MTV petition urges better care for vets

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MTV petition urges better care for vets
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 22, 2008 5:45:52 EDT

An MTV petition being circulated in advance of a Friday benefit concert urges the next U.S. president to support a five-year veterans’ program that includes paying $1,500 a month to everyone whose military service has been extended by stop-loss orders.

The petition, called the Bill of Rights for American Veterans, includes a call for better diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems, support for programs to prevent homelessness, faster processing of veterans’ claims for disability benefits and full funding for veterans hospitals. MTV is calling this the BRAVE petition.

The petition says a $1,500 monthly stop-loss allowance would pay troops for the work they are doing. “Right now, many soldiers and Marines who should be home end up having to go back and fight,” the statement says. “Extended service takes a physical, emotional and financial toll on not only the servicemen but on their families as well.”

The statement is wrong about the Marine Corps, however, which no longer uses stop-loss orders to involuntarily delay the separation or retirement of service members.

It also makes no mention of the fact that Congress approved, as a compromise, a $500 stop-loss allowance that applies to involuntary duty after Oct. 1, 2008. This allowance, which expires in Sept. 2009, was included in an omnibus government funding bill signed by President Bush on Sept. 30.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_MTV_veterans_102108w/%2e