[Nevinator]

I think that T to T is probably one of the more worthwhile charities out there. More than 95% of that which is donated go directly to the charities overall purpose. That being said, I do not think that expanding the benefits of the charity to veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD is a problem. There will always be scammers and fraudsters in any system and for any benefit that may be provided to others, whether that is food stamps, Medicaid, welfare or various others. I simply have to trust that the VA is doing its best to screen our Veterans and rate them accordingly.

On a more personal note, I sometimes think that the VA in some cases may be a little overzealous in evaluating and rating some cases. The case in point involves my son-in-law, who did two tours of duty in Iraq. On his second tour as a Cav Scout, his Bradley fighting vehicle was destroyed by an IED. The explosion killed several of his comrades and he spent almost a year in the hospital. Fast forward 17 years, he still demonstrates many of the characteristics of PTSD. It took him several trips to Veterans Administration C&P examinations before they finally rated him at 50% for PTSD. Personally, although I am not a clinical psychologist and do not have any medical training, just witnessing his behaviors over time, I would have thought his rating would have been higher. He is subject to periodic reevaluations to determine whether the condition has either worsened or improved as well. Again, not saying that there aren’t those who have somehow scammed the system, but like any other charity, that could be similarly abused, I’d like to believe that this would be a small minority.

Having spent 20 years in the military myself, I have been exposed to many friends and coworkers over the years who also have PTSD. I would argue that it is not an easy thing to fake because you have a continued observation of the person and the behavioral traits are always there. It is not something that you simply turn on or off. As someone else mentioned, there are small triggers in every day life that caused the PTSD to flare up.

As for T to T, I am a supporter and will continue to do so.