What Is A Young Captain to Do?

By: James D. Lierow Jr, MAJ, USA (RET)

28 October 2023

The press conferences in Maine about the shooter and who reported about his mental condition triggered a memory of a similar situation I faced many years ago.

Commentators are already mentioning the shooter’s training and expertise. They don’t mention his civilian life and occupation but keep referring to him as an Army Reservist. Others are asking about what the Army did following the shooter’s hospitalization while on Active Duty for Training.

You can already sense the press winding up to blame a young company commander or his or her chain of command for not covering all the bases needed to protect the community.

I was faced with a young soldier’s mental health issues early in my Army Reserve career. The soldier was reported to me to begin hearing voices and receiving messages through his dental work.

My discussions with the soldier confirmed the reports that he was hearing voices. I also learned that his brother had committed suicide a year ago under similar circumstances and that the soldier’s young bride feared for her safety.

The company and battalion administrative staff tried to find him help while discharging the soldier. Then it got complicated.

Before these events, the young soldier was stellar, scoring high on all physical and mental tests. The young soldier’s father was a senior member of our Reserve unit’s higher headquarters and stepped in to ensure we were doing right by his boy. I understood the father’s concern for his son’s welfare and family history, but it complicated things.

I do not recall the category of the soldier’s discharge we gave him. I am pretty sure we did not report to local authorities about the soldier’s risk to his family or the community. The Army’s guidance on these issues remains thin.

The DOD’s latest guidance on “Mental Health Evaluation of Members of the Military Service” now includes step-by-step recommendations for commanders. This did not occur on my watch. There is still a wide gap in the who and how notifications listed on Page 13 of this document.

The other wrinkle in the Maine event, and under my watch, is the resources available to a Reserve Company Commander. It is reported that the Maine soldier was hospitalized for two weeks following the Army’s report of his condition. We did not do the same for my soldier as a part of an official action. This resulted from his father’s interference and the resources available to an Army Reserve Company Commander.

An active-duty commander has the complete military hospital system at his or her disposal. This resource provides experience and guidance under an integrated system. Once a Reservist comes off orders, the chain of command can do less for him or her.

Even reporting the circumstances of a mental health issue that my unit faced several years ago would not have occurred. Things like this get tied up in confidentiality concerns in the civilian community on top of any issues faced by the family.

I believe the soldier did get some assistance and did not commit harm against his family, community, or himself. I inquired a few years after this event and was told by those who knew him that he was doing well– I was lucky, as was my community.