Justice for my Wife

[Sinus211]

Dude. Fuck. Glad to hear justice is being served but what a terrible experience.

[Pablo]

The guilty clown should be roasted on a spit. Clearly mental and nothing was done. Wow - and I bet like most places people still got the so called "workplace violence training". If management doesn't act of legitimate information, it's all rather useless.

Sorry this happened to your family. Glad your wife is standing strong.

[RocketScott]

What a sicko. To bring a bottle of gasoline to work shows premeditation. Not sure if there's a difference between what he got and attempted murder but 20 years seems light.

I hope you and your wife can eventually get to a good place. There's really no way to completely recover from something like this.

You both sound like strong, resilient people so I'm sure it will happen, just takes a lot of time and support.

[leadcounsel]

Almost a year ago my wife, an active duty Army nurse and mother of three young boys, was viciously attacked by a civilian subordinate of hers. He ambushed her like a coward, blocking the only exit from her office, sprayed her with gasoline and lit her on fire. He then attempted to cut and stab her with a pair of scissors and a straight edge razor before he was subdued by several of my wife's coworkers who happened to be working after hours. I've kept quiet about the incident since then, in order to ensure the case against him wasn't tainted, but today justice was served. The bastard was found guilty on one count of assault with intent to commit murder. Sentencing to be held at the end of October.
The worst part of the whole thing is that my wife told her chain of command repeatedly that she felt like she was in danger and was not comfortable with the man - a failing GS employee whom she was trying to hold accountable for his abysmal work performance. Now that the trial is over, she'll be working to advocate for legislation that will give military supervisors tools to hold civilian employees accountable, limit the power of the unions within Federal workplaces, and reverse the "Feres Doctrine" which bars service members from bringing suit against the government for negligence.
The story received next to nothing in the way of national media attention, but here's a local story from the Kansas City media.

http://www.kshb.com/news/region-kansas/ ... ing-attack

Man that is horrible. I'm very sorry that happened.

The Feres doctrine is a real problem, but there are exceptions which I'm aware of as a practicing attorney.

And also, from a financial and legal perspective, I'd encourage your wife to seek a full medical retirement and full VA disability compensation, and move on to another career. A full medical retirement and VA disability gonna be worth about $1 million or more alone and allow her to do something else. That's your smartest financial play right now.

These are areas of law in which I practice. Best wishes to her and for her recovery and you as well.

[Duke EB]

There's an article in the Daily Beast about it today.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/she-begged ... -her-alive

Sorry to hear about this

[bigzdawg]

Only the best for your wife and your family.

Very unsettling just to watch, I can only imagine how horrible was the incident.

[Soldier_Citizen]

You wife, is a very strong woman.

[JMF]

Go after the Gubment next. I'm so sorry for all this pain.

[Olympia173]

The Feres doctrine is a real problem, but there are exceptions which I'm aware of as a practicing attorney.

The Feres decision was wrongly decided. And the military has been using it to get away with criminal negligence ever since. Congress never intended "combatant activities" to include the daily goings-on of medical personnel in a garrison environment. However, a judicial challenge of Feres is unlikely to succeed. In my mind, legislative action to change the underlying law and negate the decision has a better chance of succeeding, though either is a long shot.

And also, from a financial and legal perspective, I'd encourage your wife to seek a full medical retirement and full VA disability compensation, and move on to another career. A full medical retirement and VA disability gonna be worth about $1 million or more alone and allow her to do something else. That's your smartest financial play right now.

Agreed. She will be fighting for a full medical retirement. Not sure what her VA disability rating will be, but indications from many of the doctors she's worked with so far say 100% is likely. That being said, the system is built so you can't collect both. Obviously the medical benefits of the retirement are great, but they cash payouts offset each other. I'm not sure I understand why, and it seems a bit unfair that even if she gets a 100% disability rating from the VA, she'll essentially be taking an over 50% pay cut for something that never should have happened in the first place. Whether or not she'll be able to work as a nurse again is unknown at this point, though that is what she'd like to do - helping burn patients.

[MadPick]

Here's a very supportive article, with lots of photos both before and after:
https://justiceforkatieannblanchardblog ... or-a-year/

[45acp]

So very sorry this happened. 20 years will never be enough for that POS. Peace to you both brother.

[jukk0u]

Sounds like a few other military "superiors" need an adjoining cell with the nutzo.

Your old lady is TOUGH! Best wishes.

I would camp out on my congress-cretin's front porches until they offered and did in fact help.

[PMB]

There is almost zero accountability in Federal .Gov employment. Criminally negligent behavior is routinely brushed under the rug for a couple of reasons. The easiest reason to understand is that by finding fault with a subordinate, a superior acknowledges a weakness or an error in his or her own department.
The next reason is mind blowing- acknowledging something like this means even more paperwork, and .Gov desks are breaking under the ceiling tall piles of useless paperwork that is already required, so there is always resistance to making decisions that will require more mounds of it.
It is a mindset for many in .Gov... Brush under the rug until that rug can no longer handle it, then try to brush the burning rug into someone else's area of responsibility.

Sounds like a few other military "superiors" need an adjoining cell with the nutzo.
Your old lady is TOUGH! Best wishes.

+1 to all of that.

20 years is peanuts to that POS. He should cease to exist.

[Olympia173]

I would camp out on my congress-cretin's front porches until they offered and did in fact help.

To his credit, my Congressman actually did call me directly shortly after the attack to offer any assistance he could provide. The ongoing criminal investigation limited action we could take, but now that the trial is over we are working to get her story out and try to turn it into some positive change.
Here is a link to a popular blogger/YouTuber in the medical community who recently did a story on Katie:
http://zdoggmd.com/against-medical-advice-018/

[jukk0u]

The President has been active in individual cases of merit and has been a dogged advocate of service members. Perhaps you should reach out to him personally?