PTSD: Bomb Technician Suicides At Crisis Level

Suicides among military bomb techs at crisis level
Pensacola News Journal
Melissa Nelson Gabriel
September 17, 2106

"For every IED you disarm, you save between one and 10 lives, but there is always another one you cannot take care of that gets hit. There becomes a point where it haunts your nightmares and it haunts your thoughts during the day." Air Force Sgt. Chris Ferrell

Danelle Hackett wanted her Marine husband to focus on the lives he saved disarming IEDs as a military bomb technician during two tours in Iraq.

Maj. Jeff Hackett and his wife, Danelle. Danelle didn't know what to do to help

her husband when he returned from his dangerous combat tours diffusing explosives.

(Photo: Special to the News Journal)

Maj. Jeff Hackett could only focus on his 16 colleagues who died during the dangerous bomb disposal missions he led from early 2005 through late 2007.

"My husband looked at those guys as his own family, his own sons. Repeatedly losing techs just wore on him and wore him. He blamed himself for every death," Danelle Hackett said.

In June 2010, after a day of drinking at an American Legion Post in Wyoming near the family's home, Jeff Hackett downed a couple more swigs of alcohol, said "cheers" and shot and killed himself.

Among the highly skilled and elite ranks of military explosive ordnance disposal technicians — the men and women who have been on the front line of the war on terror since Sept. 11, 2001 — suicide is a growing concern.

"It is literally an epidemic," said Ken Falke, a former EOD technician and founder of the Niceville-based EOD Warrior Foundation, which supports current and former military EOD techs and their families.

EOD tech Air Force Sgt. Chris Ferrell has attempted suicide four times. He has a sleeve of tattoos on his arm with 26 stars, each one represents a friend he lost on the battlefield. (Photo: Special to the News Journal)

Air Force Sgt. Chris Ferrell, a 32-year-old EOD tech who has had many combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 13 years, has attempted suicide four times.

He has a sleeve of tattoos on his arm with 26 shaded-in stars, each one represents a friend he has lost on the battlefield.
read more here

Philadelphia Police Officer Survives Being Shot Eight Times During Ambush

Suspect in Philadelphia Shooting Rampage Left Note Showing Hatred Toward Police, Officers Say
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA
By MEGAN TRIMBLE
Sep 17, 2016

The wild chase and shootout through the streets of Philadelphia began about 11:20 p.m. Friday when Sgt. Sylvia Young, a 19-year police veteran, was ambushed while sitting in her patrol car in west Philadelphia; she was shot a number of times in the arm and protective vest, Ross said.

"She didn't hear him say a word, just walked up on her and started firing," Ross said. "She did hear about 15 shots or so, and that's consistent with the scene, where we believe she was struck at least eight times."

PHOTO: An aerial view of police activity of a shooting in Philadelphia on September 16, 2016.WPVI-TV

A "rambling" note expressing hatred for police was found after a man opened fire on a Philadelphia police officer then went on a shooting rampage, injuring a second officer, killing a woman and wounding three other people before he was shot and killed by police in an alley, authorities said Saturday.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross identified the gunman in the Friday overnight attack as 25-year-old Nicholas Glenn, who was "well-known" to police and has a criminal record.

Ross said Glenn had a 9mm Ruger and at least three magazines as well as a plastic bag with 13 to 15 live rounds. Investigators were trying to track the origins of the weapon, which had an obliterated serial number.

"Obviously, he was hell-bent on hurting a lot of people," the commissioner said at a news conference, adding that "we aren't absolutely clear as to why."

The note was addressed "Doomed People" and expressed hatred for law enforcement and a probation officer; it was found on the gunman, Ross said. Police believe Glenn acted on his own and not as part of a group.
read more here

Fort Hood 2nd Lt. Found Unresponsive At Home

Army investigating death of Fort Hood officer, 23
Army Times
By: Staff report
September 16, 2016

A 23-year-old officer was found unresponsive in his Fort Hood residence Tuesday and pronounced dead 90 minutes later at the Texas installation's medical center.

The death of 2nd Lt. Andrew J. Hunt is under investigation, Fort Hood officials said in a Friday news release. No further details were provided.
read more here

Fort Campbell Soldier Drowned After Baptism?

Fort Campbell Soldier Drowns
News Channel 5
Ben Hall
Sep 6, 2016

Ali died on that same day, in the same creek on Fort Campbell where he was baptized.

Fort Campbell, KY - The U.S. Army is still investigating the events that led to tragic drowning of a Fort Campbell soldier earlier this summer.

But NewsChannel 5 Investigates has new information about what Army Specialist Dhaifal Ali was doing at the creek the day he died.

Pictures posted on Facebook by a fellow soldier show he was at there to be baptized.

At some point after that ceremony, Ali was swept away in swift currents and drowned.

Rescue crews launched a comprehensive search and found Ali's body five days later.

The man who baptized Ali is not an army chaplin.

Staff Sergeant Marcus Rogers is a Fort Campbell soldier who believes the world is in its final days.

Rogers has more than 400,000 followers on Facebook who watch and comment on his self recorded mini-sermons.
read more here
Linked from Christian Post

One Out of Three Sailors Believe They Will Be Seen As Weak For Seeking Help

Navy Launches Suicide Prevention Program Modeled After Marines' Effort
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Sep 16, 2016

"Suicide prevention requires ongoing efforts to promote health and a sense of community. It is a shared responsibility," the message states. "Despite the fact that 85 percent of Sailors say they will seek help if overwhelmed by stress, 2 out of 3 believe there are barriers to seeking help, and 1 in 3 believe their shipmates will see them as weak."

Lt. David Dziengowski, left, Yeoman 1st Class Silvia Raya, and Lt. j.g. Victor Gutierrez, from the Chief of Naval Personnel office, show support as part of Suicide Prevention Month. (US Navy Photo)

A Navy program rolling out in the coming year aims to keep care providers in closer contact with sailors who have expressed suicidal ideations in an effort to prevent suicide in the ranks.

Called Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life, or SAIL, the program is modeled after a Marine Corps initiative launched in late 2013.

Both SAIL and the Marine Intercept Program allow counselors to make contact with consenting troops at six different intervals -- 3, 7, 14, 30, 60 and 90 days -- after a service member expresses a suicidal ideation.

"We need to develop a culture where people are just not afraid to ask for help when facing a challenge that is just a little overwhelming," Capt. Mike Fisher, director of the Navy's Suicide Prevention Branch, told Military.com in an interview. "This is just one more small act that can save one more life."
read more here