The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Travis M. Virgadamo, 19, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Aug. 30 in Taji, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 3d Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.
This is how the military reports a suicide death. Under investigation. They leave it up to the media to do follow ups. In this case, they did and so did the family. This is what is needed to fully tell their stories. Stories of deaths just as related to combat as a bullet or a bomb.
Sep. 05, 2007 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Soldier from LV dies in Iraq REVIEW-JOURNAL
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A soldier from Las Vegas died Thursday in Taji, Iraq, of a non-combat related incident, Department of Defense officials said in a statement.
An Army official told the family that 19-year-old Spc. Travis M. Virgadamo died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that the circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation.
The statement posted Monday on the Pentagon's Web site said Virgadamo was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
The family prefers donations be made to the Disabled American Veterans.
PTSD is a wound to the mind. How do they send soldiers back into combat with a wounded mind? What are they thinking? Are they thinking at all?
Rushed back to the front: Experts say depressed soldier on drug needed more time
By Ed Koch and Mary ManningPublished in the Sun on Sept. 6
A Las Vegas Army infantryman who was prescribed Prozac for depression and several weeks later killed himself in Iraq should have undergone at least three months of observation before returning to normal duties, psychiatrists and other medical experts said in interviews Wednesday.
Family and friends of Pfc. Travis Virgadamo say he told them he was prescribed daily doses of 12.5 milligrams of the antidepressant Prozac beginning in July. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last Thursday outside of Baghdad, the military said.
Medical experts interviewed by the Sun said anyone given prescription antidepressants should be watched carefully and kept out of high-stress duty for at least three months.
Las Vegas psychiatrist Dr. Mark Collins said anyone on Prozac needs to be checked regularly for 90 days before being returned “to combat — the most stressful of all situations.”
Collins said he has treated many firefighters and police officers with Prozac. “I would return them to light duty or partial duty for a three-month period.”
Experts also noted that research has found that the drugs pose a special risk to teenagers. Virgadamo was 19.
Prozac’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, says in its warning that clinical studies indicate that antidepressants “increased the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents and young adults with depression and other psychiatric disorders.”
Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA, said young combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are often treated with antidepressants and sent back into the field despite the risks.
“Unfortunately, they take kids out of these situations and put them right back in,” Leuchter said. “The major factor for suicide is to have a major depressive episode.”
http://politics.lasvegassun.com/2007/09/rushed-back-to-.html
Early intervention and treatment saves lives. If they simply give them a couple of sessions with a psychologist and prescription, it is as if they gave them the ammunition to kill themselves. Medications need to be monitored. If they wait until the veteran has healed enough and is truly ready to go back to "work" then they put a dedicated solider back to where they can thrive. This should not be sending them back into combat. It will only make the wound deeper and stronger. There are other jobs the military has for those who want to stay and they do not all involve combat. Whatever they are thinking by putting these wounded soldiers into positions where they are traumatized even more is a disgrace. They are not machines!
Kathie Costos
Kathie, is good that you bring this to our attention, but you know as well as I do that the US Army doesn't care about their soldiers, they only follows orders. That these orders only benefit a very small number of American and other wealthy persons is of no concern to the army.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when persons become statistics.
They say they are doing a lot, but then why are the soldiers still taking their own lives? You would think that they can invest thousands to train and billions to wage war, they would be able to use some money to find something that worked to save their lives.
ReplyDelete