JBLM soldier shoots car after she vandalizes truck, police report
Tacoma police said a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier inadvertently fired a shot into his pregnant girlfriend’s car Thursday night while she vandalized his truck after finding him with another woman.
TheNewsTribune.com
Published: Sept. 8, 2012
Tacoma police said a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier inadvertently fired a shot into his pregnant girlfriend’s car Thursday night while she vandalized his truck after finding him with another woman.
The soldier, who lives in Lacey, was dog-sitting for a friend at an apartment complex in Tacoma when his girlfriend decided to stop by and surprise him. Police said she found him drinking with another woman and some friends.
read more here
Showing posts with label Fort Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Lewis. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier killed by police
UPDATE March 27, 2013
Fatal police shooting of JBLM medic justified says prosecutor
Man fatally shot by police was JBLM soldier
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 2, 2012 15:41:41 EDT
TACOMA, Wash. — A man fatally shot by a Tacoma police officer last week has been identified as a 29-year-old Army sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
A base spokesman says Sgt. Prince Gavin, of Chicago, deployed twice to Iraq. The combat medic was preparing to move to Fort Carson, Colo., before he died.
Gavin was killed Friday afternoon in a confrontation with Tacoma police. A police spokesman told the News Tribune that Gavin had a gun in his hand when he got out of his truck and ran toward a house in the Hilltop neighborhood.
read more here
UPDATE September 3, 2012
Man Tacoma police shot ‘follows the rules,’ girlfriend says Army Sgt. Prince Gavin was moving from Tacoma on the day he was shot and killed by a police officer, his girlfriend said Saturday.
This article mentions there was another domestic situation police had to respond to. This happened around the same time.
Lewis-McChord Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
Fatal police shooting of JBLM medic justified says prosecutor
Man fatally shot by police was JBLM soldier
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 2, 2012 15:41:41 EDT
TACOMA, Wash. — A man fatally shot by a Tacoma police officer last week has been identified as a 29-year-old Army sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
A base spokesman says Sgt. Prince Gavin, of Chicago, deployed twice to Iraq. The combat medic was preparing to move to Fort Carson, Colo., before he died.
Gavin was killed Friday afternoon in a confrontation with Tacoma police. A police spokesman told the News Tribune that Gavin had a gun in his hand when he got out of his truck and ran toward a house in the Hilltop neighborhood.
read more here
UPDATE September 3, 2012
Man Tacoma police shot ‘follows the rules,’ girlfriend says Army Sgt. Prince Gavin was moving from Tacoma on the day he was shot and killed by a police officer, his girlfriend said Saturday.
This article mentions there was another domestic situation police had to respond to. This happened around the same time.
Lewis-McChord Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Major General Lanza expected to improve troubled Joint Base Lewis-McChord
New general expected to improve JBLM management
August 31, 2012
Seattle Post Intelligencer
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD
Wash. (AP)
The Army expects the addition of a two-star general at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will improve oversight of combat brigades and provide more attention to the care of soldiers and their families.
The base welcomed Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza on Thursday as the commander of the reactivated 7th Infantry Division.
Lanza's arrival completes a pledge from Army Secretary John McHugh to create a division headquarters at Lewis-McChord to better manage rapid growth. JBLM has more than 34,000 active-duty soldiers, up from 19,000 in 2003.
read more here
August 31, 2012
Seattle Post Intelligencer
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD
Wash. (AP)
The Army expects the addition of a two-star general at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will improve oversight of combat brigades and provide more attention to the care of soldiers and their families.
The base welcomed Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza on Thursday as the commander of the reactivated 7th Infantry Division.
Lanza's arrival completes a pledge from Army Secretary John McHugh to create a division headquarters at Lewis-McChord to better manage rapid growth. JBLM has more than 34,000 active-duty soldiers, up from 19,000 in 2003.
read more here
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Relative reported worries about soldier, police say
Relative reported worries about soldier, police say
Published August 28, 2012
Associated Press
SEATTLE – A relative of one of four soldiers accused by Georgia authorities of killing a fellow soldier and plotting anti-government acts came to police with concerns about the man almost a year ago, authorities in central Washington said Tuesday.
