Tim Walz: “Sergeant Chuck Luther joined the Army after the 9/11 attacks. He served in Iraq until a mortar round hit near him…”

“Sergeant Chuck Luther joined the Army after the 9/11 attacks. He served in Iraq until a mortar round hit near him, knocking him unconscious. What followed were classic symptoms of traumatic brain injury--blurred vision, chronic pain, and trouble concentrating. Liz Luras served this Nation honorably as a soldier in the United States Army. She survived a rape at the hands of her fellow servicemember. She did her best to continue her military service with the dream of attending West Point. She was raped two more times, with police reports and hospital visits to prove it. I know each of my colleagues here would expect that both of these warriors would receive the best care this Nation could provide. Sadly, the reality is far from that. Along with Liz and Chuck, since 2001, over 31,000 of our warriors have been discharged from the military, without benefits, because they were determined to have had a personality or an adjustment disorder. These are considered preexisting conditions, which means they should never have been allowed to enlist in the first place. Even though Sergeant Luther had multiple mental health evaluations and served honorably for a decade, it was only after the mortar attack that the military determined he had a preexisting condition, casually threw him away and denied him benefits and health care.…”