Purple Heart for PTSD

[Capmarine6]

Just throwing this out there -- I am a Purple Heart recipient from Vietnam and all of us have some form of PTSD. Gates is contemplating the issuance of a Purple Heart for PTSD. What 's you views on this? I personally think that it will degrade the award.
Those of you in the camp Lejeune Area, I am the adjutant for the local chapter of the Purple Heart WE are always looking for members, go to http://www.ncmoph.org/ and visit our web site.

Semper Fi

[montana]

keep the heart the way it is......issue a PTSD heart iffen they want ta give somthin to us that went boo coo dinkydow.

[Zulu 36]

I agree 110% it will downgrade the award.

I have PTSD too. But how much of that PTSD is from Vietnam, how much from Desert Storm, how much is due to police and paramedic work, and how much is due to being married to a bi-polar psycho?

Personally, I'd put Desert Storm, then Vietnam, at the lower end of the percentage scale of reasons I have PTSD. So why should I get a Heart for that?

[Marine84]

keep the heart the way it is......issue a PTSD heart iffen they want ta give somthin to us that went boo coo dinkydow.

ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!

[ecfree]

:thumbdown

[egbutler1]

If that passed I wouldn't wear it nor would i want it. Keep the PH as is, i know if this did pass no Marine would wear it. I seen guys get their legs blown off and am w/o a scratch that'd be a downgrade. :thumbdown

[Sarge1027]

:evilgrin:I agree with you. I don't think a purple heart should be awarded for PTSD. I believe PTSD is a condition and not a combat injury. The awarding of a purple heart would indeed degrade it. PTSD can come from many different possibilites and not just combat injuries.
:usmc:

[Phantom Blooper]

It should not be awarded for PTSD! Wounds or death in war or conflict ONLY! :mad:

Think of the new claims.....everytime someone has a episode,dream or gets a new med.....put in a claim and get a star....government BS at its finest! :thumbdown


:evilgrin:

[Amtracs]

I agree with all the above entrys. Don't change the Critera for the award. It will short change the warriors that earned it.

[davblay]

I agree 100%, if they award it for PTSD then I should get it for my injuries in Nam as well. I was hurt while working on a BullDozer, Gunny Ermy was hurt when a bunker fell on him, there are injuries and there are wounded, lets keep it for our honored wounded and dead!

Thats my 2 cents,

Semper Fi

Dave

[Phantom Winger]

PTSD is currently classified as an illness and not an injury. Does that mean other illnesses might be considered as well? ...dang, how many purple hearts would've come out of Subic???

[mcvet57103]

I agree with all the above entrys. Don't change the Critera for the award. It will short change the warriors that earned it.
Ya know it's funny (strange) "Top", but my father-in-law earned 2 purple hearts in Nam. He doesn't like to mention it because he feels like he abandoned his fellow Marines when he was medevaced back to Hawaii to recover. For him they bring only bad memories. And here we are, discussing PTSD Hearts?? Maybe I need one for three bad mariages.

[Marine84]

PTSD is currently classified as an illness and not an injury. Does that mean other illnesses might be considered as well? ...dang, how many purple hearts would've come out of Subic???

LOL!

[Seeley]

I'd be pretty ****ed-off if that happened. I'm not happy I got the damned medal, but at least everyone knows what it means and how you have to get one.

[mcvet57103]

I'd be pretty ****ed-off if that happened. I'm not happy I got the damned medal, but at least everyone knows what it means and how you have to get one.Yeah, personally I am very proud of my father-in-law. But I didn't go through the Citidel, or the Tet Offensive so I can't even begin to understand all the emotions he deals with to this day. I know he re-upped after his first Purple so he could get back to his buddies, only to get a worse wound his second tour. Half an a** cheek shot off the second time. First wound was a mortor round that erased his best friend, and almost severed his carotid artery in his neck, while leaving a 6 inch scar across the back and side of his neck. I think, from what he has told me, he feels like he let down his fellow Marines by getting wounded. He is just starting to talk about his experiences, and it's been 40 years.

