Pentagon advisory group considering awarding Purple Hearts for PTSD.
Pentagon advisory group considering awarding Purple Hearts for PTSD.
On May 2, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that awarding the Purple Heart to veterans afflicted with PTSD was an “interesting idea.” “I think it is clearly something that needs to be looked at,” said Gates. Yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed that the department was considering the issue, but cast doubt that the policy would actually change:
MORRELL: You know, I don’t think it’s for the secretary to make a decision on. I think the question was broached to the secretary; he answered it as best he could. […]
I should point out they’ve looked at this before and they determined — the had determined that it was not appropriate to make PTSD a qualification for a Purple Heart. But I can tell you that the department is exploring PTSD as a qualifying wound through the DOD Awards Advisory Group. There is no timetable at this point for them to produce a recommendation. But that’s the status of it as of right now.
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19 Responses to “Pentagon advisory group considering awarding Purple Hearts for PTSD.”
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There’s something incredulous about awarding the victims of a situation you’ve created. Sure, let’s not discuss why the troops are suffering but instead award their suffrage.
.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:43 pmHow about awarding them the fu(king money they need to live for the rest of their lives!
Jesus christ on a crutch.
Nothing but morons running our country.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:49 pmNo.
Only for actual wounds.
Not to belittle PTSD, which is a REAL problem. You try to be in a situation for YEARS where you are getting shot at and can be blown up at any moment.
I doubt there isn’t a man (or woman) alive who WOULDN’T get PTSD…
May 16th, 2008 at 8:01 pmThis sounds like a desperate PR operation. The Pentagon just got its balls caught in the propaganda machine, and are really worrying about their reputation.
What better way to make them appear all warm and fuzzy than to raise this possibility that everyone knows will never happen. They get a lot of credit while they don’t have to do anything real!
(I mean, see how concerned and compassionate the Pentagon is? Maybe all those stories about the returning vets not being taken care of or recognized are just vicious rumors!… Lousy liberals…)
May 16th, 2008 at 8:23 pmI apologize for being totally off thread but in view of an earlier post about tasteless political jokes this cannot be ignored. Keep in mind the two suspects are cohorts of McCain. Reader discretion is advised. My source is confidential.
NEWS FLASH
16 May 2008
Phoenix, AZ (AP)
Senator John Kyl (R) and Congressman Trent Franks (R) announced today that they will introduce a joint resolution in their respective bodies early next week. The resolution, based on a young San Francisco entrepreneur’s invention that utilizes used cooking oil to power his fleet of vehicles and an adaptation of a Twilight Zone episode titled “To Serve Man,” promises a series of recipes that will counter the high prices for food and fuel while eliminating the illegal immigration problem. The solution is really simple in that the resolution calls only for the mandatory eating of Mexican Food at least five times a week. The excess cooking grease will be used to power our vehicles and, as in the referenced Twilight Zone episode the illegal immigrants will be encouraged to come to this Country. The recipes offer variations of the most common Mexican dishes such as Tijuana Tacos, Ensenada Enchiladas, Tampico Tamales, and Baja Burritos. These delicious dishes are to be accompanied by Hispanic Rice and Refried Beaners.
The two pols indicated that as soon as they can get the necessary permits from the Atomic Energy Commission to deposit the excess male bovine excrement at the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada they will expand their menu to include Tex-Mex food.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:25 pmSTOP…
Calm down one second guys. My politics are progressive, and think this thread should have a HUGE Caveat.
I have been an infranty battalion surgeon, and have served in the Army and spent 12 months in Iraq.
I got out. I am a “civilian” now.
As a physician, I work with for the DOD at a major army base and treat soldiers who are not deployed at the time. But trust me… they have been. And many more than once and for more than my 12 months.
Some of these kids are messed up and the only diagnosis to apply is PTSD. Call it “shell-shock”, or “battle fatigue”, or “combat stress reaction” if that makes it sound more serious. But, it is unique to prolonged combat exposure.
