| FIGHT-PTSD.ORG |
| Photos: Luis Simco/Los Angeles Times |
An advocacy site on behalf of active duty military personnel & veterans who have been casualties of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. |
| PTSD has been around throughout world history, for as long as mankind has engaged in war. In previous generations it may not have been recognized as a long term disabling illness with legitimate and catastrophic injury to humans, including death, if undiagnosed and untreated. During World Wars I and II, and later, it was commonly attributed as "shell shock", and when manifest in the extreme in troops in the theater of war would likely result in the affected troops being removed from duty, and literally and figuratively ostracized by their peers and superiors. While strides have been made by society and the medical establishment in civilian life in recent decades, so that PTSD is recognized as a valid mental health disorder that can be identified and treated by medical professionals and skilled rehabilitation professionals, similar progress in this arena by the United States military establishment has not been demonstrated, and in fact, may be institutionally "road blocked" by leadership in the military establishment. FIGHT-PTSD.ORG will advocate on behalf of active duty military personnel and veteran's to gain recognition of PTSD as a valid medical casualty resulting from operations in a theater of warfare. We will advocate to gain appropriate medical treatment and counseling and other appropriate services for active duty military personnel who are PTSD casualties. To the extent possible, we will make available resource information and other services to assist active duty military personnel and veterans in mitigating the effects of their PSTD injuries. |
| As summarized by the BFD Blog!, in the posting titled "The Shafting Of Our Career Soldiers: Continues Unabated" the Army Medical Corps is systematically mis-diagnosing PTSD war casualties as having a Personality Disorder, which then requires that these solders be given Chapter 5-13 discharges, which in turn disqualifies them from receiving any military medical or retirement benefits and which places them outside of the umbrella of Veterans Administration services. Despite the general consensus of the medical profession, and other experts in this field, and all of the evidence in front of her, the acting Surgeon General of the United States Army, Major General Gale Pollock continues to deny these soldiers honest and correct medical diagnoses and any subsequent appropriate medical services. As the commanding officer of the United States Army Medical Corps, General Pollock's behavior seems to be derelict in her duty to the army and to the American People. Bureaucratic cost containment through the culling out of soldiers who have been catastrophically injured in service to their country instead of a mission to heal and rehabilitate seems to be General Pollock's motivating factors. Our military personnel, who have sacrificed their all for us need our help to stop the forced discharges and to begin the healing process. General Pollock needs our help to remember what motivated her to obtain her medical training in the first place and to allow humanity and compassion to return to her value system. To learn more about this compelling issue read "How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits" and "Specialist Town Takes His Case To Washington", both reported by Joshua Kors in The Nation. |
Our header photo array depicts three phases in the life of James Blake Miller, also known as the "Marlboro Marine". Miller is shown in the three pictures as a young, unscathed 20 year old Marine on initial deployment to Iraq in 2004, after being pinned down during an all night firefight in Fallouja, Iraq, on November 8, 2004, and then almost three years later, after being discharged from the Marines due to PTSD. This is the face of a young American patriot who will be a disabled casualty for the rest of his life, all because he served his country. Learn about Miller's full story here. |
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| As defined by the National Institute of Mental Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. |
| U.S. Army Kicks PTSD Casualties Of Iraq War To The Curb |
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| * U.S. District Court approves law suit against the Veterans Administration on behalf of PTSD casualties; reported 11-Jan-07 by San Jose Mercury News * |