That happens when your last duty station was overseas ~ back in the world you get more information I am sure.
More recently we've had people who've gotten injured and really could care less what the briefing officers said about VA bennies ~ and, then too, some of what they were told isn't as real as it ought to be. We've had some laws changed over the years. When I returned to my old job with the government I discovered that the law didn't really deal with return to a government job. First of all you lost seniority over the time of your absence. Secondly there wasn't even an appeal process in place to appeal to the Civil Service Commission over such matters. So, after a 5 year fight I finally got CSC to agree that I had a right to appeal to them. That didn't win though ~ I had to wait until the new Appeals Review Board was set up under Ronald Reagan. THAT WON. Democrat regimes simply don't believe in letting veterans win ~ and that is a fact at all times in our history.
From your timeline, I assume you got out in the Viet Nam era...
Things are very different today. Outprocessing takes around 2 weeks, and alot of information is thrown at you. There is no way this guy was just given a handshake and sent on his way.
I understand that all the benefits could be confusing (and he should get benefits - 5 years VA, commissary for 6 months, and disability for life if he’s really as disabled as the article portrays). But, I assume a SEAL with 16 years in is resourceful enough to find the VA, etc.
Something about the story just doesn’t ring true.