Canada Sacrifice Medal

[Mike Smith]

the Sacrifice Medal
The Sacrifice Medal was created to recognize a member of the Canadian Forces, a member of an allied force, or a Canadian civilian under the authority of the Canadian Forces who, as of October 7, 2001, died or was wounded under honourable circumstances as a direct result of hostile action.

http://gg.ca/honours/medals/hon04-sm_e.asp

[JPL]

Just came across this interesting article on the awarding of the Sacrifice Medal due to PTSD. Wondering if this will set a precedence.

The military has awarded a mentally injured war veteran the Sacrifice Medal a year after his father “kidnapped” him from CFB Petawawa, accusing army medics of neglecting his son as he struggled to deal with the trauma of two front-line tours of duty in Afghanistan. A senior officer will award the medal to 31-year-old Mast. Cpl. Jonathan Woolvett later this month at CFB Borden, where Woolvett has served since being treated for alcohol addiction. “It’s a validation of his service and some recognition of his efforts,” Woolvett’s father Greg said Monday. “Getting the medal will help him a lot.” The Sacrifice Medal, comparable to the U.S. Purple Heart, is considered a mark of respect to someone who has been injured in combat. Jonathan Woolvett, who has struggled with alcohol addiction and depression since returning from Afghanistan, had just been released from hospital after a second suicide attempt when his father drove through the night from Burlington, Ont. on May 1 last year and took his son directly to a rehab centre in Windsor. Woolvett had been missing sick parades and Greg believed his son was on the verge of being arrested for going AWOL. “I got so sick and tired of repetitive inaction by the military. Jon was a dead man walking and sooner or later he was going to kill himself,” said Greg Woolvett, who drove his son directly from Petawawa to Windsor’s Brentwood Recovery Home.Despite initial threats to charge Jonathan, the military eventually relented, paid for his addiction treatment and allowed the warrior to continue his service at Borden, where he has been receiving psychiatric treatment while slowly being transitioned out of the army. “The army decided he couldn’t be sent into combat any more so he is being transitioned out,” said Greg. “After all the money and time the military spends on training these guys you’d think they could do better.” First reported by the Citizen last year, the Woolvetts’ “kidnap” story called attention to the struggles a military and a Veterans Affairs department faced in trying to deal with both budget cuts and the aftermath of mental injury sustained by veterans of the decade-long Afghanistan conflict. Jonathan Woolvett, who was recovering Monday from a weekend anxiety attack he said “came out of nowhere” and left him struggling with a war-time memory, told the Citizen he has been treated well by the military since leaving Petawawa, and along with a strict physical regimen has been seeing a psychiatrist at least once a month. “If I need anything I have a dozen numbers to call,” he said. “It’s almost a 180-degree difference from last year but it’s still there, and I still get the nightmares. Some people call (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) a sickness but I call it an injury. It’s going to be there for the rest of my life.” Woolvett did two tours in Afghanistan, one of six months in 2007 and one of seven months in 2008-09. He returned to Canada suffering from chronic night-terrors, profuse sweating and recurring nightmares. Like many Canadian soldiers who fought on the front lines in Afghanistan, Jonathan witnessed the aftermath of Improvised Explosive Device attacks as well as the death of friends and Afghan children. “I’m pleased to be getting the medal,” said Woolvett, “but I don’t want it to be some big hoopla. It will be a tough day for me. The anxiety is going to be through the roof because it’s a kind of culmination of everything. I will try to prepare myself for it mentally but it will be an overwhelming day. My dad is hoping it will bring some closure and maybe it will. “I’m looking forward to getting it done and moving forward.”

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Mentally+injured+veteran+awarded+Sacrifice+Medal/8080990/story.html#ixzz2NI3PPes9

Jean-Paul