Considering what Bryan Hannah, a soldier at Fort Hood being treated for PTSD, was told, the conclusion of Barrett's life was almost guaranteed. He was told "We're not here to make you better. We're hear to make you deployable." That in itself is deplorable. Think of the fact that every expert says early treatment for PTSD saves lives but the military is not interested in saving their lives. They only want to do it temporarily enough to send them back into combat. They are not interested in doing it all the way and treating them like the rest of the wounded.
When they send them back into combat before they are well enough, they have basically guaranteed another coffin coming back. Maybe they are hoping for the suicide to happen back at home after another tour so they don't have to include the death in the final accounting for the wars waged. They didn't have to include any of the suicides of Vietnam veterans either. Once they were home the military simply didn't care at all. They were someone else's problem. kc
Shelby and Chad Barrett
the battle within
Waging internal war
The Army's suicide rate is at a high, and kin say that multiple deployments are to blame. Some troops with mental illnesses are cleared to serve in Iraq.
By David Olinger and Erin Emery
The Denver Post
Chad Barrett's war on terror started in the hours after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when he was called to help dig bodies out of a smoking Pentagon.
It ended Feb. 2, 2008, in Mosul, Iraq, when his roommate awoke to find him gasping and gurgling, with foam coming from his mouth.
Barrett had been cleared for a third combat tour in Iraq despite a recent suicide attempt, crushing headaches and a mental illness treated with medication for anxiety and depression. Two months after he arrived, he killed himself by swallowing an unknown number of pills.
He was the sixth soldier from Fort Carson to commit suicide in Iraq. At least 10 others have killed themselves in the U.S., nine after returning from the war.
"There is no way in hell he should have been deployed. The Army saw him as just another set of boots on the ground," said Barrett's widow, Shelby. "From the second tour on, he changed 180 degrees. Three deployments is two too many. The Army took my husband from me. The Army destroyed my husband."
Some soldiers and their advocates question whether that message is getting through, particularly at Fort Hood.
Bryan Hannah, a soldier being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at Fort Hood, said two people at its mental-health center told him, "We're not here to make you better; we're here to make you deployable."
At Fort Hood, anyone seeking mental- health treatment "can kiss any hope of promotion goodbye," he said. "Everyone treats you like crap. There's a huge stigma to asking for help."
Carissa Picard of the Fort Hood-based group Military Spouses for Change agreed.
go here for the rest
http://www.denverpost.com/previous2/home/ci_10311290
Once again, the Denver Post has printed an article using Shelby Barrett as a source. Once again, Shelby has told Ms. Emery partial truths that get printed in the article. I offered to review the information that Ms. Emery planned to print, but I never was contacted. This will be the third article Ms. Emery has written with Shelby as a source. I have pointed out these inaccuracies to Ms. Emery each time, but she continues to write. Each time I see my brother's name in this paper quoting Shelby, it hurts deep inside. Why does the Denver Post keep using Shelby as a source for their articles? How many times do I have to show Ms. Emery that she has been duped before she quits using Shelby as a source? How many articles does my family have to endure? PTSD wasn't the only thing that pushed my brother to take his life. He thought he was giving Shelby the best birthday present ever, her freedom.
ReplyDeleteAs for his name being out of sequence, I would bet that the lengthy investigation had something to do with the delay. If Ms. Emery had bothered to ask, I could have provided this information. I feel sorry for the citizens of Denver that have to read this stuff everyday. I only hope they don't believe everything they read.
I am sorry for your loss but when reporters are trying to get the stories of these veterans out, they turn to the wives, husbands and parents. Whatever you feel this reporter got wrong, you can post it here as a comment. You have that right if you feel there has been bad reporting done. Not that it would get that much attention here, but at least you can get it out and let readers decide.
ReplyDeleteThere is something that I want you to keep in mind though. Getting their stories out is the best way for this to stop happening to them. Too many have taken their own lives and there is no way in hell they should suffer in silence like the Vietnam veterans did. They came home to nothing ready for them and fought for all of it. Anything that is being done for the new generation has been made possible because for over 30 years they came home and fought for it to make sure no other generation would come home the way they did, suffered the way they did and yes, lost more after then came home than they did fighting in Vietnam.
So please, if you want to tell his story, then do it but as much right as you feel you have, his wife has a right to tell his story as well.
Ms Costos,
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with Ms. Emery writing her article. However, don't you feel it's in bad taste to print about my brother foaming at the mouth and such? What you may not understand is that Shelby has continually stretched the truth about my brother for her own gain. The Denver Post as printed three articles containing her, how did you put it, "side of the story". I only ask you, what if that side isn't accurate? Still O.K. to print??? If the family has proof that what was printed is a lie, is it still O.K??? I honestly feel the PTSD problem in the Army is tragic. However, when Shelby is involved, there always seems to be another motive. The end of the article hints that Fort Carson's memorial added Chad as an after thought. I will be in Colorado Springs in a few weeks. I bet, Chad's name isn't the only one out of order. I would caution anyone that helps further the motives of Shelby Barrett.
Hi Gary, well you made your point. Now let's see if reporters will talk to you instead.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and your family find healing and peace after your loss.
Thank you. We are trying to heal and find peace. However, when articles with false information keep coming up every three months, it's hard. We can only pray that Shelby will stop dishonoring the memory of my brother.
ReplyDelete