http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/us/08vets.html?_r=1&hp

The new regulations from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs would put an end to the current rule that requires veterans to document events — like a mortar attack — that might have resulted in them suffering from PTSD.

These changes would finally give brave servicemen who have been in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam a break, and make it feasible for them to collect the disability payments they deserve. Finding documents to verify firefights and bombings takes a lot of time — if you can find them at all. 

And the way the rules are now, servicemen who suffer from PTSD but did not serve in combat, like women soldiers, are shut out of collecting disability. 

The Times reported that under the new guidelines, the veterans’ department will award compensation to veterans if they can “show that they were in a war zone and in a job consistent with the events that they say caused their conditions.”

Veterans would no longer have to prove that they had been under fire “or saw a friend die,” according to The Times. 

The new regulations would pave the way for more veterans to collect disability benefits, which include free medical and mental health care, and monthly payments up to $2,000.

There have been 150,000 cases of PTSD diagnosed among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to The Times.