Army pvt. bound for Hood jumps from NY bridge

[unhappycamper]

Army Pvt. Elizabeth Lynch-Gonzalez of Shrub Oak, N.Y., died June 10.


Army pvt. bound for Hood jumps from NY bridge
By Rob Ryser, Richard Liebson and Brian Howard - (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News
Posted : Thursday Jun 10, 2010 17:47:55 EDT

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — The mother of Army Pvt. Elizabeth Lynch-Gonzalez, who jumped from the Tappan Zee Bridge early Thursday, said her daughter was upset that her deployment to a Texas military base had been moved up to today.

The mother said her daughter, who was 19 and 2009 graduate of Lakeland High School, was greatly upset when she found out Wednesday that her deployment order for Fort Hood had been moved up to today.

The comments of the mother, Mary Ellen Lynch, came moments before police confirmed that a body found in the Hudson River a few miles south of the bridge was her daughter’s.

The body washed ashore in Dobbs Ferry shortly after noon Thursday, 10 hours after the young woman jumped from the middle of the Tappan Zee Bridge up river in Tarrytown.

~snip~

The young woman was the second military member this year to jump from the bridge. In March, the body of Wolf Aristilde, 22, of Spring Valley was found on the banks of the Hudson near Yonkers after he apparently plunged from the Tappan Zee on Jan. 3.

[babylonsister]

1. I feel for her family, but also wonder why she joined the

Army in the first place. Really sad.

[hlthe2b]

2. yes... me too

It makes me want to take a look at how they are being recruited, what they are promised, etc....

[Chulanowa]

5. A co-worker of mine went to the Marines

The recruiter assured him that he would not be deployed, that there was "plenty to do here in the states" that he could work on software or become a chaplain or something and never be shipped out or ever see a day of combat.

He's in Afghanistan now.

[USArmyParatrooper]

8. Marines don't have Chaplains

Plus anyone who believes all of that is an idiot.

I was actually on recruiter duty. Lying to people isn't just wrong, it's also ineffective.

[Chulanowa]

10. Well, nobody ever said the kid was the sharpest tennis ball in the tube

Just saying what he told me. :shrug:

[era veteran]

9. Recruiter= Liar

The worst job in the military which should be a plum. The quotas are unreal and pretty much unattainable. Too many suicides....that some recruiters ignore red flags to enlist marginal candidates. "I've seen make kids drink gallons of water trying to flush marijuana out of their system before they take their physicals," one Houston recruiter says privately. "I've seen them forge signatures." Sign up a pair of enlistees in a month and a recruiter is hailed; sign up none and he can be ordered to monthly Saturday sessions, where he is verbally pounded for his failure.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1889152,00.html#ixzz0qXqFZf8g ............. It has really not changed in last 40 years or so except for the worst.... Time for a draft!!!

[readmoreoften]

4. I personally know young women who are signing up to keep their children.

I know of one girl whose job pays too little ($600 a month) and the state has mandated that if she can't financially support her child, then the child will go to foster care. There are no jobs in her area for a 19 yo w/o education. If she leaves her child with family and enlists (and, no doubt, immediately deploys) she will earn enough money to keep the child, even though she'll only see him about once a year during his early development. I've met others like her.

I have another friend who enlisted because he wanted to "better himself," he wasn't getting any jobs and had no money for college (he is exceptionally intelligent as well--he was immediately specialized upon enlisting.) But after about 9 months, he attempted suicide before he was scheduled to deploy to Af-Pak. He also was pre-traumatized since his friends were murdered on base (it's a pretty violent atmosphere.)

I know one young woman who just dropped dead at 28 from general poor health after serving in Iraq. I know another young man whose bones are disintegrating from depleted uranium. He's dying a slow death--will be dead by 35.

From what the troops have told me--about 20% are gung-ho Americans, about 20% are court-committed for petty crimes (you can serve or you can go to jail for possession, etc.), and about 60% are there because of poverty/GI bill and believing that the Army will provide a better future.

[saracat]

3. Gosh, how sad. I used to travel that bridge regularly. It is hard to think of these kids jumping.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Not a word of this on either news-radio station in NYC. Not a word.

[FLPanhandle]

7. This woman obviously had other problems

Her report date was moved up and she ends her life? Either that was a straw the broke the camels back, or she wasn't thinking properly.