More Purple Hearts after Army clarifies 'concussion'
"An injury is an injury. And just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't a wound," Petty says. "If it's a clear-cut indication you've had a brain injury, then I think you deserve it as much as anyone else."
The Army will allow more battlefield concussions to be eligible for a Purple Heart, embracing the latest scientific findings that even brief periods of dizziness or headaches are evidence of the wound.
The decision to expand the definition for concussions will mean thousands of Purple Heart medals going to soldiers denied them in the past.
"The confusion among Army doctors," says Col. Jonathan Jaffin of the Army surgeon general's office, "was how much head injury qualified for the concussion diagnosis warranting a Purple Heart." The changes now provide clarity, he says.
Col. Tom Quinn of the Army office that oversees awards is urging soldiers who believe they were wrongly denied the award to seek a review of their case. "We think that some deserving soldiers may not have been appropriately recognized," says Quinn, urging soldiers to re-apply through their chain of command and veterans to call 888-276-9472 or hrc.tagd.awards@conus.army.mil.
"It is imperative that the Pentagon makes it crystal clear that all servicemembers, no matter what branch they serve in, will be awarded the Purple Heart when they are wounded in any way," Pascrell says.
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