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July 01, 2006 at 04:00 AM
When my husband Brian, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, deployed to Iraq last August, we knew it was going to be difficult. We spent the months prior preparing as best we could. We had our living wills and a power of attorney drawn up, went over our bank accounts and insurance documents, and set up IRAs.
However, just days before Christmas, Brian became one of the more than 400 troops seriously injured that month by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
More than 18,000 U.S. military troops have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. Brian, though his injuries were serious, was fortunate. He was less than two feet from the IED when it was detonated, causing his abdomen, chest, right leg, and right arm to take the brunt of the blast. He sustained no severe head or spinal trauma, and thankfully doesn’t remember the first days after he came out of his coma. He made it through multiple procedures on his leg and stomach, and has started to put the memories of that horrible day behind him. In twelve months he’ll be back to his old self.
There are, however, numerous wounded warriors who weren’t so fortunate and have a much longer road ahead of them. Brian and I were at Walter Reed Army Medial Center in Washington for only three months, but there are countless families that will spend close to two years there as their loved ones recover. While the military covers all medical costs for the injured soldier and covers the family’s food and lodging, families can struggle financially.
Recently a new program called TSGLI was created under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI), which provides automatic traumatic injury coverage of up to $100,000. TSGLI provides injured soldiers with a large sum of cash in a very short period of time, and many of these servicemen are taken advantage of. “You don’t want to see someone who was a target in the Middle East come home and become another target,” says FPA President Dan Moisand. “Once the TSGLI checks go out, it’s like putting a bull’s-eye on their backs. And the FPA wants to put a stop to it.”
