Nellis Air Force Base Chaplain Said PTSD Was God's Plan?

I had a massive headache and just wanted to get through my emails before I go lay down. It just got worse when I read this.

Former Nellis AFB Drone Operator On First Kill, PTSD, Being Shunned By Fellow Airmen 
KNPR News
Nevada Public Radio
Adam Burke and Joe Schoenmann
January 23, 2015

"I went to go see a chaplain," Bryant said. "And the chaplain told me that it was God's plan for all this to happen and that I should accept that."

In the new movie Good Kill, Ethan Hawke plays an airman who remotely operates Predator drones from the safety of a cubicle at Creech Air Force Base, 50 miles north of Las Vegas.

But in the film we learn that the cubicle is not such a safe place. Ethan Hawke’s character suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder on the job.

Former drone operator Brandon Bryant, who was stationed at Nellis for four years, consulted with the writer/director of Good Kill​, Andrew Niccol.

Bryant was the co-pilot in a two-man drone team, and it was his job to locate targets and pull trigger on missiles.

When he ended his four-year stint, Bryant received a certificate honoring him for having aided in the deaths of some 1,600 people.

Post-Traumatic Stress
The more that he shut himself away, the more isolated he felt. He started drinking heavily, playing video games when he wasn't working, and working out.

"I stopped sleeping because I was dreaming in infrared," he said. "White hot, black hot, the same type of filters I would see at work. It was like I couldn't escape myself."

Bryant told KNPR that at the time, airmen were discouraged from seeking psychological help at Nellis.

"When I told them I wasn't doing so well, they told me that if I sought help then they would revoke my clearance," he said. "So that kind of kept me in line."

Then Bryant's commander ordered him to go see with a chaplain.

"I went to go see a chaplain," Bryant said. "And the chaplain told me that it was God's plan for all this to happen and that I should accept that."
read more here

Ok, so far we've been made aware of the fact that Warrior Transition Units have been still telling PTSD soldiers to suck it up and get over it when they were supposed to be helped. We've read about the rise in suicides among veterans out of the military where the original damage was done. We've also read about all the bullshit about how this bill and that bill needs the public's support but never once told why we should. We've read about this group and that group with their hands out looking for money but never telling us what they've done with the money they all collected over the years while it is getting worse for veterans and families.

The list goes on but now we discover a Chaplain told an Airman looking for help that it was God's will.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff already told Congress to go to hell when they admitted they were not following the law on post deployment screenings and the DOD heads have all made stupid statements about intestinal fortitude after they pushed the "program" that made them all think it was their own fault. Just when you think you've heard everything, it gets to the point where you wonder when they hell congress will actually hear anything.

POSSIBLE MURDER-SUICIDE: Airman, wife die in shooting

This story wasn't sad enough until I read the names. This is after the reporter said authorities have not released the names, which usually means a family member picked up the paper and found out about this tragedy by reading it. Why was there a rush in reporting the names? Wasn't it bad enough they reported the address? What harm would it have done to have waited until the police said they contacted the families?

In the past, I've been part of this kind of mess without intending it. I simply assume that police have notified family members before reporters release the names. It's very hard on them to find out someone they love died but especially hard when it involves suspected murder-suicide.

POSSIBLE MURDER-SUICIDE: Airman, wife die in shooting
Las Vegas Review - Journal - Las Vegas,NV,USA

SWAT officers find couple dead after standoff in North Las Vegas

By MAGGIE LILLIS, LAWRENCE MOWER and KEITH ROGERS

A Nellis Air Force Base airman and his wife died in what is believed to be a murder-suicide Friday in a North Las Vegas apartment.

The deaths ended a roughly two-hour standoff with North Las Vegas police, during which the airman, an Iraq war veteran who might have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, shot at police.

Police said a third party, a friend of the wife's, called police about 5:30 a.m. claiming that the gunman was holding a gun to his wife's head inside the apartment, Sgt. Tim Bedwell said.

Officers made contact with the man at a ground-level unit at the Craig Ranch Villas apartments, 370 Casa Norte Drive, near Commerce Street and Lone Mountain Road. He retreated into the apartment and fired shots through a window at police, Bedwell said.

When SWAT officers entered the apartment about 8 a.m., they found the two people dead from gunshot wounds. click link for more

Predator crews tired, strained by shortage

Study: UAV crews tired, strained by shortage

By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Apr 19, 2008 7:02:42 EDT

Unmanned aerial vehicle operators are more likely than other aircrews to suffer from chronic fatigue, emotional exhaustion, burnout and impaired domestic relationships, according to a new study by the Naval Postgraduate School.

The survey of 66 MQ-1 Predator crew members at Nellis Air Force, Nev., in December 2006 found that nearly half suffered levels of sleepiness during work hours that can be expected to hurt their job performance.

And about 40 percent of the operators surveyed reported a moderate-to-high likelihood of falling asleep at their stations while operating a weapon-carrying, remotely piloted aircraft, according to the study.

The study, released in March, was conducted for the Air Force’s 311th Human Systems Wing Performance Enhancement Directorate at Brooks City-Base, Texas.

The report comes at a time when Air Force officials are growing increasingly worried about the shortage of UAV operators.

Indeed, the study found that “a lack of adequate manpower” is the root cause of the problem.

The Air Force operates its UAVs around-the-clock, requiring operators to work long shifts and odd hours. This shift system contributes to the exhaustion problems, the study found.

Two groups — pilots and women — seem to suffer the most severe problems, according to the study.

“Pilots were found to have higher mental fatigue scores than sensor operators, suggesting a possible task-related contribution to their fatigue,” the study says.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/airforce_uav_fatigue_041808w/