A Rush to Injustice at Walter Reed

Here's a description, from the Washington Post report, of her service:

Whiteside was assigned as a platoon leader in the 329th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance) at the Camp Cropper detainee prison near Baghdad International Airport. The hot light from the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal still charged the atmosphere at Cropper, which housed 4,000 detainees and included high-security prisoners such as Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali," as well as suspected terrorists and insurgents.

Whiteside, given the radio handle "Trauma Mama," supervised nine medics who worked the night shift at the prison. She was in charge of dispatching drivers, medics and support staff to transport sick and wounded Iraqis and U.S. troops around the prison and to a small hospital inside.

"I loved our mission," Whiteside said, "because it represented the best of America: taking care of the enemy, regardless of what they are doing to us."

Despite her enthusiasm for her assignment, here's a description of the reality under which Whiteside worked and lived:

The hours were brutal. Whiteside ate one meal a day, slept in two four-hour shifts and worked seven days a week. Her superiors credited her with her unit's success. "She has produced outstanding results in one of the most demanding and challenging Combat Zones," her commander, Lt. Col. Darlene McCurdy, wrote in her evaluation.

But the dynamics outside her unit were rockier. From the beginning, Whiteside and some of her female soldiers had conflicts with one of the company's male officers. They believed he hindered female promotions and undercut Whiteside's authority with her soldiers, according to Army investigative documents.

Indeed, further investigation of the situation under which Whiteside worked concluded the following:

... it had found a hostile command climate and recommended that the officer who had been her nemesis be removed from his position and "given a letter of reprimand for gender bias in assignments and use of intimidation, manipulation and hostility towards soldiers..."

Whiteside's breakdown was precipitated by events at Camp Cropper when Saddam Hussein was taken from there to be executed and his fellow prisoners rioted.  

Whiteside took charge of dispatching ambulances and organized the medics to get both prisoners and military personnel to the small hospital for treatment of injuries during the riot.  After the grueling chaos of these events, she had a clash with the problem superior officer, whom she was convinced was trying to derail her career.

As a direct result of her clash with that officer, while battle weary from coping with the riot aftermath, Whiteside broke down.  She took out her sidearm, threatened a nurse who was trying to help her, ordering the nurse to leave her alone.  She fired her gun in the air, and locked herself in her room. Then in her frustration, she turned the gun on herself, inflicting wounds to her stomach, lungs and spleen.

She was sent home to Walter Reed and after her physical wounds healed, she was placed on the psychiatric ward.

Walter Reed and the Army in general do not have a good record of dealing with mental illness among returning troops.  Although, in response to a public outcry, the hospital is working to improve its treatment of returning soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, the disparity between the treatment of those with physical injuries and those with mental illness can be seen in the way their families are handled.  The families of soldier receiving treatment for physical injuries are given free food and lodging while those family members of mentally ill patients must foot their own bill to be with their loved ones.

Another egregious example of the Army's lack of willingness to take responsibility for the care of its mentally ill soldiers is the following incident.

A 20 year old soldier who was studying to be nurse when she was diagnosed with a mental illness was taken to the psychiatric ward at Walter Reed.  Samantha Owing-Ewing, who Whiteside had known and befriended on that ward, was abruptly discharged and dumped at a nearby hotel with a plane ticket.  She later committed suicide.

In Whiteside's case, the Army was, at one point, willing to give her a dishonorable discharge, which would have been on her permanent record, rather than prosecute her on criminal charges.  In addition to the lifelong stigma that would have been attached to such an agreement, she also would have lost her rights to veteran's benefits, after serving seven years with a sterling record.

What the Amy is doing, because of the misguided actions of a few of its officers, is turning a legitimate mental breakdown into a criminal offense carrying a life sentence.  Indeed, the attitude of those who are pressing for this prosecution speaks volumes about the regressive and misguided attitude of those few commanders.

Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside after she recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside's superiors considered her mental illness "an excuse" for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

At the hearing, Wolfe, who had already warned Whiteside's lawyer of the risk of using a "psychobabble" defense, pressed a senior psychiatrist at Walter Reed to justify his diagnosis.

"I'm not here to play legal games," Col. George Brandt responded angrily, according to a recording of the hearing. "I am here out of the genuine concern for a human being that's breaking and that is broken. She has a severe and significant illness. Let's treat her as a human being, for Christ's sake!"

The attitude of some of the commanders at Walter Reed and of the prosecutor of this case is astounding in the 21st century.  Indeed, it harkens back to the Middle Ages when mental illness was viewed through the lens of superstition and misunderstanding.

Real mental illness is not caused by demons or moral depravity.  Nor is it "an excuse" when an otherwise model soldier turns her weapon on herself while under extreme duress in a hostile environment.  And the science of mental health and its treatment is most definitely not psychobabble. To even suggest such a thing in a situation like this is outrageous and bears investigation.

This is one of those "can't anybody in Congress please do something moments."  What they need to be doing is investigating sexism and gender bias as well as the bias against mental illness in the armed forces.  These young men and women deserve so much more from us.

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