Health check

[Administrator]

TO THE ARMY, for its handling of the case of Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, the reservist who led a unit of medics in Iraq and then suffered a mental breakdown, possibly triggered by the stresses of war, during which she waved a gun at a psychiatric nurse on her unit, fired into the ceiling, then shut herself in a room and shot herself in the stomach.

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2008/01/3290948

[tomhob]

Based upon the comments of her subordinates, this lady deserved and continues to deserve better treatment than the Army has given. This lady volunteered for combat duty; served well, under an officer who was finally relieved for his poor leadership. Her situation was obviously stressful, to say the least. But how the incident was handled by the Chain of Command was atrocious in my opinion. Preferring charges against an officer who needs medical care is absurd. However, based upon my personal experience, the Army often gets senior officers into positions of authority who have little, if any, troop experience. When that happens, we see 'book' behavior instead of 'leadership' at the helm.