The female relative, who didn't want to be named, called police in September 2011 to relay her worries about Isaac Aguigui, who is originally from the small town of Cashmere near Wenatchee, police Sgt. John Kruse said.
The woman told police that Aguigui's wife had died in July 2011 under suspicious circumstances, and the soldier had bought 15 firearms from a store in Wenatchee while on leave from the military.
Kruse said police checked the report and confirmed Aguigui had purchased 15 firearms, including some semi-automatic rifles, and did so legally.
As a precaution, police contacted the Army's criminal investigation division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, which confirmed there was an open investigation regarding the wife's death, Kruse said.
read more here
Published August 28, 2012
Associated Press
SEATTLE – A relative of one of four soldiers accused by Georgia authorities of killing a fellow soldier and plotting anti-government acts came to police with concerns about the man almost a year ago, authorities in central Washington said Tuesday.
The female relative, who didn't want to be named, called police in September 2011 to relay her worries about Isaac Aguigui, who is originally from the small town of Cashmere near Wenatchee, police Sgt. John Kruse said.
The woman told police that Aguigui's wife had died in July 2011 under suspicious circumstances, and the soldier had bought 15 firearms from a store in Wenatchee while on leave from the military.
Kruse said police checked the report and confirmed Aguigui had purchased 15 firearms, including some semi-automatic rifles, and did so legally.
As a precaution, police contacted the Army's criminal investigation division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, which confirmed there was an open investigation regarding the wife's death, Kruse said.
read more here
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Lewis-McChord Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
Army investigates death at JBLM
Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
The Army is investigating a death at that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
ALEXIS KRELL
STAFF WRITER
Published: Aug. 26, 2012
The Army is investigating a death that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s mother said her daughter was in her late 30s and lived on base with her husband and their four children.
Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Sunday that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division began investigating a death on the base Saturday.
He would not confirm whether that’s where the death occurred and declined to release further details. The Criminal Investigation Division did not return messages from The News Tribune on Sunday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office could not confirm the death, saying a killing on the base would be out of its jurisdiction.
KOMO-TV reported that base residents had told its reporter that a soldier had stabbed his wife to death. KOMO said base officials declined to comment on the report.
read more here linked from Army Times
Family members say soldier fatally stabbed wife
The Army is investigating a death at that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
ALEXIS KRELL
STAFF WRITER
Published: Aug. 26, 2012
The Army is investigating a death that occurred early Saturday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The News Tribune was contacted Sunday by members of a family who said the death was the result of a soldier fatally stabbing his wife.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s mother said her daughter was in her late 30s and lived on base with her husband and their four children.
Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Sunday that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division began investigating a death on the base Saturday.
He would not confirm whether that’s where the death occurred and declined to release further details. The Criminal Investigation Division did not return messages from The News Tribune on Sunday.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office could not confirm the death, saying a killing on the base would be out of its jurisdiction.
KOMO-TV reported that base residents had told its reporter that a soldier had stabbed his wife to death. KOMO said base officials declined to comment on the report.
read more here linked from Army Times
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Combat Vet With PTSD Booted From Army, Barred From Healthcare
Combat Vet With PTSD Booted From Army, Barred From Healthcare
OPB News
Austin Jenkins
Aug. 11, 2012
SALEM, Ore. – In Salem , a former Army staff sergeant named Jarrid Starks has run out of the medications that keep him stable. He has severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental and physical wounds of war. But he’s currently not eligible for veterans’ health benefits that would include prescription refills. That’s because Starks was kicked out of the Army for bad behavior. He’s far from alone.
Jarrid Starks joined the Army right out of high school with dreams of a 20-year career.
He left the Army earlier this year in disgrace. Starks recalls being escorted from the psychiatric ward at Madigan Army Hospital to an out-processing center and then to the front gate of Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“I had a 90-day supply of medication that I received from Madigan in a paper lunch sack,“ he says.
