#2 SAMPLE NON-MEDICAL ASSESSMENT
Commanding Officer Comments
On _(date of injury)_, ___(name)___suffered a severe blast induced traumatic brain injury as a result of an IED event during combat operation while serving in Fallujah, Iraq. He was comatose for four weeks with a large left hemispheric brain injury and open depressed skull fracture, brainstem compression and, a broken left jaw. Over time he gradually recovered from the physical injuries but continues to have cognitive evidence of a severe brain injury. Since being assigned to Medical Hold Platoon he has been focused on recovery and rehabilitation and has therefore been unable to perform any duties required of his primary military occupational specialty as a Motor Vehicle Operator (3531). He has recovered well from his wounds, in fact, a first impression might lead one to conclude that __(name)__is not as disabled as his injuries would indicate. However, through daily interaction his cognitive deficiencies become quite apparent. It is obvious that he suffers from both short and long term memory loss. He often zones out and forgets where he is and why he walked into a room. If placed on phone watch duty, he often forgets to follow phone watch procedures, such as writing down the name of the caller.As a consequence, he cannot provide basic information when he reaches the intended Staff member and does not stand this watch alone. In conversation with Staff members it is obvious that he has memory recall issues. Hecannot remember the names of fellow members from his old platoon or the details of his Marine Corps experiences pre-injury. He becomes frustrated by the fact that he is clumsy in his oral communication. He frequentlyhas difficulty selecting the correct words or phrases necessary to formulate sentences and convey his thoughts. Heis prone to frequent emotional outbursts of anger and other inappropriate behavior such as leaving a conversation in frustration. He displays a lack of inhibition in social conversation and unhesitatingly uses profanity when that type of language is clearly inappropriate. He also complains of severe headaches and sleep disorder. The most significant service limiting residual of his combat wounds is the loss of skull bone. Although he has an implanted plate to protect his brain I would consider that device insufficient to provide the protection needed to allow his participation in many forms of military physical training to include full contact martial arts training. As an infantryman he is required to obtain green belt certification by _(date)_ for promotion purposes. That physical limitation, coupled with his cognitive deficiencies, ensures that __(name)__will never again be cleared to perform the duties required of his military occupational specialty much less those of a basic Marine. Due to his cognitive issues he could not be expected to perform well in an administration or other office setting. He is not worldwide deployable. This Marine has bravely fought to recover from the wounds he endured in service to his country. Despite his best efforts and good recovery I must recommend that he be determined unfit for continued military service and medically retired with disability compensation awarded for his loss of an opportunity to complete a career.
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