Thursday, August 30, 2007
Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. Army officials have found the body of a 19-year-old soldier who vanished this week from a desert training range in Texas and they say he apparently killed himself.
Searchers found Spc. John R. Fish, clad in his Army uniform, Wednesday afternoon while flying over a patch of rugged desert surrounding the Dona Ana Base Camp, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Fort Bliss in New Mexico, said Jean Offutt, a fort spokeswoman. His body was found about 1 1/2 miles (2.4 kilometers) north of the camp.
Fish suffered what investigators believe to be a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Offutt said. His weapon was found near his body, Offutt said.
Fish was reported missing Monday morning when he did not show up for morning roll call. Army officials later found a handwritten note on his bunk reading: "I have some things to take care of. I won't be coming back."
Fish vanished that morning wearing his camouflage uniform and carrying a squad automatic weapon.
He served a yearlong tour in Iraq, returning in November, but was assigned largely non-combat jobs, said Lt. Col. Ina Yahn, who commands Fish's 589th Brigade Support Battalion.
The guy must be suffering from PTSD first hand. That shoudnt be rulled out. Hopefully he is not using Citalophram Hydrobromide becqause it is now know to be the main causes of seratonin syndrome which makes people uncontrollably hallucinate and depression goes beyond leading to suicidal thoughts. How would I know this, I suffer from this and until now suffering from it. But knowing what is right and what is wrong I have survived. I made myself stronger by understanding the health problems I face. My health problems were not limited to that, I also suffer from herniated disc on 2 different places. l1-l5 and c1-c5 section of my spine. The VA prescribed me with citalophram, tramadol. I almost did something our late friend here has done. I also went to dona anna at el paso texas to train. Just like SPC Fish. And that place is not a good place especially if you are alone by yourself. Its kinda sad when they start treating you like shit when your headed to a place that is full of shit (iraq).
ReplyDeleteHi Borg,
ReplyDeleteSorry you're having such a hard time with the VA but you're not alone. Sad to say.
There are medications they really shouldn't be giving when you read about the complications with them, but they also have to deal with the individual's chemistry to find the right medication. Tell your doctor when you have problems so they can find something else. This does not just happen with VA doctors, but with all doctors.
No real comparison here but I am on allergy medicine all year around. The doctors are not sure what I'm allergic to. When they tried the usual medications, none of them worked or caused side effects I couldn't deal with. They played around for a long time and found one that worked. It's just one more lesson that everyone's chemistry is different. What works for one person will not necessarily work for others and what harms one, will not necessarily harm others either.
I do wish that they got ready for all the wounded when you were sent. In 2005, with Iraq and Afghanistan going on, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were after the Gulf War. The VA budget was cut back instead of increased as well. It seems as if no one really cared when they knew how long both occupations would take. There was a long history of both nations. With Afghanistan, the Russians had sent in more troops and couldn't take over Afghanistan and they had a lot more troops in. With Iraq, we had the Gulf War and everyone involved this time had said exactly why they didn't do it after they got Saddam out of Kuwait. Everything that did happen in Iraq was already known would happen and they are all on record talking about it up until 1998. When they finally decided to do it, the troops were the last thing on their minds.