Posted on 04/04/2014 3:08:11 PM PDT by PaulCruz2016
When Army Spec. Ivan Lopez went on the shooting rampage Wednesday at Ft. Hood, Texas, killing three soldiers and injuring 16 others, he had just learned that superiors in Washington had rejected his request to take a temporary leave to deal with family matters related to his mother’s death, a federal law enforcement official said.
Officials had turned down an earlier leave request and Lopez was attempting to renew it, said the official, speaking anonymously because the investigation is ongoing.
The rejection, delivered Wednesday, set him off, the official said.
“He had put in for something regarding his mother's death and some other matters, and it was denied,” the official said. “Or it wasn't going to happen as quickly as he wanted it to.
“When they told him, he blew his top,” the official said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
LOL!
Oh, the humanity!
(I have eaten cereal with water, in the past... Not recommending that)
Denied leave? Good Lord, that was a regular occurrence when I served (USAF 1970-1974). EVERYONE who has ever served knew and knows that the #1 Rule is: The needs of the Service come first. We knew that and we accepted that. Oh, we may have been pissed off, but we accepted it.
I saw it happen several times. Especially with someone who was having trouble in other areas.
If he had exceeded his leave balance it may require higher level approval.
Perhaps if shrinks were responsible for those to whom
they prescribe SSRIs , the world would be a better place
what we’ve gleaned:
enlisted in PR national guard for 9 years. A post on another thread says he was on ‘military leave’ from the PR PD but CNN says he was on the PD ‘at one time.’
Deployed 2007, one year, to Sinai/Kuwait.
2008-2010 (back in PR? divorce/re-marriage timing?)
2010 Enlisted active duty Army, infantry
Apr 2010 PCS to Ft. Bliss; reassigned to motor pool, truck driver.
2011 Deployed Iraq, four months. Self-reports PTSD and traumatic brain injury during this stint.
2011-Feb 2014 PCS Ft. Bliss - details?
Late 2013 - grandfather and mother pass within 2 months of each other. Leave for mother initially denied (medical status reasons?), granted for 24 hours, extended to 48 hrs. (military pays ticket?)
Feb 2014 - PCS to Ft. Hood for medical evaluation/PTSD testing. Meets with psychiatrist, presenting symptoms depression, insomnia, anxiety; prescribed medications including Ambien. PTSD evaluation begins.
Feb/Mar - requests leave which is later denied(skuttlebutt)
March 1 - purchases 45 cal.
end of March - moves wife and daug into offbase apt
Day of shooting: in no certain order: enters three buildings, including his own unit and that of Personnel, firing at occupants. “Credible information” (CNN) there is was an argument with members of his unit. (separate from Personnel?)
Drives to and enters Personnel building and requests submission form to request leave. Told by officer to come back tomorrow (office closed maybe after 4pm?). Leaves, returns, opens fire, killing at least one. Leaves. Fires randomly on pedestrians on each leg of the drive as he drives from building to building.
When drawn down upon by a female officer, Lopez does not fire but chooses to self-eliminate instead.
Obvious questions:
1. after 9 years of NG and almost 4 years of active, shouldn’t he have been higher in rank than Specialist?
2. After gaining rank in NG and being a PR cop, would being assigned as a truck driver (one who takes orders as opposed to one who gives orders) have caused some deep resentment (identity crisis) that dominated his behavior?
3. Was he evaluated for adult-onset schizophrenia in 2011?
Agree. A good man who it appears had been yanked around by his chain of command after his grandfather & mother died, transferred from Fort Bliss to Fort Hood shortly thereafter, pumped full of dangerous meds, denied leave, and then denied even being handed a blank leave request form by some asshat in Personnel.
He snapped, and I’ll bet he then went to his vehicle to retrieve the .45, returned, and began blasting. Awful crime of passion, fueled by stress, Ambien, SSRIs, and dickhead Army bureaucrats.
Obama and the Lt. Gen. say they will get to the bottom of the matter. Yes they will, and then bury the truth, just as they did with the Muzzie jihadist Hassan.
Flame away...24 years in the armed forces...and sick of what the PC, leftist crapweasels have done to the military.
LOL - it IS a symptom of the new military...
Heck right before i got out of the air force someone was making obscene phone calls to my wife while i was at work. I got caller id when it first came out and found out it was someone i worked with. Took the caller id in to the capt and he ordered me to apologize to the bastard making the calls. Yeah i thought about fragging a couple of guys.
I hope you find relief and better health. I may be wrong, often am, but I did not see where the shooter had experienced brain trauma, i thought he saw no combat during his tour?
When I was in the Navy, my division leadership tried to do this to me. Mind you, my ship was in the shipyard at the time. I requested captain’s mast, which everybody up my chain tried to talk me out of. My division officer was removed for-cause, and my department head and master chief got letters in their service records. The ship’s Captain noted that this action by my leadership had all the troubling signs of unreasonable and illegal retaliation although he was unable to ascertain any rationale for it.
I figured my life was going to be hell for the remaining 2 years of my enlistment, but they largely left me alone.
If you’re going to deny leave to one of your people that had a death in the family, you better think about that real hard.
LOL !!! I hate when that happens :)
Agreed. Unit commanders can approve leave beyond 30 days or if the member has no leave left to use.
Washinton? Not likely.
He was in the reserves well before going to active duty, so who knows if any head injuries were occurred before moving over. TBI’s have an accumulative effect/s & take up to 30-40 years to heal depending on severity.
The Army [read as his Plt leader or Plt Sgt] should have explained to him why leave request of shot down. Also since he may have been starting a new med. routine he should have been restricted to the Unit area/s. He was not med. able to travel long distances.
Thank you for your concern. I have been working on my issues for over 16 years [and I have put my family through hell for it too] but we’re still all here hanging in & living life on life’s terms.
You have gotten it exactly right
bttt Copperas Cove connection?
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