U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said this week he will introduce legislation to require additional regulations before the Department of Defense can discharge military personnel suffering from service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or related conditions.

Brown said his legislation would address the growing number of service members who agree, based on common misconceptions about automatic discharge upgrades, to less than honorable discharges for behaviors that are actually a function of the disorders.

"We must protect our soldiers suffering from PTSD or TBI from getting lost in an administrative shuffle," Brown said. "These brave men and women deserve every consideration and too often they are receiving none."
An increasing number of service personnel are being given involuntary, less-than-honorable discharges but are later diagnosed with the service-connected disorders, the senator said. He added that often that occurs when the military discharges a service member citing a "personality disorder."

Those with a less than honorable discharge are not entitled to military or Veterans Administration benefits.

Brown said he will introduce the Discharged Service Members Protection Act. It would create a system to provide clear information to members of the armed forces about the possibility of upgrading their discharge status.

Brown's bill would:

• Require the Department of Defense to supply detailed explanations of the consequences of discharge status on federal benefits and services.
• Require notice of the right to legal counsel before discharge.
• Instruct Departent of Defense to release the number of upgrade reviews the Discharge Review Board performs for each service, along with the number of upgrades actually granted.
• Require Department of Defense to test for PTSD, TBI and related conditions, and prohibit less than honorable discharges in cases where service members test positive.
• Provide additional protection by waiving the statute of limitations on discharge appeals, for individuals suffering from service-connected PTSD or TBI.

Brown joined with Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, to introduce bipartisan legislation to increase veterans' compensation through a cost-of-living adjustment. While individuals receiving benefits through the Social Security Administration automatically receive a cost of living adjustment to those benefits every year, Congress must pass legislation for veterans to receive the same adjustment.

The cost of living calculation is based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.

The increase for veterans would match the annual increase provided to Social Security recipients.