When I first worked inside the VA in DC, I learned from a wonderful senior attorney all about this issue. This was in the early 80s. Historically, many doctors inside and outside the VA didn't accept PTSD as a legitimate medical diagnosis. They referred to it as a "syndrome" and rejected it. So VA regional offices blew it off as well. Large numbers of untreated vets from the Vietnam war brought the issue high visibility. It took a concerted effort from elected officials, veterans organizations, and concerned VA attorneys and their medical advisors to turn this situation around at least with respect to PTSD. Someone could probably write a book about this subject. There were some players in the psychiatric community as well.
However, even after this the problem of untreated or undiagnosed combat veterans with PTSD acting out when re-exposed to stressors while still on active duty, (like gunfire or other triggers resulting in violence or AWOLs) or even after active duty resulting in criminal convictions for various offenses and even incarceration, still contributed to a bias not to grant them any benefits.
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