Purple Heart for PTSD?
-
- May
- 3
A military psychologist treating patients at Fort Bliss, Texas has suggested that awarding the Purple Heart to combat veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder might help remove the stigma that causes many soldiers to deny they are having problems and to avoid seeking treatment.
In a story in the Stars & Stripes, John E. Fortunato, chief of the Recovery and Resilience Center at Fort Bliss, described PTSD as a “physical disorder, at least in part,” because it damages the brain, making it no different from shrapnel wounds.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who visited the center on Thursday, called Fortunato’s suggestion “an interesting idea,” adding that the issues is “clearly something that needs to be looked into,” according to the Stars & Stripes account.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7:16 pm by Rich Liebson.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: 
| 
| 
IF a purple heart for people with ptsd will do it and medical doctors feel it will help then why not They are no less wounded than any one who receives a body wound in combat or any one else who has injury do to their military experiance I hope our military establishment acts on this idear
Not a good idea… perhaps a different honor/medal.
My 2 cents, Jim
Wow how to feel about this as an Iraqi Freedom Vet and a Veterans Service Officer I see and have experienced the PTSD dilemma. All the awards have been cheapened since Desert Storm all officers and E-7 and above get Bronze Stars, I know several who never even set foot in Iraq that have them. They rotated soldiers from a support battalion through our Infantry battalion for a day so they could receive their combat medical badge even though they were never under fire. I say if it helps they should do it my opinion.
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to start a serious effort to enable those who have been carefully evaluated and were diagnosed with combat-related PTSD to receive the Purple Heart. I co-edited the book, Combat Stress Injury Theory Research, and Management (published by Routledge last year), with Bill Nash, just retiring as a psychiatrist (Navy Captain)with the USMC who has been responsible for helping to prevent combat stress injuries. We both know that PTSD is a real injury with lots of neurological (i.e., physical) evidence for those who suffer from it.
Before I start such a campaign, I would like to know from my fellow veterans any possible unintended, negative consequences of such a change in policy.
Best wishes,
Charles
I am an Iraq War Vet and still serve in the Army. I have dealt with changes that I could not figure out since my tour 3 years ago. I was referred to Dr. Figley and drove 400 miles to be evaluated by him on April 2007. Dr. Figley is performing a great service in discussing and dealing with the real PTSD issue. To me a combat injury is a combat injury. A ribbon, purple heart, is just a recognition piece that says the military agrees that you have been injured. It is difficult to break the thinking that you need to have a visible scar to have been injured. A mental "scar" or injury is just the same. It is just that it scares us as soldiers to think we can't tough it out or control it when we don't feel well. We cannot heal our brain as quick as a cut or bone break. I hear soldiers say they are still afraid to mention specific body pain for fear they will not get promoted or might get medically discharged from the military. Some ribbons or awards are given when not truly earned, but we cannot stop honoring injured soldiers no matter what. Thank you Dr. Figley for making us talk about PTSD. This injury is real and we do not need to fear something that we don't understand. I share all of this because I am living with an injury that I don't understand but I do not fear it, I manage it. Thanks.
As another Iraqi War veteran (2003-2004), and someone who was subjected to the cognitive efforts of first the VA and then an Army medical center over the course of two years, I admit there is a need to recognize the service of our wounded. The Purple Heart, like the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) has a significant meaning and honor. The Army developed an alternative to the CIB to honor those non-Infantry personnel that engaged the enemy in active combat, called the Combat Action Badge (CAB). Like the CAB, an alternate award should be chosen, to honor the sacrifice of those with invisible mental wounds. More importantly, like the physical wounds that are suffered and healed, PTSD can be healed using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a holistic energy healing practice that is non-invasive, non-traumatizing and effective. I experienced almost total relief of sleeplessness, uncontrollable anger outbreaks and hyper-alertness/activation after a ten minute phone session. If the VA and military medical establishment would open their eyes they would realize that EFT, which does not require a license to practice, would result in a high return-to-duty rate and a drastic reduction in suicides would be far more effective than video games that are supposed to heighten suicide awareness. EFT is explained on the website of founder Gary Craig: www.emofree.com. Try it, there is NOTHING to lose! If you would like to know more about my experience, feel free to contact me at CombatCA50@yahoo.com.
