. Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that
symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
• C: Avoidant/Numbing (must meet at least three and not have been present before trauma)
1. Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations associated with the trauma.
2. Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.
3. Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma.
4. Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
5. Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others.
6. Restricted range of affect (e.g. does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span).
• D: Hyper-arousal (must meet two)
1. Difficulty falling or staying asleep
2. Irritability or outbursts of anger
3. Difficulty concentrating
4. Hyper-vigilance
5. Exaggerated startle response
• E: Duration
1. Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in B,C, and D) is more than one month)
• F: Functional Significance
1. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Specify if:
1. Acute: If duration of symptoms is less than three months
2. Chronic: If duration of symptoms is three months or more
Specify if:
1. With or without delay of onset: Onset of symptoms at least six months after the stressor.
Genetic Testing
Through much dedicated research it has been found that gene variants may increase risk of anxiety disorders. PTSD is an anxiety disorder, although some would say that it causes anxiety disorders. While there is statistical correlation for three genetic mutations there may be more linked to PTSD.
University of Chicago researchers recently reported that while testing the controversial role of a gene known as Glo1 they uncovered a new inhibitory factor in the brain: metabolic by- product methyglyoxal. Their study showed that with animals that had several copies of the Glo1 gene, they exhibited anxiety-like behaviors when lowering levels of methyglyoxal. The reverse was discovered when they inhibited Glo1, or raised the methyglyoxal levels.
What this short term course showed to researchers was that MG may have a direct effect on neuronal activity. The study went on to show that with methylglyoxal the anxiety behaviors changed within 10 minutes of administration, which of course means that it is a rapid onset. It does not change the gene expression, and it does not have any long term downstream effects. Leigh Plant, now at Brandeis University, said that what they had demonstrated was that MG activated GABA-A receptors on neurons, a previously unknown inhibitory mechanism (NA, A novel mechanism for anxiety behaviors, including a previously unrecognized inhibitory brain signal, may inspire new strategies for treating psychiatric disorders as cited in Science Daily, 2012).
In another study done by Massachusetts General Hospital Researchers called Gene Variants May Increase Risk of Anxiety Disorders (2008) these researchers in collaboration with University of California at San Diego feel that they have discovered possibly the strongest evidence as yet linking variation in a particular gene with anxiety-related traits.
The two teams reported that they had found a particular version of the gene RGS2 that affected the activity of the important neurotransmitter receptors were more common in children and adults assessed as being inhibited or introverted. This gene variant was also associated with increased activity of brain regions involved in emotional processing (NA, Gene Variants May Increase Risk of Anxiety Disorders as cited in Science Daily, 2008).
Dr. Smoller (2008) explained that due to the fact that the tendency for anxiety disorders to run in families and is believed to be influenced by interaction of several genes, and the complex patterns of inheritance along with the many variants to this disorder it has been a struggle to identify specific susceptibility genes.
Further in their research they found that in studies of Chromosome 1 they could associate anxious temperament, particularly with the gene RGS2 that codes for protein and mediates the activity of neurotransmitter receptors that are also the target for antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs, when the RGS2 was knocked out, increased fearful behavior was exhibited.
To more comprehensively investigate the role of RGS2 in humans the researchers had to conduct several experiments on humans, analyzing blood samples from children from 119 families, genotyping blood samples from 700 college students and doing functional MRIs on 55 college students.
The first set of experiments was done on the children at 21 months, four years and again at six years. They were assessed on their reactions to unfamiliar surroundings to further test for behavioral inhibitions, which is a form of temperament linked to increased anxiety disorders. Researchers tested several sites of RGS2 gene and identified nine variations that appeared to be associated with inhibition.
The second set of experiments were with 700 college age students who had previously completed questionnaires designed to measure several personality traits. When analyzing blood samples, the researchers genotyped the four gene markers that had shown strongest effects in the first group. They found the versions associated with inhibited behavior in the children were also most common in the college students who had scored high on introversion, another personality trait that involves social inhibition.
Doing functional MRIs on the remaining 55 college students who had gone through the standard interview screening for anxiety and mood disorders, showed that when viewing pictures of faces in several different expressions, that had previously been used to show activity in the amygdale, a brain structure involved in emotion processing, those participants with the inhibition/introversion-associated alleles also had increased activity in the amygdale and the insula, another anxiety related region of the brain.
Dr. Smoller (2008) reported that as they further investigate RGS2 variants, they hope to associate them with particular disorders and how they act on a cellular level, as well as having their work lead to new drug targets and treatment options for anxiety disorders.
The third study, COMT Genetic Variation Affects Fear Processing: Psycholphysioiogical Evidence (2008). COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) is a gene responsible for triggering an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter, dopamine, thus weakening its signal. It is known that COMT has two variations, Val158 and Met158. About one-half our population carries one copy of each COMT variations, the other half carries either two copies of Val158 or two copies of Met158.
The experiments were conducted on 96 Caucasian females who were all psychology students. To measure the startle response of these participants, electrodes were attached to their eye muscles. If the students were emotionally aroused the eye muscles would contract, the electrodes would cause the eye to blink.
