Chuck Luther, Disposable Warrior, has Thanksgiving Message for President Obama and America
Chuck Luther reached the brink of suicide while serving in Taji, Iraq from October 2006 to July 2007. He didnât know yet that he had PTSD and a likely TBI, traumatic brain injury. But nightmares and other symptoms were becoming so difficult to manage that he sought help. The ill treatment he received after seeking help nearly cost him his life. As a result of his own inner conflict and terrible suffering he decided to begin a new mission to help other soldiers.
In October 2007 Chuck Luther founded a Soldierâs Advocacy Group called, âDisposable Warriorsâ. Their web site DisposableWarriors.com now serves as a beacon for soldiers and their families as they try to make their way through the minefield of seeking mental health care from the US Military.
The Military stripped him of his rank and drummed him out of the military, then held on to his pay. A social worker had spoken with him during two fifteen minute sessions and misdiagnosed him as suffering from a âpersonality disorderâ. This meant he was not eligible for disability benefits.
Produced by, Dori Smith, Storrs, Connecticut TRT: 29:25 Part one of two Download at Pacificaâs Audioport here or at Radio4all.net and Archive.org
SGT Luther was a member of the U.S. Army and stationed in Fort Hood, Texas. He was assigned to Comanche Troop, 1-7, 1 BCT, 1st Cav Division as a 19D. Their job was one of the hardest in the Iraq War, and he served at a time when there was heightened violence. After significant combat which earned him a medal, SGT Luther unknowingly suffered PTSD. He endured weeks of suffering with sleepless nights, nightmares, headaches, bouts of anger, lack of focus, weight loss, depression, high stress and extreme exhaustion. But when he sought out his Command for help he was sent to an aid station where he endured mistreatment for five hard weeks. He was given meager food and ridiculed by both his command and enlisted personnel.
He had been scheduled to see the military psychiatrist when he was abruptly stripped of his command and drummed out of the military. Negative mental health information on his discharge paperwork now prevents him from finding civilian employment, and he suspects the military treated him in this manner as a way to avoid the high cost of care for wounded warriors with invisible wounds.