October 2022 — M2CC Newsletter

News from M2CC 

OCTOBER 2022 EDITION 

As Suicides Rise, US Military 

Seeks to Address Mental 

Health 

See page 22 

Monthly Newsletter 

WWW.M2CC.US 

Biden, in Speech, Aims to Keep Abortion Top 

of Mind for Voters as Midterms Near 

WASHINGTON - With 

renewed concerns about 

the economy seeming 

to boost Republicans’ 

chances in next month’s 

midterm 

elections, 

President Joe Biden 

spoke pointedly about 

abortion Tuesday in an 

effort to remind voters 

what’s at stake for 

women and families. 

With exactly three 

weeks until Election 

Day, Biden went further 

than he has in other 

recent remarks on the 

subject of reproductive 

rights. In a short speech 

at the historic Howard 

Theatre in Washington, 

D.C., the president 

promised voters that 

codifying the abortion 

protections 

enshrined 

for 49 years in Roe v. 

Wade will be his first 

priority when the new 

Congress gets underway 

in January — so long 

as Democrats can hold 

the House and increase 

their Senate majority 

from 50 to 52. 

Continued on page 12

2 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us OCTOBER 2022 EDITION 

Army Chaplain Provides Workshops on Financial 

Literacy, Stronger Marriages on Okinawa 

Okinawa — An Army program on Okinawa 

is providing stress management, marriage 

counseling and financial literacy to military 

members, Defense Department civilians and their 

families on Okinawa. 

Wellness on Wednesday is about personal growth 

through holistic education, according to its 

founder, Chaplain (Maj.) Cornelius Muasa, who 

oversees the curriculum with help from volunteers 

at Torii Station Chapel. 

Okinawa hosts thousands of U.S. troops, many 

fresh out of high school and some newly married. 

For some, Okinawa is a new beginning for 

relationships and responsibilities. 

“I see a lot of soldiers who have never had much 

money, then suddenly do, but do not budget and 

get into bad spending habits early,” Muasa told 

Stars and Stripes on Sept. 30. 

Nearly half, or 48%, of active-duty families 

reported that their financial situation causes them 

“some stress” or a “great deal of stress,” according 

to a 2021 survey by Blue Star Families, an 

advocacy organization. Spouse unemployment, 

out-of-pocket moving costs and credit card and 

student loan debt are some issues military families 

cite as financial stressors. 

“One of the big issues that we see is finances 

whereby families are getting hooked into debt 

too early and that is causing them to struggle,” 

Muasa said. “Even for a single person, they are 

struggling to make debt commitments, but I want 

to make sure they are establishing healthy money 

habits.” 

The financial curriculum begins at 10:30 a.m. 

each Wednesday at the chapel with video lessons 

taught by financial expert Dave Ramsey, followed 

by an in-person discussion led by Chaplain (Capt.) 

Doyle Harris of the 78th Signal Battalion. 

The curriculum teaches personal finance 

management, wealth building and strategies to 

become debt free, according to Muasa. He said

WWW.M2CC.US Monthly Newsletter | 3 

the program is about getting ahead of financial 

problems as much as it is building wealth. 

The Torii Station Chapel sponsors the program 

but adherence to a particular faith is not required 

for attendance, Muasa said. 

Another nondenominational workshop, Life in 

Balance, addresses stress management beginning 

at 11:46 a.m. each Wednesday and is taught by 

Madlena Maximova, a military and family life 

counselor at Torii Station. 

Wellness on Wednesday, which began this month 

and ends Dec. 14, is open to all service members, 

DOD civilians, retirees and their families and 

provides onsite child care. 

As part of the program, Muasa’s wife, Lauren 

Muinde, and Army spouse Sora Kunsman lead 

the Women of Worship Bible study and Chaplain 

(Capt.) Daniel Powers, of the 78th Signal 

Battalion, leads the Warriors of Worship Bible 

study. 

Kim has attended several Wellness on Wednesday 

events with her active-duty Army husband. The 

couple have been married for 14 years, have two 

boys, and have lived in Okinawa for two years. 

“It's actually beneficial to any marriage regardless 

how many years that they've been together, but 

I think newly married couples should be taking 

advantage of this kind of program to have a good 

standing at the beginning of their relationship 

and being able to understand each side and how 

to approach their spouse,” she said. 

Personal growth is key to thriving, according to 

Muasa. 

“We must take care of ourselves; we cannot 

pour into others from an empty cup A person is 

fully successful when they are bearing fruit and 

contributing to other people's lives,” he said. 

Those interested in the program can contact Muasa 

at 315-652-4454, 080-1544-4497 or cornelius. 

muasa.mil@army.mil for more information. 