What these studies found was that the students with two copies of COMT variation Met158 had a greater startle reflex when shown unpleasant pictures than those who were found to have two copies of Val158 or one copy of each gene type. The theory of these experiments was that Met158 causes an increase in dopamine in given areas of the brain, which would allow for poor emotional regulation. Further analyses found that those with two Met158 may find it difficult to turn away from something that is emotionally arousing, good or bad.
This study’s lead author, Christian Montag, stated that “the knowledge of a single gene variation may only explain a small portion of anxious behavior, and that COMT is likely only one of many factors that influence such a complex trait as anxiety, but this gives researchers a better picture of the role genes play in the genetic risk for anxiety disorders. This greater understanding will allow for the development of improved treatment strategies”. (Montag, Buckholtz, Merz, Hennig, and Reuter, COMT Genetic Variation Affects Fear Processing: Psycholphysioiogical Evidence. as cited in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2009).
Utilization of MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) tests
From the study Pre-deployment Personality Traits and Exposure to Trauma as Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms found in the American Journal Psychiatry
(2000).
The first study was conducted using 43 premilitary men, such as firefighters or other high stress related employment and then again using college age persons. The purpose for these studies was to identify predictive risk factors for posttramatic stress symptoms and comorbid psychopathological symptoms during the time before exposure to traumatic stress in high-risk population.
For a baseline the 43 men were assessed immediately after their basic training in their chosen field, and then again at 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. Each assessment was to test for psychopathological symptoms, including symptoms for PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The subjects were also characterized with regard to their personality traits such as self-efficacy, hostility, and alexithymia
Researchers for this study reported that neuroendocrine activity was assessed by examination of awakening and diurnal salivary cortisol profiles and also 24-hour urinary catecholamine excretion. To follow-up on the function of pretraumatic stress symptoms after the two years a multiple linear regression analysis was used. Subjects who had both risk factors at baseline showed a significant increase in measures of PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, general psychological morbidity, global symptom severity and alexithymia during the two year period.
What does all this mean? It means that these results suggest that specific personality traits may constitute markers of vulnerability to the development of psychopathological symptoms after trauma exposure. It also means that early identification of preexisting risk factors is needed to provide effective prevention and intervention for individuals who are at risk of developing trauma-related disorders.
Using the data available from the MMPI testing it becomes obvious that those traits of the emotionally stable introvert are desirable (see table) (Carver & Sheier, 2000) for many military occupations.
Traits that are common among four categories of people deriving from the two major personality dimensions proposed by Eysenck. Each category results from combining introversion or extraversion with either a high or low level of emotional stability (adapted from Eysenck, 1975)
Emotionally stable Emotionally unstable
Introvert Passive
Careful
Thoughtful
Peaceful
Controlled
Reliable
Even-tempered
Calm
Phlegmatic Quiet
Pessimistic
Unsociable Sober
Rigid
Moody
Anxious
Reserved Melancholic
Extravert Sociable
Outgoing
Talkative
Responsive
Easygoing
Lively
Carefree
Leaderly Sanguine Active
Optimistic
Impulsive
Changeable
Excitable
Aggressive
Restless
Touchy Choleric
While those traits of the emotionally stable introvert are desirable to a military recruiter, what happens when these same characteristic traits are broken down due to trauma induced episodes and the individuals who suffer those episodes are no longer who they were, the emotionally stable introvert? “How do you paint a picture back in focus?” This from the song All you’ve got left are these pieces, by Stephen Cochran, a former Marine and Iraq veteran who knows of post-traumatic stress (Briggs, 2012)
Conclusion
Genetic and personality tests are in place for pre-trauma testing and yet there seems to be no one interested and above all the military really are not interested in predicting. They are only interested in who makes a good warrior, when emotionally stable. Then when a soldier becomes unstable they become the Veterans Administration and society’s problem.
To show how this is working, or not working, is an article by Norbert Ryan in The Pass Down in Military. Com. Mr. Ryan’s (2012) first paragraph says:
No nation treats returning veterans better than America. But after eleven years of war, tens of thousands of injured vets, their families and caregivers aren’t getting the immediate help they need. Already a decade late on solutions, our federal bureaucracies want more time – up to five more years – to develop some.
President Obama’s recent Executive Order that launched a Military and Veteran’s Interagency Task Force to improve access to mental health services, with fifteen pilot programs. But that’s barley a start. For a female veteran, her inpatient waiting list is over two years vs. six weeks for her male counter-part (unless she tries to commit suicide). (Ryan, 2012)
Ryan goes on to say; the wrenching facts in front of us highlights just how much effort is still needed to address urgent needs of heroes bearing 100 percent of our national wartime sacrifice. For them, it’s a crisis of need. For the rest of us, it must be a crisis of conscience.
We don’t need more finger pointing, what we need is executive and leadership branch leaders to make eight specific commitments to get care quickly to those in need:
• Assume a wartime-urgency mentality focused on creating near-term results (not long-term administrative process) to ease the tragic human crisis of our wounded, ill, and injured.
