'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs' - In Their Own Words

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  • Posted on: 30 November 2007
  • By: jimstaro

Watch Brian Ross' exclusive investigation, "Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs," Friday, 11-30-07, on "20/20" at 10 p.m. EDT! If you miss the airing the 5 Report Links are below, read the reports, view the photo's, Get Educated As To What War Does!

This Country has been in DENIAL for over 30 Years, on what War does to many who serve In - Theater, and are once again running to that Denial!!

Why the DENIAL, we think We Are So Supreme and Powerful, We Cheer on the Shock and Awe of Total Destruction of others Countries and Populations in Wars Of Choice, not Justified and Based on Lies of the few!

The We are the Great Majority who Will Not Serve, Will Not Deploy, Will Cheer On Like It's Some Great Sporting Event!!

War is Not Sport, and those, the Great Majority, who act like it is, Refuse to Even Pay for what they have done to others, but More Than Willing to not Question what our Military Industrial Complex Skims off our Huge Defense Budgets!

'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs' - In Their Own Words

The video above is a cut of the lead in by Brian Ross with cuts of four, of the five soldiers, telling their stories, there's also another video at the last, Part Five, todays report. Visit the links, read the reports, view the photo's with further descriptions, Start Crawling Out Of Your Denial!

If you miss tonights airing, ABC's 20/20 11-30-2007, the links to the Five Part Series, of reports, are below.

High at the Mountain Post
Part One of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'


Tale of Three Medics
Part Two of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'

PHOTO'S
There are more photo's at links.

Hidden Wounds Lead to Drugs
Part Three of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'

Stonewalled at Fort Bragg
Part Four of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'

Harsh Treatment for Marines Caught Using Illicit Drugs
Part Five of the Series: 'Coming Home: Soldiers and Drugs'

The following Video is the lead in video with Brian Ross and one of the student journalist discussing how the reports were investigated and put together.

The Primer

This Country Didn't Learn from Our Time, Vietnam, nor our many other misadventures of Bravado!!

DENIAL Time Is Over, Educate Yourselves To The Reality!!!!!

And watch for this Documentary:

BODY OF WAR

Powerful new film by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. Original songs by Eddie Vedder.

Coming to a Theater near you soon!

Iraq
PTSD
Afghanistan
Sacrifice
WarsOfChoice
BrianRoss
ABCNewsInvestigates
Drugs
Demons
WarWounds

Comments

jimstaro

November 30, 2007 - 19:16

On Last Nights Call Out For Help

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Please forgive the mass email but I have a migraine coming on like a freight train...

Thankfully we have rattled enough cages to get his discharge pulled. A fellow Military Spouse for Change member, Annette McCleod, was able to reach a Congressional staff member who was able to reach one general and I was able to connect with Marcie Roth of the Spinal Cord Injury Association who knew another three-star general who was very upset to have learned this was happening. Sgt. Chavarria was informed he is being transferred to the Warrior Transition Unit but that he is not a "very popular person" right now.

We want to thank everyone for everything they have done, from passing on information to making calls to giving advice. It is shocking that a service member can serve two combat tours and ten years in the Army and be given TEN DAYS to get out (over the Christmas holidays no less). I shudder to think who else this is happening to right now who doesn't know someone, who can't reach one of us, who doesn't know how to challenge this system. The abuse that is occuring under the personality disorder diagnosis has got to stop. There has to be some sort of oversight and accountability, some recourse for these soldiers and their families.

We have to work on getting Congress to stop this, whether it is through S1817 or some other mechanism.

The Chavarrias are going to be decompressing over the weekend, but then we are going to brainstorm about what we should be doing next to help prevent this from happening to other military families.

Take care,

Carissa

--
Carissa Picard
President
Military Spouses for Change

I REALLY want to Thank All who Responded and All who wrote me with further contacts and concern, hell I've got a few more in my E-Box that I just went to, but wanted to get this out.

The Hearing on Military Suicides is coming next month, in the House, Watch For It!!

If they were sent to fight, they are too few. If they were sent to die, they are too many!

Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?

What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses?

"The wise man points to the stars and the fool sees only the finger - and discusses it 24/7 on cable."

geremy

May 8, 2009 - 13:29

How long until we face the reality, how many dramatic stories do we have to listen until we do something about it? I think it's mostly unfair what these soldiers experience, they face all types of mental and physical traumas and I think in their case the drug abuse is justified. They should have free access in drug rehab treatment centers [ SEO link removed -- GH] , they should have social services to help them get back to a normal life if this is even possible.

adaml

October 5, 2009 - 23:23

It's quite understandable the plight of our soldiers who fight for their beloved country. However, I think that doing drugs may compound the problems that the traumas might have brought also.

[SEO Links removed -- GH]