I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1701 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense 
to establish a special review board for certain former members of the 
Armed Forces with post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain 
injury, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 25, 2009 
Mr. JONES (for himself and Mr. TAYLOR) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Sec-
retary of Defense to establish a special review board 
for certain former members of the Armed Forces with 
post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain in-
jury, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘PTSD/TBI Guaran-
teed Review For Heroes Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. SPECIAL REVIEW BOARD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 79 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1553 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1553a. Special review board for former members 
with post-traumatic stress disorder or 
traumatic brain injury 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary of De-
fense shall establish within the Office of the Secretary of 
Defense a board of review to review the discharge or dis-
missal (other than a discharge or dismissal by sentence 
of a general court-martial) of a covered individual. The 
board shall be known as the ‘special review board’. 
‘‘(2) The special review board shall consist of not 
fewer than five members, at least one of whom shall be 
a health care professional from a field of medicine relevant 
to the matter being reviewed. 
‘‘(b) REVIEW.—(1) Upon the request of a covered in-
dividual, Member of Congress, or the surviving spouse, 
next of kin, or legal representative of a covered individual, 
the special review board may review the discharge or dis-
missal of the individual. A request for review shall be made 
not later than 15 years after the discharge or dismissal. 
‘‘(2) The review by the special review board under 
paragraph (1) shall be based on— 
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‘‘(A) the records of the Armed Force concerned, 
including an evaluation of the actions of the covered 
individual before and after a deployment in support 
of a contingency operation; 
‘‘(B) the treatment or lack of treatment re-
ceived by the covered individual for post-traumatic 
stress disorder or traumatic brain injury; and 
‘‘(C) such other evidence as may be presented 
to the board. 
‘‘(3) A covered individual who requests a review 
under this section may appear before the board in person 
or by counsel or an accredited representative of an organi-
zation recognized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
under chapter 59 of title 38. 
‘‘(4) If the special review board reviews the discharge 
or dismissal of a covered individual, a service review agen-
cy may not review such discharge or dismissal. 
‘‘(5) If a Member of Congress requests the review of 
a covered individual under paragraph (1) and the special 
review board denies such request or does not change the 
discharge or dismissal of such individual under subsection 
(c), the special review board shall notify such Member of 
Congress of the decision and the rationale for such deci-
sion. 
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‘‘(c) ACTIONS.—As the result of a review of a covered 
individual under subsection (b), the special review board 
may change the discharge or dismissal of the individual 
to honorable. 
‘‘(d) CORRECTION OF RECORDS.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall correct the military records of a covered indi-
vidual in accordance with a change made by the special 
review board under subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—(1) This section shall be car-
ried out in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(2) The regulations under paragraph (1) shall speci-
fy reasonable deadlines for the performance of reviews re-
quired by this section. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means a 
former member of the Armed Forces who— 
‘‘(A) was deployed in support of a contin-
gency operation; 
‘‘(B) was discharged or dismissed from the 
Armed Forces under a general or other than 
honorable condition; and 
‘‘(C) has been diagnosed by a health care 
professional with post-traumatic stress disorder 
or a traumatic brain injury. 
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‘‘(2) The term ‘health care professional’ means 
a physician, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘Member of Congress’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 1130(d)(1) of 
this title. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘service review agency’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 1559(c) of this 
title.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 79 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 1553 the following new item: 
‘‘1553a. Special review board for members with post-traumatic stress disorder 
or traumatic brain injury.’’. 
SEC. 3. EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF MEMBERS 
WITH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 
OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. 
(a) REFERRAL TO PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD; 
LIMITS ON SEPARATION.—Section 1145(a)(4) of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) If a physician, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, 
or other appropriate health care professional determines 
in an examination under this paragraph that a member 
who was deployed in support of a contingency operation 
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has (or may have) post-traumatic stress disorder or a 
traumatic brain injury, the Secretary concerned— 
‘‘(1) shall refer the member for evaluation by a 
physical evaluation board under section 1222 of this 
title; and 
‘‘(2) may not separate the member from an 
Armed Force until the Secretary considers the re-
sults of the evaluation as provided in subsection (d) 
of such section.’’. 
(b) 
EVALUATION
BY
PHYSICAL
EVALUATION 
BOARD.—Section 1222 of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) EVALUATION
FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS 
DISORDER OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.—With respect 
to a member who is referred under section 1145(a)(4)(C) 
of this title to a physical evaluation board for evaluation— 
‘‘(1) if the board determines that the member 
is unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, 
grade, rank, or rating because of post-traumatic 
stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, the Sec-
retary concerned shall retire or separate the member 
pursuant to this chapter; and 
‘‘(2) if the board determines that the member 
is fit to perform the duties of the member’s office, 
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grade, rank, or rating, the Secretary concerned shall 
take into account the findings of the board in the 
course of any separation of the member from an 
Armed Force.’’. 
Æ 
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