Broken soldiers, broken promises

First came reports of shoddy conditions and allegations of second-rate outpatient treatment at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Then complaints of excessive medical red tape at Fort Lewis.

Now, the KOMO 4 Problems Solvers have learned the Pentagon has its hands full with soldiers across the country and at Fort Lewis insisting they've been short-changed by the military.

They claim the military is discounting their medical retirement benefits to save money.

On October 9, 2006 a bomb blast tossed a five-ton Humvee into the air on a road somewhere in Iraq.

A soldier had a camera rolling when they were hit without warning. "You want to say anything Bruce?" asks a soldier off camera. Stunned and looking into the lens, the soldier says, "Thank God we're still alive."

They are pictures we don't normally see, taken by soldiers moments after surviving a roadside bomb blast last October. "As you can see not a good day," says an unidentified soldier on the tape. "We're all alive, that's what matters."

Alive, but broken, said Army National Guard Sergeant Chad Miller.

He was in the Humvee's gun turret when the blast hit.

"I'm leaning down the turret and telling the guys 'Get out. It's gonna blow! It's gonna blow!' "

No medical retirement

Miller said his head injuries are so bad that the Army deemed him disabled and unfit for duty.

He got an honorable discharge and a lump sum of cash -- about $45,000 to retire on, and no health insurance for his family. "I fought two wars for you, I put 20 years of my life on the line and that's all I'm gonna get?" asks a incensed Miller.

Miller insists he should have earned a medical retirement, which would come with full health benefits for him and his family and a percentage of his base pay for life. And we found that Miller isn't the only Fort Lewis soldier who feels short changed.

War wounds put Sgt. Jane Sullivan in a wheelchair. Like Miller, Army doctors said Sullivan's injuries made her unfit for duty. The Army tried to give her a lump payment of $21,000, after taxes.

And, like Miller, she believes her injuries -- surviving an IED blast -- qualify her for much more. "About $21,000, that's like a slap in the face, what they're telling me is that's all you're worth. No I'm not! I'm a human being," said Sullivan.

We took Miller and Sullivan's complaints to U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

"They come home broken and we hand them back to their families and say thanks, that doesn't cut it for me," said Murray.

The senator can't comment on specific soldiers, but told me she's heard similar complaints from other military members, and in March she took up the problems at Fort Lewis with Army Surgeon General Kevin Kiley.

Asked how she plans to hold military officials accountable, Murray replied: "I'm gonna say 'what have you done? Are you on top of this? What orders have you given?' "

We contacted Brigadier General Reuben Jones, who oversees the Army's medical retirements for disabled soldiers, and asked if he thinks the compensation for soldiers deemed unfit for duty is fair.

"Based on the rules we follow, I want the soldier to get every benefit available to them," he said.

He said soldier payouts are based on medical reports and other solid evidence. Even before the Walter Reed Scandal broke, Jones said he issued a "prime directive" to always use the regulations to the soldier's advantage. He insists the majority of wounded soldiers are happy with what they get.

"When I talk to soldiers who finish up their processing, they say to me, 'Sir, the process was fair and unbiased, I got a fair shake,' " Jones said.

Try telling that to Chad Miller's wife.

"We're getting nothing, we're living off my income," said Chris Miller, "and probably won't be able to make our house payment."

Ongoing struggle

And it's not just about the money. Miller says he husband has long-term neurological damage. He has daily headaches, trouble with his short term memory, and is often confused and irritable.

She feels he's not the same man. "He's not really back. I lost him on that last blast. I lost the person I knew that last blast," Chris said through tears. She thinks her husband has post traumatic stress disorder, a condition that would qualify him for full pay and benefits.

"It hurts," she said.

National Guard Major Bill Morisette says it only gets worse. "I feel I've been shamed, I feel I've been spit on," said Morisette. 

For 17 months, Morisette thought he had multiple sclerosis. We examined his lengthy medical file and it shows the Army diagnosed him with demyelinating disease, which is a common form of multiple sclerosis.

"It took so long to accept MS, it took over a year for him to say this is what I have, I accept it," said Bill's wife, Katie.

The condition guaranteed Morisette that full medical retirement. But, a year later, Morisette claims the Army downgraded his diagnosis to Fibromyalgia, a less serious disease that comes with a one-time cash buyout.

Morisette believes the Army did a deliberate about face. "Generally, most people are not getting retirement disability. They're getting the cash out," he said. And the reason is because it's cheaper."

The Army won't comment on any specific cases, but says the disability ratings are based on the severity of a condition.

The Morisettes say they're now caught in an endless cycle of appeals. It's been a three-year ordeal -- the longest of any Army reservist at Fort Lewis.

They know they won't be able to survive financially if they lose their appeal. Bill's disease and scores of medication make it difficult to hold down a job. "This affects not today, but the rest of our lives," he said. "It's our own people that are spitting on us, the U.S. Army."

General Jones did admit that the Army needs to "take a deeper look" when diagnosing post traumatic stress disorder. He says if soldiers didn't get the right diagnosis the Army will find them and fix it.

We learned the Army has responded to some soldiers' complaints with a 30-page pocket guide that explains the evaluation process, outlines a soldier's rights and answers possible-scenario questions. It just became available to Fort Lewis soldiers last week.

We will continue to follow these soldiers to find out if they are re-evaluated and if their retirement ratings change.

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