RE: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,168565,00.html

quote:

Originally posted by CorporalMcIntyre:
RE: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,168565,00.html

Thanks Mac, ya made my day..............

What a laod of crap!!!

I agree with the sentiments, but this guy rants as if most of us combat vets are "free-loading" off of the gvt via VA compensation! What a crock of crap!

No Purple Heart for any and all lame , BS aliments!

just a a-sgt who served with the 101 and the 2nid during the cold war. shot in the head by a subcall rounnd 35mm during trainging it hurts just as bad. law traing round impacted my helmet. have not suffered much ptsd. serving the country is the most important thing that i heve every done. 4 kids married 25 years. all men and women who serve and suffer should get the purple heart. we must honor all veterns because training for war for the last 40 years is a dengerous job

JTBOWLING is right on. There is abuse of the system that makes it hard for legitimate claims. Look at welfare for macro-abuse.

I have to agree with the author. Leave the Purple Heart alone. PTSD does not and should not be considered as a qualifier for the medal.

Well, The corporal makes some salient points...having been a corporal at one time, I also made the mistake of thinking I knew it all...corporal, you are way off base and full of it.

Having served in Baghdad in 2004 in a bunker full of 150-200 Iraqi National Guard soldiers/ possible insurgents. Being right across the street from Sadre City and 45 minutes away from any support, the 6 of us that were chosen as teh embedded trainers all suffer from some sort of PTSD or another. However I have not submitted any claims for it, don't see my self as needing to have a purple heart, and would not wear it if It was given to me because I didn't recieve so much as a scratch from enemy hostilities. I whole heartedly agree with the author and personally know people milking the VA for all its worth with PTSD, though they don't look like they have any mental ailments when they show off their disability checks, the smiles are down right disgusting...

You state you didn't submit claims for it, so I gather you self diagnosed, which is about equal to some of the quacks calling themselves doctors who wouldn't know it (PTSD Combat related) if it walked up and slapped them in the face. I gather at this time the subject is a moot one and full of confusion as was SE Asia and now the ME.Some of us try to look at both sides and others are just plain insulting....which, I gather, is their right...quetion though...when you ran across these folks what did you say, and if you commented on their fraud...what did they say ? Awards and benefits hold different levels of regard and honors...and the holder/receiver has to live with what they actually mean. I would gather from some of these posts that no matter what is said, one way or the other, nothing will be done anyway.

I agree with most of the article, I guess. I was just diagnosed with PTSD. I want to work and be a useful part of society and will continue to do so until I retire. I know there is a lot of fraudulent claims out there, but I gotta say just because records indicate one thing does not mean a whole lot. Most of the time they are not as accurate as they need to be due to unit transfers and admin screwups. That nonwithstanding, I was an IED hunter and Im so jumpy now its affecting my personal and professional life. If that's worth some money then so be it.
As far as the Purple Heart award goes, those bastards better not mess with it. I won't accept it. I doubt many, if any, PTSD afflicted vets would.

If there is a worry about fakers making claims; then the issue is definitely internal (Veterans Administration) and needs to be reviewed and updated. Should a board of medical physicians concur on the type of disabling injuries and rate; then it should not be scrutinized by non-medical professionals.

If the worry is about who should get the purple heart; then the issue is that of the distinct. What seperates one soldier from the other? In the Army we saw the same distinct argument when the black beret was issued to all soldiers, and the Rangers were about to lose a long standing traditional icon. The Rangers did what they do best and adapted to the change. The beret never changed the ability of the Rangers. Now there are multiple Combat Badges for Combat Arms and the CAB for all others involved in hostile engagement. Maybe the PH should remain under the criteria it has now as a specific class of injury and other types identified by a different color backing. This would continue to make the PH the highest injury class and determine disability rate as well.

Example:

Class I - Purple Heart -Current award criteria - Disability 50% - 100%
Class II - Purple Heart design with red backing - Lesser combat related injuries - Disability 25% - 75%
Class III - Purple HEart design with blue backing - Service connected injuries - Disability 10% - 50%

Of course this is just brain storming and would have to be reviewed by competent authority. It could recognize soldiers with certain injuries with an option to wear.

