Soldier’s Stories
Here are stories from actual soldiers:
-Doctor Soldier Serves, Fights, and Adjusts
Lt. Col. Mark Losack of the United States Marines is no stranger to the Middle East. He served in the first Gulf War as an infantry officer and, as an intelligence officer, he was part of the forces entering Baghdad last year a week or so after the fighting began. As of this writing he’s back in the States, but was scheduled to depart at the end of February to begin his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Inside the Colonel’s uniform, however, beats the heart of a chiropractor… (full story)
-Doctor Soldier Appreciated, Honored, but not Commissioned
According to Dr. Robert B. Hatcher II (SSgt. USMC), he adjusted Marines for a whole year in Iraq after he got off the roads everyday, along with the Commanding Officer. He also helped the Army with their back patients in the Dominican Republic and received an Army Achievement Medal for it.
-Soldier Guaranteed Chiropractic Coverage, Has to Pay Out of Pocket
Due to the nature of their work and for force security many of our Special Forces troops can’t reveal their identity. One such is this veteran of the war in Afganistan. He is a Staff Sgt. and served in Afganistan from 2001 to 2002.
The US Military does an excellent job of making sure that all their soldiers are in peak condition because a unit can only move as well as its slowest component. When asked about his training he said, “We train hard, and we’re in good shape.” However even these soldiers after all that training can get injured, especially when they are carrying their daily load of 150 pounds with ammo. When asked if he and others in his unit suffered any musculoskeletal injuries his response was, “oh yeah, but we don’t complain.”
This soldier never received treatment for his back and knee injuries from the military. When he came home his injuries were still present so he sought chiropractic care at ALIGN Rehab and Wellness Center, a Provo Utah based clinic. Because the military doesn’t cover chiropractic outside of the designated locations, he had to pay out of his own pocket.
Dr. Christopher Duncan, a chiropractor at ALIGN where this soldier was treated, comments on the injuries that are seen with these returning soldiers and the success that they have had with chiropractic treatment. “Most of the injuries that we see are overloading or repetitive stress injuries. These types of problems are the bread and butter of chiropractic. It’s what we do. We have seen a great success with the soldiers who come to us with these problems. In fact these soldiers are in such good shape beforehand that their recovery if not delayed is faster than normal. It really is a shame that Tricare doesn’t extend coverage to local chiropractors in the same manor that other insurance plans do. That way, if these soldiers don’t live near a designated military facility they could go to their local doctor, get the care that they need and still be covered for it.”
If chiropractors were commissioned they could be stationed with the troops in the field offering the care they need before they come home, and the sooner treatment is begun the better.
The US military is the finest in the world, with soldiers well trained and well armed. Congress has already granted all active duty soldiers chiropractic coverage in their health care package. Now we just need to make sure they can actually use it. Lets commission chiropractors!
Tell us your story; comment below…
[...] more. If you have a story please take the time to tell it. There is a page on this site called Soldiers Stories please go there. Leave your comment. Did you grow up with chiropractic? Were you a soldier [...]
Renewed Call For Stories « Chiropractors and the US Military
March 27, 2009 at 10:28 am
I am the chief of Chiropractic Services @ Eisenhower Army Medical Center and have been practicing as a contractor here for about 4 years. At this time, there are no commissioned chiropractors in the DoD and I am unaware of any plans in the works to do so.
I can personally attest to the need and the military personel’s fervent desire for our presence here and abroad.
I know first hand that we were to be commissioned back in 2001 but the DoD encountered problems with our inclusion into the military and 9/11 hit and the project was scrapped.
All of the ground work is done on the military side, we even have a MOS designator in the DoD. Our classification is 65Echo.
I came by this info through one of my patient’s who was on the committee for the chiropractic commissioning program.
Andrew King, D.C.
September 18, 2009 at 10:00 am
I am currently a T1 at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, MN and I am very interested in chiropractic and the military; is there any way I could get more information on the career and the movements going on to promote chiropractors in the military? I am always up to date on the ACA’s website, but would like more information. Thanks!
Heather Hogelucht
November 17, 2011 at 10:32 am
Thanks for asking. The way to get more information is to contact the ACA government relations team and join them. Offer to contact your congressman and senator. Then follow through by actually calling. Ask them to cosponsor one of the bills currently before them and listed on the ACA website. Then ask them what they think of chiropractic in the DoD. Ask them what they are doing about it. Tell them that you expect to see something done and you expect to be updated on the situation regularly. Find out what their past votes have been regarding these issues call them on bad votes and praise them for good ones. Call the chiropractor at the base nearest you and create a internship program with your school. Most military hospitals are teaching hospitals see if they will let students from your school do rounds there.
