Carissa Picard fights “pattern of misconduct” by military against soldiers

Carissa knows the "pattern of misconduct" is not committed by the troops but by "leadership" refusing to understand what comes with PTSD. She's been fighting for the sake of the troops not being taken care of.

Sgt. Adam Boyle did not do anything worthy of what is being done to him and it's because generals like Lt. Gen. John Mulholland are incapable of learning anything when it comes to this wound that has been around since the beginning of time. When three generals come out saying they also have PTSD and generals like this are still making the wounded suffer for being wounded, it makes Mulholland look like an idiot.

General Carter Ham, Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo and Maj. Gen. David Blackledge do understand what goes with PTSD. You can read their stories here
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/2008/12/tough-talk-when-they-have-ptsd.html


Too bad Mulholland must have never bothered to read about PTSD or what it does to the men and women in his command.

Helping soldiers cope with stress disorder
by Bryan Kirk Killeen Writer
Published: January 9, 2009

COPPERAS COVE - Carissa Picard had been working nearly non-stop for 36 hours on a Fort Bragg soldier’s case, and it didn’t appear, at least to her, that she’d be stopping any time soon.

With piles of legal papers and files scattered about, her young son, Connor, was rousing himself early Wednesday morning, while Picard was hoping the prospect of a few good winks of sleep was not too far in her future.

Regardless, she was not going to stop until she had the answers to help the soldier suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and in the process of having his Army career come to an abrupt end as a result.

That was the case for Sgt. Adam Boyle, the Fort Bragg soldier, who, like soldiers at other Army posts, returned home after serving two combat tours in Iraq expecting the Army to take care of him, but was instead forced out and administratively discharged.

Picard, who is an attorney, formed the Military Spouses for Change in July 2008 to provide soldiers and their spouses a way to advocate and address the needs of service members and their families.

The group helps promote the implementation of policies and programs, public and private, that effectively identify and meaningfully address the complex needs of service members and veterans, one of which is ensuring the well-being of the family, particularly during times of stress, hardship, injury and transition.

Right now, many of those in need are soldiers and their families who find themselves dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury - the signature wounds of the Iraq war.

Boyle, who in October was diagnosed by an Army medical board with PTSD and traumatic brain injury, did what a lot of his peers in the same situation often do.

He drank a lot.

He drank so much that the former model soldier began to get into trouble and, as a result, the career he loved began to spiral.

In December, Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, signed an order forcing Boyle out on an administrative discharge for a “pattern of misconduct,” and ordering that the soldier pay back his re-enlistment bonus, which totaled more than $13,000.
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