“A female may have different needs as a spouse 

or soldier than a male spouse or soldier,” Muasa 

said of the groups, which meet at 11:45 a.m. each 

Wednesday. “Gender-specific Bible study groups 

is for building relationships.” 

One spouse who participated in the women’s group 

and in couples counseling with her husband says 

it was an opportunity for them to learn together. 

“I think it taught a better way to see each other 

and how we can communicate to one another, so I 

think at least it helped us to try different methods 

in terms of developing our relationship better, 

healthier,” Miae Kim, 41, told Stars and Stripes 

by phone Friday. 

Muasa says he teaches communication and 

relationship growth through understanding 

genders and personalities within the marriage.

4 | M2CC - News www.m2cc.us OCTOBER 2022 EDITION


Focus on Oversight a Key for Success at 

CoreCivic 

In the corrections industry, maintaining high standards of 

operation is imperative to meeting the needs of the individuals 

in our care. That's why CoreCivic adheres to a stringent set of 

guidelines set forth by our own standards, as well as those of our 

government partners and the American Correctional Association 

(ACA). 

Founded in 1870, the ACA is considered the national benchmark 

for the effective operation of correctional systems throughout 

the United States. To become accredited, a facility must achieve 

compliance with ACA mandatory standards and a minimum of 

90 percent non-mandatory standards. CoreCivic facilities adhere 

to ACA standards, and in 2020, CoreCivic earned an average 

ACA audit score of 99.6 percent across all facilities. 

Key ACA audit areas include facility personnel, resident reentry 

programs, resident safety, health care, and more. 

holds our facilities and staff to a high standard. To be able to 

represent our facility and receive reaccreditation in person is an 

honor." 

Adhering to ACA standards is only one part of CoreCivic's 

commitment to robust oversight. When government partners 

utilize CoreCivic's services, we are held not only to our own 

high standards and those of the ACA, but we are often held to 

the same or higher accountability of our public counterparts 

through stringent government contracts, unfettered access to 

our facilities for our partners, and hundreds of on-site quality 

assurance monitors. 

We provide access to our government partners, with most of 

our facilities having government agency employees known as 

contract monitors who are physically on-site to ensure we are 

operating in line with partner guidelines. 

Recently, the ACA held in Nashville, Tennessee, its 151st 

Congress of Corrections, an annual convention that brings 

together corrections professionals from across the country. In 

addition to various workshops and events at the convention, the 

ACA Commission on Accreditation also held panel hearings to 

award accreditation to correctional facilities that meet the ACA's 

rigorous requirements. Listed below are the seven CoreCivic 

facilities that earned reaccreditation this year, with mandatory/ 

non-mandatory scores: 

• Bent County Correctional Facility - 100/99.0 

• Citrus County Detention Facility - 100/100 

• Eloy Detention Center - 100/100 

• Lake Erie Correctional Institution - 100/99.3 

• Saguaro Correctional Center - 100/99.8 

• Stewart Detention Center - 100/100 

• Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility - 100/100 

"The accreditation process is very important," said Warden 

Fred Figueroa from Eloy Detention Center, one of the seven 

CoreCivic facilities that was awarded reaccreditation. "ACA 

To maintain our own high standards, annual on-site audits covering 

all operational areas are administered to ensure compliance with 

contractual and regulatory obligations and corporate-mandated 

requirements. Each CoreCivic Safety facility is audited by our 

internal quality assurance division, which is independent from 

our operations division. Facilities are expected to be audit-ready 

year-round, maintaining continuous compliance with numerous 

applicable standards. 

CoreCivic employs 75 staff members dedicated to quality 

assurance, including several subject matter experts with extensive 

experience from all major disciplines within our institutional 

operations. 

"A lot of hard work goes into preparing for these audits," 

Figueroa said. "Once they're complete, the staff can see their 

accomplishments and feel proud." 

Having multiple levels of oversight helps CoreCivic maintain 

a safe environment for those in our care. By holding ourselves 

accountable to our own high standards, along with our 

government partners' and ACA's standards, CoreCivic continues 

to be a trusted partner working to better the public good.


WWW.M2CC.US Monthly Newsletter | 7


Facebook Live Copied 

Tech from Combat 

Veteran's App, Jury 

Finds in $175 Million 

Verdict 

The interdiction follows an Oct. 2 bust by a 

British navy frigate also operating in CTF 150 

that netted $45 million in crystal meth from 

another fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman, 

NAVCENT said in a separate statement 

Sunday. 

Last month, another Coast Guard fast response 

cutter seized 5,313 pounds of heroin worth 

an estimated $85 million, also from a fishing 

vessel traveling in the same waters. 

