Lewis-McChord lt. colonel charged with hiring hitman to kill wife, boss

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/14/141755/lewis-mcchord-lt-colonel-charged.html

Lewis-McChord lt. colonel charged with hiring hitman to kill wife, boss
Stacia Glenn | The (Tacoma) News Tribune
Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2012

After violence found Army Lt. Col. Robert Underwood as a child, he seemed to gravitate toward it.

A series of warnings in recent weeks might have helped prevent the slayings of his estranged wife, girlfriend and commanding officer at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and possibly even a terrorist attack on the State Capitol.

~snip~

Underwood’s wife has a restraining order against him for herself and their two teenage daughters. She said she has contacted Underwood’s commander multiple times because of threatening emails and Facebook messages.

~snip~

An officer noted that Underwood’s commander, Reed, had called police and warned that Underwood’s threat regarding the Capitol should be considered valid. The officer also wrote that Underwood was paying for six attorneys for the divorce and “put it all together and he is ready to snap.”



unhappycamper comment: IMO, this was caused by PTSD and tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Why does military leadership remain mired in denial?

given the number of violent incidents over these past few years? There's a common thread running through all these stories: warning signs were ignored.

[Blue_Tires]

2. You'd think his actions would have thrown up red flags long before now...

He's gonna have his own chapter in the next DSM-IV-TR

[atreides1]

3. Lewis-McChord Again?

It may be related to PTSD due to multiple deployments...and the continued existence of a military environment that considers any sign of "weakness" as a reason to deny promotion to officers and senior enlisted.

[unhappycamper]

4. TBI appears to be in the mix:

http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/suspect-in-afghanistan-killings-was-diagnosed-with-tbi-in-2010-1.171502

Suspect in Afghanistan killings was diagnosed with TBI in 2010
Published: March 13, 2012

~snip~

Two U.S. military officials told the Post that the suspect, a trained sniper, was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury following a truck rollover in Iraq two years ago but was declared fit for duty.




http://ivaw.org/operation-recovery



Operation Recovery

Service members who experience PTSD, TBI, MST, and combat stress have the right to exit the traumatic situation and receive immediate support, and compensation. Too often, service members are forced to redeploy back into dangerous combat, or train in situations that re-traumatize them. We say, individuals suffering from trauma have the right to remove themselves from the source of the trauma. Service members who are not physically or mentally healthy shall not be forced to deploy or continue service. Learn more about what Operation Recovery is fighting for here

[freefall]

5. Huh?

So he has $150,000 to pay a hit man, an arsenal of weapons and several testimonials regarding his violent threats and behavior yet the court sets his bail at $25,000? At the very least he should have been required to undergo evaluation in a locked psych ward.

Let's hope he doesn't kill someone.

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. He's "charged" with three counts of felony harassment.

He's "alleged" to have said many other things.

I'm glad he's locked up. "Doesn't have PTSD"? 9 year olds who are shot 5x by their mothers and left for dead don't have an optimistic prognosis.

[luvnfam]

10. Are you an expert? I think not.

He has had a very successful 28 year career in the Army and has more friends than most people. What has been said and printed about him was not true. He does not have PTSD. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. What he and his sister went through was horrible but they made it through and had a good life after that with their father. You can't judge people. Everyone is different, some are weak and some are strong. They are strong.

[luvnfam]

7. Wait, Underwood is innocent? Watch as see.

Wow. Convicted of the crimes and diagnosed with horrible mental disease without ever meeting the guy, hearing his side of the story or GETTING THE TRUTH. Remember he has only been accussed. And he has only been charged with threatening. Wait until the whole story comes out. Jaws will drop...

[cyberswede]

8. Who convicted him of a crime?

[luvnfam]

9. But, the truth comes out!

Well, well, well. The charges were dropped. The woman claiming he made all those statements, had pictures, and threatened everyone, was lying and continues to lie. The estranged wife conspired with her and lied to get a better settlement in their divorce case, and Underwood's boss, Lt. Col. Reed, was just an ignorant pawn, used by the manipulative wife. She had been using him for months before Underwood had even got back from the war, breaking a restraining order prohibiting her speaking to him at all. She has a long history of pulling that kind of crap, and lying is a way of life for her. Using Underwood's sad childhood is down right shameful on her part and Lt. Col. Reed should not have been talking to the press about it at all, especially since he got so much of it wrong. The military leadership better be chewing on his ass good. As the the two cray women, where are the charges against them? They lied and lied. There should be an investigation into what these women did and some punishment for them. Also, the spot light should shine on the DA for his failure to investigate before locking up Underwood for 10 days and pursuing these charges for so long when they were clearly false. Underwood could have put this whole thing to rest if the authorities would have just questioned him from the start. Now his career and life are ruined and he is broke. His bail was $200,000, so he had to pay $20,000 to get out of jail. He will never get that back. Then there was the ankle bracelet he had to pay for, the attorney fees, and it goes on and on. He was also confined to post for three months and could not see his kids. That relationship is damaged. It is amazing how easily people convicted and diagnosed him when this first came out. Those people should be so ashamed of themselves.