Columnist Writer for Military

Sebastian Planas

Mr. Keith Crossman

AP English 11

19 September 2014

Columnist Article 3 Paper

        He does it again! Or does he? Tom Philpot, columnist writer for military update made the topic of his next column: Veterans with PTSD. Not just Veterans with PTSD, however, but veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who could gain Discharge Updates. Tom uses his standing formatting style of giving a basic overview of the issue (beginning), followed by a deeper look into the issue with examples and details (middle), and finally wrapping up with a solid conclusion (end). Before we delve into the column, some background information on the primary discharge discussed in the column. The Other Than Honorable Discharge is given when a serviceman went against the conduct and performance expected of all military members and has been discharged as a result. Those given an Other Than Honorable Discharge cannot receive Veteran Health Benefits, cannot use funds provided by the GI bill for schooling, and cannot reenlist in any branch of the armed forces. Tom Philpot takes the time to explain the consequences of Other Than Honorable Discharges, but does not explain exactly what it is. His purpose for this is his audience. Tom writes for Veterans who know exactly what each discharge means, therefore, he does not need to explain them. Although, because Tom keeps an open mind, he does explain the consequences of an Other Than Honorable Discharge for those who want to know what it is, as it is the primary discharge relevant to this topic. The issue Tom highlights in this column is not with the discharge itself, it is how PTSD plays a factor in this type of discharge, as well as how.

        Before Afghanistan and Iraq, PTSD often went undiagnosed and untreated. Only recently has the military shown an increase awareness of this mental disorder. According to a Tom (and his sources) PTSD can lead to behavior that ends in an Other Than Honorable discharge. Not as much of an issue in modern days because PTSD is recognized and treated, but it was not always this way. Because of the previous neglect of PTSD by the military, the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale University filed a “class action lawsuit” against the Military (Monk v. Mabus). It is important to recognize that Tom specifically said the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at YALE University, while leaving the named plaintiffs till the end of the sentence. Yale, as most know, is a highly respected University when it comes to the business of training lawyers. The involvement of Yale’s legal service clinic is important, and Tom makes sure to emphasize this by making Yale the first thing you see when mentioning who is involved in the lawsuit. Soon after highlighting the lawsuit, Tom delves into an anecdote, preceded by a highly detailed transition sentence starring the primary plaintiff. A veteran named Conley Monk. Tom then spends the following two paragraphs highlighting what Monk did that lead to his Other Than Honorable discharge. This back up’s Tom’s earlier claim from another source that PTSD can, and has led servicemen to act against performance/conduct expected of all military members, which, as stated, leads to an Other Than Honorable discharge. This brings us to the primary purpose of this column. Why did Tom choose to write about this? Tom chose to bring attention to this issue because over 80,000 Veterans can benefit from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s memo. Hagel’s memo states that the boards for correction of military records or naval records should carefully consider every petition to upgrade by Veterans who have/had PTSD.