Please Help our Soldiers Get Help...

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Author: Laura Graves

Started: May 4, 2007, 2:20:28 pm

Target: Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer

Category: Civil & Human Rights

Supporters:

Goal:

100,000

Goal Progress:

Status

Active

May 3, 2007

Dear Senators Feinstein and Boxer:

This letter is to inform you of a situation that is unsettling to me regarding one of our soldiers that is deployed to Iraq at the moment. My brother, Michael Joshua Thomas, has suffered severe mental and emotional trauma while serving in Iraq, and I am concerned that the U.S. Military is not taking proper care of Michael’s problems. Military doctors have diagnosed Michael as a danger to himself and others; Michael needs psychiatric care to recover from the mental instabilities he has developed as a result of serving on the battlefront. At this time, he has still not received the proper psychiatric treatment that he needs. The most unsettling part of this situation is that if this is happening to Michael, perhaps, it is happening to others currently serving in this war.

Michael Joshua Thomas is serving his second deployment for our country with the 2-27 Infantry Battalion. At the time of his deployment, in August of 2005, he was married with a new baby on the way. Upon returning from his first tour in Afghanistan, Michael lost his wife and baby to a divorce. He was “stoplossed,” which means that he was suppose to get out of the Army, but his Chain of Command stopped that from happening and redeployed Michael to Iraq. Military doctors gave Michael a psychiatric evaluation and diagnosed him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a permanent disability that entails traumatic flashbacks and an inability to cope in regular society, and which means he will never be mentally stable without proper treatment. Upon learning of his diagnosis, the Chain of Command did not provide medical or psychiatric care to help re-stabilize Michael. Instead, Michael was re-deployed to Iraq in August of 2006. Shortly thereafter, on a mission to FOB Speicher, Michael “cracked.” His company was attacked and some of his fellow soldiers were killed on that mission. Afterwards, Michael said he felt like harming his Battalion Commander as a result of this incident; he also reported experiencing an “alter ego” personality that he conversed with inside his head. Michael tried many times to get help from his Commanders in dealing with the stress and trauma he experienced from the battlefield and from witnessing his friends killed; however, his commanding officers did nothing.

Michael has seen the base psychiatrist at least ten times since September 23, 2006; at the conclusion of his treatment, the psychiatrist’s only solution was to put Michael on medication and send him back out to the field, even though he was still suffering from PTSD. During these evaluations, Michael was also diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. Michael was open and honest with his psychiatrist about his emotional instability, his feelings about harming his Commander, and about the devastation he felt as a result of watching his friends die. The psychiatrist went beyond the rules and regulations of patient confidentiality and informed the Battalion Commander of what was discussed. According to the HIPPA laws, doctor/patient confidentiality must be maintained unless and until there is a direct threat upon a person’s life by the patient.

After the psychiatrist went to the Battalion Commander, Michael’s weapon was taken away, he was put on 24-hour watch, and was told that he would be court marshaled. The court marshalling took place on May 1st, 2007. Michael was convicted of conveying a threat based on the statements he made to the psychiatrist, even though he did so under the false belief that he would receive help and treatment for his mental instability. Instead, Michael will receive 30 days in jail effective May 3, 2007 and a reduction of rank to E-1, and will still not receive medical or psychiatric treatment for his problems.

After his conviction, this is what Michael had to say:
“I have no faith in the Army or my Chain of Command at this point…I have given all but my life to this Army and I couldn’t get help when I needed it, only punishment for telling a Mental Health Official how I felt. He is the one who asked me if I felt homicidal, he is the one who wanted me to be truthful, yet I am punished for answering him truthfully. What does that say to other soldiers that feel that way? They will now just be homicidal maniacs until one day they snap. I hope for the sake of my fellow service members, that better services can be provided for them so they can get help before redeployment home. I know first hand what it does to a family when you come home from war and can’t cope in society. I would like to Thank You All for your support and please keep all of us in your prayers.”

Michael sought help for his problems and was punished for doing so. When asked to be open and honest about his mental state under the belief that he would be helped, Michael was not given treatment but rather punishment. He was not cared for by a professional, but instead sentenced to 30 days in a non-psychiatric jail facility. Although I realize that Michael may have posed a threat, I cannot understand how serving time for a condition beyond his control, and that his commanders had knowledge of, does anything to help his recovery. Michael sought, and needs, medical and or psychiatric treatment, not incarceration.

I am afraid this course of action demonstrated by Michael’s Chain of Command will only serve to prevent other soldiers with similar problems from coming forward and seeking the help that they need. I would love more than anything for our troops to come home, but before that happens, we need to help them by ensuring they receive the proper psychiatric care that they need, in order to get them home safely and with sound minds.

My brother, as well as the rest of our troops, has sacrificed so much for us by serving our country in this war; the least we can do when bringing them home is to ensure they receive proper medical and psychiatric care in order to return to some sort of normalcy.

What can be done to help them?

Very Respectfully,

Laura Graves, Vacaville, California
Sister of Michael Thomas