Investigation to probe military’s ‘other than honorable’ discharges

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Military discharges
Kash Alvaro, who served in Afghanistan, was one of the soldiers featured in Dave Philipps' Pulitzer prize-winning series "Other Than Honorable."

President Barack Obama has signed a bill authorizing an independent investigation into whether the U.S. military has been unfairly discharging soldiers. Concerns about military discharges surfaced in 2013 as part of a Pulitzer prize-winning series in the Colorado Springs Gazette by reporter Dave Philipps.

Philipps uncovered evidence that some Fort Carson soldiers were being given "other than honorable discharges" for behavior that could have been the result of combat-related trauma.

Following the Gazette series, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet called for an investigation into the discharges in an amendment to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. President Barack Obama signed the legislation on Dec. 19.

Dave Philipps, who is now with The New York Times, spoke with Colorado Matters’ host Ryan Warner.