The House Armed Services Committee said in a report released last month that the federal government is not doing enough to help civilian employees wounded while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Civilian employees do not qualify for the military disability system and their injuries aren't covered by their usual federal health insurance, but by the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, which the committee says is ill-equipped to handle the influx of wounded civilian employees returning from war zones.

The report entitled "Deploying Federal Civilians to the Battlefield: Incentives, Benefits and Medical Care" indicates the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs does not adjudicate combat wounds any differently than workplace injuries and claims officers are not trained to recognize combat injuries like traumatic brain injury (TBI) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  The committee also criticized the paper-based claims processing system as "antiquated" and found that federal employees have little support when trying to prove that they were wounded at war.

Nearly 4,500 federal civilians currently serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (DOD), which deploys the greatest number of civilians to the war zones, has policies and procedures in place for medical care for wounded civilians and most are given adequate care in theater at Military Treatment Facilities.  However, the report notes that it appears these policies are not well understood or disseminated, and that the responsibility for submitting information on medical treatment to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is placed on Military Treatment Facilities staff.  

Non-DOD civilian employees are also allowed to receive treatment at a Military Treatment Facility in theater, but only if approved "under compelling circumstances."

Obtaining services after returning home is also a challenge for injured civilians, particularly non-DOD employees.  Committee chairman Vic Snyder, (D-AR) said that some wounded civilians are not allowed access to the military medical facilities that are doing the latest research on prosthetics, TBI, and PTSD.

Among the report's many recommendations are that wounded civilians from all agencies should be provided treatment at Military Treatment Facilities to take advantage of these advances in treatment and that the Office of Personnel Management should guide departments and agencies in developing screening and treatment programs for mental health conditions like PTSD.

A key recommendation of the report, which OhMyGov! endorses, is that wounded civilian employees returning from the war zone be assigned to case workers specially trained and equipped to deal with their unique needs.  Unfortunately, Snyder said he's not planning any legislation to address these issues since the report is only the beginning of an effort to understand the problem.  

For injured civilian feds, it looks like they will continue facing more of the same red tape and possibly sub-standard care.  We at OhMyGov! find this situation deplorable and believe that all who risk their lives for their country, whether they be military or civilian- regardless of which department they work for-deserve the very best medical care and support.

Link to report here