Lieutenant Julian Goodrum

USAToday has an article about PTSD in returning troops. It reads in part:

"Lt. Julian Goodrum, an Army reservist from Knoxville, Tenn., is being treated for PTSD with therapy and anti-anxiety drugs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He checked himself into a civilian psychiatric hospital after he was turned away from a military clinic, where he had sought attention for his mental problems at Fort Knox, Ky. He's facing a court-martial for being AWOL while in the civilian facility."

Wow, that really got me interested ... why isn't the military helping this man? Why couldn't he get care from them? Then I looked into it further and there is another side to this story. According to the military:

Lieutenant Goodrum conducted an affair with his platoon sergeant in Iraq. Following his redeployment to the U.S. in June 2003, an investigating officer recommended that he received an Article 15 (nonjudicial punishment, which creates a black mark on a soldier's record but cannot result in jail time).

The Army further accuses Goodrum of going AWOL from Fort Knox in November 2003, until he turned himself in at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in February of this year. The prosecutor, Captain Wright, summed it up in her closing statement this evening: an open and shut case, with serious charges -- AWOL, fraternization, and dereliction of duty.

So it appears that he was about to get into legal trouble and tried to pretend he was crazy to get out of it.

Not so fast! According to UPI, "Goodrum was named the 176th Maintenance Battalion's "Soldier of the Year" in 2001. He has received a host of awards, including the combat action ribbon, and positive reviews from superior officers.

"Lt. Goodrum is a truly outstanding junior officer," reads one performance evaluation from 2002. "In addition to his technical competence, he demonstrates great leadership potential. ... Promote to captain and select for advance military schooling."

Not only was he not the sort of man who would do something like fake a mental illness to get out of trouble, but it also turns out that the army had a grudge against him.

It seems that, for an earlier article, Goodrum gave a quote to UPI claiming that hundreds of Fort Knox soldiers had to wait weeks or months for medical treatment. This led to both Goodrum and the Fort Knox garrison commander being called before Congress to testify about the matter. This happened on October 29.

About ten days later Goodrum showed up at the very hospital he had disparaged and asked for treatment for a PTSD related breakdown. While it has not been proved, it seems likely that he was intentionally denied care by angry staff members. It was at this point that he stole away to a civilian psychiatrist who hospitalized him. This is where I had first picked up the story - at the denial of care/AWOL stage.

But wait - it gets even more interesting. As I dug further I learned that Goodrum eventually turned himself in to the military at Walter Reed and the story picks up with this item:

Army kept whistle-blower in locked ward

The Army kept a soldier whistle-blower in a locked psychiatric ward at its top medical center for nearly two weeks despite concern from some medical staff that he be released, according to medical records.

The Army then charged him nearly $6,000 for the stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, billing records show.

"They are definitely retaliating against me," said Army Reserve Lt. Julian Goodrum, a 16-year veteran of the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Doctors say Goodrum suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, or combat stress, from Iraq. Last summer Goodrum asked for an investigation into the death in Iraq of a 22-year-old soldier in his 212th Transportation Company. He was also quoted in a United Press International article about poor medical care at Fort Knox, Ky., that helped spark investigations in Congress.

"Walter Reed public affairs officer Beverly Chidel said privacy rules prohibit any comment on Goodrum's case specifically. But she said care at Walter Reed is dictated by patients' medical needs.

"Everything we do for a patient is based on their medical or clinical needs," Chidel said.

But some medical staff at Walter Reed expressed concern that Goodrum was being held for those reasons. "Several team members have discussed concern that he is (in the locked ward). Serial Mental Status exams have not revealed signs of psychosis, (suicidal thoughts) or (homicidal thoughts)," his records say on Feb. 26.

"As discussed previously, this inpatient hospitalization has been extended due to administrative concerns," the records say the next day. "This treatment could have taken place in an outpatient setting."

Walter Reed released Goodrum from the locked ward on March 2, one day after UPI published a story on allegations that Fort Knox refused to treat him."

Bravo to the Walter Reed medical staff who expressed their concerns about Goodrum's detention. It is vitally important that psychiatric care never be abused in that way and that psychiatrists themselves vigorously defend that ethical line.

As for his treatment at Fort Knox - again, we can't really know what happened, but it would be very human to be incensed with someone who disparaged your work and then asked for your help. But again, physicians in general have a heavy burden in this regard. Their Oath would require them to swallow those feelings and treat him anyway.

Goodrum is unique in that he has both been refused requested treatment and forced to get treatment he didn't want all within months. Right now he is awaiting Court Martial. It's an interesting case that this blog will follow.