• Do whatever it takes to implement a joint DoD/VA electronic health record within two years (vs. waiting another five years, as currently planned)
• Develop a score card to objectively measure results of agency collaboration efforts, and hold all leaders accountable for near-term success.
• Ease unacceptable delays in accessing VA mental/behavioral health providers immediately through use of civilian providers. Tri-care network providers, Military Life Consultants, Military One-source, and Give An Hour are some potential sources of care.
• Expand, not cut, military and VA family-caregiver programs and recovery coordinator positions.
• Pursue fast-track legislation authorizing service animals for veterans with severe cognitive and physical impairments.
• Develop materials to better prepare caregivers for physical, emotional and other challenges they and their wounded, ill, or injured veterans are likely to encounter.
We know the results of the war on terrorism. What’s desperately needed now is a war on leadership complacency about delivering essential care for its veteran, family, and caregiver victims. (Ryan, 2012)
No one, right now, is interested in predicting or preventative measures, which in turn is costing society billions of dollars on treatments and compensation. Pure fact, the military builds a machine, as those parts begin to fail, physically or emotionally, the military, our executive and legislative branches, do not care. That machine has become a liability. They (the military, et all) have built a machine, turned it on and as yet have failed to figure out how to turn it off, and do they really care? All you have left are these pieces, and how do you paint a picture back in focus? (Briggs, 2012)
The veterans account for one percent of US population currently, and twenty percent of all suicides. This is an additional cost to the billions already mentioned before. This leaves us with the question, with all the research being done to show that PTSD is an anxiety disorder, and the studies for genetic pre-cursors for those same disorders, is the MMPI and genetic screening only being used to prove malingering by our returning veterans?
References
Bramsen, Inge, Ph.D.; Anja J.E. Dirkzwager, M.A.; Henk M. van der Ploeg , Ph.D.
American Journal Psychiatry 2000; 157:1115-1119. 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.7.1115
Retrieved October 14, 2012
Briggs, Bill, A country song about PTSD:”All you’ve got left are these pieces” NBC News.com September 28, 2012, Retrieved October 14, 2012
Carver, Charles S., Scheier, Michael F., (2000). Perspectives on Personality (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Johnson, D. C., PhD., Polusny, M. A., PhD., Erbes, C. R., PhD., King, D., King, L., Litz, B. T., PhD., . . . Southwick, S. M., M.D. (2011). Development and initial validation of the response to stressful experiences scale. Military Medicine, 176 (2), 161-9. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://ezproxy.sckans.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/852353198?accountid=13979; http://journalfinder.wtcox.com/sckans/incoming.asp??atitle=Development+and+Initial+Validation+of+the+Response+to+Stressful+Experiences+Scale&title=Military+Medicine&issn=00264075&date=2011-02-01&spage=161&au=Johnson%2C+Douglas+C%2C+PhD%3BPolusny%2C+Melissa+A%2C+PhD%3BErbes%2C+Christopher+R%2C+PhD%3BKing%2C+Daniel%3BKing%2C+Lynda%3BLitz%2C+Brett+T%2C+PhD%3BSchnurr%2C+Paula+P%2C+PhD%3BFriedman%2C+Matthew%3BPietrzak%2C+Robert+H%2C+PhD+MPH%3BSouthwick%2C+Steven+M%2C+MD&volume=176&issue=2&vdb=pqm
Montag, C., Buckholtz, J.W., Merz, M., Burk, C., Hennig, J., and Reuter, M., (2008)
COMT Genetic Variation Affects Fear Processing: Psycholphysioiogical Evidence., Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 122, No 4, 901-909
National Center for PTSD, (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
Ryan, Norbert, Wounded Need a War on Leadership Complacency, The Pass Down, Military.
Com. Retrieved October 16, 2012
Schnurr, P. P., Friedman, M. J., & Rosenberg, S. D. (1993). Premilitary MMPI scores as predictors of combat-related PTSD symptoms. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(3), 479-83. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://ezproxy.sckans.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220478234?accountid=13979; http://journalfinder.wtcox.com/sckans/incoming.asp??atitle=Premilitary+MMPI+scores+as+predictors+of+combat-related+PTSD+symptoms.&title=The+American+Journal+of+Psychiatry&issn=0002953X&date=1993-03-01&spage=479&au=Schnurr%2C+P+P%3BFriedman%2C+M+J%3BRosenberg%2C+S+D&volume=150&issue=3&vdb=pqm
Smoller JW, Paulus MP, Fagerness JA, et al. Influence of RGS2 on Anxiety-Related Temperament, Personality, and Brain Function. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008; 65(3):298-308. Retrieved October1, 2012 from http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=482644
Science Daily, (2008) Gene Variants May Increase Risk of Anxiety Disorders.
Science Daily, (2012) A novel mechanism for anxiety behaviors, including a previously unrecognized inhibitory brain signal, may inspire new strategies for treating psychiatric disorders.
It took me 17 years to get my husbands benefits for him, even though he had been diagnosed with PTSD before leaving the Marine Corps. This is not right!