Independence Day Fireworks: Don’t Need Naked Wives to Raise PTSD Awareness

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (June 28, 2012) - After facing heavy criticism for their brash but poignant display of support for military awareness of PTSD, maybe the women of Battling Bare could take some cues from PETA. The group of military wives displayed their support for PTSD awareness by stripping down to their birthday suits. Now they have something in common with the animal awareness group which has a chronicled history of making their point stick by using naked women to garner attention to their causes.

Since 2010, June 27th has been marked as National PTSD Awareness Day. The issue is a controversial one that involves strong opinions from military families, civilians, and the U.S. government concerning Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Twitter has become swarmed with dialogue concerning the hot button topic; and not just because of detractors over gender-equality issues. In fact, PTSD statistics are alarming on both local and national levels:

According to the U.S. First Responders Association (www.usfra.org) in the past year alone, the number of diagnosed cases in the military jumped 50% – and that’s just diagnosed cases. Between operations in Iraq and Afganistan, anywhere from 10-20% of returning vets are thought to suffer from symptoms of PTSD.

The effects of these statistics has begun to become more prevalent, most recently in Las Vegas, Nevada, where one Army reservist diagnosed with PTSD was charged with several accounts of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly pointed a handgun at several people, including his wife.

John Radell was an Army reservist who was summoned to active duty in support of Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He suffered a traumatic brain injury when an improvised explosive device (“IED”) was detonated under the vehicle he was riding in. He subsequently received an honorable discharge from the Army due to disability.  

“His story was extremely compelling”, said Brian J. Smith, principle criminal defense attorney of the Brian J. Smith Law Office (http://sincitycriminaldefense.com). “I talked the matter over with my friend, Gabe Grasso, and we decided to offer to represent Mr. Radell free of charge.”

Perhaps incidents like these will foster positive change in the diagnosis and treatment of  the thousands of military veterans and American citizens affected by this disorder.

Contact Information

Brian J. Smith

Criminal Defense Attorney

Brian J. Smith Law Office

(1) 702-380-8248

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