02-24-2022, 11:04 PM
Settlement Allows Iraq/Afghan Era Vets to Reapply for Honorable Status
The Army will review thousands of discharge records of veterans affected by military sexual trauma,
posttraumatic stress disorder and other behavioral health conditions following a class-action lawsuit, the service
announced 12 JAN. The review is part of a settlement reached in the lawsuit Kennedy v. McCarthy, which
was preliminarily approved 28 DEC, according to the Army. The service will look at discharges of veterans
affected by PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma or other behavioral health conditions.
“Under the agreement, the Army will automatically reconsider certain discharge-status-upgrade
decisions made by the Army Discharge Review Board between April 17, 2011, and the effective date of
settlement that partially or fully denied relief to Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans with less-than-fully honorable discharges,”
the statement reads. Veterans who were discharged and did not receive an upgrade
to honorable from the review board between Oct. 7, 2001 and April 16, 2011, will also be able to reapply
due to the settlement. The lawsuit was filed April 2017 in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut by Army
combat veterans Steve Kennedy and Alicia Carson, both of whom suffered from PTSD and other health
conditions, but where given a general discharge despite their medical issues, according to the complaint.
Their case was handled by the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School.
Kennedy served in the Army from 2006 to 2009, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007 and
2008. He returned home from the deployment with PTSD and major depression but was not
properly diagnosed or treated by the Army, according to the court document. “Mr. Kennedy
continued to lead his team to top performance marks but began abusing alcohol, self-isolating,
and self-injuring, which ultimately led to him going absent without leave for two weeks,” the
document states. His commander ordered a psychiatric evaluation and he was diagnosed with
major depressive disorder but not PTSD, despite his symptoms. Kennedy was then discharged
due to his two-week absence, according to the document.
Carson deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and served with a Special Forces unit as a gunner, taking
part in more than 100 missions, according to the court document. She was diagnosed with PTSD
and a TBI by Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs doctors after returning
from her deployment. Despite receiving a doctor’s note to excuse her from National Guard drills,
the Guard discharged her due to her absences, according to the document.
Their appeals to the review board to have their discharges upgraded to honorable were both denied,
according to the court document. Now due to the settlement, Army, National Guard, and Reserve veterans
who received a discharge that was downgraded from honorable while having a diagnosis or showing
symptoms of military sexual trauma, PTSD, TBI or other behavioral health conditions, might be eligible
for relief, according to the Army. Upgrades to a discharge are not guaranteed and will be decided on a caseby-case basis,
the service said.
The Army has also agreed to change the procedures for how veterans apply to have their discharge status
upgraded in the future and how the review board addresses these cases, according to the statement. Some
of these changes include allowing veterans to appear via telephone to their review board hearings, more
training for review board members and “updated protocols for decision making in cases involving
symptoms or diagnoses of PTSD, TBI, MST or other behavioral health conditions.” A hearing to give final
approval on the settlement will occur March 24 at 10 a.m. EST. For more information on the settlement,
veterans can go to at http://www.kennedysettlement.com and https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/adrboverview.html.
The Army will review thousands of discharge records of veterans affected by military sexual trauma,
posttraumatic stress disorder and other behavioral health conditions following a class-action lawsuit, the service
announced 12 JAN. The review is part of a settlement reached in the lawsuit Kennedy v. McCarthy, which
was preliminarily approved 28 DEC, according to the Army. The service will look at discharges of veterans
affected by PTSD, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma or other behavioral health conditions.
“Under the agreement, the Army will automatically reconsider certain discharge-status-upgrade
decisions made by the Army Discharge Review Board between April 17, 2011, and the effective date of
settlement that partially or fully denied relief to Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans with less-than-fully honorable discharges,”
the statement reads. Veterans who were discharged and did not receive an upgrade
to honorable from the review board between Oct. 7, 2001 and April 16, 2011, will also be able to reapply
due to the settlement. The lawsuit was filed April 2017 in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut by Army
combat veterans Steve Kennedy and Alicia Carson, both of whom suffered from PTSD and other health
conditions, but where given a general discharge despite their medical issues, according to the complaint.
Their case was handled by the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School.
Kennedy served in the Army from 2006 to 2009, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007 and
2008. He returned home from the deployment with PTSD and major depression but was not
properly diagnosed or treated by the Army, according to the court document. “Mr. Kennedy
continued to lead his team to top performance marks but began abusing alcohol, self-isolating,
and self-injuring, which ultimately led to him going absent without leave for two weeks,” the
document states. His commander ordered a psychiatric evaluation and he was diagnosed with
major depressive disorder but not PTSD, despite his symptoms. Kennedy was then discharged
due to his two-week absence, according to the document.
Carson deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and served with a Special Forces unit as a gunner, taking
part in more than 100 missions, according to the court document. She was diagnosed with PTSD
and a TBI by Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs doctors after returning
from her deployment. Despite receiving a doctor’s note to excuse her from National Guard drills,
the Guard discharged her due to her absences, according to the document.
Their appeals to the review board to have their discharges upgraded to honorable were both denied,
according to the court document. Now due to the settlement, Army, National Guard, and Reserve veterans
who received a discharge that was downgraded from honorable while having a diagnosis or showing
symptoms of military sexual trauma, PTSD, TBI or other behavioral health conditions, might be eligible
for relief, according to the Army. Upgrades to a discharge are not guaranteed and will be decided on a caseby-case basis,
the service said.
The Army has also agreed to change the procedures for how veterans apply to have their discharge status
upgraded in the future and how the review board addresses these cases, according to the statement. Some
of these changes include allowing veterans to appear via telephone to their review board hearings, more
training for review board members and “updated protocols for decision making in cases involving
symptoms or diagnoses of PTSD, TBI, MST or other behavioral health conditions.” A hearing to give final
approval on the settlement will occur March 24 at 10 a.m. EST. For more information on the settlement,
veterans can go to at http://www.kennedysettlement.com and https://arba.army.pentagon.mil/adrboverview.html.