I have worked for years with Federal law enforcement and public service employees with collateral military roles that become traumatized from their individual and collective traumatic experiences. The CAB is an excellent EARNED award from a physical and/or emotional wounding conflict event, which is a criterion A hallmark. The warrior wounded by other warriors in their common living area or by insurgents on the battlefield or the warrior on the Autobahn or outside the Baghdad International Airport in a Humvee rollover is neither less wounded nor less traumatized. If the location becomes the defining factor, it could become an inclusive/exclusive clique, creating more issues of recognizing vs. owning & treating them.
I asked my husband Bob about this. He says he would accept a Purple Brain, but not a Purple Heart. Helicopter pilots! Always kidding.
I can see the point of doing it however, since the neurological and brain changes do exist. It is a war related injury.
Bob was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and came home in 1966, after a rather hectic year, with PTSD. He got diagnosed in 1967 with combat fatigue,(before DSMII which, on no scientific evidence whatever, eliminated any form of long term post-traumatic reaction from available diagnoses). At that time it meant he could never be sent to a combat zone again. They should not be sent back on meds now either. It is unethical because there is no proof that it does not do more harm.
During Vietnam, the in-country psychological breakdown rate was 1.2%. They thought they had also prevented psychological injury. We will find out over time exactly how effective the current preventive measures are, but I believe it is important to tell people that we have helped you now and you may need more help later, the post- in PTSD. Further trauma may bring it up again.
I understand the theory behind this,and maybe it is a good one. But, personally, I don't believe any medal would ever be enough until a veteran can get the help he needs, when he needs it, without being made to feel inferior by either his superiors or his peers. Now, if coping skills for PTSD were a mandatory part of military training, for ALL service members, and none were singled out, maybe that would be a better solution. Honestly, learning to recognize the signs, learning how to live with it, and knowing how to get help and where – these are skills beneficial not only to the service members who live with it every day, but to every service member, particularly those in leadership positions. After all these years, I don't believe there is one single person in the military who doesn't have at least one buddy affected by war. The unfortunate thing is that is would take a lot of time, money and resources to implementand I don't know that that anyone with the authority to get it done is interested. PLease don't get me wrong—I am all for giving service members the recognition they deserve. Truthly, I don't think they get enough for what they do—but that is a different topic. In this case, I just don't think it will be bring about the desired effect.
I definitely think that if the Purple Heart medal could help decrease stigma and legitimize a vet's experience of being wounded as a result of combat, I would certainly be in favor of the award. Based on my own experiences in working with active duty members I would also add TBI in the same category as PTSD. In the screening and assessment process, I have found that service members have been reacting to "the signature wound" with just as much stigma as PTSD thus decreasing their receptivity to treatment.
I am going to try to put this lightly. It is ridiculous to think that a service member who sits in an air conditioned trailer in kuwait somewhere and returns home suffering from "PTSD" should be awarded a Purple Heart. If you can return from Iraq after seeing half the things I've seen and be perfectly fine mentally than you are a God. It is just a risk you take in war. We all signed up for it.
I received a Purple Heart in my last deployment in Ramadi, Iraq, and I earned it. I BLED for my country, and when I returned they said I have PTSD. So I guess I should rate another Purple Heart. It's hard to accept the idea of awarding the medal to those who are diagnosed with PTSD after going through what I went through to earn mine. It is simply a risk of combat, and we should just accept that. I would hate to have someone ask me why I got a Purple Heart and have to tell them it was because I had PTSD.
Sorry if I offend anyone but it is only my opinion. Carry on.