That sack of pills was Stark’s lifeline: a combination of antidepressants, beta-blockers, anti-psychotics, muscle-relaxants and sleep aides. A daily cocktail that allowed Starks to keep his anger and anxiety in check.
He sports a baseball cap that reads, “Warning this vet is medicated for your protection.”
It’s a joke, but not really.
“Ya, in every joke lay a bit of truth," Starks quips.
read more here
OPB News
Austin Jenkins
Aug. 11, 2012
SALEM, Ore. – In Salem , a former Army staff sergeant named Jarrid Starks has run out of the medications that keep him stable. He has severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental and physical wounds of war. But he’s currently not eligible for veterans’ health benefits that would include prescription refills. That’s because Starks was kicked out of the Army for bad behavior. He’s far from alone.
Jarrid Starks joined the Army right out of high school with dreams of a 20-year career.
He left the Army earlier this year in disgrace. Starks recalls being escorted from the psychiatric ward at Madigan Army Hospital to an out-processing center and then to the front gate of Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
“I had a 90-day supply of medication that I received from Madigan in a paper lunch sack,“ he says.
That sack of pills was Stark’s lifeline: a combination of antidepressants, beta-blockers, anti-psychotics, muscle-relaxants and sleep aides. A daily cocktail that allowed Starks to keep his anger and anxiety in check.
He sports a baseball cap that reads, “Warning this vet is medicated for your protection.”
It’s a joke, but not really.
“Ya, in every joke lay a bit of truth," Starks quips.
read more here
Friday, August 10, 2012
Records Show How Army Doctors Downgrade PTSD
A Tale of Two Diagnoses: Records Show How Army Doctors Downgrade PTSD
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Aug. 10 2012
How does one doctor diagnose an Iraq war veteran with PTSD while another says the same soldier has a less severe condition called adjustment disorder? Medical records shared by one of the characters in our feature story this week offer some insight into the workings the controversial forensic psychiatry team at Madigan Army Medical Center.
Here's the relevant background excerpted from our feature story, which chronicles the case of John Byron Etterlee, a chemical weapons specialist stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM):
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Aug. 10 2012
How does one doctor diagnose an Iraq war veteran with PTSD while another says the same soldier has a less severe condition called adjustment disorder? Medical records shared by one of the characters in our feature story this week offer some insight into the workings the controversial forensic psychiatry team at Madigan Army Medical Center.
Here's the relevant background excerpted from our feature story, which chronicles the case of John Byron Etterlee, a chemical weapons specialist stationed at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM):
On July 15, 2011, a Veterans Affairs (VA) psychiatrist interviewed Etterlee and diagnosed him with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But five months later the diagnosis was abruptly changed to "adjustment disorder"--a lesser condition--by a forensic psychiatrist at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma.
The switch was made even though the clinician merely reviewed paperwork and never spoke with Etterlee or met him face-to-face. Only later did Etterlee learn that he was one of several hundred Fort Lewis soldiers who'd had their PTSD diagnoses downgraded by Madigan doctors.
read more here
Friday, August 3, 2012
Joint Base Lewis-McChord vow to do better on PTSD
Think about what would have happened if these soldiers never said a word and just suffered in silence. Think about what it would be like if there were no reporters willing to tell their stories. The only thing that would have happened would have been more suffering.
Military commanders vow better treatments for post traumatic stress
By Keith Eldridge and KOMO Staff
Published: Aug 2, 2012
Right now, these are promises are coming down from the highest commanders. But soldiers down below are still waiting to see if these promises are kept as they go down the chain of command.
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- The top commanders at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are pledging to better handle soldiers who believe they're suffering from post traumatic stress.
Multiple tours of duty have taken their toll on U.S. troops, both the casualties and the injuries, seen and unseen.
"I've definitely got more than a couple of years of stuff floating around up in my head," said Army Specialist Jared Enger.