[SGT7477]

Just a true Marine brother he has paid his dues, Semper FI.

[E5NAMKROW]

:thumbdown

[mcvet57103]

:thumbdownCan you explain your thumbs down?

[thedrifter]

Group says PTSD doesn’t merit Purple Heart
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, May 14, 2008



The veterans group for combat wounded troops whose mission is to preserve the integrity of the Purple Heart has come out against giving the award to troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I don’t think people should get the Purple Heart for almost getting wounded," said Joe Palagyi, of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

PTSD does not merit the Purple Heart, according to an Army regulation that lays out the criteria for the award.

Recently, a military psychologist at Fort Bliss, Texas, told reporters during a roundtable that making troops with PTSD eligible for the Purple Heart could help destigmatize the disorder.

"These guys have paid at least a high — as high a price, some of them — as anybody with a traumatic brain injury, as anybody with shrapnel wound, and what it does is it says this is the wound that isn’t worthy, and I say it is," said John E. Fortunato.

When asked about Fortunato’s suggestion later, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called it an "interesting idea," adding the matter is "clearly something that needs to be looked into."

But Palagyi, who was awarded the Purple Heart for service in Vietnam, said PTSD does not meet the standards for the award, the forerunner of which was established by Gen. George Washington.

"The Purple Heart was set up for combat wounds, for those who have shed blood, and I believe that although PTSD is a physical disease and is an injury ... [it] does not qualify for the merit of Purple Heart based on that," he said Tuesday.

Injuries that merit the Purple Heart must happen in a combat theater and must be a direct result of enemy action, said Jack Leonard, also of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The group’s concern about PTSD is that it can be caused by other factors, not necessarily the enemy.

"Did it occur in boot camp? Did it occur because of the rough air flight into theater? Or did it occur because an individual saw the results of the Taliban massacre of a village? I can’t answer that," said Leonard, who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in Vietnam.

Stars and Stripes called the medical center where Fortunato works for a response, but a spokesman there referred questions to Army Human Resources Command, adding that Fortunato should not have commented on the Purple Heart in the first place because the issue is "out of our medical lane."

Leonard said he does not mean to downplay war’s psychological injuries, recounting how he is sure how his father suffered from PTSD after fighting in World War II with the Marines.

"Like a flash in a pan, he would reach out and I mean full-force smack with a balled fist, without any indication that it was going to happen, and you’d go, ‘What the hell — what the hell just happened?’ as you picked yourself off the floor," Leonard said.

He said his father, who also served in the Korean War and was close to suicide at the end of his life, was never awarded the Purple Heart.

Asked if his father should have been given the award, Leonard said no.

"There’s no physical manifestation of — that he ever shed blood," Leonard said.

Ellie

[FistFu68]

:usmc: IF YOU WANT THE MUTHA ****ER THAT BAD,YOU CAN HAVE MINE;NEVER WANTED ONE ANYWAY.BUT IT CAME AT A VERY HIGH PRICE,PIECES OF MY CHIT GETTING BLOWN AWAY.HAVE NEVER BEEN THE SAME EVER SINCE!!!SAW MANY A GOOD MARINE PUT IN A PONCHO,WHO EARNED THE PURPLE HEART THE HARD WAY.:usmc: :iwo:

[lucien2]

OK, what if a soldier is in a combat zone but never actually engages the enemy but is diagnosed with PTSD, Purple Heart? General Washington would roll over in his grave!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lucien2]

:usmc: IF YOU WANT THE MUTHA ****ER THAT BAD,YOU CAN HAVE MINE;NEVER WANTED ONE ANYWAY.BUT IT CAME AT A VERY HIGH PRICE,PIECES OF MY CHIT GETTING BLOWN AWAY.HAVE NEVER BEEN THE SAME EVER SINCE!!!SAW MANY A GOOD MARINE PUT IN A PONCHO,WHO EARNED THE PURPLE HEART THE HARD WAY.:usmc: :iwo:

Well said MARINE!

