Shooting at Camp Lejeune

Here we have another shooting on the heels of the tragedy that took place at Fort Hood. It is being reported that there is not an act of terrorism nor an active shooter.

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC (WECT) - A Marine standing guard at Camp Lejeune's main gate fired his rifle and killed a fellow Marine guard Tuesday evening.

According to the AP, the Marine died from a fatal wound to the chest after efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

According to the Base Provost Marshal, the incident is being considered neither an act of terrorism nor and active shooter event at this time.

The ID of the Marine that was killed is being withheld until notification of the family.

Source

Now this is the part that I'm just sharing info on. (I almost don't even want to post this.) I don't really like the idea of false flags in this context but it's worth mentioning. There was an active shooter drill just 5 days before.

"As you can see in the world today there are catastrophic events that take place everyday. We have to be able to respond to those appropriately," Major Tito Jones said. "We have to dust off our techniques, tactics, and procedures to make sure we are able to respond adequately to something of that nature."

Active Shooter Drill Camp Lejeune

Perhaps the US military needs to revisit their mental health screening and treatment.

I suspect many soldiers who have problems are afraid to seek help as they may fear it will damage their military service/career opportunities.

Until added details come to light it sounds like a possible dispute between just these two soldiers.Maybe something that's been going on between them for awhile but we'll hear more I'm sure.

reply to post by freakjive

A Marine standing guard at Camp Lejeune's main gate fired his rifle and killed a fellow Marine guard Tuesday evening.

Ouch. Without more details its hard to figure what caused that. Guard shot a guard. Little bit jumpy?

Elton
Perhaps the US military needs to revisit their mental health screening and treatment.

I suspect many soldiers who have problems are afraid to seek help as they may fear it will damage their military service/career opportunities.

I agree whole-heartedly. This has become somewhat of an epidemic. I feel for these young men and women.

ETA: This might seem kind of out there but just thinking aloud.

What if there is an agenda to make our military appear to be unstable and incapable of handling firearms. Aren't our veterans and guard our last line of trained defense?

intrptr
reply to post by freakjive

 

A Marine standing guard at Camp Lejeune's main gate fired his rifle and killed a fellow Marine guard Tuesday evening.

Ouch. Without more details its hard to figure what caused that. Guard shot a guard. Little bit jumpy?

Yes, this just seems like exactly that. I think you may have nailed it with the "jumpy" description.

reply to post by Elton


Now, that is the $64 million question!

Mental health in the military is comprised of ensuring government-trained personnel operate in a capacity that is, at minimum, serviceable and efficient to produce the results expected, based on man-hours, level of effort, risk management and end result.

Health concerns that result in long-term or costly regimens are not conducive to our austere environment, particularly if you consider how many vets a deficiency could cost if prior vets fall in the same category.

Our troops are not (and likely never will) be taken care of to the extent they need to be due to the costs associated with it and the general lack of care from the government.

So, these types of shootings will likely continue.

Elton
Perhaps the US military needs to revisit their mental health screening and treatment.

I suspect many soldiers who have problems are afraid to seek help as they may fear it will damage their military service/career opportunities.

You are absolutely right here! I've seen and heard about the issues associated with mental health in the military, and it really does affect their career. The military has lately (the last couple of years) been putting a big show about how much they're putting into the mental health system that's in place, but in my opinion it is just that, a show, for the civilian population. The active duty folks know how things really are. If you're feeling depressed, you suck it up and move along, especially if you value your security clearance and career advancement.

In a small defense of the DOD, they are really taking action for the mental health concerns of dependents... but just not the service members (who likely need it the most).

It's really a shame.

reply to post by Elton

I suspect many soldiers who have problems are afraid to seek help as they may fear it will damage their military service/career opportunities. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Or the ridicule from their fellow service members( especially the corps) that your are "broken".
They instill in you for so long that medical issues are a bad thing because it takes you out of service and as a marine you need to be the best of the best and nothing can ever bring you down

Perhaps it was an accident?
Or are we calling it murder BEFORE the trial now?
It could easily have been a mis identification or accidental discharge....

stirling
Perhaps it was an accident?
Or are we calling it murder BEFORE the trial now?
It could easily have been a mis identification or accidental discharge....

I don't see anyone in this thread calling it murder, we are speculating with the little info we have.

reply to post by MojaveBurning


Well said.

I wish I could say I am a veteran and give personal examples… in lieu of that this scene from Jarhead comes to mind.

No standard solution

I am a veteran and as such witnessed a few things the average civilian wouldn't see.

Hazing and whats referred to as "toxic leadership". I'm almost certain that in the last two
military shootings are the outcome (and this is one of the most concerning issues) of someone
with a higher rank treating these particular soldiers as if they were subhuman, or in other words these soldiers
were bullied by superiors who for whatever reason didn't like them which drove the soldier to the breaking point.

I've been in the Air Force for 12 years. I'm not a grunt, I don't sit on the front lines, and my job isn't to kill people. Instead, my job is to transport our wounded warriors out of harms way and to a higher echelon of care....Aerovac, as we call it.

I've tended to some of the most horrific injuries you can imagine. I've seen these men and women fight through battles far more difficult than what they ever saw in the field.

