Military missing symptoms of acute stress

Two stories highlight how the military is failing our troops. What's worse is there are a lot of people dead because two soldiers were not taken care of when they needed help. Both of these stories are on CNN right now. How many more were failed that didn't make the national news? Most of them are here on this blog but they were not one the cable news reports. They were just local news stories from states around the country found online. Maybe now with the national attention on this they may just move stories like cell phones in the White House Press room and Miss California off so they can make room for something that they can report on that will in fact produce something out of all of this.

Soldier's dad: 'He took matters in his own hands'
Story Highlights
Father of soldier charged in killings said threats were made against son recently

"They broke him. They ruined his life. They told him, 'You're an idiot,' " dad says

Army Sgt. John Russell charged in killings of five fellow soldiers

Military says he had exhibited erratic behavior in the past week


From Ed Lavandera
CNN


SHERMAN, Texas (CNN) -- The father of a U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow troops at a stress clinic in Iraq says it wasn't combat stress that made his son kill. The dad says it was fellow soldiers who pushed him over the edge.

The father said he was not sure what sort of threats might've been leveled against his son. But he said stress-test technicians had "overstressed him."

"They broke him. They ruined his life. They told him, 'You're an idiot. You don't belong in here. We're gonna break you.' "

The military has not commented on the father's accusations. Sgt. John Russell is now in military police custody at Camp Victory.
go here for more of this

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/13/soldiers.killed/index.html

Defense: Military missed soldier's symptoms before rape, killings
Story Highlights
Former U.S. soldier Steven Green convicted in rape of Iraqi teen, murder of her family

Green's defense lawyers trying to spare their client the death penalty

They argue nurse-practitioner failed to diagnose clear case of acute stress disorder

Nurse testifies soldier interviews took place under difficult conditions in Iraq



From Deborah Feyerick
CNN

PADUCAH, Kentucky (CNN) -- Defense lawyers trying to save their client from the death penalty argued Tuesday that former U.S. soldier Steven Green exhibited clear symptoms of acute stress disorder in Iraq and that a military psychiatric nurse-practitioner failed to diagnose the troubled infantryman and pull him out of combat.

Dr. Pablo Stewart testified that a military nurse-practitioner who examined Green some three months before the crimes "had the answers in front of her that clearly marks all the symptoms of acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder."

Yet rather than pull Green out of combat or follow up with additional care, Stewart testified, the nurse-practitioner prescribed sleeping pills and sent Green back to his traffic checkpoint in an area known as the "Triangle of Death," one of the bloodiest areas of the Sunni-led insurgency.

go here for more of this
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/13/kentucky.iraq.rape.murders/index.html?iref=werecommend