[BasilSands]

If they were to give a PH for PTSD why stop at the military?
Every Cop, Paramedic, Firefighter, EMT and ER doc & nurse oughta get one.

I never saw combat...didn't even finish MCRD due to busted ankles...but as an EMT later on I saw, touched, picked up, and scraped up plenty of the dead and barely living, men, women, teens, and even little kids alike. On a couple occaisions even had to "physically restrain" (aka fight) a guy with bits of himself coming out of himself.

It was enough to give a person enough scary dreams for a lifetime.

But none of it was done for the sake of defending my country, I never put myself in the line of fire knowing I might be killed or wounded.

PTSD is not a military / combat injury, therefore keep the PH for the combat wounds only.

[nptwildcat]

Unfortantly the Purple Heart has already been descraced. Doesn't
John Kerry have one?

[pablox1139]

Don't dishonor the PH, or the Marines that wear it! They didn't ask for it. They earned it!

[Finger]

Have both, and they are not the same thing. :thumbdown

[BasilSands]

If they give a PH to the military for PTSD, then they'll have to have a similar award for every police officer, firefighter, paramedic or EMT.

I never saw combat, but was seriously injured in boot camp (broke both ankles and got sent home) got no medal for being clumsy...didn't deserve one.

Years later as an EMT I saw enough death, destruction, tension, horror and just plain gross stuff, and yes had guns pointed at me, crazy dogs try to bite me and had to resucitate a couple little kids near death. It was enough to give anyone nightmares and long term PTSD if you couldn't find a way to de-crazy it.

But I was never in combat, and never been shot, blown up, or seen my comrades have such happen. Therefore, no medal.

The Purple Heart is for physical combat injuries not PTSD which a person can get from almost any scary event...I mean come on...there's some scary movies out there that can give folks PTSD but that's certainly not worth a medal.

I don't want to downplay PTSD, but it is not a combat injury...it is a psychological issue. If they really have it...the VA will take care of them and potentially treat them for the rest of their lives if it's bad enough.

Leave the medal for those who gave their flesh and blood.

[mcvet57103]

If they give a PH to the military for PTSD, then they'll have to have a similar award for every police officer, firefighter, paramedic or EMT.

I never saw combat, but was seriously injured in boot camp (broke both ankles and got sent home) got no medal for being clumsy...didn't deserve one.

Years later as an EMT I saw enough death, destruction, tension, horror and just plain gross stuff, and yes had guns pointed at me, crazy dogs try to bite me and had to resucitate a couple little kids near death. It was enough to give anyone nightmares and long term PTSD if you couldn't find a way to de-crazy it.

But I was never in combat, and never been shot, blown up, or seen my comrades have such happen. Therefore, no medal.

The Purple Heart is for physical combat injuries not PTSD which a person can get from almost any scary event...I mean come on...there's some scary movies out there that can give folks PTSD but that's certainly not worth a medal.

I don't want to downplay PTSD, but it is not a combat injury...it is a psychological issue. If they really have it...the VA will take care of them and potentially treat them for the rest of their lives if it's bad enough.

Leave the medal for those who gave their flesh and blood.
This part of your post says it all.

[thedrifter]

Defense group mulling Purple Heart for PTSD
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, May 17, 2008



ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department Awards Advisory Group is considering awarding the Purple Heart to troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said.

Right now, the regulation that outlines the criteria for the Purple Heart lists PTSD as an injury that does not merit the award, along with trench foot, heat stroke and self-inflicted wounds.

The issue came up during Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recent visit to Texas, when a military psychologist at Fort Bliss told reporters that making troops suffering from PTSD eligible for the Purple Heart would help remove the stigma surrounding the disorder.

Asked about the matter afterward at a news conference at Red River Army Depot, Texas, Gates replied: "It's an interesting idea. I think it's clearly something that needs to be looked at."

