On April 28 the Department of Defense (DoD) released a news article regarding the standards upon which a service member can receive a Purple Heart Medal for a traumatic brain injury.

Purple Heart awards have long been presented in the event of a brain or other concussive injury caused by enemy action or in action against the enemy, but there was uncertainty about presenting an award when the injury was not treated by a medical officer.

To clarify this, the DoD states that it "allows the award of the Purple Heart even if a service member was not treated by a medical officer, as long as a medical officer certifies the injury would have required treament by a medical officer had one been available."

To learn more, click here for the official DoD news article.