There have recently been news stories about US soldiers and Marines returning to duty in Iraq and Afghanistan after suffering severe injuries - e.g. loss of a leg below the knee, loss of a foot. Obviously, these soldiers have chosen to continue to serve.
My question is whether severely wounded soldiers can be obligated to continue to serve, or whether a crippling wound frees them from their enlistment contracts? On the other hand, if a soldier has recovered and can pass the required fitness tests, is the Army or Navy obligated to allow them to serve out their contracts?
Most of the time, once you have a severe wound you are assessed for medical discharge and disability retirement. That decision is made by the doctors, and you don’t have any say in it. There may be cases in which soldiers or marines are allowed to stay on active duty for publicity/morale reasons, but I’m not aware of any specific situations. I personally haven’t heard of any military amputee going back in the field. Furthermore, while there are waivers for such things, once a military member cannot pass his or her physical fitness test, it’s tough to stay on active duty or, for that matter, get promoted.
I guess I didn’t really address the question fully in my response. If the military deems you medically unqualified due to a military injury, you’ll probably get disability retirement without much recourse, although you can appeal the medical decision.
Oops, I did it again (not quite answering the post). Last try: if you’re injured badly enough, you’ll be sent home. If you aren’t (from a medical standpoint), you’ll have to keep serving. Of course, wounds that are serious enough also have the burden of psychological trauma, but that’s another medical assessment which could lead to discharge/retirement.
Is it actually doctors who decide when someone is medically unfit?
I was in the Air Force about a century ago. I got married, then I got pregnant. I was given an “Honorable Discharge at the Convenience of the US Government.” My doctor had nothing to do with it. The base commander did.
You might want to pick up a movie called Men of Honor. This is the true story (well, as true as any Hollywood production gets, anyway ) of Master Chief Carl Brashear. He lost his leg in a diving accident trying to recover a nuke off the coast of Spain. The Navy tried to get him put out as unfit for duty, but he proved he could still perform his duties, then even went on to become the first African-American certified Master Diver in the Navy. Here is his service record.
I was lucky enough to be able to have many conversations with this man - I worked at the copy shop where he compiled his notes, newspaper articles, and memoirs to be sent to the MoH producers. He is an absolutely charming individual - Cuba Gooding Jr. was an excellent choice to play him. He has a wicked sense of humor and had, as all good old salts do, enough funny/exciting stories to fill volumes all by themselves.
I used to share an office with an ex West Point cadet, who’d been shown the gate for getting injured in a game of intramural football. He said it broke his heart, and even though his Congressman, who’d originally nominated him, vouched for him, the Academy wouldn’t allow him to stay on.
It apparently has also affected his physical health, for he’s now at least 100# overweight, which I’m sure he wasn’t as a cadet.
It was pretty clear that I was medically unfit for duty in Viet Nam after being too close to an exploding motar shell. I was put back together in Japan and was given a number of options by a paper pusher at the hospital. They included taking a medical discharge, taking a sort of non duty-duty near an army hospital, continue treatment where I was and a couple of other things (it was over 30 years ago so I am not sure what they were).
Anyway, I seem to remember that it was doctors who determined that I was not fit for military service (Well, I was in a hospital so I sort of assumed that). The irony was that when I was drafted, I tried to tell them I was unfit for military service. Then they didn’t believe me.
I was medically discharged from the military a few months ago.
First the ailment is discovered. (most times it’s pretty obvious)
The doctor then builds a profile to list as to what the soldier is capable of. This is done after a battery of tests depending on the ailment.
After the tests a profile called a PULHES (forgive me if I have the acronym wrong) shows what a soldier is capable of. It consists of a series of numbers ranging from 1-4 with 1 = fully capable and 4 = non-mission capable. If there is a task that the soldier can’t perform he/she can request a waiver. A medical board considers a waiver based on the evidence provided by the soldier and his/her doctor.
If it is determined that the soldier is still capable then he/she continues on and returns to duty after healing.
If not, the soldier must find a military job that they can perform. If they can’t perform any jobs the appropriate information is sent on to a medical review board where the extent of disability is determined and the amount of disability and disibility pay is determined.
Needless to say sometimes this drags on for months, it depends on the severity of the injury and other factors. In exterme cases it happens in a short amount of time depending on the “recovery period”.
Thanks to all who replied - very informative. The amputee soldier that I mentioned in the OP who returned to active duty is Capt. David Rozelle. I believe there was a Marine also, but I couldn’t find a cite for that.
I remember the story of a helo pilot who had a leg amputated after a crash, due to it being too badly damaged. He actually did return to active flying duty. I can’t remember specific details (who, what, when, where), but I do believe it was this guy.
The husband of a friend of mine was in the news in the UK last year, being the first amputee to remain on active service in the Royal Marines. He broke his leg in a climbing accident and then had a series of complications. It came down to a choice between having the ankle fused and leaving service, or having a below-the-knee amputation and having a chance of staying on active duty.
) of Master Chief Carl Brashear. He lost his leg in a diving accident trying to recover a nuke off the coast of Spain. The Navy tried to get him put out as unfit for duty, but he proved he could still perform his duties, then even went on to become the first African-American certified Master Diver in the Navy.