Tucson Standard

Congressman Juan Ciscomani is leading efforts in Washington, D.C. to amend existing regulations affecting Purple Heart eligibility. The bipartisan initiative seeks to address the limitations within the current U.S. Army rules that prevent some veterans and service members from obtaining this distinguished military honor.

The Purple Heart is traditionally awarded to those who have been wounded or killed due to enemy action while serving in the Armed Forces. However, Congressman Ciscomani highlights a regulatory gap that has denied many deserving individuals from receiving this recognition, including one from his own 6th Congressional District.

“It simply isn’t fair,” remarked Ciscomani, a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He shared the story of an Iraq War veteran, who was almost fatally wounded serving the country, but remains ineligible for the Purple Heart due to regulations not reflecting the realities of combat. Ciscomani emphasized the need for change, stating, “This is wrong and it needs to change.”

Ciscomani, along with nine other Congressional members, drafted a letter urging Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll to reconsider these regulations to allow more flexibility in awarding the Purple Heart. The letter, dated March 28, mentions that soldiers with traumatic brain injuries often face rejections due to insufficient documentation.

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “While we recognize the difficulty in establishing clear guidelines for every combat scenario, greater flexibility is urgently needed. The Army’s appeals process, which we fully support, can take over a year to resolve—an unacceptably long wait for veterans seeking proper recognition of their injuries.”

The Purple Heart, the oldest military honor still awarded in the United States, requires that recipients have been medicated by medical professionals and have official documentation of their treatment. However, this rule overlooks situations where immediate medical treatment was unavailable. Lawmakers argue this poses problems, especially in forward-operating bases with limited medical resources.

The letter emphasizes the need for documentation flexibility as the symptoms of blast injuries like traumatic brain injury (TBI) may not appear immediately. Other military and external processes may document combat-related TBI, yet these are not considered for Purple Heart eligibility. The aim of the appeal is to expedite the process and consider additional forms of records, advocating for greater flexibility and quicker resolution of appeals.

The group involved includes Congressional members Jeff Hurd, Brian Fitzpatrick, Pat Fallon, Diana Harshbarger, Don Davis, Jen Kiggans, Scott Peters, Tony Gonzales, and Mike Haridopolos.

The full letter to Secretary Driscoll is available for review, calling for much-needed updates in the awarding process of the Purple Heart to those who have suffered greatly in the line of duty.