Quote Originally Posted by Culpepper
I can't believe the current conflicts even compare to Vietnam and yet vets today are claiming twice the ailments? Come on. Some of these dudes need to cowboy up, grow a backbone, show some pride, and stop taking advantage of the system because getting rocket attacks as a cook in a bunker just isn't the same as the few that are or were actually doing the fighting with the enemy.
First, I don't think it's appropriate to disparage anyone's military service, including cooks. My unit included a number of cooks that were killed in action because they were called to support a mission and did their duty like every other soldier. Second, all veterans are entitled to medical treatment to service-connected ailments and ailments made worse by military service, regardless if they deployed or faced direct combat with the enemy. Upon separating, VA representatives encourage veterans to document every medical problem, no matter how slight. This is because minor problems may become significantly larger problems as the veteran ages, and the sooner disabilities are claimed, the easier it is for the veteran and the VA to resolve the claim. The VA determines whether or not the medical problem is sufficient for compensation. Not the veteran. The VA does not want a repeat of its past where veterans were basically ignored or discarded after their service. It is better for more claims to be submitted and dismissed than to have fewer claims and have large groups of veterans left without assistance.

Quote Originally Posted by jcustis
Separating troops get better counsel from their immediate chain of command on making sure they "document everything" than they do on how to best use their educational benefits, or write a resume.
This is true. But it's also a known problem. Veteran unemployment is something like 11 or 12%. Now, separating soldiers (I don't know about sailors, airmen, and marines) are required to attend seminars hosted by the VA and DoL about benefits (and how to claim them), resume-writing, interviewing techniques, etc. The Army Career and Alumni Program also now provides professional coaches to facilitate job-searches, etc, that match a soldier's skills. These programs only became mandatory in the last year.

Quote Originally Posted by ganulv
But it’s hard for me to believe that the increased use of body armor hasn’t lead to an increase in orthopedic conditions, though of course there’s the challenge of parsing that out from cases like that of the mountain biker.
It's not just the increased use of body armor. It's the training program and expectations in general. In my experience, anywhere between %25 - %50 of my section was unable to conduct the whole physical training program at any given time because of injuries. Most were orthopedic, though there were some related to severe allergies (causing chest pain, coughing blood, etc) due to our location. These soldiers were still required to report for morning PT, but because the gym was closed during PT hours, and because we were required to conduct PT as a unit at all times, recovery for them was a slow and painful process. The focus was not on preventing injuries or recuperation after injuries were suffered. It frustrated me to no end to have my injured soldiers mistreated or shamed because of an injury they received while conducting training. There's no point to the training if as a result your unit is not ready to fight at the end of it. That is the real scandal.

After I separated, I moved to a location near an air force base. I travel to the base frequently at all hours of the day. One day, I asked an airman: "when does the garrison do PT here?" She looked at me like I was speaking Martian. So I explained to her that in my experience, 10,000 or more people show up at their units at the same time and do PT for 60 - 90 minutes across the whole garrison, closing roads and chanting incredibly annoying cadences in unison. And she laughed, and said, units have discretion to conduct PT when they please and it's often individually or in small units. So, while I understand the Air Force and Army missions are different, I would be interested to see a comparison between their physical fitness performance and their pattern of injuries.