I am a Somalia and Afghanistan veteran. I have PTSD and not drawing disability. I've been out of service for two years. I wouldn't need a PH to tell me where I've been and what I've done. Besides I don't wear a uniform anymore and don't talk to anyone except my doctor about PTSD related issues. Remember that the U.S. Census Bureau places the most recent population at 304,186,887. Of that number there are 23,700,000 veterans, 1,373,995 Active Duty Components, 1.1 million Reserve Components, and 500,000 National Guard. A rough total of civilians in the U.S. that had not been drafted or volunteered for service is 277,612,892. Do the math and your own research. How many civilians are on some type of state or government assisted aid? How many civilians have manipulated the financial system so taxes are not paid fully while middle income people like service men and women pay out the butt. We as service members or veterans deserve so much more than the forgotten momentum of patiotism by so many. Stop bickering between one another.

Yesterday I went to my friends grave at the National Cemetery at Fort Sam Houston. His garve marker states he has a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Yesterday was Memorial Day. Give it a break and show respect to one another.

I have a service connected neurological disease verified by the Navy and VA doctors(i.e. proper diagnosis). I don't need a Purple Heart to boaster my ego or wear in a parade. I can understand the need to get treatment for service connected conditions but handing out medals isn't going to make the VA operate at peak efficiency or take away the stigma of PTSD or cure it.

This subject will always be split in half. Some individuals with PTSD think they should get the Purple Heart and would wear the medal with honor. Some who have PTSD wouldn't except the Purple Heart even if it was awarded to them and wouldn't discuss nor even wear the medal at all. I don't think anyone who suffers from PTSD ever asked to be awarded a Purple Heart. I don't know who brought this issue up for discussion but I'm sure it wasn't a veteran who suffers from PTSD. I continue to say, don't let us vets get into a arguement on who wounds from combat is more ligit than the other. Those who are frauds I'm confident will be exposed. We vets who served honorably shouldn't have to explain ourselves to knowone. Especially to our own brothers and sisters of war.

Yes we need an investigation of fraud within the VA Claims Department. There is way to much of it. As a Retired SGM and Vietnam Vet I agree with the author. Oh by the way I draw 70% disablity and am diagnoised with PTSD, but do not draw any disability for PTSD. I am NOT an honored holder of the Purple Heart either.

quote:

Originally posted by wintersoldier:
You state you didn't submit claims for it, so I gather you self diagnosed, which is about equal to some of the quacks calling themselves doctors who wouldn't know it (PTSD Combat related) if it walked up and slapped them in the face. I gather at this time the subject is a moot one and full of confusion as was SE Asia and now the ME.Some of us try to look at both sides and others are just plain insulting....which, I gather, is their right...quetion though...when you ran across these folks what did you say, and if you commented on their fraud...what did they say ? Awards and benefits hold different levels of regard and honors...and the holder/receiver has to live with what they actually mean. I would gather from some of these posts that no matter what is said, one way or the other, nothing will be done anyway.

I don't think this forum is the place to dicuss my medical records or who diagnosed what. I was clinically diagnosed PTSD and that diagnosis has been more of an obstacle than a means to a more normal life. I also don't think personally attacking me is called for in this forum since whether or not I know what is best for me and my life is not the topic. Nor is it up for discussion whether you think I am qualified to make my own descisions or not.

Some of you are applauding the author for his tirade. I hope that your medal is and was worth it. To decide that you have it for real reasons and others don't deserve it, that's pretty selfish, but I suspect that you were/are like that in uniform, too. Badge hunters, we called you all. Badge PROTECTORS, also. It's an attitude that has gone on for too long. I would love to hear the war stories ya'll tell. But then I would probably get pissed off and point out the mistakes. Like I usually do when I hear people brag or boast bout what they did, where they were, who they served with. It's funny, yet sad.

As for the author, Bowling, I have no respect for people who can't, won't, or don't think that an idea, no matter how silly or outrageous, should be looked into seriously. And what anti-military groups and lobbyists does he mean? Guess he should check out who brought it up and read the whole story himself.

Applaud if you will, but it shows a lot more than you know.

SSG Willett, you generalized and were taken to task fot it...get over yourself.

PFC Williams, If you couldn't own a piece of land in the USA unless you served your country. That 277 million plus would have to either get there feet wet, or quit *****ing. My understanding of the Purple Heart, is for wounds recieved in action. Not for an illness resulting from. Should they want to give a metal and call it a PTSD Heart. I don't think anyone would want to wear a medal like that. As far as giving the same benifit entitlements as someone that has a purple heart. Absolutly ! As for any of us veterans that recieved injuries while in training, combat or suffering from illness caused from serving our country. I would hope that they would have a smile on there face when they cashed there checks. Thats our country honoring those soldiers. After all FREEDOM ISN"T FREE.