Skip to main content

ATTENTION: This site is no longer active but remains as an archive.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has become About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face can be found at aboutfaceveterans.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join IVAW

Donate to IVAW

  • About
    • Founding of IVAW
    • Mission, Values, and Vision
    • War in Afghanistan
    • Why We Are against the Wars
    • Resolutions
    • IVAW Timeline
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Committee
    • Staff
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • Operation Recovery
    • Winter Soldier
      • Breakdown of the Military
      • Civilian Testimony
      • Corporate Pillaging
      • Cost of War at Home
      • Crisis in Veterans Healthcare
      • Future of GI Resistance
      • Gender and Sexuality
      • Legacy of GI Resistance
      • Racism and War
      • Response to DoD
      • Rules of Engagement
      • Press Coverage
      • Press Releases
    • Right to Heal
  • Members
  • Resources
    • AWOL
    • Active Duty
    • Conscientious Objector
    • Depleted Uranium
    • History of Resistance
    • IRR Reactivation
    • Lariam
    • PTSD
    • Profiles of Resisters
    • Resources for Veterans
    • Stop Loss
    • Women's Resources
    • Mesothelioma
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Speaker Request

AWOL soldier ordered to finish tour in Afghanistan

published by Jose Vasquez on 01/08/11 9:29pm
Posted to: 
Staff

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Kentucky soldier who went AWOL after he said the military wasn't treating his mental health issues has been ordered to deploy to finish his tour in Afghanistan.

Spc. Jeff Hanks, who turned himself in on Veterans Day, says his command has ordered him to return to Afghanistan immediately and he expects to leave within days on a flight back to his unit.

The Fort Campbell-based soldier told The Associated Press on Friday that he still believes his issues have not been adequately treated.

"My family doesn't want me to go, but I am not disobeying a command order," he said.

Kelly DeWitt, a spokeswoman at the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, confirmed Hanks is scheduled to deploy within the next few days, but declined to comment further on his case.

The 30-year-old Army infantryman went AWOL and returned home to North Carolina during his mid-tour leave last year, but turned himself in on Veterans Day. Since returning to the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, he said he has been given medications to treat his headaches and nightmares and has been told to seek counseling in Afghanistan.

Hanks is a member of the 101st Airborne Division, which has been deployed numerous times to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said his post-traumatic stress dates to his 2008 deployment to Iraq.

He spent about six months in Afghanistan last year and said he suffered a concussion when a mortar landed nearby. He said counselors outside of the military have diagnosed him with PTSD, but he hasn't been treated since he returned. He said he also took an MRI scan that was ordered by his audiologist, but he has not yet received the results of that screening.

"It's been stressful to be here (at Fort Campbell)," Hanks said, noting that he doesn't think anything has changed since he held a press conference last November outside the gates of the installation.

Going back to his unit in Afghanistan, he said, "makes me anxious." He expects he will have to complete another four months in Afghanistan to finish his one-year tour.

Supporters from Iraq Veterans Against the War said they planned on Saturday to deliver to Hanks' command a letter detailing what they believe are "violations of Hanks' right to heal."

Hanks said he is not anti-war, but said the group that is supporting him "understands the situation I am in."

Hanks is married to a former soldier and has two girls, ages 4 and 5. His commitment to the Army lasts another 2 1/2 years. He doesn't want to leave and face military punishment because he could lose his health care coverage.

"I think the best way to get help is to just wait until I get out of the Army," he said.

KRISTIN M. HALL http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8560/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=aofQhXjD

© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Obama Announces Full Troop Withdrawal by End of 2011

NEW YORK (October 21, 2011) – IVAW is excited to hear President Obama's announcement this afternoon about a total troop withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011. We are happy to know troops will be home with their families...

Tom Morello Plays Occupy Wall Street!

Oct 13, 2011 - NEW YORK  Tom Morello, aka The Nightwatchman played an acoustic set for an appreciative crowd at Occupy Wall Street today. Members of IVAW and allies served as an informal security crew including Fernando...

IVAW featured in Tavis Smiley's Poverty Tour Series

This week on PBS, Tavis Smiley is highlighting issues poor people around the country are facing in a documentary series produced by the Media Mobilizing Project. Tavis traveled 3,000 miles with Dr. Cornel West to listen to...

UN Report on Torture in Afghanistan

Kabul, 10 October 2011 - UNAMA today released a report that documents the torture and mistreatment of detainees in a number of detention facilities of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and Afghan National Police (...

Afghan Energy Wars

Advisory Committee member Antonia Juhasz discusses U.S. interests in Afghanistan's natural resources.

Report on American Military Deaths in Afghanistan

On the tenth anniversary of the start of the current war in Afghanistan, the Center for Study of Working Class Life at the State University of New York at Stony Brook releases its report "American Military Deaths in...

Pages

  • « First
  • ‹ Prev
  • …
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • …
  • Next ›
  • Last »

Supporter Newsletter!

Donations

Make a single donation or become an IVAW sustainer by making your donation a recurring one. Please consider making your generous gift right now.
Donate Online Today!

Speaker Request

Please be advised that we get many speaker requests, but regret that we are sometimes unable to fill them.
Speaker Request

Joining IVAW

Iraq Veterans Against the War is open to Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists who have served since 09/11/2001.
Join IVAW

Navigation

  • About
  • Events
  • Campaigns
  • Committees
  • Chapters
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact