Huh. Pentagon says getting blown up by an IED not "combat related" injury

[charlie]

Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries.

In each case, the Pentagon ruled that their disabilities were not combat-related.

In a little-noticed regulation change in March, the military's definition of combat-related disabilities was narrowed, costing some injured veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits -- and triggering outrage from veterans' advocacy groups.

...

The Pentagon changes focused on "tip of the spear" fighters, or those "in the line of duty in a combat zone," said Eileen Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman. They comprise "a very special, yet limited, subset of those who matriculate through the Disability Evaluation System," Lainez wrote in an e-mail response to a request for comment.

In many cases, veterans say, they are not told why their disabilities are not considered combat-related.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-combat25-2008nov25,0,3682816.story

[xultar]

1. Wow, lets air mail a case to the pentagon for christmas!

[valerief]

2. It's astounding how many times the administration tortures our soldiers and in so many ways. nt

[groovedaddy]

3. Support Our Cannon Fodder! Is this a great country or what!?! n.t

[Uncle Joe]

4. What a crock of steaming shit! n/t

[gratuitous]

5. But on the other hand

Anyone luckless enough to fall into our clutches becomes an "enemy combatant," a legal limbo locution designed to subvert our treaty and constitutional obligations, and allowing us to imprison people indefinitely without charge or trial and torture them on the off chance that they might know something.

Would someone remind me again about all this freedom that we're supposed to have that other countries are jealous of, and that our fightin' men and women are forever defending? I forget sometimes.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Well, don't forget...this administration supports their troops! You betcha!

That ruling doesn't even make sense. How can someone injured from an IED not be able to get medical help for combat injuries? How many more rulings have they changed?

Get this cabal out of our White House and get our people home! I'm so sick of this administration!!!

[gratuitous]

7. It's worse than the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

By comparison to the Bush administration, that was a model of erudition and sober deliberation.

[dmr]

8. This is utterly disgraceful

There are no words to describe how disgraceful, heartless and insane this is.

[mrbarber]

9. Someone needs to print out this story....

And paste it all over every recruitment center they can find.

Why anyone would willingly join the Army in this day of age is completely mind boggling to me.

[malletgirl02]

10. Catch-22

You know this sounds like something out of Catch-22. Unfortunately, this is real.

[OneBlueSky]

11. this is just fuckin' sick . . . who are these people, the ones who make these rules? . . .

whoever they are, they should be fired immediately . . . if I wasn't against the death penalty, I'd also consider shooting them at sunrise . . .