Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job On SWAT Team

Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job
by Marcus Washington

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.

A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.

"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.

So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.

"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.

Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.

"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.

Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
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