Enger was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but the findings were overturned by a forensic psychiatrist.
read more here
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Four people charged with kidnapping and torturing soldier
Four charged with kidnapping JBLM soldier for “snitch” money
STACIA GLENN
Staff writer
Published July 31, 2012
A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was kidnapped and tortured last week by four people who sold him drugs and then demanded money because they thought he was a snitch, Pierce County prosecutors allege.
The 23-year-old soldier was tied up with electrical cord, Tased, shot with a pellet gun more than 100 times and repeatedly punched while being held in a mobile home in the 14600 block of Union Avenue Southwest, prosecutors said.
On Monday, prosecutors charged Frederick Clifford, 34; Melissa Parr, 33; Krista James, 30; and Jacques Gerber, 33, with first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Gerber and Parr also face charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and unlawful use of a building for drug purposes.
A bench warrant has been issued for Jacques Gerber’s arrest. The other defendants are in custody and pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Monday.
The victim reported the incident July 25 after persuading Clifford to take him to the JBLM gate so he could get cash from a bank on post, prosecutors said. Instead, he asked a clerk at the gate to call Lakewood police. Clifford was arrested and the others later taken into custody.
read more here
STACIA GLENN
Staff writer
Published July 31, 2012
A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was kidnapped and tortured last week by four people who sold him drugs and then demanded money because they thought he was a snitch, Pierce County prosecutors allege.
The 23-year-old soldier was tied up with electrical cord, Tased, shot with a pellet gun more than 100 times and repeatedly punched while being held in a mobile home in the 14600 block of Union Avenue Southwest, prosecutors said.
On Monday, prosecutors charged Frederick Clifford, 34; Melissa Parr, 33; Krista James, 30; and Jacques Gerber, 33, with first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Gerber and Parr also face charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and unlawful use of a building for drug purposes.
A bench warrant has been issued for Jacques Gerber’s arrest. The other defendants are in custody and pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Monday.
The victim reported the incident July 25 after persuading Clifford to take him to the JBLM gate so he could get cash from a bank on post, prosecutors said. Instead, he asked a clerk at the gate to call Lakewood police. Clifford was arrested and the others later taken into custody.
read more here
Army Dumps Special PTSD Screenings
Army Dumps Special PTSD Screenings
Austin Jenkins
OPB News
July 31, 2012
The U.S. Army is revising the way it diagnoses soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. In the Northwest, it means the Army will no longer use a special psychiatric unit at Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma.
Some soldiers at Madigan complained the psychiatric team downgraded or reversed their PTSD diagnoses. That limited what benefits they are eligible for.
read more here
also
Army reinstates medical center head in PTSD investigation
Austin Jenkins
OPB News
July 31, 2012
The U.S. Army is revising the way it diagnoses soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. In the Northwest, it means the Army will no longer use a special psychiatric unit at Madigan Army Medical Center near Tacoma.
Some soldiers at Madigan complained the psychiatric team downgraded or reversed their PTSD diagnoses. That limited what benefits they are eligible for.
read more here
also
Army reinstates medical center head in PTSD investigation
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Fort Lewis Army Ranger turned himself in after threat
Wanted Army Ranger turns himself in at base
by Jaryd Wilson
KXRM
Posted: 07.24.2012
FORT LEWIS, WASH. -- Colorado Springs Police officers said an Army Ranger who threatened is ex-fiance's life has turned himself in at his Washington base.
Officers said Joshua Daner got a text message from his fiance in Colorado Springs saying she was calling off the wedding and ending the relationship. Daner, who is stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington, replied by saying he was going to come to Colorado Springs to kill her, her boyfriend and himself.
read more here
by Jaryd Wilson
KXRM
Posted: 07.24.2012
FORT LEWIS, WASH. -- Colorado Springs Police officers said an Army Ranger who threatened is ex-fiance's life has turned himself in at his Washington base.
