Veterans with TBI or what the military identifies as mild traumatic brain injury owe a debt of gratitude to investigative reporters Daniel Zwerdling of NPR and T. Christian Miller of ProPublica. In fact, our nation owes them for the work they've done to expose problems with the military's response to this life-altering event.
The two reporters have combined for a series of articles about problems faced by the military in dealing with soldiers and veterans suffering from PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury.
One item that really caught my attention was a memo from Lt. Colonel Eric Schoomaker in which he stated, "Your and the Army leadership's efforts to reduce stigma--for it is Service culture specific and requires the bully pulpit and example of respected senior officers and NCOs in the same uniform--and efforts to promote resilience and a knowledge of one's own resolve and methods of self-identification and self-care as in CSF are essential."
Colonel, please believe me when I say that the stigma attached to brain injury is NOT service-culture specific. Thousands upon thousands of civilians receive no treatment or therapy because of the stigma. I received an email from a lady whose husband was injured on his job - prior to his no longer being able to work because of cognitive and behavioral issues - who said she was reading a portion of our book, Brain Injury Survivor's Guide, to him and said, "This is exactly what's wrong with you." His response was an irritated, "I don't have a brain injury."
Meet T. Christian Miller
After eleven years reporting for the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Miller joined the staff of ProPublica as a senior reporter based in Washington, D.C. Previous to that he worked for the San Francisco Chronicle and the St. Petersburg Times. He has been honored with an Overseas Press Club award, a Livingston Award for Young Journalists and the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Reporting. He is the author of Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq.
Meet Daniel Zwerdling
Prior to joining NPR in 1980 Daniel Zwerdling was a staff writer at The New Republic and also did freelance work. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Media Ethics in the communications department at American University in Washington, D.C., and as an associate of the Bard College Institute for Language and Thinking in New York.
The awards he has received are many: the DuPont, Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Robert F. Kennedy awards for investigative reporting. He's also won the Overseas Press Club Foundation award for live coverage of breaking international news among others. He is author of Workplace Democracy, a book used in colleges across the country.
Investigative Articles
