VETERAN: ONCE A SOLDIER, THE GOVERNMENT “OWNS” YOU
by Sharon Rondeau
(Oct. 19, 2016) — On October 14, the family of a U.S. Army soldier who is arguably kidnapped by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in the psychiatric wing was told by Army Inspector General Lashanda Cobbs that his case had been turned over to Walter Reed Inspector General Richard Little with the expectation of an investigation into why he remains in the hospital unable to see family members and his minister.
On September 30, the soldier’s POA was able to visit him in person during a hastily-made trip after she was told that he was hospitalized. In a recorded telephone call on September 29, the POA immediately asked Sgt. Anthony E. Hill, the soldier’s cadre, what prompted the soldier’s admission to the hospital, to which Hill responded that the soldier had exhibited odd behavior over a two-day period and had voluntarily gone to the emergency room.
According to the POA, the Army has attempted to label the soldier “delusional” to forever bury any account of his experiences while he was serving in South Korea from emerging as a result of the POA’s requested congressional investigation and her further request to testify to Congress.
On Wednesday, a U.S. Army veteran told The Post & Email that when an individual enlists for military service, he or she becomes the “property” of the U.S. military, hence the term “GI,” or “government issue.”
Citing a seasoned military medic who served in Vietnam, the veteran further opined that because the family has not remained quiet about the soldier’s allegations and his subsequent sexual assault on April 29, 2013, the Warrior Transition Brigade is retaliating against him and want him silenced at all costs.
The veteran said that the military is an autonomous entity virtually without oversight which makes life-and-death decisions about its service members with unlimited authority. “Once you enlist, once you sign that contract, you become their property,” the veteran told us. “The military owns you and can do what it wants with you.”
In a separate interview, the POA rhetorically asked, “Who oversees the military? Where is the commander-in-chief?”
On Monday, the family’s minister and the soldier’s POA attempted to contact Little and were told that he is unavailable this week. Although an Army JAG has never become involved in the case despite the family’s multiple requests for one, the POA and minister have now been told that a JAG by the last name of “Stutts” will be handling the investigation, if one actually takes place.
Since her return from visiting the soldier on October 1, the POA has been unable to speak with him by phone, and he reportedly does not have his laptop computer with him. On October 4, the POA was told by the floor charge nurse that only “the command” could receive updates on the soldier’s condition.
On October 12, the POA was told by a reliable source that staff on 7 West, where the soldier is being detained, know that he does not need to be there and that powerful commanders are keeping him in the hospital for their own purposes.
An observer acquainted with the soldier told The Post & Email on Wednesday that the heavy medication regimen the soldier was prescribed by Dr. David Williamson, who may or may not still be working as Walter Reed’s chief neuropsychiatrist, is causing side effects including hearing loss, loss of bladder and bowel control, and tremors of the hands.
Because he has not been discharged, the soldier remains on “active duty” as a “GI.”