Author: Becky Haugen

Discharge Upgrade Provides Marine Positive Future

Posted on by Becky Haugen

Listen:
After Discharge Upgrade, Marine Finally Finds a Reason to Live

“At the hearing, the Marine colonel in charge reads Hartnett’s record; and he says, here we have a promising young Marine until 1991. And then, the colonel asks, what happened? David Sheldon – the lawyer – says that’s the question no one had ever bothered to ask.

SHELDON: He could hear a pin drop in that room when he was describing the trauma that he had went through, and how it impacted upon him.”

National Public Radio Special Series:

Veterans And Other-Than-Honorable Discharges

Originally Aired:Heard on All Things Considered

Manker v. Del Toro Settlement

Posted on by Becky Haugen

The Court certified a class in this civil action (the “Settlement Class”) defined as follows:

The Department of the Navy (“Navy”) has agreed to review the discharge of thousands of Veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), and other behavioral or mental health conditions. The Navy has also agreed to change some of its administrative procedures for individuals who apply in the future to have their discharge statuses upgraded. This agreement follows a sentiment reached in the nationwide class action lawsuit Manker v. Del Toro, 3:18-cv-000372-CSH. A federal court preliminarily approved the agreement on 12 October 2021.

 

The class civil action is available here:

https://www.secnav.navy.mil/mra/CORB/Pages/NDRB/Class-Settlement-Information.aspx