We Owe it to Them

Traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological impairment... all medical jargon, are perilous threats to our military personnel. Hundreds of thousands of servicemen and women will return from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with some form of complex psychological health issue. For this reason, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF) has undertaken the project of raising $70 million to fund the construction of a state-of-the-art facility to treat soldiers with these disorders. Once completed, the IFHF will turn over the facility to the government to operate.

This is the second project of this kind the IFHF has taken on. In January 2007, the IFHF opened a center to treat physical injuries called the Center for the Intrepid at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. It is now the finest military physical rehabilitation center for military amputees in the world, all privately paid for by over 600,000 Americans.

The new center, to be called the National Intrepid Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (NICoE), will be located at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Washington D.C. The hope is to have enough funds committed to the project for it to be completed next year. It will be a 75,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art treatment and rehabilitation center and a place where scientists from around the world will gather to share their research.

Unfortunately, this is a much tougher project to accomplish because mental and brain injuries are not visible to the untrained eye. Soldiers can be living with problems that no one can see. And, problems such as post traumatic stress disorder can surface years later if left untreated.

It is only recently that we finally understand that many of the homeless living under our nation's bridges suffered from that abnormality. It is only recently that the Rand report identified the fact that up to 300,000 troops have been exposed to some form of TBI and PTSD and that number may actually be much, much higher. And it is only recently that our country has been galvanized to address this national peril. We are no longer embarrassed to talk about mental health for our brave warriors. They deserve the best care and this Center will be the core of that effort.

The centers will not only provide treatment but will also be research facilities. Improvements in screening, diagnosis, and treatment will be fed back out to the military and VA hospitals and the medical facilities in the field. Long-term follow-up care will also be incorporated into the system plan to ensure that, once soldiers separate from the military, they do not separate from whatever continued treatment they need.

The National Intrepid Center of Excellence will send a message to military personnel overseas fighting for the freedom of others. We will always remember the sacrifices made by our brave, young heroes and their families, and we will continue to support our soldiers by providing them with world-class support when they return.

For further information go to www.fallenheroesfund.org.

Arnold Fisher
Honorary Chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

Comments

[SeanGardner]

Great post Arnold.

Members of my family over the years have fought in the Civil War, The Spanish American War, World War I, World II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, and, the first Gulf War.

My family has always fought for increased funding to our nation's veterans.

And proudly, every voting age member of my huge family (parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc) will be casting a vote for Barack Obama. He was heavily involved in the much-heralded "Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act", which passed in July of 2007 and highlighted the hideous treatment received by Veterans under the Bush administration. In fact, the final bill began as the "Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act", introduced by Obama in early 2007.

Obama's grandfather fought in WWII. so Obama understands Veterans issues, and, has higher marks than McCain from the leading Veterans groups:

(1) In a list of "Key Votes," Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) notes McCain "Voted Against Us" 15 times and "Voted For Us" only 8. Whereas, Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.

(2) Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Obama got a B+ , but gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans.

(3) Disabled Veterans of America gave Obama an 80 percent rating, and noted McCain"s dismal 20 percent voting record on veterans" issues.

Veterans will be coming out BIG for Obama on election day.

[JaneEyrez]

I really don't understand why McCain has been so relentlessly anti vets in his voting record. Seems like it would go against his own military experience, not to mention how bad it makes him look politically. Unless, of course, to him the troops are just cannon fodder, equipment, to be used and thrown away, instead of incredibly brave and loyal warriors.