The way to get info is to get involved and. Create the exciting things that you hope to hear about someone else doing.
cmnacnud
November 17, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Virtually every man or women in uniform that i happen to have a conversation with is passionate in their support for chiropractic. I graduated chiropractic school a little over a year ago. Prior to going to chiropractic school I was going to join the army until being convinced by those around me not to. I guess its a good thing i didn’t because i am happy to have achieved my dream of becoming a chiropractor. I can’t believe however the opportunity for me to be a military chiropractor is not out there. Can someone out there let me know if there are any options for a young chiropractor who would like to be a part of the armed forces? According to what i’ve read the answer is no. I read one blog somewhere about a chiropractor who enlisted under the school loan forgiveness program and the army paid 55,000 off her loans over four years. Thats ok but i really wanna practice chiropractic.
Eddie
May 27, 2009 at 11:05 am
There are some trial positions with the Health Services Corps, but they are still not widely available. It is a similar story all around the military. There are a few positions for initial run programs, but nothing real unless you want to create the position yourself. Which is what we need. Some doctors to go out and make positions.
cmnacnud
June 1, 2009 at 10:39 am
It is time that chiropractic be accepted in the military. Great amount of Chiropractors are Veterans, they know what the service can do to our soldiers.A petition to CONGRESS: Mr.Bob Filner, U.S. Representative for the State of California has given his support to the bills presented for the use of Chiropractic and Chiropractors, in the military and I think he is trying to get the VA to offer those services too. Lets Support Mr. Filner on those projects. Alejandro Tapoia, D.C.
Alejandro Tapia
June 17, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I am a retired chiropractor that practiced for over 25 years in california, also I am an Army veteran that served during the Viet Nam era, recipient and user of the G.I.Bill. I would serve as a volunteer Chiropractor and provide free Chiropractic services for three days a week in a military base or VA facility within the San Diego County, California if I am provided the required facilities, like: an adjusting room, physiotherapy equip, able to order x rays and get radiological reports. Why? I would like to give back to the military services that which I received from my service. Dr. A. Tapia, D.C.
Alejandro Tapia
June 18, 2009 at 12:08 am
My husband and I are both active duty AF. We both recently got back from Iraq and because of the heavy weight of armor and work we did our backs we tight and sore. We have both used chiropractic care in the past and made that our solution to back pain. Since our base does not have chiropractic care my husband tried to see if his PCM would refer him off base to a local chiropractor. His PCM might have well laughed in his face and gave him pain killers and told him if it didn’t get better they could look into surgery.
We’re paying for the chiropractic care out of our own pockets and it’s working great. His back had been severly out of alinement and he’s moving around almost pain free again. My shoulder was totally our of alinement and made pushups almost impossible and severly painful. This morning I did a large number of pushups and other then my muscels being out of shape no pain. Chiropractic care is returning us back to 100% so we can be a vital assest to the military.
I think it’s pretty sad that Tricare would rather pay thousands of dollars on surgery and pills instead of a few hundred in chiropractic care.
Tami
July 9, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Thank you for comments and for your service. I don’t understand why the military does not cover visits to local chiropractors if an approved military one is not around. Well it probably has to do with money, but if the service is promised and they can not meet the demand they should allow local civilians to fill the gap and pay them for it.
cmnacnud
July 10, 2009 at 9:09 am
I would like to know where I can apply for a position as a chiropractor either in the military or Veterns Administration. You can write to me at something@something.net
Thomas M. Nosser, D.C.
July 30, 2009 at 9:36 am
Please see the newest blog post http://commissionchiropractors.com/2009/07/30/not-a-job-site/
cmnacnud
July 30, 2009 at 10:03 am
While I can appreciate the necessity for chiropractic specialists on active duty service, I think the larger issue is the Tricare debauchery. How can the medical insurance service that paid for me to attend physical therapy for 6 months at an off installation facility because the medical treatment center was full, afford the multi thousand dollar bill and not offer me chiropractic coverage for a 8 visit treatment (so that’s 8 visits vs. 72 therapy visits) at a cost of nearly $1000 out of pocket cash to alleviate my symptoms. My progress in therapy had hit the wall, so I chose (like I had a choice) to seek alternate medicine, and it was fixed in less than a month. Someone explain to me the issues Tricare has with providing coverage for a service that military medical treatment facilities already do?!?! If you can’t get therapy at the clinic due to staff shortages, go off installation. If you can’t get chiropractic services at the clinic so to staff shortages, go off .. oh wait, you can’t go off installation … they don’t pay for it.
I feel like saying riddle me this Batman …
James Edwards
November 17, 2009 at 8:31 am
Hi!
Prior service Marine turned chiropractic doctor here! Just want to say thanks for putting up this site and all the hard work you’ve put into it thus far.