It can be very debilitating and lead to further mental illness if not treated and addressed sooner.
I’ll tell you what. I have treated battle wounds that have resulted in Purple Hearts. I would rather have a shrapnel strike that only left a scar then PTSD.
Give these guys help and support. Many of them, believe it or not, don’t want to be there and have families.
All I am saying is that if a Pentagon advisory committee is looking at this, the only reaction should be to hope the Pentagon friggin’ listens. Gates is not Rumsfield. The progressive politicians we support should make it an issue.
The progressives can frame the military debate better that way. After all, the “Support Your Troops” magnet mentality of the Right is just not cutting it with the majority of Americans anymore.
Over and Out
May 16th, 2008 at 8:36 pmGiven that the DoD does its damndest to deny PSTD so save money on medical expenses, how the hell are they going to turn around and award anyone a medal for it?
Regarding the Purple Heart itself, it is frankly a dubious distinction. Getting a bullet through a leg muscle or getting blinded, burned and your legs blown off both qualify.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:51 pmRoger That, 5th Estate
The DoD is doing it’s damndest. And there are physicians, like myself, who are hitting back.
As for the Purple Heart… Most army awards have a “dubious distinction”. The Purple Heart, however, is viewed by soldiers, as all awards in the Army, with the context in mind.
Awards are part of the Army, like it or not. And a soldier that, say, looses a limb deserves one. Maybe they should change the parameters… One way would be to add severe PTSD as a category deserving of a Purple Heart.
Over
May 16th, 2008 at 9:11 pmMeanwhile they turn away most seeking help for their PTSD….
May 16th, 2008 at 9:21 pmcline001 Says:
I truly admire and respect your service to usall and your feelings and knowledge on the things about which you have spoken, Thanks for all you have and are doing. I also agree with the need to reward our troops and their families to show our real support and love.
That said, the remarks in the article do not indicate to me any sincerity. I stand by my feeling expressed in post #4 above. As Wayne and 5th Estate say, there is just too much negative history, both past and present to overlook. There is something else going on here besides a real attempt to honor out troops.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:01 pmHere’s a thought:
How about keeping the medal and giving them freakin’ care!? That way maybe they don’t snap and kill a few folks or kill themselves.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:16 pmIf they’re recognizing PTSD as something real and severe enough to recognize it with an award of injury, why don’t they treat is as one and actually help do something about it?
But I guess a pin can help just as much as treatment, right?
May 16th, 2008 at 10:56 pmOne wonders how long it will be, if ever, when veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan recreate what Vietnam veterans did at Dewey Canyon III did, in the early 1970s, when they threw their medals at the vicinity of the White House. The Vietnam veterans realized that they had been sacrificed for the lies that they were told by their government and acted accordingly. Will the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans ever reach that same epiphany?
May 16th, 2008 at 11:11 pmI am a National Service Officer for Vietnam Veterans of America. I am also a totally disabled Vietnam veteran and am rated for PTSD, along with a number of other combat-related disabilities. I have a Purple Heart, as well as two Bronze Stars and two Army Commendationa Medals. I work with veterans from all wars who suffer from PTSD, including many who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and some who served in both theaters. Most of these men were not physically wounded, but they were exposed to extreme combat situations including IEDs, multiple firefights and incoming attacks and seeing their friends, the enemy and civilians killed by the drove. Some of these men suffer as much as my clients who have physical wounds and I see no difference of substance in either type of wound.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:32 pmPlease..
Pentagon + PSTD Purple Heart awards = CYA
May 17th, 2008 at 12:05 amMost here have valid points.
The major problem is not the issue of the Purple Heart, but of our country men who have developed PTSD. Some of us on the front lines of this problem could use some “rear D” help.
That means bringing the issue to the forefront. We are creating a new generation of homeless vets secondary to untreated and unrecognized PTSD. Prolonged mental illness is one of the first steps to homelessness and self medication with alcohol and other drugs that lead to it.
