Soldier Just Back From Iraq Hangs Himself In Jail

[DuctapeFatwa]

Authorities say a 37-year-old Fort Eustis soldier recently back from Iraq hanged himself in jail over the weekend.

Police say Brian McKeehan hanged himself with a bedsheet early Saturday in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail in James City, about 12 hours after being arrested on a charge of assaulting his wife at their York County home.

York County Sheriff Danny Diggs says that in the four weeks since his return, deputies responded to about six complaints against McKeehan by his wife and a neighbor. Diggs says most of the calls did not result in an arrest because of lack of evidence.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1004/179673.html

[MADem]

1. It would be interesting to see

...his vaccination record, especially if there is no history of law violation or domestic violence.

[UpInArms]

2. OMG this is so very tragic

back 4 weeks from Iraq - multiple disturbances with family, so obvious that whatever this man had endured had caused him to snap and now dead. I am sure that his passing will go unremarked by this mal-administration even though he is obviously another casualty of *Co's war.

:cry:

[bushisanidiot]

3. Gawd, this is sad. AWOL has truly fucked up America.

my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

[Zorra]

5. "AWOL has truly fucked up America" Yes, he truly has. It's all so sad.

[livinbella]

16. AWOL has fucked up the world pretty good as well

I hope it's not too late

[chelaque liberal]

21. Off subject but I love this group of photos you put together.

I laugh every time I see it.

[ismnotwasm]

4. Aw, dammit

This stuff is so sad. My daughter stationed in Afghanistan, says "those boys in Iraq just need to go home" (so does she, but thats another story) she says they're pretty messed up. I know there is not necessarily a connection between going to Iraq and this particular assault and suicide, but the odds are that there is. My heart is aching for that soldier and his family.

[coalition_unwilling]

6. One can make a presumptive case for untreated case of

post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly if there is no prior history of domestic disturbance calls prior to Iraq billet.

Your BushCo VA at work

[ismnotwasm]

13. I agree

I've worked with Vets with PTSD, and just from some of the stories my daughter tells me, we are going to have very severe cases after this is over. Quite a few of our homeless are Vietnam era vets and as well as some of our chronically mentally ill. I hope we will have the resources available for them, because they are going to need it desperately.

[realcountrymusic]

7. This, and every other one, is on YOU, Mr. Bush

You have brought so much death and suffering into the world in the name of alleviating death and suffering. Iraqi, American, soldier, civilian, man, woman, child -- to you they are all meat. You're no better than Saddam. Masters of war, a curse on you all.

RCM

[IndianaGreen]

8. I wonder how many more ticking time bombs we have in our streets

and how long before they snap. This is typical of PTSS victims, and it may become pandemic as our policy of occupation further brutalizes our military.

The only way to stop this is by admitting that we lost the Iraq war, and bringing the troops home immediately and unconditionally. Any "stay the course" policy, regardless of rationale, is doomed to failure, and it will only guarantee more ticking time bombs in our streets.

[vetwife]

28. More than you really want to know...This is reality folks !

[yardwork]

36. We made the terrorists and brought them home

How many Americans will die because of this war?

The blood is on your hands and those of your supporters, George W. Bush.

[Downtown Hound]

9. Another casualty of war

He won't be on any casualty list, but he died in Iraq. One more death for you Mr. Bush, one more dollar.

[leftchick]

This needs to make the National News!

I know I can hope. It will take a lot more Americans to get a clue as to the extent of dumbass*s war crimes against the Iraqis and our soldiers to make a change in this fucked up war.

:grr: :(

[Laughing Mirror]

26. This needs to make Local News too

I've searched papers all the way up I-95, from Richmond Times Dispatch, to Fredericksburg Freelance Star, to Potomac News in Prince William County to Ft. Belvoir News in Fairfax County and there's nothing on McKeehan nowhere. Not even an obituary and these are areas heavily populated with military. Guess his suicide just wasn't newsworthy. It was surely only an unhappy coincidence that he had come back from war.

[leftchick]

27. that is just sickening....

I just assumed it would be news locally. Crap on a sandwich!!! Are they all covering chimpy's ass at the expense of our soldiers and their families!??!? I am afraid we are indeed seeing fascism at work here.

[bicentennial_baby]

10. Ft. Bragg all over again

Except there the wives were murdered as well. If I remember correctly, those soldiers had been in Afghanistan before that.

[Downtown Hound]

12. And Somalia

One of the big differences between the movie Black Hawk Down and the book is that the character of Stebbins in the book has been changed to somebody named Grimes in the movie. Why, would the filmmakers do this, you might ask, when the would point of the movie was to honor the men who fought there?

Because Stebbins came back and raped his daughter when he returned from Somalia, and is currently in Leavenworth Prison. The Defense Department told the producers that they wouldn't give any technical aid to the film if they used the man's real name.

This has been going on in every war since time began. The American public is still not really aware of what soldiers face when returning home. And it doesn't help that the media is so willing to bend to the government's wishes.

[vetwife]

29. That was a reaction to the drug Lariam and PTSD

They were given a so called malaria pill that was approved by the FDA but I have questions. Got a copy of the findings from the VA HQ.
We all know they give God knows what to soldiers and veterans.

[bicentennial_baby]

32. It's like my dad and his MS

They give him 100% disability b/c they say his MS is "service related". I'd love to know how they came to that conclusion. :wtf:

[riverwalker]

11. there will be an epidemic of violence

if anyone is looking for data and archives Joyce Riley has a great website
www.gulfwarvets.com

[DinahMoeHum]

23. Lord knows how many Tim McVeighs and John Muhammads

will come out of these returnees from Iraq.


