This editorial appeared in The Anchorage Daily News.
Fix the rule. Right away.
That's the best response to the story by the Los Angeles Times about how the Pentagon's redefinition of "combat-related" disabilities cut a Marine corporal and an Army sergeant out of thousands of dollars of disability compensation. Combat-related wounds draw higher compensation than other injuries.
The Marine corporal was wounded twice in Iraq, by a roadside bomb and a land mine. He's suffered traumatic brain injury, dislocated hip, hearing loss and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Army sergeant shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees when she dove for cover during a mortar attack. She's had surgeries and has at least three more to come.
Both were told their disabilities were not combat-related.
The first word that comes to mind in response is one we don't print in a family newspaper.
To read the complete editorial, visit The Anchorage Daily News.