Anger Management and a Medal

Army Master Sgt. John Benjamin Turner Sr. is sitting in a private court-ordered Anger Management session with Captain Jessica Marie Cortez (Army Retired) who works at the local VAMC.  This is the fifth session and the ordering Judge at Veteran Court has been reviewing the reports and wants more response from Sgt. Turner or he will be facing some serious jail time for holding the judge’s court hostage demanding he immediately be charged with murder after the military investigation into his last deployment gave him a medal for heroism.

“Mr. Turner we have been here four times and you cannot sit in my office and discuss every other thing.  We need to reach the point that drove you to the courthouse that day.  Or you will be put in jail for doing what you did.” 

“Ma’am, I will not talk to you about that last deployment and I know I started this but I would rather spend the rest of my life in jail than be given an award I didn’t earn.  You can keep asking and I will sit here quietly, defiantly until you just call the police and have me removed.”

Ms. Cortez paused for a moment, pulled a file out of her desk slamming it on the top.  “Do you see this?  Do you think I am stupid and do not know what happened?  I am sick and tired of you playing me for a civilian fool, tell me what happened or go to jail, either way I will sleep tonight.”

A tear began to roll down his face, his mouth began to bleed he was grinding his bottom teeth he had left into the upper gums where he forgot to put his teeth in this morning.  “I can’t don’t you understand?  My wife left because of what happened over there.”

“I know but you have to discuss it in order for you to get past it, please tell me so I can help you.”  Now she was starting to cry.

“We were under an ambush our vehicle blew upside down.  My team was under heavy crossfire and most of them were injured.  It was getting dark and the enemy had backed off likely waiting until dark to attack and assassinate us all.  Most of my men were passed out but one right next to me, my driver was moaning.  I needed the enemy to think we were all dead or nearly dead so hopefully they wouldn’t fire into my men anymore.

I covered his mouth but he just moaned harder he clearly had a head injury but I had to get him to stop.  (He weeps a bit, getting choked up on it)  I put my hand over his mouth not realizing I was choking him, he stopped breathing in the midst of it as the enemy looked in and once I knew my guys were all safe or so it seemed as I opened fire on them killing them all.  When I was debriefed I didn’t mention one important thing that came up when they did the autopsy on my son, I choked him to death.  Five days later they gave me a medal for killing my son to save the others”