Two on Tuesday: Remembering Spc. Robert Pugh and a Major VA Health Care Expansion.

A year ago, I felt compelled to write on the contributions of non - “special” units during the Global War on Terror.

I can recall, as a SEAL, talking with other SEALs who’d served in Iraq/Afghanistan and the stories they told about friends, family members, and the people they knew from conventional units and the combat they’d endured.

Comparison around who did what and what unit was where, likely creates more harm than good; however, part of the motivation came from acknowledging how often SEALs and similar units were having their sacrifices recognized in recent years, and for a good reason.

I was interested in the “Troop Surge” of 07’ and 08’ and the speed at which the military was able to deploy troops to combat. Within weeks, units deployed for 13+ months and many were first-time warfighters who’d graduated high school in the same year.

I was introduced to two gentlemen from the Mississippi National Guard who’d served south of Baghdad before their 19th birthdays. We met a handful of times, and as I expected, their stories were remarkable. Themes of war, loss, love, death, and eventually TBI, suicide, and returning to Iraq were part of that story.

I planned to research accounts like this and create a work of non-fiction.

However, as I worked, it became clear that it might require a work of fiction to truly tell the story, the human experience of it all.

That project is alive and something I look forward to bringing to readers later this year.

One thing I’ll never forget from that experience was learning of Specialist Robert Pugh, who passed away this week in 2005.

On March 2nd, 2005, a vehicle from the Mississippi National Guard Headquarters Company was struck by an improvised explosive device.

The vehicle effected was lifted from the road and all of its five soldiers were severely injured, one of which was Robert Pugh, the company’s medic.

Despite his injuries, Pugh provided medical care for Ellis Martin, another soldier wounded in the attack.

Hours later, Pugh’s injuries proved fatal. However, the care he provided for Martin proved effective.

After being transported to a medical facility and taking on 52 units of blood, Ellis lived.

Spc. Pugh of Meridian, Mississippi, was only 25 years old when he died and was awarded the Silver Star for his sacrifice.

VA Expands Veteran Health Care in a Big Way.

From VA News https://news.va.gov/press-room/veteran-toxins-hazards-serving-eligible-va/

“Yesterday, VA announced that Veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military — at home or abroad — will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care beginning March 5, 2024. This means that all Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror, or any other combat zone after 9/11 will be eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Additionally, Veterans who never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty in the United States will also be eligible to enroll.

This expansion eliminates the phased-in approach called for by the PACT Act — meaning that millions of Veterans are becoming eligible for VA health care up to eight years earlier than written into law.

VA encourages all eligible Veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn more and apply for VA health care beginning March 5. Since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law on August 10, 2022, more than 500,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care.

The art for this post was created by Sarah Rossetti and can be found here.