Shame on Fort Drum Maj. Gen. Michael Oates

Drum to publish names of substance offenders

By William Kates - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 20:20:10 EST

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — Upset with an increase in the number of 10th Mountain Division soldiers using illegal drugs and being arrested for alcohol-related offenses, Fort Drum will begin publishing the names and photos of offenders in its post newspaper, says commander Maj. Gen. Michael Oates.

Starting with the front page of Thursday’s edition, the Fort Drum Blizzard will feature photographs of the 45 soldiers who have been charged with DWI since Jan. 1. The names and photographs of soldiers committing such offenses will become a regular feature in the paper, although not on the front page.

“I don’t take this step lightly and I realize that there will be people offended by this,” Oates said. “But apparently talking to them is not deterring this behavior, and financial penalties are not deterring this behavior.

“I understand soldier culture well enough ... I may not understand youngster culture well enough ... but I think they would probably not be happy with this public recognition of their misconduct,” said Oates.

Department of Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb said Fort Bliss officials publish the names of those convicted of drunk driving offenses but she knew of no other Army installations publicizing the names of those arrested and their photos.

“Soldiers must live the Army values on and off duty. This requires discipline. Commanders at all levels are charged with maintaining discipline in their units. Addressing an issue before it becomes a larger problem is the right thing to do,” Edgecomb said.

Oates said there has been an “unacceptable” increase of substance abuse on the northern New York Army post over the last three months, although he did not provide any specific numbers.

Army-wide there were 4,621 incidents of active duty soldiers driving under the influence in 2006, the last year for which the Army has complete statistics, or about 2.3 per 1,000 soldiers, according to records. About 95 percent of those involved alcohol, according to Army records.

Despite the division’s frequent combat deployments, Oates was reluctant to blame the recent increase in substance abuse on those deployments, or the mental stresses that accompany them. Oates said Fort Drum officials have noted increased use of marijuana and cocaine among initial entry soldiers who have yet to be deployed.

“I think it is more generational and cultural at this point,” Oates said. “And I really don’t care in a lot of ways. Because in our (Army) culture we believe in discipline and it is against the law to use these drugs and to drive intoxicated. So regardless of your circumstances we are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_drumoffenders_030508/

Does he understand that the men and women under his command are not normal people who decide to drink and drive just because they can? Doesn't he understand these men and women cared so much about other people they were willing to lay down their lives in service to them? How could he even begin to think they would so callous about drunk driving they would do it intentionally without any reason behind it?

Substance abuse, or should I say substance use, is a form of self-medicating. If he knows nothing about PTSD then he needs to get educated fast! The 10th have endured some of the worst conditions over and over again. If he thinks putting their picture in the Fort Drum Blizzard will solve the problem he lives in fantasy land.

Shame on him and anyone else in command positions thinking so little about the men and women they command that they assume it's the soldiers who are all wrong. Fort Drum has a big problem coming to terms with PTSD and until they get it into their brain this is a wound and start to treat it like one, there will be many more suffering and more using alcohol and drugs to kill off flashbacks and calm nerves. Trying to shame someone for doing what they feel forced to do to cope is only adding to the shame the military chain of command has already done to them. Shame on Maj. Gen. Michael Oates. It's not the "youngster culture" he does not understand. It's the wound he does not understand!