:nuke:

[anarchy1999]

14. Good God almighty!

This family needed help. Why did they not get it?

[maxsolomon]

15. are you sure that's a serious question?

this is america - admitting weakness is not an option.

[livinbella]

17. Good gravy, six disturbances in four weeks!

How in hell could no one have noticed that something
had gone badly wrong.

[soothsayer]

18. Wait until they all get postal jobs afterwards (vets get extra points that

move 'em ahead on the postal rolls). We're gonna' have more folks going postal again!

I wonder if it's just PTSD, or if it's the "go, no-go" pills we give them to make them kill better.

[juliagoolia]

19. getting help?

Do you know how difficult it is to get mental help when the govt cut the federal funding etc.. There is very little mental health available to folks. You have to be able to prove you are a danger to yourself or others. Obviously that was the case, but proving it is hard to do. Additionally, the law officers could have decided he needed mental help as well. I bet calling the VA would have put him on a waiting list.

Most people that are mentally ill require years of therapy before they can see it, especially if under age 25 or very distressed.

[vetwife]

31. 28 Billion was cut from the VA the day we invaded Iraq !

Even at that , the day King George said hostilites over, that made it almost impossible to get a service connected disability, and guess what the guys with PTSD is suing the DOD to get out and can't. They are agreeing to see the veterans for 2 years after they leave the service and no promises after that ! They pay a 250.00 enrollment fee to be in a VA program and are categorized by income. WRONG WRONG WRONG ! This was not the agreement!
They are also shutting down VA hospitals left and right !

[Just Me]

20. Consequences of electing a war-mongering/profiteering leadership.n/t

[KittyWampus]

22. Anti-malarial Drug "Lariam" Has Caused Special Force Troops

to become violent and delusional. Special force troops are by definition stable. They do NOT snap. Yet a NUMBER of them have come home and gone amok.

The alternative anti malarial drug has much less incidence of side effects.

Why was Lariam used?

Lariam causes PERMANENT damage to the brain.

CNN did one of its few real investigative pieces on this about a month ago. The notes I took will watching it aren't with me right now but I will post them later on.

Google Lariam

[vetwife]

30. We were saying the same thing about Lariam !

Ft. Bragg soldiers and God knows what else they have been given !

[underpants]

24. I grew up in York county

Wow. That is sad.

[samtob]

25. This is tragic

Unfortunately it is all too common after a deployment of any kind. I was married to a Navy man who was deployed on "West Pac's" for six months at a time.

There would always be a dramatic increase in domestic violence or suicides of sailors after they returned from West Pac's.

The cause of these incidents would usually come down to infidelity while the service member was away. Husband comes home, wife has been messing around, OR, hubby comes home, wife finds out he had a little too much fun in the Philipines.

I lived in an apartment complex that was filled with Navy families. It was sad to see so many of the wives behave like single women once hubby was out to sea.

I know this does not account for every incident of violence or suicide, but I know it is a major cause.

[DELUSIONAL]

33. Abuse of family upon returning is/was common -- military

The only thing that is new is that cops are being called -- rather than ignoring the "noise". (I suspect that military police handle the "problem" differently than off post cops.)

I doubt any research exists from the cold war deployment (pre-Vietnam war) but I can assure you that the abuse was extreme in many families.

Deployments in the Navy was often 6 months -- and required a lot of adjustment by the whole family. For six months (or more) the family has carried on and suddenly "the man of the house" has returned.

Meanwhile while away the father was part of the military way -- he always had to obey the next up the chain of command. He returns home and expect his family members to "obey" his "commands". Some military fathers can adjust and can take off their military role -- however, many military fathers are immature in the first place -- and they cannot make the adjustment.

Also some men build a whole fantasy family in their minds -- and their real family doesn't resemble their fantasy family -- and the soldier/sailor/marine responds with violence.

At least today's cops (or M.P.s) will respond to family violence. It is so sad that the military so often screws up the personality of the G.I. -- that the individual's basic personality can be completely changed and the person who returns just isn't the same person.

This generation of military families are being harder hit with the extra long deployments -- expect to hear more reports of violence and deaths. At the same time be aware that this will be only the tip of the iceberg.

As a kid growing up in military housing -- I witnessed horrendous domestic abuse by returning fathers. Women and children were screaming for help as the husband or father beat the heck out of the whole family. No one responded to the pleas of help -- this behavior of the adults always upset me. As a child there was nothing that I could do.

I've lived in various civilian neighborhoods in 30 years and have never witnessed a similar high level of domestic abuse.

There are many military "reservations" throughout this area -- and I've done some informal surveying of mental health workers -- they tell me that the domestic abuse (that they know about -- or reported cases of abuse) is significantly higher among the military families -- and always higher in families where there has been a long deployment.

They also tell me that the military is aware of how these statistics make the military look bad -- so often some cases of domestic abuse aren't reflected in the stats.

Basically the military fucks up minds.

(My degree is in psychology etc)

[sr_pacifica]

34. Poor guy and poor family

The true spoils of war.

[Politicub]

35. If the military assumed liability for these soldiers

Essentially, soldiers are employees of a sort. Why shouldn't the also be covered by the same protections of any other employee? If someone is liable for the damage war does to soldiers, it may make folks think twice before deploying them for wars of folly.