Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson was decorated Army reservist in Afghanistan

[oberliner]

Source: NY Daily News

Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson was decorated Army reservist in Afghanistan, equipped for war during police slayings (full title)

The decorated former Army reservist who shot 12 Dallas police officers at a Black Lives Matter protest — killing five — was equipped for war, sources said Friday.

Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, was wearing body armor and toting an SKS semi-automatic assault rifle and a handgun when he started picking off cops in downtown Dallas Thursday night, a law enforcement source told CBS News.

Johnson was trained to kill — he served as a reservist for six years until 2015 and was deployed to Afghanistan between Nov. 2013 and July 2014, an Army spokeswoman told the Daily News.

Among the awards Johnson racked up during his service was the Army Achievement Medal.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dallas-shooter-micah-xavier-johnson-decorated-army-veteran-article-1.2704275

[villager]

1. I wonder what role PTSD played in his eventual "snapping....?" nt

[PatSeg]

4. When I first saw that he was an Army vet,

I wondered the same thing. I didn't know at the time whether he'd served in combat though. PTSD sure sounds like a viable possibility.

[misterhighwasted]

26. Its an isolating condition that shouldn't require such difficulty in seeking treatment.

Here in the downtown Dallas Veteran's Clinic I am told the wait line is unbearably long.
My son in law has been there twice for ptsd issues. Both times he just left after the wait became more than he could tolerate.
Think it was around 2 hrs.

That was a yr ago. Don't know if its improved since then.

The line connecting these latest tragedies is a very long one.

[villager]

30. Our GOP friends give less of than a shit about caring for our disposable vets *after* they're chewed

...up in the latest corporate foray and power feint.

Kind of like their view of "post-birth" fetuses.

I'm not surprised at all there's no real infrastructure or care for PTSD issues, provided by the very government they "serve."

[misterhighwasted]

34. So true. "Disposable Vets & post-birth fetuses". All for the Republican bottom line.

They have their greedy fat fingers pointed in every direction but at themselves.
I can understand the point where one may finally feel total helplessness.

They are a disease on humanity.

[giftedgirl77]

31. I'm 100% disabled due to my PTSD & anxiety.

we haven't had a psychiatrist or psychologist at my VA Clinic in over 2 years. I have evil brutal panic attacks that usually manifest with violence. I was told to just avoid social situations & not carry a weapon.

[villager]

37. I am sorry to hear this, GiftedGirl, but at least this is a safe board to post such things.

Were you in Afghanistan or Iraq?

In any case, take care, and I hope healing finds you....

[misterhighwasted]

39. So sorry. What a terrible script you were written to deal with a frightening illness.

Its pathetic how easily they wash their hands of any responsibility or compassion.
Here's a hug for your honest post. Much love to you.
So sorry for the unkind people who sit & do absolutely nothing.

[PatSeg]

46. That is awful

I am so sorry you were treated with such indifference. You deserve far better.

Our congress is so generous when it comes to military spending, until the soldiers come home. It is truly disgraceful.

[AC_Mem]

47. I am so sorry to hear this

I work for the VA. Perhaps I can offer you some insight on how to get help, resources, or better navigate the system for assistance? Please PM me if you would like to talk and thank you for your service.

Annette in orlando

[PatSeg]

45. Exactly

the kind of environment that can trigger the anxiety that someone with PTSD experiences. We treat our vets horribly.

[AC_Mem]

48. We treat our vets

With honor where I work. The problem is that we have to work with the resources we receive from congress.

Write to your congressman and ask them to better support the VA! It is a misconception that all VA hospital and clinics are doing poorly by our vets. I work my heart out every day for them, along with everyone around me ( I work in surgery at the VA). If people only knew how much our surgeons care... And that's all I'm going to say....

Annette

[misterhighwasted]

51. Thank You. And ftr it is a case of resources more than compassion in most cases.

Years of the Republican Congress are directly to blame, for lacking in the ability to prioritize American need over their own want.

The people your clinic cares for are fortunate.

[PatSeg]

53. That is so reassuring to know

I realize that many people truly do care. I get upset that politicians don't give treatment for our vets the highest priority. Many did not hesitate sending them to war.

[oberliner]

13. He was a carpentry and masonry specialist

For what that is worth.

[Schema Thing]

33. Probably none.

[villager]

68. "One family friend said Johnson had changed when he returned from overseas..."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027994561

[DustyJoe]

40. doubtful if any

from the link

He was a carpentry and masonry specialist, with a rank of private first class.

[tblue37]

61. My first thought, too. nt

[Lance Bass esquire]

2. Can't wait for the FRight wing spin on that nugget. n/t

[anoNY42]

3. "Decorated"

"Among the awards Johnson racked up during his service was the Army Achievement Medal."

Uh, the AAM is given out as an "atta-boy" for doing things like being really good at guard duty (I know, I got one for that). Since I am out now, I gave my AAM to my 2 year old as a toy.

In short, having an AAM should not be enough to justify calling a soldier "decorated".

Furthermore, he spend six years in the service and only made PFC? There almost has to be a history of disciplinary problems for that to happen...