Officers said Joshua Daner got a text message from his fiance in Colorado Springs saying she was calling off the wedding and ending the relationship. Daner, who is stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington, replied by saying he was going to come to Colorado Springs to kill her, her boyfriend and himself.
read more here
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing in Sept
Bales to face Article 32 hearing in September
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012 19:34:24 EDT
SEATTLE — The Army has scheduled a preliminary court hearing in September for the soldier accused of slaughtering 16 civilians during a pre-dawn rampage on two Afghan villages in March.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 17, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Wednesday. The location of the hearing has not been confirmed, but one of Bales’ lawyers, Emma Scanlan, said it is expected to be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.
read more here
Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 11, 2012 19:34:24 EDT
SEATTLE — The Army has scheduled a preliminary court hearing in September for the soldier accused of slaughtering 16 civilians during a pre-dawn rampage on two Afghan villages in March.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 17, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said Wednesday. The location of the hearing has not been confirmed, but one of Bales’ lawyers, Emma Scanlan, said it is expected to be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.
read more here
Military Scrambles To Limit Malaria Drug Just After Afghanistan Massacre
Death of soldier on 5th deployment "not determined"
On his fifth deployment, Union City soldier is non-combat fatality on Afghanistan base
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
By Matthew McNab
The Jersey Journal
A U.S. Army soldier and Union City resident died on July 4 in Afghanistan while on his fifth deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raul M. Guerra, 37, died Wednesday in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but the Department of Defense said it was a non-combat death that occurred on base.
Guerra was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
At the time of his death, Guerra was in the midst of his fifth deployment, which started in May.
read more here
Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2012
By Matthew McNab
The Jersey Journal
A U.S. Army soldier and Union City resident died on July 4 in Afghanistan while on his fifth deployment as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raul M. Guerra, 37, died Wednesday in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.
The cause of his death has not yet been determined, but the Department of Defense said it was a non-combat death that occurred on base.
Guerra was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
At the time of his death, Guerra was in the midst of his fifth deployment, which started in May.
read more here
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Soldier sent back to duty after asking for help
AWOL and Ailing
JBLM soldier Brook Thomas Lindsey says the Army's mental-health system needs help.
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Wednesday, Jun 27 2012
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday, June 22 at Coffee Strong, a nonprofit organization headquartered across the street from JBLM that advocates for military mental-health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan [Army Medical Center], right across the street, and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,' " Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
read more here
JBLM soldier Brook Thomas Lindsey says the Army's mental-health system needs help.
By Keegan Hamilton
Seattle Weekly
Wednesday, Jun 27 2012
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday, June 22 at Coffee Strong, a nonprofit organization headquartered across the street from JBLM that advocates for military mental-health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan [Army Medical Center], right across the street, and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,' " Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
read more here
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Ft. Lewis Soldier Says Poor PTSD Treatment Forced Him AWOL
Brook Thomas Lindsey: Ft. Lewis Soldier Says Poor PTSD Treatment Forced Him AWOL
By Keegan Hamilton
Mon., Jun. 25 2012
Categories: Military
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Ft. Lewis says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday at Coffee Strong, a non-profit organization, headquartered across the street from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, that advocates for military mental health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan (Army Medical Center), right across the street and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,"' Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
Wearing a baseball cap and a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal several skeletal, military-themed tattoos on his forearms, Lindsey says he enlisted at age 19 because he felt it was his patriotic duty. He says he was deployed in Iraq for 22 months, and that he was an exemplary soldier prior to his return to the military base just south of Tacoma. Greg Wilson, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, says he served in Iraq with Lindsey in 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and was always impressed with his fellow soldier's resolve.
read more here
By Keegan Hamilton
Mon., Jun. 25 2012
Categories: Military
An Iraq War veteran stationed at Ft. Lewis says struggles with PTSD and a lack of responsiveness to his condition by Army doctors forced him to go AWOL.
The soldier, 26-year-old Sgt. Brook Thomas Lindsey, met with members of the media on Friday at Coffee Strong, a non-profit organization, headquartered across the street from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, that advocates for military mental health treatment reform. Lindsey recounted why he decided to leave the base without permission on March 26.