On Thursday, Morrell said the advisory group was looking into whether PTSD merits the Purple Heart.

"I should point out they've looked at this before, and they determined — they determined that it was not appropriate to make PTSD a qualification for the Purple Heart," Morrell said at a news conference.

The group does not have a timetable to produce a recommendation on the issue, Morrell said.

The awards group is made up of awards experts from the services and the Defense Department, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Defense Department Spokesman. The issue was referred to the group after Gates' remarks in Texas.

A group that represents veterans wounded in combat has said it opposes the idea of making PTSD an injury that qualifies for the Purple Heart.

Jack Leonard, of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said in a recent interview that PTSD can be caused by factors other than enemy action.

"Did it occur in boot camp? Did it occur because of the rough air flight into theater? Or did it occur because an individual saw the results of the Taliban massacre of a village? I can't answer that," said Leonard, a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

But John E. Fortunate, the psychologist who made the suggestion at Fort Bliss, said PTSD is partially a physical disorder because it damages the brain, making it no different than shrapnel wounds.

"These guys have paid at least a high — as high a price, some of them — as anybody with a traumatic brain injury, as anybody with shrapnel wound, and what it does is it says this is the wound that isn't worthy, and I say it is," he said during Gates' visit.

Ellie

[gunnyhiles]

The Purple Heart is issued not only for combat wounds, but is presented to survivors upon the KIA of their Warrior. I do agree those civil servents providing service at the risk of their lives deserve something, let their national Hq. design some for all.

[Jim Oliver]

Keep it the way it is. If PTSD is a reason for a PH I'd have one too. But I don't deserve it.

I think that it would degrade the meaning. Besides, how could you really prove where the PTSD came from? There are too many ways to get it. Being in combat will give it to you for sure but you can also get it from being abused as a child or adult and a million other ways.

[Backblast]

Give PTSD a red heart or possibly a blue heart. Purple Heart has a tradition behind it that must be kept. Let us not change tradition because we are the keepers of tradition.

[ErikHeiker]

Thumbs down. I dodged that bullet, fortunately. But I don't believe it should be awarded for PTSD.

[RON 68]

i will chime in here on this,even tho i have no Purple Heart, and a big salute to those that do. a Marine has mental problem's he warrants it? another Marine lose's his arms and leg in Nam,{ or any other war} and is sitting in a wheelchair in Hine's hospital in Il. i think they would know the real answer.

make up some p.s.t.d. medal for those vet's.that need one to pin on.

heck maybe i can qualify i already was f'ed up when :mad: i enlisted in "68"

okay sarcasm meter is off.

just give them some p.s.t.d. award. however not the PURPLE HEART.

what next the C.M.O.H.?if you shed a ounce of blood you qualify.even if you cut yourself on k.p.duty.

its a sad time we do live in. nuff said. my two cent's. Ron 68:marine:

[2111usmc80]

i agree w/ all u guys, the PH is for the combat wounded and KIA.

[bootlace15]

I'll just settle for a Pabst Blue Ribbon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bootlace15 out

[Maldonado 2060]

Thats a ****ty idea. Whats next MOH for graduating boot?

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: PUT A BULLET IN HIS FRIGGING AZZ,THEN GIVE HIM A SERVICE CONNECTED RATING OF 0%.TO ALL WHO SHALL SEE THESE PRESENTS,GREETING;THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HAS AWARDED THE PURPLE HEART ESTABLISHED BY GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON AT NEWBURGH,NEW YORK,AUGUST 7,1782.FOR WOUNDS RECIEVED IN ACTION.:mad: :iwo:

[Artemis]

Just for the record I do not have a PH nor have I ever seen combat or anything close to it. Considering that you can get PTSD from a variety of tramatic experiences in your life i.e. a really bad car accident or the likes I would have to say no. It just doesn't seem right to me. I am sure the Army will come out with some PTSD badge or ribbon since they so love there awards.