Edit: Other sources state he was actually a corporal. I don't know about his unit, but in my old unit being made a corporal was punishment for something.

[sulphurdunn]

5. Correct on all counts

[oberliner]

14. Actually not correct on all counts

Maybe read up a bit more first?

[sulphurdunn]

16. Read up about what?

Why not clue me in.

[anoNY42]

18. Perhaps you can enlighten us

on what was wrong with my post (since edited to show that other sources are saying he was a corporal).

[oberliner]

21. He has received other awards, he was also a corporal, and he has no record of disciplinary issues

Thanks for making that edit.

[anoNY42]

23. I was going on your source, hero

And the other awards are all just "thanks for being here" awards. Did you serve or are you just looking at his salad bar and saying "oooo shiney"!

[Aristus]

6. Yeah, they give that one out like candy.

I've got four of them.

I found out after I ETS'd that my discharge award was supposed to be the Army Commendation Medal, but my platoon sergeant didn't get the paperwork in in time. So I was stuck with a fourth 'participation trophy'.

[anoNY42]

8. Ouch

[TipTok]

64. I've gotten three over time...

... and only have the paperwork for one.

Meh...

[Duckhunter935]

7. I got an AAM

For a command inspection I did not even attend, lol. My room looked good, I was on 24 hour site manning that day, mainly watching movies.

[doc03]

19. Hey Duckhunter with all his choice of weapons why did he pick the SKS assault rifle

rather than that killing machine the Lever action .22 LR you spoke of the other day? After all the .223 is just a glorified .22 LR.

[anoNY42]

22. Doesn't SKS shoot 7.62mm?

[ozone82]

36. Yes, Same As The AK 47 n/t

[Duckhunter935]

9. Correct

[oberliner]

11. Here are his other awards

Awards:
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star
Army Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ “M” Device
NATO Medal

[olddad56]

24. every one of those medals are participation awards

[misterhighwasted]

42. He participated. Thats more tha half the Repubs in D.C. who decide the fate of

humanity.

[MH1]

57. That is a quite excellent point. But nonetheless, among those who participated,

he was not only nothing special, he didn't even participate well enough to do better than the "I showed up" ribbons. The Army hands awards out like candy, for good reason. As an NCO it's part of your job to find ways to put your troops in for awards. (Just like it is for a manager in any decent business.)

[misterhighwasted]

58. Point taken. Too much tragedy to sort through..

Enjoy your evening MH1.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

28. No "Good Conduct Medal"?

There must have been some disciplinary actions.

[TipTok]

65. Active duty vs reserve...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

67. A year of active duty in Afghanistan doesn't merit the award?

I didn't know there were limits. Thanks for info.

[TipTok]

72. From Wiki...

The criteria for a Good Conduct Medal is defined by Executive Orders 8809, 9323, and 10444. The medal is awarded to any active-duty enlisted member of the United States military who completes three consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service". Such service implies that a standard enlistment was completed without any non-judicial punishment, disciplinary infractions, or court martial offenses. If a service member commits an offense, the three-year mark "resets" and a service member must perform an additional three years of service without having to be disciplined, before the Good Conduct may be authorized.[1][2]

During times of war, the Good Conduct Medal may be awarded for one year of faithful service. The Good Conduct Medal may also be awarded posthumously, to any service member killed in the line of duty.

_________

I thought I read somewhere that he got sent home for sexually harrassment so we are likely both right.

[busterbrown]

12. Which would make sense..

Who knows when this guy began going rogue?

But you can bet copies of his mental evaluations/discharge papers are on their way to Dallas..

[jimmil]

15. Only a PFC

After being in a war zone? Minimum E-4 if you don't do anything other than breathe.

[Matt_in_STL]

17. In my unit, corporal was given to those E-4s that were in a leadership role

But hadn't made the score to be promoted to SGT.

[anoNY42]

20. Right

I admit to being in the National Guard, where there were no scores (just slots to fill).

[giftedgirl77]

32. Shit,I got an ARCOM for running a board correctly.

I laughed at them & told them that's why our shop was a joke.

[MH1]

56. Yeah, I snorted at the AAM thing too

That's basically the lowest "decoration" you can get. I think I had like 3 of those and 2 ArCom's in 7 years. And E-4 in 6 years isn't anything special, as you pointed out.

[misterhighwasted]

10. Heartbreaking on all fronts.

[DashOneBravo]

25. He was a carpenter.

His MOS was 12W. It's a carpenter and masonry specialist. He did not receive any sniper training.

Glad he's dead.

[yallerdawg]

27. I don't believe "at a Black Lives Matter protest " is factual.

The shooting started around 9, when the peaceful protest had ended, and the crowd was disbursing.

This disturbed individual shouldn't be associated with BLM, try as the M$M will - to gin up the rightwing cray cray.

[kacekwl]

50. Agreed , BLM

should not be mentioned with this individual. More ammo for the GOP dirt bags bigots.

[morningfog]

29. Looks like it was indeed one shooter. He did the shooting.

I wonder who the three under arrest are and what their suspected roles were.

