Camp Liberty shootings leave a lot of questions

by
Chaplain Kathie

The killing of five soldiers at Camp Liberty in Iraq raises serious questions. Sgt. John Russell was reported to have gone to a Chaplain and sent to the stress clinic. It seems he was in denial of having a need for help. Obviously his commander thought differently and took his weapon away from him. Russell's father said the military "broke" his son. After a long career in the military, Russell was on his third deployment. With serving that long in the military, should it be found he was wounded by PTSD, then why didn't it sink in that he needed help to heal? It's not as if he was a new recruit. Has the military been doing a good enough job getting thru to the soldiers that there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to PTSD? If they had, would this have happened?

There is also the issue of the report coming out of Afghanistan with 60 Chaplains busy trying to "hunt down" souls for God and proselytizing within the military as well as the people of Afghanistan. Are they so busy breaking military rules and evangelizing that they are not focusing on the spiritual needs of stressed out troops and is this still going on in Iraq as well?

We know there is a shortage of Chaplains in the military. The Navy has offered scholarships to recruit Chaplains. We also know that when it comes to mental health providers, there are not enough psychologist and psychiatrists to take care of the growing need of the troops. Chaplains play a vital role, or are supposed to, when the troops need help. This leaves us wondering if the Chaplains are all trained to do the work and doing it to the fullest of their duties or are they concentrating more on proselytizing instead?

While it breaks our hearts to have the men and women serving this nation die because of combat, it is part of what happens when they serve and we accept the death more easily than we do when they die needlessly. It should never, ever be acceptable for them to die because they lack help. Sgt. Russell shot five people at a Crisis Center, so we know there are soldiers seeking help and therefore the military is addressing the need, but we still have to wonder what was said or not said setting Russell off. As reports come out, this question needs to be answered. If he does have PTSD, then what was not explained to him about it leaving him in such denial he turned around and shot five of his "brothers" instead of getting the help that was available at the Crisis Center?

We know by the fact so many are taking their own lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as back home, that the military is still not doing enough, just as the VA is not doing enough. Who is checking on what they are doing and fully investigating if what they are doing is the right thing or not? The programs the military has been using are clearly not working. Had they been working, would units have to come up with their own programs like the Montana National Guard? If the programs in the VA were working, would there be a need for so many other groups to come up with their own programs to take on the issue? Is anyone finding out what these answers are?

So how much time are we going to tolerate being wasted when lives are on the line?

We don't know yet how Sgt. Russell was treated by the Chaplain, what the Chaplain told him or what Russell understood. We do know he was breaking and this was in an email to his father. If he talked to a Chaplain was he forced to do it or did he do it because he wanted to? Was he on any medication? If not then why not?