As to what constitutes PTSD and who can handle which horrors and such - I will not weigh in. I served in peacetime and won't tell anyone about THEIR experience - combat or otherwise - and what each man or woman can do to deal with it. I do think that there is honorable intent in getting the current war vets the treatment that their forefathers never had available. Too often, the vets of previous wars were treated as fire and forget weapons - discarded when the need was over.

What I do know is that, yes, the V.A. is awash in bureaucratic waste, fraud, and abuse, as are many government programs. Not only that but too many clinicians who work in the V.A. health system do have negative biases against the very people they are there to treat. Too many vets have little idea what a simple answer on a form can cause them to have to endure.

As to getting a VA disability, yep, the stipend is available but as too many cases point out, it can come at the price of your personal liberty.