Posted on 05/13/2008 8:53:00 AM PDT by CRBDeuce
WASHINGTON -- Centuries before Iraq and Afghanistan, George Washington created the Purple Heart to honor troops wounded in combat.
But with an increasing number of troops being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the modern military is debating an idea Gen. Washington never considered -- awarding one of the nation's top military citations to veterans with psychological wounds, not just physical ones.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered cautious support...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
If General Patton were alive he’d slap Sec. Gates.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
I do not want the PH earned by my grandfather during the Japanese invasion of the the Philipines at the start of WWII, nor anyone else’s that was earned by spilling their blood for this country, to be cheapened by this crap.
It must not allowed to occur.
This is a rotten idea. The old standard for award of the medal is the ONLY that should be used. Period.
No doubt there are some real psychological injuries that last for many years, if not forever.
But, I think campaign ribbons and service medals reflect some appreciation of the psychological rigors.
On the other hand, we risk the debasing the Purple Heart to the point where participation is the only criterion for award.
Net: I vote for physical injury caused by enemy action.
So what should be the reward for pychological injuries?
‘Nuff said.
The reward for psychological injuries is that you did your duty as a soldier. That’s enough. Keep the Purple Heart for actual physical wounds.
...and as the article mentioned traditional rewards are in place as well....(nearly) life time medical care unparalleled in private care, medals, honors, (usually) Respect with a capital ‘R’, more ‘brothers’ to talk about PTSD effects than ‘private industry’, etc. And while the ‘old’ VA may have underperformed on this issue, the current impetus in psychological well being of our veterans is unparalleled on the planet!
Just an aside, but perhaps in the success of creating ‘the Army of one’, the highly disciplined, highly skilled, (perhaps a little robotic) trained to execute orders instantly on command SOLDIER....we forget that on ‘outprocessing’ back into civilized society, no one will be there to ‘give the order’ to the VETERAN! Now most figure that out, no problem, but not all military exits yield a veteran comfortable in the civilized ‘society’ he returns to....that often doesn’t ‘look the same’ as he remembers society should look....just say’n. The first place I’d go is a ‘self help book’ like ‘The Me Nobody knows’, or ‘I’m OK, You’re OK’, or PsychoCybernetics (Maxwell Malz -sp?)....just so I could avoid the liberal Pop psychologists out there!...But then, I haven’t really thought it thru as much as I should...
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