I would like to ask your permission to use the blue and gold logo at the top right of this page on my site, not only as a link to your site but also to help advertise my *free of charge* services to our military’s medically retired service members (as I am one myself). Whether or not I’m granted permission to use the logo, the services will remain. I’m in my 1st year of practice and my site is still being constructed, but I think it is a worthy cause. Please consider my request. It is much appreciated.
John Doyle, D.C.
John
February 18, 2010 at 2:55 pm
You are welcome to use the logo, but be careful I think that the pieces that I got to put it together are free stock images, but I am not sure. I only did a basic look into them.
Regarding your second issue and for anyone else out there who does it. I would recommend against offering free chiropractic services to our servicemen and women. Not because they don’t deserve it, but because it would be counter productive. If the DoD knows that they are getting free services across the country then why would they ever choose to pay for it by including it properly in the benefits. I recommend instead billing Tricare for each and every one until they get the message that this service is in demand. Tricare of course will deny the claims, but at least it will send a message. You may then do what you like with the unpaid bill. Collect them and put them in a book if you like. I know many people who write off a large chunk of their collections as noncollectable, but please don’t give the service away without at least billing for it.
cmnacnud
March 7, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I spent the most of 2009 deployed in Iraq with an aviation unit. I’m an aeromedical physician assistant as well as a licensed massage therapist. While deployed, I happened to meet an aviator who also happened to be a chiropractor who stayed quite busy. I did almost as much massage therapy as I did as a PA, primarily because most of my patients had no desire to be grounded – which was often the consequence of many prescription medications they would typically be provided for acute ailments. Although the roadblocks were many I managed to establish the trust and respect when soldiers knew all I was interested in was giving them an option to their care.
I have been a patient of chiropractic for most of my adult life, and gladly seek it rather than pharmaceutical options. After nearly an entire career in various “traditional” fields, I’m seriously considering pursuing the chiropractic field. I am dismayed over the blatant lack of including chiropractic as a viable treatment option, especially in deployed environments where so many ailments are related to the daily stresses and strains put upon the body between the sheer weight of additional gear and physical stress under which soldiers are placed.
I would be honored to help pave the way…… to all who read this, please continue to persist and insist on being heard!
Carla
August 3, 2010 at 8:32 pm
I am a military veteran… almost 10 years in. I was enlisted, and when I graduated from chiropractic college, I thought about going back in as an officer. I was shocked to find that I couldn’t go in as an officer. Wait a minute… someone with simply two to three years in nursing college can become an officer, but a chiropractor, that has been through probably three to four times the schooling can’t??? By no means am I trying to put down nursing.. it’s a great profession, heck, my mother and two sisters are nurses. It’s just such a slap in the face to go through all the schooling… and the hard times, the expense… and yet not have the option of becoming a commissioned officer?
If that wasn’t enough… once you get out of chiropractic school, you don’t have the option of going to hospitals and applying for a job. Well, I did get a job with another chiropractor, and within six months bought another practice from him. I have recently just moved the office right near Dover Air Force Base. I rented a kiosk in the mall for the month, as we are just opening. The best part… I’ve had no less than 15 people in a week ask if I accept Tricare. I didn’t think I could, so I decided to Google it… and sure enough, I can’t. So many people I’ve talked to are fed up and want chiropractic care, and don’t understand why Tricare doesn’t cover it, yet will pay for other therapies that aren’t even effective. Just feel like chiropractors are getting the total raw deal all-around… and it isn’t justified. I suppose I could contact the base about a possible part-time GS position… but that’s probably just a waste of time and energy.
Eric, D.C.
October 17, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Letting people know that there is a demand out there is never a waste of time, but demanding things from the military usually is. Honestly the DoD could move faster on this, but there is steady progress being made. Just get involved by speaking with your elected officials, have your patients do the same and then come back here and report on the progress that you make.
Many people comment about their gripes on here, but very few ever come back and report on what they did to advance the cause.
cmnacnud
October 19, 2010 at 6:10 pm
My name is SSG LoGiudice, I am a career soldier and former Recon Marine. I had a lifetime dream of becoming commissioned and serving our troops and their families as a military chiropractor. I have my own private practice and am a drilling reservist in the OR ARNG, My colleagues from SPC to LTCOL not only ask for adjustments but sometimes demand it. I bring my portable table and they love the stretching and actually having someone telling them what is wrong and how it can be fixed. I have adjusted so many soldiers that have never received care, and now they are so thankful and appreciative. I could just treat soldiers when I drill and I would be very happy and content. I’m in the process of applying for a position with the Portland VA. But there is no job title or job number, so I have to do it face to face. I’m hoping and praying for the best outcome. I love my job, I just wish I could treat more people. I am patiently waiting for the Obama administration to make some positive changes in our healthcare. HQ RTI Monmouth OR.
drlogiudice
June 27, 2011 at 3:47 am