A nation’s shame

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 2:09 a.m.

The Army, which came under fire last year for its poor treatment of wounded soldiers, is now being criticized for being slow to send disabled veterans their disability pay.

Disabled veterans typically draw reduced Army paychecks from the time they are discharged to the time when Social Security or Veterans Affairs payments start.

But the Associated Press reports that these veterans are waiting months — sometimes more than a year — for their Army disability checks to kick in. As a result, a growing number are being left penniless and are living in homeless shelters.

Col. Becky Baker, who handles soldier transition issues for the surgeon general’s office, told the AP that the Army has been working to take better care of its returning wounded, ever since news reports last year detailed the shoddy treatment soldiers were receiving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Since August the Army has allowed disabled soldiers to continue drawing a full paycheck for up to three months after they are discharged, and more VA workers are being assigned to processing claims so they can be completed in less time.

Still, Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., said the “anecdotal evidence is depressing.” Hall is promoting legislation that would require Veterans Affairs computers and data to be more compatible nationally and to provide better outreach to disabled veterans.

We wonder whether even that would be enough.

It is not as though this nation has never had to deal with providing disabled veterans with benefits, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan didn’t exactly start yesterday. The Bush administration has aggressively pursued these wars for at least five years, and nearly 20,000 disabled soldiers have been discharged in just the past two years. The process for the timely dispensation of veterans’ benefits should already be well-established.

These soldiers are volunteers who have lost their mobility and livelihoods while fighting for their country. That the Bush administration would allow them to live as paupers upon their return to the United States is a disgrace.