New veterans set record for war-disability claims

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Chief Medical Writer
America’s newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.

A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after some other relatively recent wars, top government officials told The Associated Press.

What’s more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans claimed less than four and those from World War II and Korea, just two. Problems can be anything from a bad back to hearing loss to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

New veterans set record for war-disability claims