Troubled Soldier Says He Went AWOL to Get Mental Health Help

Georgie Says they Care, You Decide

WILLIAM KATESAssociated Press Writer
May 14, 2007, 4:04 PM EDT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A 10th Mountain Division soldier facing a bad conduct discharge for going AWOL says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is being court martialed because he went home for help after the Army failed to provide him with adequate treatment.
"They don't want the liability so they deny I have a problem, and because I tried to help myself, now they want to make me a criminal," Spc. Eugene Cherry said in a telephone interview from Fort Drum, where he is restricted to post pending a court martial.
Cherry served as a combat medic in Iraq for a year with the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, returning to Fort Drum in June 2005. That November, he took an unauthorized leave from the Army, returning to his native Chicago to live with his mother and find mental health treatment. "This is not a borderline case. There is no question about his diagnosis," said Dr. Hannah Frisch, a clinical psychologist who diagnosed Cherry with post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression.
Frisch prepared a six-page report on Cherry's condition. She hoped to meet Monday with Cherry's commanders and post mental health officials to discuss his case.
Frisch said Cherry needed intensive, individualized psychotherapy, not just drugs, to treat his condition.
"Here's a young man, a combat veteran who has clearly sacrificed a great deal for his country.
It appalls me that they are treating him like a criminal when he needs mental help," said Frisch, who said she has treated other soldiers but never before taken such an advocacy role on a soldier's behalf.
Fort Drum officials were not immediately available to comment on Cherry's case, said Army spokesman Ben Abel, who was unaware of the specifics of Cherry's case. >>>cont

LinkHere