Disabled Vets Get Unequal Treatment

The V.A. is treating some disabled veterans like second-class soldiers, making them wait twice as long for benefits that are, when they finally come, less generous than others get. It all depends on where a soldier lives and how he served—active duty or National Guard. Worst: The more troops a state deploys, the more backlogged the response.

So a National Guardsman from Pennsylvania may well wait six months or more for a check, while a Maine active-duty soldier gets his in 30 days. “The V.A. is supposed to provide uniform and fair treatment to all,” says Steve Robinson of Veterans for America. “Instead, the places and services giving the most are getting the least.” (More Walter Reed fallout stories.)