[hrscowboy]

Does this mean since i got gored in the butt buy a water buffalo i can get a PH
???

[DocGreek]

Purple Hearts, are awarded ONLY, to MEN WOUNDED PHYSICALLY, IN COMBAT....PERIOD!! I know....the hard way! This other crap is ALL POLITICAL B.S.!!! They can have mine, and stuff them up their BUTTS!!.....already told "them". that!.....SEMPER FI....Doc....I expected to be wounded....so WHAT!!.....Greek

[hrscowboy]

That damn water buffalo chased me out of a rice paddy and hooked me good and i have to give it too ole doc he took real good care of me..

[DocGreek]

I'm glad you got through that! Wanna' run, with the Bulls, in Pamploma, Spain?? NO F*****G WAY!! Ever get a piece of shrapnel, in your butt? When you get back to the Med Bat, Doctor BETTER fix it right! Therapy, is terrible! Hurts like H**L, even when you are lying in the rack....won't forget THAT ONE!!!....SEMPER FI.....Doc Greek

[montana]

iffen it was a nva water buffalo i think you should get a heart... <br />
a bro of mine started threw a hedge row..sw a thin line running along it....thinking it mite be a manualy triggerd boobytrap he...

[montana]

Doc.. talk about pain in tha A**....was on the ship repose...couldnt take pen???len..
so the Doc orderd another to figh infection...cant remember the name but was told its much better then the pen stuff but dont use it because its oneof the most painfull shots there is...well i got 20 of those mothers...after the first two i was begging the Doc to send me back to the bush...after the twenty shots and all healed up we were ready to ship back to ower outfits....as i stifly limped by one of the nurses that gave me all the shots ....he said hey Marine one good thing about it.. now you can screw anything in the country and not worry about catching anything....i asked him how he thought i could screw anything in my condition

[thedrifter]

No Purple Hearts for PTSD, Pentagon rules
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 18:36:50 EST

The Purple Heart will not be awarded to service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.

“It’s not a qualifying Purple Heart wound,” said Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez, although she added that “advancements in medical science may support future re-evaluation.”

The decision, reached Nov. 3 but not made public until now, followed months of evaluation by military and outside officials. That evaluation was spurred when Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked at a May press conference whether he would support awarding the Purple Heart to PTSD sufferers.

Gates said the idea was “clearly something that needs to be looked at.” His undersecretary for personnel and readiness, David S.C. Chu, decided against making such awards after conferring with the Pentagon’s Awards Advisory Group, which includes “awards experts” from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military services, the Institute of Heraldry and the Center for Military History, according to Lainez.

Gates concurred with that decision, Lainez said.

The decision was first reported Monday by the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

The Purple Heart “recognizes those individuals wounded to a degree that requires treatment by a medical officer, in action with the enemy or as the result of enemy action where the intended effect of a specific enemy action is to kill or injure the service member,” Lainez said.

PTSD “is not a wound intentionally caused by the enemy from an outside force or agent, but is a secondary effect caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event,” she said.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop “after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.”

The affliction is one of several reported in high numbers among veterans returning from duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, both marked by long tours and high exposure to combat trauma.

Lainez listed several additional factors in the Pentagon’s decision:

•Based on the definition of a wound, “an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent,” other Purple Heart award criteria, and 76 years of precedent, the Purple Heart has been limited to award for physical wounds, not psychological wounds;

•PTSD is specifically listed as an injury not justifying award of the Purple Heart in Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulationbs.

•The requirement that a qualifying Purple Heart wound be caused by “an outside force or agent” provides a fairly objective assessment standard that minimizes disparate treatment between service members. Several members could witness the same traumatic event, for instance, but only those who suffer from PTSD would receive the Purple Heart.

•Current medical knowledge and technologies do not establish PTSD as objectively and routinely as would be required for this award at this time.

