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Purple Hearts Routinely Denied for Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries Don’t Merit Purple Heart? -
From the VA:
NPR (9/9, Miller, Zwerdling) reports, “Army commanders have routinely denied Purple Hearts to soldiers who have sustained concussions in Iraq, despite regulations that make such wounds eligible for the medal, an investigation by NPR and ProPublica has found,” reflecting “a broader skepticism within the military over the severity of mild traumatic brain injury.”
However, “Veterans groups that focus on the Purple Heart support awarding it in cases of concussions, as the regulations spell out.” Similarly, “Paul Sullivan, a former Department of Veterans Affairs official who now heads Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group,” called the situation “an outrage.” Besides recognition, the medal gives “recipients a higher priority in obtaining medical service from Veterans Affairs medical facilities.”
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=48368
Posted by Yanira Farray on Sep 9 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Losing a limb is heroric…losing your brain is scary and bad PR for war advocates. Might scare a recruit off.
Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries or Concussions have high rates of epilepsy, but the development of epilepsy can occur decades after their lesion. Equally disturbing is the finding that even when epilepsy develops soon after their brain injury, the seizures can become more severe over time. 199 Vietnam War Veterans were evaluated who had suffered brain injuries and they were given intelligence tests and brain scans to uncover lesions. Researchers found that 87 veterans had developed post-traumatic epilepsy. In 11 cases, it took more than 14 years for the epilepsy to show up. A concussion is not as severe as a TBI but still rattles the brain and can have lasting effects so Vets with TBI’s have a far higher risk of developing problems. TBI’s can cause Epilepsy which causes Seizures that can kill you! You lose your priviledge to drive because of a seizure condition and tasks as simple as showering become very worrisome which can lead to depression! Its a severe injury to have your brain rattled and these men and women most certainly deserve the Purple Heart and all the benefits that come with the Award, because they will need them!
They used to give chaplain’s assistants purple hearts for contracting malaria in Vietnam. The obsession with spilt blood is something out of Mayan/Aztec culture. If our troops are exposed to chemical/biological/nuclear weapons will they also be denied the purple heart, becasue it does not resemble a bayonet wound?
Giving PH to TBI is like giving PH for PTSD or any other conditions like hearing loss. It is sad that soldiers are affected by IEDs but it was no different than in Vietnam with incoming mortar or your own arty, or a RPG hitting the side of your APC. Do not change the regs just to be politically correct.
Be careful, your ignorance is showing. Nobody is asking to change the regs – they’re asking for them to be enforced.
The following criteria governs award of the Purple Heart in ALL branches of service. The text here is taken directly from AR 600-8-22, 25 February 1995 and Public Law 104-106 – Feb. 10, 1996
…
(4) Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:
(a) Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.
(b) Injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap.
(c) Injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological or nuclear agent.
(d) Injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire.
(e) Concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.
(5) Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not qualify for award of the Purple Heart are as follows:
(a) Frostbite or trench foot injuries.
(b) Heat stroke.
(c) Food poisoning not caused by enemy agents.
(d) Chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy.
(e) Battle fatigue.
(f) Disease not directly caused by enemy agents.
(g) Accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action.
(h) Self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle, and not involving gross negligence.
(i) Post traumatic stress disorders.
(j) Jump injuries not caused by enemy action.
If you want to suggest that this is written by pinko commies, well, I suggest you get your top brass to re-write the criteria.
Anyone who doesn’t think a concussion blast that causes diffuse axonal injury to the brain isn’t a “real injury”, or any general who thinks they want to avoid giving out “John Kerry” purple hearts for “mild” TBI to soldiers who have sustained such “invisible” injuries – I encourage you to come to where I work and meet people who are recovering from injuries to the brain. The Pentagon and the US Army needs to get off of its collective ass and live up to it obligation to award men and women with brain injuries (“concussions”) the purple heart. Plain and simple. Heard and understood? Disgrace. Shame on you. Unforgivable.
The “Regs” say: “AR-600-8-22 (Miliatry Awards” … has been wounded …
(1) In … action against an enemy of the United States …
…
(4) …
(e) Concussion injureis casued as a result of enemy generated
explosions.”
Military personnel evaucted from a Theater of Operatons to a Military Treatment Facility should have a written record of the movement. Check and see if: “Battle Casualty” is checked on the form. Try and obtain detailed withness statements too. Taking to the Unit or former Unit Commander and other members of the chain of command can be very helpful too. The goal is obtaining an important award the Service Member is entitled to. Research, records, AR-600-8-22 and not giving up is very important. These cases can take years to be resolved in the WIA’s favor. Patient, professional persistence is mandatory for success. Best wishes to all. I know, its hard when you send a healthy loved one off to war and they come back to you very, very different. Working with the military and VA bureaucrats if difficult and frustrating. Rememeber though, it is not about us. It is about the WIA.
Best Wishes to all.
Dale R. Suiter
Injuries from battle should not always be wounds you can see!
PTSD and TBI are not illnesses, they are not a disease, but they are still wounds that are carried for life!
Just because you can’t see, feel or touch doesn’t mean they don’t exist, and should be recognized as injuries while serving in battle!
Recruiters continually lie to gain a new enlistment, Congress, and our President for decades have promised to care for those who fought, and recognition of service is equally as important as proper state of the art medical care is!