War veterans who have been affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will not be awarded the Purple Heart-the U.S. military's storied recognition for those members of the armed forces who have been wounded in combat. This was the latest decision by the Pentagon and, as reported by The New York Times Jan. 7, 2009 ("Purple Heart is ruled out for traumatic stress"), affects roughly 300,000 service members who have been diagnosed with serious psychological trauma. The editorial board of The Miami Student believes that the Pentagon's decision to not expand Purple Heart coverage unfairly excludes those soldiers who are facing enormously adverse psychological effects in ever-changing combat situations. We believe that the demands of a new era of conflict necessitate a change in the way that the wounded are handled by our government.
PTSD is a severe psychological disorder that occurs due to the levels of fatigue, fright and extremely stressful situations. As a point of reference, a terrorist attack such as September 11, 2001 was the cause of a spike in diagnosed cases of PTSD amongst civilians in New York City. This board believes there should be an immediate change to the requirements for the Purple Heart that includes those suffering from psychological disorders that are a direct result of conflict situations. In the status quo, sufferers of PTSD face the stigma of many perceiving their disorder as a weakness and not on the level as physical traumas. The immediate recognition of PTSD as something on the level as a lost limb or other wound would slowly help to change popular perception of the disorder and may encourage sufferers from being more open about their psychological states and seeking treatment.
Opponents, argue that since PTSD cases do not have to coincide with physical trauma then there is less objectivity in determining cases. Further complicating the PTSD diagnosis process is that many afflictions can remain hidden for months or years until there is a psychological episode that can manifest itself as a crippling depression or even physical response. Some cases of PTSD involve violent attacks where the afflicted can injure others due to a flashback resulting in the individual losing a sense of his surroundings.
As an editorial board, we recognize the merits of a re-prioritization of PTSD research in order to answer what detractors argue are non-objective means of diagnosis. This is the approach that an advisory board to the Pentagon used when it nixed the expansion of Purple Heart conditions. This argument would seek to raise the level of research until an accurate and fair qualification for PTSD would be able to be obtained while not punishing the truly affected-current military sufferers would be able to seek the award post-facto.
However, this approach takes time that many suffering veterans simply don't have. The increasingly lethal combat zones of today's battlefields are unlike anything we have seen in contemporary theaters of war and require a new response. It's a duty we can't ignore.
