Deployment of PTSD soldier sparks protest at Fort Campbell

UPDATE

Returned AWOL soldier enters treatment program


By KRISTIN M. HALL
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 11, 2011; 2:31 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The wife of a formerly AWOL Fort Campbell soldier who was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan said her husband has entered a mental health treatment program instead.

Protests at Fort Campbell Over Deployment of Wounded Soldier
Monday 10 January 2011
by: Sarah Lazare & Ryan Harvey | Even if Your Voice Shakes | Report

A soldier at Fort Campbell, Kentucky is being forced to return to Afghanistan this week amidst claims he is not fit to deploy because he has not received treatment promised by the Army for severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder sustained during his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jeff Hanks deployed to Afghanistan early last year with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He returned to the base on leave from Afghanistan this past September, where he sought and was denied treatment on two separate military bases for traumatic injuries sustained in combat.

Hanks subsequently refused to redeploy and was forced to go Absent Without Official Leave in order to get medical attention from civilian professionals.

Now, less than two months after surrendering himself at Fort Campbell, the Army Specialist awaits imminent redeployment to Afghanistan against his wishes and against the advice of his team of medical professionals.

Seeking help in fighting for his right to heal, Hanks contacted Operation Recovery, a joint-campaign of Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Civilian-Soldier Alliance, which seeks to end the re-deployment of traumatized and wounded soldiers.
read more here
Protests at Fort Campbell Over Deployment of Wounded Soldier