Some statistics about veterans with disabilities

According to government statistics, between October 2001 and February, 2008, more than 30,000 veterans serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and surrounding duty stations have been wounded in action. 1 Many of them have lost a hand or limb or been severely burned or blinded. Others have been diagnosed with hearing loss, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and other service-connected disabilities.2

Continued....

1 See U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Personnel and Procurement Statistics at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm .

2 The term “service-connected” means, with respect to disability or death, that the disability was incurred or aggravated, or that the death resulted from a disability incurred or aggravated, in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. See 38 U.S. Code § 101. In this document, the terms “veteran with a service-connected disability” and “disabled veteran” are intended to have the same meaning. The terms “disability” and “individual with a disability” are intended to have the same meanings as those terms in Title I of the ADA. For more information about the relationship of these terms to one another, see Question 4.