03-11-2022, 08:32 PM
The U.S. Navy has agreed to review more than nine years’ worth of “bad paper” discharges given
to thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or certain
other trauma-related health conditions. That announcement follows preliminary court approval
19 OCT of a settlement of a 2018 lawsuit alleging that a Navy board had improperly denied a
Marine Corps veteran’s request for a better discharge status. The suit was filed by Tyson Manker
and the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress. Manker, who served from 1999 to 2003
and earned multiple awards and commendations, received an Other-Than-Honorable Discharge
for smoking marijuana.
The settlement would require the Navy to review discharge status upgrade applications made
to the Naval Discharge Review Board between March 2, 2012, and the effective date of the
settlement. The review applies to Navy and Marine Corps veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan era who were given general or other-than-honorable discharges and were partially or
fully denied upgrade relief, the Navy said 20 OCT. The settlement also expands reapplication
rights for eligible applicants who were discharged and received an adverse review board decision
between Oct. 7, 2001, and March 2, 2012, the Navy said. In addition, the Navy agreed to provide
discharge review board members and staffers with annual training in PTSD, traumatic brain
injuries, military sexual trauma and other behavioral or mental health conditions, according to the
settlement.
In the lawsuit, Manker contended that the review board had unfairly rejected his request for a
discharge status upgrade despite evidence that he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder
and a traumatic brain injury after returning from deployment to Iraq in 2003. The board
adjudicates applications from Navy and Marine Corps veterans seeking to upgrade their general
or other-than-honorable discharges. Those discharges, also known as “bad paper,” stigmatize
veterans and keep them from receiving health care, education and other military service benefits.
Other service branches also are under scrutiny for similar discharges, including the Air Force,
which was sued in September by two veterans claiming discrimination against service members
with mental health conditions. Manker’s lawsuit argued that among other failings, the board was
not complying with a 2014 memorandum from then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel directing
military review boards to consider PTSD and related conditions as mitigating factors in an
Other-Than-Honorable condition of service. A teleconference on the settlement agreement is scheduled
16 DEC, the Navy’s statement said
to thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or certain
other trauma-related health conditions. That announcement follows preliminary court approval
19 OCT of a settlement of a 2018 lawsuit alleging that a Navy board had improperly denied a
Marine Corps veteran’s request for a better discharge status. The suit was filed by Tyson Manker
and the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress. Manker, who served from 1999 to 2003
and earned multiple awards and commendations, received an Other-Than-Honorable Discharge
for smoking marijuana.
The settlement would require the Navy to review discharge status upgrade applications made
to the Naval Discharge Review Board between March 2, 2012, and the effective date of the
settlement. The review applies to Navy and Marine Corps veterans of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan era who were given general or other-than-honorable discharges and were partially or
fully denied upgrade relief, the Navy said 20 OCT. The settlement also expands reapplication
rights for eligible applicants who were discharged and received an adverse review board decision
between Oct. 7, 2001, and March 2, 2012, the Navy said. In addition, the Navy agreed to provide
discharge review board members and staffers with annual training in PTSD, traumatic brain
injuries, military sexual trauma and other behavioral or mental health conditions, according to the
settlement.
In the lawsuit, Manker contended that the review board had unfairly rejected his request for a
discharge status upgrade despite evidence that he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder
and a traumatic brain injury after returning from deployment to Iraq in 2003. The board
adjudicates applications from Navy and Marine Corps veterans seeking to upgrade their general
or other-than-honorable discharges. Those discharges, also known as “bad paper,” stigmatize
veterans and keep them from receiving health care, education and other military service benefits.
Other service branches also are under scrutiny for similar discharges, including the Air Force,
which was sued in September by two veterans claiming discrimination against service members
with mental health conditions. Manker’s lawsuit argued that among other failings, the board was
not complying with a 2014 memorandum from then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel directing
military review boards to consider PTSD and related conditions as mitigating factors in an
Other-Than-Honorable condition of service. A teleconference on the settlement agreement is scheduled
16 DEC, the Navy’s statement said