"I'd go over to Madigan (Army Medical Center), right across the street and I'd tell them, 'I'm having suicidal thoughts,"' Lindsey says. "They would just tell me to breathe. They'd talk me down. The next day I'm still feeling the same way, but they'd return me to duty, tell my leaders everything was fine."
Wearing a baseball cap and a grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal several skeletal, military-themed tattoos on his forearms, Lindsey says he enlisted at age 19 because he felt it was his patriotic duty. He says he was deployed in Iraq for 22 months, and that he was an exemplary soldier prior to his return to the military base just south of Tacoma. Greg Wilson, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, says he served in Iraq with Lindsey in 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and was always impressed with his fellow soldier's resolve.
read more here
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Veteran with four tours of duty dies after flu-like symptoms
Stow Army veteran with four tours of duty dies after flu-like symptoms
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published: May 31, 2012
STOW: The scene played out as if it were written in Hollywood.
Sarah Razzaia was inside a restaurant near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash. Jason Joseph Vargo, a soldier, was just home from his second tour in Iraq.
They wound up at the same table. They started talking.
That night, Vargo took her for a ride in his new VW GLI and while driving, it started to rain. The song For a Dancer by Jackson Browne came on his CD player. He asked her to dance — right there in the rain.
A year later, in 2007, they were married.
“Fate brought us together,” Sarah Vargo said Wednesday in her Stow apartment, surrounded by family, pictures of her husband, his medals and his uniform.
A week ago, Jason Vargo, only 29, died of a heart attack.
read more here Linked from Stars and Stripes
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published: May 31, 2012
STOW: The scene played out as if it were written in Hollywood.
Sarah Razzaia was inside a restaurant near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash. Jason Joseph Vargo, a soldier, was just home from his second tour in Iraq.
They wound up at the same table. They started talking.
That night, Vargo took her for a ride in his new VW GLI and while driving, it started to rain. The song For a Dancer by Jackson Browne came on his CD player. He asked her to dance — right there in the rain.
A year later, in 2007, they were married.
“Fate brought us together,” Sarah Vargo said Wednesday in her Stow apartment, surrounded by family, pictures of her husband, his medals and his uniform.
A week ago, Jason Vargo, only 29, died of a heart attack.
read more here Linked from Stars and Stripes
Friday, May 18, 2012
Sgt. John Russell faces death penalty
Soldier faces murder charges in Iraq base deaths
Published May 18, 2012
Associated Press
SEATTLE – Murder charges have been filed against a sergeant accused of killing four other soldiers and a Navy officer in May 2009 at a mental health clinic in Iraq, the Army said Friday.
The charges against Sgt. John Russell were referred Wednesday and announced Friday in a statement from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He faces five charges of premeditated murder, one of aggravated assault and one of attempted murder.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The charges result from an investigation into the shooting at the Camp Liberty Combat Stress Center near Baghdad.
No date for the court-martial has been set. Russell is being held at the base about 40 miles south of Seattle.
Russell is from Sherman, Texas, and is now about 47 years old, said Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield. The delay since the incident has been filled with the process of determining whether Russell is fit to stand trial. Russell has an Army defense attorney but it is standard procedure for them not to comment to the media, Dangerfield said.
Read more
From 2009
Update on soldiers killed at stress clinic
Published May 18, 2012
Associated Press
SEATTLE – Murder charges have been filed against a sergeant accused of killing four other soldiers and a Navy officer in May 2009 at a mental health clinic in Iraq, the Army said Friday.
The charges against Sgt. John Russell were referred Wednesday and announced Friday in a statement from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He faces five charges of premeditated murder, one of aggravated assault and one of attempted murder.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The charges result from an investigation into the shooting at the Camp Liberty Combat Stress Center near Baghdad.
No date for the court-martial has been set. Russell is being held at the base about 40 miles south of Seattle.