•Historically, the Purple Heart has never been awarded for mental disorders or psychological conditions resulting from witnessing or experiencing traumatic combat events — for example, combat stress reaction, shell-shock, combat stress fatigue, acute stress disorder, or PTSD.

Lainez stressed that the Pentagon “is working hard to encourage service members and their families to seek care for PTSD, by reducing the stigma and urging them to seek professional care.”

Service members diagnosed with PTSD “still warrant appropriate medical care and disability compensation,” she said.

Ellie

[MitchellS]

I was told in about '84 that I had PTSD by a VA Doc. You got me, I'm not even sure what the symptoms are. I think they were telling every VN vet that for a while, maybe they still are. Personally, I think I was effed up from the way I was raised.

So what? Everybody's got quirks or problems of some sort. Does everybody need to get a Medal, like all the kids in Special Olympics get an award?

just my opinion, feel free to have one of your own

[DocGreek]

MitchellS.....Don't worry about it! Every human brain is different. If you had a tough life, before the Corps, it probably made you tougher, mentally. Nothing wrong with that! Some Grunts, were "REAL" virgins, in country. Not just about sex, but about life. Their the ones, who have suffered the most. If you ever feel suicidal, or get violently angry, I'm here for you, Bro!......Just in case!!.....SEMPER FI....Doc Greek

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Glad they made that decision. It was the right one, IMO. I've got PTSD as well, from LEO and the Pentagon on 9/11. But no way would I want a freakin PH for that crap.

Glad someone at the puzzle palace had some sense on this one.

[MitchellS]

Hey Doc Greek, appreciate ya. I'm a much happier and saner person than I was in the 80's and 90's. (better meds lol)

Just found this place thanks to a bro, actually a cousin of my wife's, who did the 20-something years lifer tour. I didn't even do 18 months active. Not sure if it was him or me that was the smart one--I could be on retirement right now...

This looks like a good place... :thumbup:

[Zulu 36]

Glad they made that decision. It was the right one, IMO. I've got PTSD as well, from LEO and the Pentagon on 9/11. But no way would I want a freakin PH for that crap.

Glad someone at the puzzle palace had some sense on this one.

I agree. I'd have multiple PH if PTSD was authorized, but I'd be ashamed to wear it.

My Dad estimated he was wounded 12 or more separate times on Saipan and Tinian, but because he didn't turn into the BAS for treatment, he got no Purple Hearts, even though he later had to spend a couple of months at a stateside Naval Hospital getting fragmentation removed. He had the scars to prove it and continued to pick pieces of metal out of himself until he died. My Mom still has a little box full of tiny pieces of Japanese (and probably US) grenade and mortar fragments.

How could I look at myself in a mirror and wear a Purple Heart for PTSD knowing just that? I'd never put in for one.

They made the right decision.

[DocGreek]

MONTANA.....Just like you, I've got some really funny stories, from my experiences, in Nam. In the movie, "Hamburger Hill", Courtney Vance played a Medic.....reminded me of the "lecture", I gave to ALL newbies, in our Platoon. Scared the CRAP, out of them!! BUT.....probably saved a few lives....I HOPE!.....SEMPER FI....Doc Greek

[cw2533]

PTSD does not deserve the PH. Some Marines gave their all and to issue The PH for PTSD would disgrace what they sacrificed.

[thedrifter]

Pentagon: No Purple Heart for PTSD
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, January 6, 2009

ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense officials have rejected the idea that troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder should be eligible for the Purple Heart.

"PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event; it is not a wound intentionally caused by the enemy from an ‘outside force or agent,’ but is a secondary effect caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event," said Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez.

The matter came up in May, when a military psychologist at Fort Bliss, Texas, told reporters he felt that making troops suffering from PTSD eligible for the Purple Heart would help remove the disorder’s stigma.

"These guys have paid at least a high — as high a price, some of them — as anybody with a traumatic brain injury, as anybody with shrapnel wound, and what it does is it says this is the wound that isn’t worthy, and I say it is," John E. Fortunato said in May.

