AWOL soldier seeking treatment arrested »
Posted by: Aidenag 9 months, 1 week ago238 Comments Report this Story
A soldier who served two combat tours in Iraq was arrested Wednesday for leaving the Army without permission more than a year ago to seek treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. Sgt. Brad Gaskins said he left the base in August 2006 because the Army wasn't providing effective treatment after he was diagnosed with PTSD and severe depression.
Read Full Story at news.yahoo.com
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cowboygrandpa9 months, 1 week ago
This is bad. We need to treat our returning soldiers for their disorders physical or mental. If we don't we will have problems like we did after Nam. You will have vets going off on people unexpectedly. Listen for crying out loud. Our government put them there. They should at least treat them when they come home. We have to speak out for these walking wounded or who will?
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gamahuche9 months, 1 week ago
I agree cbgp!
FTA:
At the time, the Fort Drum mental health facility had a staff of a dozen caring for approximately 17,000 troops, Ensign said.
Gaskins said that because he had been unable to get proper help, he requested a two-week leave and went home to New Jersey, where he has been living since.
The base has expanded its mental health facility staff to 31 in the past year, with plans to add another 17 staffers, Abel said. "Is there a need for more â;; yes," he said.
*******
It doesn't sound like they have enough people to write the prescriptions, let alone deliver them.
Does being locked up in an oubliette with 17,000 disturbed people sound like a route to regaining mental health and stability?
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cowboygrandpa9 months, 1 week ago
gamahuche: That is not all. When you are ignored or shunted it makes the situation worse. Imagine being around 17,000 people with problems, that are being driven more mad by the lack of treatment and compassion. Instead of getting better you are made worse. Catch22.
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BravoSierra9 months, 1 week ago
To put this in perspective...research on the effectiveness of psychotherapists has them becoming increasingly less effective as they take on more than 20 hours of therapy a week. Doing good psychotherapy is gruelling work. Treating PTSD can take months to 2 - 3 years of therapy. Let's say that half of the 31 staff are trained psychotherapists and that 16 are psychtechs, testers, etc. 15 staff times 30 hours a week is 450 therapy hours a month. 450 therapy hours a month will treat roughly 450 people (excluding group therapy sessions). In the general population or any six month period 30% of people are suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder such as a mood or anxiety disorder.
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ecotourusa9 months, 1 week ago
Here' an organization a friend of mine just donated to that supports wounded vets:
Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Foundation | 100 Broadway | Ossining , NY 10562
914-432-5400 | Fax 914-923-3898 | Donations 888-447-2588
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injest9 months, 1 week ago
Any proof?
Any proof he was in Kosovo?
Any proof he was actually in Iraq for 2 tours?
Remember Josh Lansdale?
"I returned from Iraq with a busted ankle and post-traumatic stress. It was "six months" before I could see a doctor," Lansdale said
Fact: No record of Lansdale beind injured in Iraq, or being in combat.
Josh took the political world by storm with several ridiculous claims of the long wait he endured at a VA Hospital. When asked, however, to justify those claims with appointment records, Josh became indignant and disappeared.
Remember Sgt. Andrew Isbell was seemingly among the most heroic of the returning soldiers from the war in Iraq. When he appeared at his drug-possession trial in Rockport, Texas in August of 2004, neatly clad in his Army uniform, he told jurors that he had recently earned two Bronze Stars in Iraq, plus a Purple Heart for the bullet wound in his shoulder.
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injest9 months, 1 week ago
Jurors were sympathetic to the fact that Isbell, an infantryman, was on medical leave from his dangerous job patrolling the streets of Baghdad, and acquitted him.
Subsequent investigation proved that Isbell had seen no combat, suffered no wounds, and earned no decorations. He wasn't even a sergeant. He had instead worked in food service as a private, and had been discharged from the Army after being AWOL for two months. For his lies in court, Isbell was charged with aggravated perjury.
Playing a victim is a tried and true excuse when you've been caught screwing the pooch.
How bout that Jesse Macbeth !
BTW have they caught the EVIL Right Wing Muggers that attack Randi Rhodes?
LOL
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jaern9 months, 1 week ago
Poor guy. I hope he gets the help he needs and I don't think the military idea of treatment should be hair-of-the-dog.
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injest9 months, 1 week ago
Troops don't have freedom when they serve. They do not have the protections of the US constitution while they serve, they are under the UCMJ while they serve. They pay the price of your "freedom" with their sacrifice of their "freedom". Freedom isn't free, it's paid for with their sacrifice.
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engineer9 months, 1 week ago
The administration will go to hell. They'll spend a lot more time there. Prolife - BS
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ciera-marie9 months, 1 week ago
This is a sad day in our country when a soldier has to go AWOL to get help.
Thanks Aidenag for finding this, and submitting it. This is a must read for anyone who supports the war, this administration and says they support the troops.
Thanks CowboyGrandpa for informing me about this article. If this administration really supported the troops you wouldn't have things like this happening.
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ProudBlueTexan9 months, 1 week ago
Forward the story to your nearest Congressional 'representative.' Make it clear you will vote them into oblivion if they support this sort of mistreatment.
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Patriot19 months, 1 week ago
O.K people, what part of A.W.O.L. do you not understand?
I accept the fact that this individual is having some problems, but you can't tell me this person took a whole year to get help! It sounds to me like he went AWOL, then started asking for help after he got caught!!! Shame on him for giving the vets that do things the right way a bad name.PTSD is a real and very serious problem, and we MUST supprot our military people, by making sure they get the help they need!!!
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Aidenag9 months, 1 week ago
A year is a very short period of time when talking about PTSD or other mental health issues such as depression... These are lifelong problems they are facing, not a broken leg, or something that goes away after xxx amount of time.
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RedstateLib9 months, 1 week ago
Well I guess that will have to do since you can't call him a "phony soldier". In the article the Army admits he did serve and that they do not have adequate staff to treat him. What the Army was doing was putting him on a shelf so they could give him a medical discharge and shuffle him into the overcrowded VA system. You say shame on him I say shame on you, for condoning the poor medical care being provided to our returning troops!
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AnteUp9 months, 1 week ago
Codi6934 ~
Are you talking about our troops in the Middle East?
Active duty? Is that a regular thing - to test the troops?
If they admit to a drug problem before the test, what
happens to them? On the flip side, what happens if they
haven't said anything and the test comes back positive
for drugs?
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