Deadly spring at Fort Campbell drew blitz reaction
Documents confirm 2 murders, 7 suicides in only 31 days
The Leaf Chronicle
Phillip Grey
Jul. 16, 2013
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — An explosion of events between March and April 2012 was largely the catalyst for action at Fort Campbell and surrounding communities, resulting in a community-wide declaration of war on PTSD and military suicides alike.
The period began March 15 with a slaying and police standoff in the Clarksville subdivision of Quicksilver Court.
Sgt. 1st Class Frederic N. Moses was shot by fellow 5th Special Forces Group member Sgt. Benjamin Schweitzer. Both were veterans of numerous deployments, and the victim had just returned from a combat deployment in February 2012.
Moses died on a neighbor’s front porch, bleeding out while seeking help. Schweitzer barricaded himself in a house, then wounded a police officer before being captured. The standoff riveted the city and focused attention on soldier-related violence spilling out of Fort Campbell’s gates.
Over the following weeks, rumor had it that Quicksilver Court was just the warning shot in a month of tragedy. A review of 17 Fort Campbell suicide reports from 2011 and 2012 by The Leaf-Chronicle and news partner WSMV-TV Channel 4 shows the rumors were true.
In only 31 days, there were two murders and seven suicides, nearly equaling the worst months of combat casualties for Fort Campbell units in Iraq and Afghanistan during the 10 years prior.
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