When a reporter asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates about Fortunato’s comments, Gates said the matter was "clearly something that needs to be looked at," prompting a review by the Defense Department’s Awards Advisory Group.

Based on the group’s findings, Dr. David Chu, undersecretary of personnel and readiness, has decided that PTSD does not meet the requirements for the Purple Heart, Lainez said on Monday.

"Historically, the Purple Heart has never been awarded for mental disorders or psychological conditions resulting from witnessing or experiencing traumatic combat events (e.g., combat stress reaction, shell-shock, combat stress fatigue, acute stress disorder, or PTSD)," she said.

The group also found that the requirement that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds caused by "an outside force or agent" is a fair and objective standard for who should receive the award, but medical science cannot provide such a standard for troops suffering from PTSD, Lainez said.

"Several members could witness the same traumatic event, but only those who suffer from PTSD would receive the Purple Heart," she said.

The issue of whether troops suffering from PTSD should be eligible for the Purple Heart created a controversy after Stars and Stripes first wrote about the issue in May.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart, a veterans group, responded by saying the Purple Heart should only be awarded to troops who shed blood.

"I don’t think people should get the Purple Heart for almost getting wounded," said Joe Palagyi, the group’s national adjutant.

Many Stripes readers also opposed the idea.

"Every badge hunter and his brother will have this distinguished award in their sights," Army Capt. Matthew Nichols wrote in a May letter to the editor.

But Edward Stump, who said he served in Vietnam with the Marines from 1966 to 1967, wrote that the psychological wounds are just as real as physical ones.

"My wounds do not bleed but they have as many scars as a lot of other wounds," Stump wrote. "These wounds will never heal anymore than the scars, from any that are from combat-related fighting, will disappear."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
On Purple Hearts and PTSD: Pentagon Says Stress Injury Does Not Merit Award; Defense Department Language Betrays a Preconceived Mindset to Dismiss
The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that it will not award the Purple Heart for combat-induced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez announced that the affliction, which even struck Achilles, is "not a qualifying Purple Heart wound.”

Technically, DoD is correct. The Purple Heart guidelines specify that the award be given to servicemembers whose injury "...requires treatment by a medical officer, in action with the enemy or as the result of enemy action where the intended effect of a specific enemy action is to kill or injure the service member.” PTSD, by definition, is a "secondary effect."

However. And there is a big "however." The evidence shows unequivocally, PTSD can wreck lives. My own father was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat in Korea. He recovered well. But I am convinced that PTSD, for which he received no medal nor treatment, had a hand in his death.

I understand that much stigma is attached to the PTSD label. Troops remain reluctant to acknowledge symptoms. In addition, both society and the military leadership view the disorder with mixed feelings. Is PTSD an easy out for malingerers? If you have it, does it mean you're nuts? If we admit that combat is bad for the troops' mental health, does this mean we can't ever go to war? The short answer, to all three, is a resounding "no."

Nevertheless, we remain faced with the question: Should we acknowledge PTSD within the context of an award? The Pentagon has issued its ruling. But in doing so, DoD also has used code words that betray its prejudice:

"Historically, the Purple Heart has never been awarded for mental disorders or psychological conditions resulting from witnessing or experiencing traumatic combat events — for example, combat stress reaction, shell-shock, combat stress fatigue, acute stress disorder, or PTSD."

In dredging up these highlighted terms, some of which have been used in prior wars as dismissive sobriquets, this particular Pentagon commission reveals a preconceived mindset: Do you have PTSD? Get over it.

I don't pretend to know what's best in terms of a PTSD award. I never have served in combat, and I never have been faced with the question of whether to announce my injuries to the world at large. The PTSD-award decision is best left to the troops themselves. I'd very much like to see their thoughts on this matter.

This blog has addressed PTSD at length. You can view the full collection

http://susankatzkeating.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-purple-hearts-and-ptsd-pentagon-says.html

Ellie