>>OK, now I understand...you are speaking about military disability retirement pay rather than benefits, as such.<<

Yes. Why any soldier would be denied this after serving in someplace like Iraq is unconscionable. I don't care if someone was bipolar. Obviously, combat in Iraq will exacerbate that and that soldier should be entitled to disability pay. But it isn't meanness that accounts for it.

>>The vastmajority of monthly benefits for veterans and the even vaster percentage of medical care for veterans is the responsibility of DVA. And, BTW, I am retired from both the military and the VA.<<

The DVA is going to collapse if this war drags out. The problem is far more complicated than it was during Vietnam. Probably 50% of the more severely wounded soldiers that survive today would not have survived those injuries in Nam due to lesser medical technology that is generally available to today. We'd have, I would guess, about 13,000 to 15,000 dead already if the was the Vietnam era. While wounded soldiers surviving at higher rates today may sound good on paper, it creates a horrendous mess for both the military and VA. Before, these guys just died and that was that. Now, tens of thousands that would have died will survive and have to be treated and compensated and the money, facilities and personnel are simply not there.

I don't know if people understand that part or not--the money and materiel is not there! It's like that part in "Animal Farm" where they fill the grain bins almost to the brim with sand and then layer the meager grain harvest over the top to give visitors the impression that they are doing very well. We are in that stage and if they do not find a way to end this war soon, there will be no hiding the truth of our situation any longer.