Nicole Brochu
Sun Sentinel Columnist
8:10 a.m. EDT, March 18, 2011
It's not every day that the military deserves a pat on the back for the way it treats America's soldiers. So when a branch steps up in a way that both recognizes and honors the sacrifices the nation's bravest make on our behalf, it's worth noting.Such is the case with the Army's decision this week to clarify its guidelines on awarding the Purple Heart for battlefield concussions.
The Purple Heart is among the most sacred of combat medals, its bold colors and unmistakable shape a now-universal symbol of bravery and sacrifice. Bestowed only upon those injured in combat, the lofty honor has historically been awarded sparingly.
Too sparingly, some say.
In the macho world of war, there has been, generally speaking, an unspoken understanding that unless you sustained visible injuries on the battlefield, you weren't hurt enough to warrant the Purple Heart. As Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff, frankly told USA Today, "You've got to be bleeding to get it."
But far too often, significant wounds don't show through the skin, especially in a war where the ripple effects of roadside bombs can cause lasting yet invisible damage to the brain. Such wounds, known in military parlance as mild traumatic brain injuries and elsewhere as concussions, have become so common that they are considered the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such injuries are now finally doing what even a broader understanding of post traumatic stress disorder's debilitating effects from past wars could not: persuade military brass to take head wounds more seriously.
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