Posted on 07/07/2007 2:13:19 PM PDT by SubGeniusX
An Iraq war veteran will not be court-martialed for leaving his post without permission for 15 months to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army said.
Instead of facing a bad conduct discharge _ a felony punishable by up to a year in military prison _ Spc. Eugene Cherry admitted he was absent without leave and was granted a general discharge, rather than an honorable discharge, the Army said Friday.
"It really wasn't about proving I went AWOL _ that's a given," Cherry, who was to be tried by court-martial Monday, said in a telephone interview from Fort Drum in northern New York.
Cherry, 24, encountered horrific battle experiences during 13 months as a combat medic in Iraq. Five months after his return in June 2005, he says he went home to Chicago to find mental health treatment after the Army failed to provide him with adequate help.
When he came back to Fort Drum in March to resolve his Army status, Cherry was restricted to his post and later told he would be court-martialed.
"He was receiving medical care" at Fort Drum, Army spokesman Ben Abel said. "He may not have felt that it was adequate ... but it's not an excuse for leaving a unit for that length of time."
In Chicago, Cherry was treated by Dr. Hannah Frisch, a clinical psychologist who diagnosed him with PTSD and major depression. In a report prepared for his commanders, she said he needed intensive, individualized psychotherapy, not just drugs, to treat his condition.
During his Iraq tour with the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Cherry regularly saw the burned and charred bodies of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi citizens and developed an obsessive fear of being kidnapped and beheaded, according to Frisch's report.
Cherry saw a military psychologist and was prescribed anti-depression medication. Back at Fort Drum, he said he sought counseling but experienced only postponements and rescheduling. On returning there in March, he said he was given one therapy session and placed again on a regimen of drugs.
The post's mental health clinic has 11 psychiatrists and clinical psychologists to serve nearly 17,000 soldiers and their families.
This is one of the main areas that I find a problem with in my unit. When I get people to my platoon that have been to Iraq, most of them are having lingering PTSD problems. Unfortunately, all the VA does is give them meds. The Army is really needing to work things out to affectively deal with this problem, instead of just creating a chemically temporary solution with drugs.
While I don’t agree with how this medic went about seeking his treatment, he did need it, and sometimes there are things that the Army is unable to provide.
PTSD is very real (though perhaps over-diagnosed), and as far as I can tell, the military medical/mental health care system is failing to provide optimal treatment in too many (far too many?) cases. A general discharge in this case strikes me as a reasonable compromise, though I might have been even more lenient than that.
got that right. The army has been shortchanging some soldiers with BS “cheap n’ easy” temporary solutions.
It’s more than just shortchanging the soldiers. I don’t think the Army was really prepared for this. I think it just stayed under the radar until newly returned soldiers ended up killin their wives or committing suicide that the Army realized there was a problem.
And then the answer is medications. But the doctors don’t see how the soldier acts after this until a month or two later when he goes back in for a visit.
I had a specialist for a bit, and he was a great guy to be around. When he was a kid, he had a stutter, but through speech therapy it went away. When he got back from Iraq he had stutters like crazy. Worse than it was as a kid. Then the Docs changed his meds, and we thought that he was on serious illegal drugs there was such a change in his behavior and appearance.
Well the good thing is this man highlighted the issue, hopefully better treatment is on the way. The US public is behind anything that helps soldiers.
Some block it out,
Some 'deal with it' ... whatever that means .. by whatever way they can.
Some suffer but struggle through.
Some really, really try .. and don't seem to get anywhere.
I meant the Army as an organization wasn’t ready. They didn’t anticipate people coming back with this extra baggage, and because of that it hasn’t been until recently that the Army has begun investigating non-chemical options to treat PTSD.
While I don’t agree with how this medic went about seeking his treatment, he did need it, and sometimes there are things that the Army is unable to provide.
I respect the fact he came back and faced the consequences of his actions. Unlike some deserters who are hiding in Canada.
The guy served 13 months as a combat medic in Iraq.I will give him a pass.I thank him for his service.I hope he gets the help he so richly deserves.
He retired a few years back as an E8/9 (I'll check next time I see him).
So, yes, more lenient gets it every single time.
You forgot,
Some use drugs or alcohol to forget and end up dying younger than they should have
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