Oregon Public Broadcasting

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has forced thousands of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to medically retire from the military. A class-action lawsuit alleges that many of them have been short changed out of lifetime medical care. Fifty-seven Oregon and Washington veterans are participating. 

Brent Shupe of Spokane Washington spent nine years in the Army and the Marines. The military was his career.

But after a tour in Iraq, Shupe says he developed post-traumatic stress disorder.

Brent Shupe: "I still only sleep probably four hours a day. That's been true since I got back. When I go to restaurants I can't sit in a booth, I have to sit in a corner. I have to know that there's nothing behind me."

Shupe was given an official diagnosis and even participated in a military treatment program. But it didn't work.

Shupe wanted to go back to Iraq with his unit. Instead, the military forced him to retire.

He was given a disability rating of 10 percent. That meant he got a $54,000 severance package.

Bart Stichman directs the National Veterans Legal Services program. He says veterans like Shupe, who had to retire due to PTSD, should have been automatically given a 50-percent disability rating.

Bart Stichman: "I think it's fair to say a lot of them didn't realize what they were losing by getting the low rating they got."

Even though soldiers like Shupe may have gotten lump-sum payments, Stichman says they were made ineligible for lifetime medical care for themselves and their families.

And they also lost other retirement and disability benefits. 

Stichman's organization is representing about 1,800 veterans, including Brent Shupe, in a class action lawsuit.

Military Spokeswoman Cynthia Smith says the military cannot comment on ongoing litigation.