Veterans group assails Camp Pendleton

A national veterans advocacy group criticized Camp Pendleton on Thursday for its “discouraging” treatment of Marines who return from Iraq with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Investigators for the Washington-based Veterans for America said they learned from a week’s worth of interviews with about 30 Marines and family members at Camp Pendleton and the San Diego Naval Medical Center that Marines are being punished, sometimes even booted from the service, for behavior problems linked to the disorder.

“I think we have the obligation to do the right thing for those Marines,” said Steve Robinson, the group’s director of veterans affairs.

Among the problems at Camp Pendleton, Robinson said, is a lack of support for family members of Marines with post-traumatic stress disorder. Some “uneducated and vindictive leaders,” he added, are punishing veterans without considering that their behavior problems might be related to combat experiences.

A group of congressional staff members plans to visit the base in July to follow up on the allegations, Robinson said.

A spokesman for Camp Pendleton said officials were not told about the Veterans for America news conference, but that it occurred the same day the base held its “Heroes and Healthy Families” conference concerning combat stress.

“The leaders aboard Camp Pendleton are continuously discussing and evaluating wellness programs for our Marines, sailors and their families and are open to suggestions about improvements,” said Lt. Lawton King.

Veterans for America has been a leading voice in urging better care for the “new generation” of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The group was instrumental in helping make public the problems at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s outpatient facility.

Its investigators have also exposed what they deemed to be inadequate care for soldiers at the Army base at Ft. Carson, Colo.

In a telephone news conference, Robinson, investigator Andrew Pogany and others from Veterans for America criticized the Marine Corps for not helping Marines admit they are suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

“There’s a different kind of culture in the Marine Corps,” said Robinson, who served in the Army during the Persian Gulf War and whose father was a Marine.

“Marines do not want to be seen as weak.”

“It’s a systemic failure that is broad and that is deep,” said Bobby Muller, the group’s president.

Camp Pendleton officials appeared taken aback by the criticism.

High-ranking officers have made no secret that the Marine Corps, like the other services, did not expect so many casualties from the Iraq war.

But they have insisted they are scrambling to meet the need, with added screening for post-traumatic stress, counseling programs and a therapy program at a local hospital for Marines suffering traumatic brain injuries.

The Marines have also begun a program to teach corporals about recognizing post-traumatic stress disorder, including irritability and a decline in job performance. Veterans for America officials said they hope the Marine program does not teach corporals to doubt the authenticity of post-traumatic stress.

tony.perry@latimes.com