Russell is from Sherman, Texas, and is now about 47 years old, said Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield. The delay since the incident has been filled with the process of determining whether Russell is fit to stand trial. Russell has an Army defense attorney but it is standard procedure for them not to comment to the media, Dangerfield said.
Read more
From 2009
Update on soldiers killed at stress clinic
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Families also pay the price for repeated war tours
Families also pay the price for repeated war tours
TheNewsTribune.com
ADAM ASHTON; STAFF WRITER
Published: 05/13/12
Resilient, tough, experienced, professional. The Army uses words like these to describe U.S. soldiers in the post-9/11 era who have had to adapt to the new normal of repeat combat tours.
The Army’s No. 2 officer, Gen. Lloyd Austin, said on a visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord this spring that the “high up-tempo” of soldiers going on multiple overseas missions was challenging but had left the military with a “highly trained and incredibly resilient force.”
The same words apply to the spouses, children and other loved ones of oft-deployed troops. Thousands of families in the South Sound are now coping with the absence of soldiers who have gone to do dangerous work in Afghanistan for the better part of a year.
Tommie Polizzotti is one such spouse. She will spend Mother’s Day today without her husband around to make pancake breakfast for their four kids.
“It takes a special woman,” said Maj. Dave Polizzotti, a Lewis-McChord officer on his third deployment. “She is a smart, strong, capable wife.”
read more here
TheNewsTribune.com
ADAM ASHTON; STAFF WRITER
Published: 05/13/12
Resilient, tough, experienced, professional. The Army uses words like these to describe U.S. soldiers in the post-9/11 era who have had to adapt to the new normal of repeat combat tours.
The Army’s No. 2 officer, Gen. Lloyd Austin, said on a visit to Joint Base Lewis-McChord this spring that the “high up-tempo” of soldiers going on multiple overseas missions was challenging but had left the military with a “highly trained and incredibly resilient force.”
The same words apply to the spouses, children and other loved ones of oft-deployed troops. Thousands of families in the South Sound are now coping with the absence of soldiers who have gone to do dangerous work in Afghanistan for the better part of a year.
Tommie Polizzotti is one such spouse. She will spend Mother’s Day today without her husband around to make pancake breakfast for their four kids.
“It takes a special woman,” said Maj. Dave Polizzotti, a Lewis-McChord officer on his third deployment. “She is a smart, strong, capable wife.”
read more here
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
Read more
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
Courtesy Photo
Bill Campbell, owner of Wounded Warrior Ranch in Olympia, leads a developmentally disabled guest through a paddock on Maisey, one of the ranch's horses. WWR is free to all military service veterans and their families.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
Read more
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Tacoma VFW Post 91 helps Bales family get through nightmare
Tacoma VFW Post 91 helps Bales family get through nightmare
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
FACT BOX
CHRISTIAN HILL
STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/28/12
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
Despite the international coverage of their plight, only two friends in the crowd recognized the wife and two children of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who’s charged with murdering 17 Afghan civilians, said Elmer Clark, the VFW post commander.
Clark made the arrangements for the Bales family to ride the float – one of many ways the post is wrapping its arms around family members during their nightmare that began seven weeks ago today.
read more here
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
FACT BOX
HOW TO HELP VFW Post 91 is accepting donations for Kari Bales and her children at its post building, 2000 S. Union Ave. in Tacoma. The money will supplement the family’s living expenses while they pay mounting bills. Donations can be placed in a secured box located just inside the post’s front door. Checks should be made out to VFW Post 91. Call 253-759-6995 to see if the building is open.
CHRISTIAN HILL
STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/28/12
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
Despite the international coverage of their plight, only two friends in the crowd recognized the wife and two children of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who’s charged with murdering 17 Afghan civilians, said Elmer Clark, the VFW post commander.
Clark made the arrangements for the Bales family to ride the float – one of many ways the post is wrapping its arms around family members during their nightmare that began seven weeks ago today.
read more here
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