It is the politicians job to address it.
It is our job, as a community, to MAKE them.
Even if it is “CYA”, the award still pushes this very serious contemporary problem to the forefront. If we don’t act now, we will be doing a disservice to our troops.
The right loves to talk about supporting our troops. Let’s make ‘em do just that. It takes more than a bumber sticker. It also takes more than, “The DOD is screwed, they are all corrupt”.
Anyone who suggests that the award is what is needed to fix the problem, or suggets that this is the argument, needs to take a step back. We need to recognize it and treat it. The Purple Heart isn’t the cure, but it sure would help with the stigma and also to legitimize the seriousness of it.
Every step can help.
With that said, I would be very surprised if the Pentagon listens to any advisory panel. Not enough political noise about it right now. Yes, the Pentagon is political.
So, let’s continue to make noise.
Over
May 17th, 2008 at 1:43 amHello…I’ve been following the Purple Heart (PTSD) article you wrote a few days back. What caught my eye was the Purple Heart for (PTSD)? I must admit it took me back a little and hit me like a train.
I have suffered from (PTSD) everyday for the passed 35years. I am a Viet-Nam Vet, I’m 58 and I have been clinically diagnosed with (PTSD). I never once thought I should have received the Purple Heart. But after reading the article and knowing and understanding what I have lived with and went through with (PTSD). I am appalled at anyone who believes (PTSD) is not a “War Wound” and does not deserve to be awarded the Purple Heart.
We live in an environment where wrongs are righted daily, where women who once never saw combat are now being issued the Silver Star for actions in combat.
I refuse to pick apart others biases and predigests because of a narrow focus they have on the world. This is just another way not to recognize soldiers with (PTSD). I wish I had been shot, I wish many times I would have died….instead of living a hellish nightmare in a continuing rolling loop over and over and over again.
I take nothing away from a soldier being wounded…..some lost half’s of bodies and some a mere glancing wound. Not to mention soldiers suffering from “Agent Orange”…….is that not a “war wound”?
Oh!….but no “blood was shed”.
MSG Jack Perry
May 17th, 2008 at 6:01 amAdmin. Support Officer
U.S. Embassy
OPA Operations
Rm. S-204
APO AE 09316
Mental scars will often linger far longer than physical ones. I agree with what someone else said, hold the ceremony and give them help. Help them make a life for the rest of their life. We saw homeless vets from Vietnam. How many more will there be from these TWO wars? You do not treat those you sent into battle like that.
I do not like or approve of this war. I never have. I believed from day 1 that this was manufactured and my thoughts have been proved out several times over by now…but that does not negate the fact that these are human beings; OUR human beings (not that I am saying an American life is more worthy than others) and they are our responsibility. And rightfully so. They deserve substance and that this government is not providing is one more reason they are criminal.
There is too little value for human life in our government. Everyone who supports torture should immediately be out of a job. Period. That alone would clear out the worst of the worst in our government, and I don’t care if they are dem or gooper. They should be gone.
Then we might be able to have productive discussions about the rights to a decent life for those surviving these wars.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:55 amI must say that I find this idea of giving a medal to a soldier who has ended up with PTSD to be extremely bizarre. It would seem to be intended to make the government or the victim’s families feel good rather than the recipient. I would not feel grateful to receive a medal because of what I went through in Vietnam because I sincerely believe that I, along with hundreds of thousands of other poor bastards who ended up in Vietnam, were used as scapegoats to justify the lies that we were given by our government. We, like the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today, were not fighting for our country. Instead, we ended up being thrown on the altar of falsehoods and fabrications that were contrived by the U.S. government, and because of their hubris, America’s policy makers will never admit this to be true.
As I mentioned at comment #13, it would be far better for the veterans today to recreate what happened in April 1971 [Dewey Canyon III] by hurling their medals and ribbons and discharge papers toward the White House to send a message to our leaders that they will not tolerate being used for the government’s own malevolent ends.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:10 am