One of the first patients I ever transported was a 19 year old Marine. We were flying on a C-17 from Iraq to Germany. If my memory serves me correct it was about a 6-7 hour flight. However, I've flown on so many missions my flight times aren't always accurate in recollection. This young man had his left leg and right hand amputated, over 30% burns to his body, blast wounds to his face which required bilateral eye patches in an effort to save his eyesight.

We were about an hour into flight when the crew began making meals for the patients. I knew the Marine would be unable to eat on his own, so I made sure to add some extra time into my nursing care plan to ensure that I had time to feed him. Tears were running out of the eye patches from the pain he was in, as he refused pain medication. He said his family had a history of addiction problems and he was determined not too, and he was afraid pain meds would send him down that road.

I took his meal too him, got close to his ear so I could tell him what was on the menu (C-17's aren't as loud as other aircraft, but still difficult to hear). I told him to tell me what he wanted a bite of, and I'd feed it to him. He was a proud man, who was still in shock. Not so much in shock of his injuries, but in shock because he knew he would never be able to fight with his brothers in arms again. He knew that some of those brothers were on the plane with him. He refused to be fed, because he didn't want to cast the appearance of weakness to his brothers. I put the fork in his non-dominate left hand and watched as he slowly consumed every bit of that food.

It was an amazing sight, and I was incredibly proud of him for having the courage and bravery to sacrifice all that he had and still uphold the duty of being a Marine.

I've been on planes that have been shot at with small arms, popped flares for RPG's, and pulled some serious G's with combat landings in Iraq. I've always considered it a cake walk compared to what that young Marine was going through and it's my honor to help as many wounded warriors as I can.

With that said, there is a growing fatigue within our forces. That fatigue is not only caused by this long war that many of us have felt was over years ago, but also the fatigue we face here in the states. We are a pawns of a government that is lost from reality and we know it, yet we have an obligation to uphold our end of a contract we all signed. We are fatigued from the ever worsening image that Vets face. The look of pride that once fell upon us from our fellow citizens is slowly becoming a look of concern and sometimes disgust. All for doing what was once considered a great honor.

PTSD is a real thing. Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Marines don't have to see combat to suffer from it. It can be as simple as being deployed for 6-12 months away from your family that causes PTSD. It's not easy, and I always say that no matter where the military sends you, no matter what branch you're in or what you do....being away from your loved ones is a universal pain we all feel.

Support systems exist both within our military gates and outside of them. And they are improving. In the Air Force, we have the wingman concept. Where everyone should be a wingman and look for signs and symptoms of those who are suffering. But the harder we try to make things better, the more programs that are implemented for us to go to....it seems the more the suicides and active shootings occur. It's' a difficult thing to fathom, and I personally don't have any answers or suggestions other than to say that humanity must prevail. We can't come home and be looked at as an outcast, or a pawn, or a threat. But as it is...we are, we probably always have been to a very small percentage, and we probably always will be. Or maybe, 10 years from now (if we can go that long without war), the pain will subdue itself and this dark shadow that is looming over us will open up to sunny skies.

EyesOpenMouthShut
I am a veteran and as such witnessed a few things the average civilian wouldn't see.

Hazing and whats referred to as "toxic leadership". I'm almost certain that in the last two military shootings are the outcome (and this is one of the most concerning issues) of someone with a higher rank treating these particular soldiers as if they were subhuman, or in other words these soldiers were bullied by superiors who for whatever reason didn't like them which drove the soldier to the breaking point.

This used to be the smallest of concerns. Back in the day, a company commander could look at a troop and say, "Fat." and the troop was for all intents and purposes gone ... no proof required ... no nothing. Just some papers and a general discharge.

Nowadays everything is touchy-feely. Everything's investigated and rubber stamped by a committee, reviewed by medical, certified by every special interest group that's managed to infiltrate the installation ... and finally ... must be agreed to by the service member. Yeah ... so I exaggerated a little for effect, but the point is clear:

The unfit are dragging down quality of service ... and the system is the predominate cause.

It's gonna get worse before it gets better.

ETA: I am kinda surprised an event like this occurred at the front gate of Camp Lejeune. First of all, I've been through that gate at least a hundred times, and I've never seen a rifle ... just sidearms. Second, Marines aren't commonly known for shooting one another on-duty ... accidentally or otherwise. And, they're saying they took the shooter into custody and that he's 'no longer active' ... whatever that means.

reply to post by Snarl

Don't get me wrong, i'm no touchy feely kinda guy. It takes a certain skin thickness to be in the service.
If it was still the way you describe, it would be better for all involved but no, it gets dragged through the mud.
What i was talking about is those leaders who make a target of a certain soldier even if this soldier has no
real deficiency.

reply to post by EyesOpenMouthShut

I hear you, brother. I was combining my thoughts with your own, no poking, no corrections, no condemnation ... just saying.

it could have been as simple as horse play. i was a Marine at 17, just because your a Marine your still a kid at heart, no matter what they say. i could tell you some stories about how we cut up.

as a matter of fact there was a Marine shot at one of my duty stations by another Marine while on guard duty.
he was shot with a .45. they were on post together and playing quick draw. both were given a oth discharge.

PTSD is a real thing. Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Marines don't have to see combat to suffer from it.

Being a medic in a combat zone can cause PTSD.

I even know EMTs and firefighters that have never been in the military that have PTSD.