[Schema Thing]

43. I have a feeling we'll find out they were just wrong place/wrong time. swept up in the fog of chaos

[giftedgirl77]

35. Let's not kid ourselves he was a reservist for gods sake

he wasn't some kind of killing machine. Just being in Afghanistan doesn't make one a combat soldier.

[Chico Man]

38. He actually was a killing machine

His performance last night against a trained and armed police force is enough evidence of that.

[Ash_F]

62. He definitely at least knew what he was doing in that short video clip.

He had a killing machine and that was enough.

[maxsolomon]

41. "He wasn't a REAL soldier - he was only a RESERVIST"

"He didn't have sniper training".
"He must have sucked if those are the only medals he got and he was only PFC".

Keep spinning, vets. He served in a foreign war. He was a veteran of a foreign war.

The murdering, alienated no-true-scotsman shot and killed multiple officers from a distance, and executed one at close range.

[Schema Thing]

44. He was deadly effective, that's for sure.

[sarisataka]

49. Yes he was a vet

And he murdered people.

Clearly all vets are ticking time bombs. They need to be segregated from society at the very least. For the worst of them we may have to take more Extreme Measures...

[TipTok]

66. No one is saying that he wasn't a Soldier...

We are saying that he wasn't a CAG death machine HALOing in from the space shuttle.

He's a guy who went to the 300 meter range a few times over several years. Whoopity doo..

[maxsolomon]

69. look what that training + semi-automatic weapons + alienated anger can do

good thing you're not all ticking time bombs.

[TipTok]

70. I just chuckle when folks think that everyone with a flag on their shoulder ...

... has gone through this rigorous combat training and are now fully qualified killing machines.

He was a carpenter/mason.

I swear, if folks knew what we were up to sometimes they would be much more concerned.

[maxsolomon]

71. yeah, it's a rib-tickler

nt

[mwrguy]

52. All kinds of different chickens are coming home to roost

[adigal]

54. I knew he was military - no one else has the training to coolly do what he did

What snapped in this young man's brain that he would do this??

[sulphurdunn]

55. The term "decorated"

is usually reserved for members of the armed forces who are wounded or who receive commendations for valor. This man was not one of those people.

[TomCADem]

59. He Must Have Watched Too Many Rambo Movies and Listened to...

...too many Ted Cruz and Joni Ernst speeches. The multiple cop murders illustrate that the easy availability of guns and righteousness one might feel at the actions of government employed law enforcement does not make one a freedom fighter or patriot if they decide to take up arms against law enforcement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rambo

In the original novel, Rambo is hitch-hiking in Madison, Kentucky. He is picked up by Sheriff Teasle and dropped off at the city limits. Repeatedly coming back, Rambo is arrested by Teasle and driven to the station. He is charged with vagrancy and resisting arrest, and is sentenced to 35 days in jail. Being trapped inside the cold, wet, small cells gives Rambo a flashback of his days as a POW in Vietnam, and he fights off the cops as they attempt to cut his hair and shave him, beating one man and slashing another with the straight razor, killing him. He flees, steals a motorcycle, and hides in the nearby mountains. He becomes the focus of a manhunt that results in the deaths of many police officers, civilians, and National Guardsmen.

In a climactic ending in the town where his conflict with Teasle began, Rambo is finally hunted down by Special Forces Captain Sam Trautman[7] and Teasle. Teasle, using his local knowledge, manages to surprise Rambo and shoots him in the chest, but is himself wounded in the abdomen by a return shot. He then tries to pursue Rambo as he makes a final attempt to escape back out of the town. Both men are essentially dying by this point, but are driven by pride and a desire to justify their actions. Rambo, having found a spot he feels comfortable in, prepares to commit suicide by detonating a stick of dynamite against his body; however, he then sees Teasle following his trail and decides that it would be more honourable to continue fighting and be killed by Teasle's return fire.

Rambo fires at Teasle and, to his surprise and disappointment, hits him. For a moment he reflects on how he had missed his chance of a decent death, because he is now too weak to light the dynamite, but then suddenly feels the explosion he had expected - but in the head, not the stomach where the dynamite was placed. Rambo dies satisfied that he has come to a fitting end. Trautman returns to the dying Teasle and tells him that he has killed Rambo with his shotgun. Moments after, Teasle dies succumbing to his wounds.

Then here is Joni Ernst...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/10/23/the-real-problem-with-joni-ernsts-quote-about-guns-and-the-government/

“I have a beautiful little Smith & Wesson, 9 millimeter, and it goes with me virtually everywhere,” Ernst said at the NRA and Iowa Firearms Coalition Second Amendment Rally in Searsboro, Iowa. “But I do believe in the right to carry, and I believe in the right to defend myself and my family — whether it’s from an intruder, or whether it’s from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.”

[oberliner]

60. Ted Cruz and Joni Ernst?

You think those were the people whom he listened to?

[TipTok]

63. A generous use of the word decorated...

Technically true but I've seen AAMs passed out for a successful FRG event.