When is a combat injury not a combat injury? It's when the Pentagon is trying to cut costs [consider that while thinking about the billions of dollars WASTED by the military and their civilian leaders].

The Pentagon has changed its definition of combat-related disabilities. The change is costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits.

Examples:

• Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and by a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries.

According to Pentagon officials, benefits should be greater for veterans wounded in combat than for "members with disabilities incurred in other situations (e.g., simulation of war, instrumentality of war, or participation in hazardous duties, not related to combat)." Dixon and Meshell - and many other veterans - say their disabilities were caused by hostile enemy actions in combat.

Sgt. Meshell said that in the Pentagon's view, her wounds would be considered combat-related only if she had been struck by shrapnel. She was told why she didn't deserve better treatment from the Pentagon; many veterans say that they are not told why their disabilities are not considered combat-related. And ... there are those who don't even know that they are receiving reduced benefits.

Dixon said he did not realize he had been put in a noncombat-related category until he began questioning his disability payments. It took more than six months of phone calls, letters and appeals -- plus help from the Disabled American Veterans and a member of Congress -- to overturn his designation. "It was a nightmare," Dixon said. "Most veterans don't know how the system works, or how to fight it. They don't realize all the obstacles they put in your way to keep you from getting what you deserve."

Sgt. Meshell's military career includes five years of active duty, a combat tour in Iraq, and 12 years in the National Guard/Reserves. She thinks she deserves the full disability benefits authorized by Congress for veterans injured in combat.

"I'm a college graduate. I'm not a dumb person. But honestly, I can't begin to explain some of this stuff," Meshell said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-combat25-2008nov25,0,3851922,full.story

Commentary: while reeling from that atrocity, consider that of all of the heavy-hitters who lied us into the war, only two had served in any military capacity:

1. Donald Rumsfeld was a fighter pilot in peacetime.
2. George W. Bush broke his contract with the Air National Guard by refusing to take his annual physical, and then simply refusing to show up to fulfill his assignments (one weekend per month).
3. Dick Cheney has proudly proclaimed that he "had other priorities."
4. Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and dozens more all avoided even basic training during war and peace.