(Iraq) War veteran barred from CCBC campus for frank words on killing

War veteran barred from CCBC campus for frank words on killing
By Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun
11:19 p.m. EST, November 20, 2010

By writing the paper, Charles Whittington thought he would confront the anxieties that had tormented him since he returned from war.

He knew it wasn't normal to dwell on the pleasure of sticking his knife between an enemy soldier's ribs. But by recording his words, maybe he'd begin to purge the fixation.

So Whittington, an Iraq veteran, submitted an essay on the allure of combat for his English class at the Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville. He called war a drug and wrote that killing "is something that I do not just want but something I really need so I can feel like myself."

Whittington's instructor gave him an A and suggested that he seek publication for the piece. The essay appeared in the Oct. 26 edition of the campus newspaper.

Two weeks later, the former infantryman was called to a meeting with high-ranking college officials, who told him he would be barred from campus until he obtained a psychological evaluation. "We all believe in freedom of speech, but we have to really be cautious in this post- Virginia Tech world," says college spokesman Hope Davis, referring to the 2007 massacre of 32 people by a student gunman.

It was for an introductory sociology class. He started out describing the best places on campus to find a victim, such as the stairwell at a parking garage next to the university hospital, at the late night/early morning shift change for nurses; how to approach and immobilize her from behind; what a woman's eyes looked like while you were raping her, etc.
This short paper provided a chilling and convincing look into the mind of a rapist. It had not one cite for the source of this man's opinions, other than his own mind. Just the year before, a female student had been raped and murdered in the laundry room of her coed dorm.
I talked to other instructors - they said don't make waves, ignore it. I took the paper in to the university counseling service, where the useless head counselor said we should just chalk the whole thing up to an overactive imagination. In my discussion with this jerk head counselor (a guy in his 50's), he demonstrated an abysmal lack of knowledge about the psychology of rape - making jokes, and talking about women asking for it by the way they were dressed, etc. I urged him to at least put a copy of this essay in the student's file. This was back in the 70's, before I went to law school.

If this happened to me now - I would provide copies to the Department Head, the counseling center,the university's legal department and the Chancellor's office, along with a written letter, detailing my concerns, and demanding a response in writing as to what actions they would take. I would give them 1 week to respond and state that absent a satisfactory response from them, I would turn the essay over to the local police. Of course, my teaching contract would not likely be renewed.

Flash forward to about 10 years ago, when I was working one day in a state representative's office. A constituent called in, ranting about politicians and threatening to shoot some, and then breaking open his shotgun so it could be heard by the office staff member over the phone. She was scared to death. I told her to call the local police immediately. The spineless state representative REALLY didn't want to report the guy, because maybe the rep. would lose the guy's votes, or his family's votes! I called the police chief. They knew the guy from past threats of violence. They paid a visit to the guy that afternoon, and the threats stopped.

In the OP, the student is speaking in the PRESENT tense when he writes killing "IS something I REALLY NEED so I can feel like myself. Giving this guy an option to have a "psychological evaluation" (evidently from the mental health expert of his choosing) or just not go back to that school, is a far from adequate response. I'd call his paper a subconscious cry for help, and try for an involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility. I don't suggest a VA facility, because the waiting list (at least in my area) to get even an initial psych evaluation is many months long, and then the treatment consists of something like one session a week. As a societal institution, the university should be pro-active to both help this disturbed vet, and protect members of the community.

This is but a single example of the PTSDs that tens of thousands of vets suffer. We need to be spending our military budget on greatly expanding the VA facilities & treatment personnel, not new weapons systems, or extending our occupation of Afghanistan/Iraq.

It doesn't matter if he's "service connected" (an official technicality) or not. Often he will be admitted for 28 days on an emergency basis. This is actually a good thing for the vet, because it will often result in in-depth treatment on an ongoing basis after that, and often considerably speeds up the disability process. The vet WILL be designated 100% disabled (and paid) for the 28 days, just for starters. That in turn, gives weight to an ongoing claim for disability later, should that be necessary.

I'd strongly advise this vet to go to the VA with this paper he wrote and talk to someone. If he doesn't, he could end up in a prison instead of where he belongs - a hospital. I'd advise him to take along a credible close relative or friend, to be a witness for him of his interactions with the VA.

My (late) husband went through this same process to get initial treatment in the VA, which is how I know how it works (I have 23 years of experience with the VA, and I handled his claims on my own after he fired his reps who were worthless and got nothing done for him in 10 years prior). Eventually, he was designated 100% disabled (service connected, permanent) with PTSD, and had 100% (sc) disabling permanent physical injuries too. He was a VN combat vet who survived some extreme action there. (Among other things, one of only two survivors on a major base that was overrun for two days; also a LLRP, who did sniper hits in places we denied being in; and was captured for a short time until freed by accident by our troops who were passing through.)

He had some serious problems which never ended, but he did after a long while learn to live with them. It takes a lot of work, and support. If this vet doesn't get treatment (geared toward combat issues, which only the VA does) he will lose his family if he has one, I can almost guarantee that. He is also likely to end up in prison, which shouldn't happen.

had a strong stigma against applying for PTSD benefits...not unlike previous wars.Being shafted by the VA is what makes these guys homeless,self-destructive.Not all of them have help,unfortunately,and the younger,unmarried,childless veterans are even less likely to go for help after they've been screwed once by the DoD or VA.
Our nation,again,screwed the troops by failing to recognize ptsd and tbi(which often go arm-in-arm) as true injuries of this war.they have waited until 2008 to start doing something about it...that was 6 years of pure"Butch up and take it"shitfrom their superiors.I don't know what the true reaction of it is from the platoon leaders,et al,today.
Trust me,I know.My kid was in landstuhl for 6 months after his second deployment with an injury.Not enough...they sent him for a third deployment.he's the rule,not the exception of this war.Troops kill,contractors do the jobs the troops may have been trained to do(My kid was/is a mechanic who didn't touch a wrench his first deployment-standing guard...and killing)
...and when they come home...no one understands.they try to meld with the college crowd...and no one understands except their buddies who have been at war.They are few and far between in college.these guys DESPERATELY want someone to understand.
I'm glad his college printed this.Hopefully,it affected someone enough to work at bringing these troops home and getting them help.Hopefully,it was cathartic for the kid.Sometimes,opening Pandora's box is the first step in admitting your problem.
I'll keep him in my thoughts.