(Newser)
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News that the Pentagon is making it easier for soldiers to qualify for disability payments because of post-traumatic stress disorder comes at a good time: The number of cases is rising steadily, reports USA Today. Army stats show that the number of soldiers who left the service solely because of a mental disorder such as PTSD increased 64% from 2005 to 2009. Last year, 1,224 soldiers did so, accounting for 1 in 9 medical discharges.
"These numbers really just validate the mental health communities' concern about multiple deployments," says an official with Disabled American Veterans. "Mind and body are both taking a beating."
