Posted: May 25, 2007
by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today
FORT CARSON, Colo. - Army Spc. Ryan LeCompte, Lower Brule Sioux, was admitted to a Veterans Affairs hospital in mid-May to be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after an ordeal that included allegations of racist slurs and medical neglect by the military.
LeCompte, 27, who served two tours in Iraq as part of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Fort Carson, where he is based, are part of an ongoing investigation by the General Accounting Office into the mental health care services provided by the Defense Department.
The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan watchdog agency that works for Congress and studies the programs and expenditures of the federal government.
''We will be doing a site visit to Fort Carson among other military installations,'' Marcia Crosse, GAO's director of health issues, said. A report is not expected before next year.
On May 14 and 15, a group of senators sent staff members to Fort Carson on a fact-finding mission on allegations that military officials were downplaying soldiers' mental health problems or trying to get soldiers with mental problems discharged without benefits.
The hearings were prompted by complaints from LeCompte's wife, Tammie, and the Veterans of America, who have advocated for LeCompte and other soldiers at Fort Carson and across the country.
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