Almost half of new veterans are seeking disability benefits
The Associated Press reports that 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimated 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told the AP.
These new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