A day later, a U.S. Navy destroyer confiscated 

$10 million of hashish from another fishing 

vessel, also in the Gulf of Oman, Stars and 

Stripes reported Sept. 30. 

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The Glen Harris, which arrived in the 

NAVCENT/5th Fleet area of responsibility 

in January, also interdicted heroin, 

methamphetamine, amphetamine pills and 

hashish worth a total of $48 million in busts in 

May and August, the Navy said. 

Headquartered in Bahrain alongside 

NAVCENT/5th Fleet, the Combined Maritime 

Forces includes 34 member countries that 

operate across the Middle East. 

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“You gotta get out the 

comes to the right to 

Roe with a simple 

Democratic 

National 

vote; we can do this if 

choose.” 

majority vote. With 

Committee event at 

we vote,” Biden said to 

an audience of younger 

Americans, describing 

the upcoming 

election as “the most 

consequential in our 

history.” 

He added: “The 

choice and the stakes 

are crystal clear — 

especially when it 

Democrats now control 

the evenly divided 

Senate because of 

Vice President Kamala 

Harris’ ability to 

break a tie vote. But 

they need 60 votes to 

avoid a filibuster, and 

two members of their 

caucus oppose a rule 

change that would 

two more Democratic 

senators, Biden has 

argued, he’d be able to 

push ahead. Roughly 

half of U.S. states 

have imposed total or 

partial abortion bans 

that would be nullified 

by Biden’s proposed 

federal law. 

Biden’s remarks, 

the theater a few miles 

from the White House, 

marked something of 

a departure from his 

recent approach to the 

midterms, framing the 

election as a choice 

between parties as 

he crystallized their 

diametrically opposed 

positions on abortion. 

allow them to codify 

delivered at a


“Republicans 

are 

the state constitution, 

party would advance 

overturning Roe, the 

doubling down on their 

giving Democrats new 

federal 

legislation 

survey found. 

extreme positions,” 

Biden said, standing 

in front of rows of 

women and beneath a 

large banner that read: 

“RESTORE ROE.” 

Although he typically 

mentions abortion in 

optimism that the issue 

could galvanize voters 

in November and help 

them buck the historic 

trend of the incumbent 

president’s party losing 

seats in their first 

midterm election. 

banning abortion after 

15 weeks of gestation 

if it gains control 

of Congress in the 

midterms. 

In recent weeks, 

numerous polls have 

shown Republicans 

Three organizations 

that support abortion 

rights — Planned 

Parenthood Action 

Fund, NARAL Pro- 

Choice America, and 

EMILY’s List — 

announced Tuesday 

his stump speeches, it 

Biden said he wanted 

gaining ground as the 

that they plan to 

has not been his main 

to “remind” voters of 

abortion issue has been 

collectively spend $150 

focus at recent events, 

“the anger, the worry, 

overtaken by ongoing 

million to target voters 

which have focused 

the disbelief” they felt 

concerns 

about 

in key battleground 

instead on the benefits 

when the ruling came 

inflation and high gas 

races around the issue 

of the infrastructure, 

down this summer. 

prices. 

of abortion. 

drug prices and 

manufacturing 

legislation Democrats 

have already passed. 

“In just four months, 

abortion bans have gone 

into effect in 14 states,” 

Biden said, detailing 

Democrats believe 

they stand to benefit 

from refocusing voters 

on abortion. Majorities 

“It’s time to send an 

unmistakable message 

to politicians who have 

run roughshod on our 

The Supreme Court’s 

the fallout from the 

of Democrats (82%) 

freedoms: When you 

June ruling overturning 

court enabling states 

and 

independents 

come for our rights, 

Roe upended five 

to impose restrictions 

(59%) identify 

we’ll come for your 

decades of precedent 

on abortion. The court 

as 

“pro-choice,” 

seats,” said Mini 

and outraged supporters 

could go on to take away 

according to a recent 

Timmaraju, NARAL’s 

of abortion rights 

other 

constitutional 

poll by Navigator, a 

president. 

across the country. 

In August, Kansas 

voters overwhelmingly 

rejected an initiative that 

would have removed 

abortion protections in 

rights, including samesex 

marriage, Biden 

suggested. 

Last month, Sen. 

Lindsey Graham, 

R-S.C., said that his 

progressive polling 

firm. Similarly, 76% of 

Democrats and 54%, of 

independents disagree 

with the court’s ruling 

The Democrats’ new 

push on abortion rights 

comes as early voting 

is already underway in 

many states.


Yokosuka’s first Friendship Day since COVID-19 

pandemic draws 50,000 people 

YOKOSUKA 

NAVAL BASE, Japan 

— More than 50,000 

people poured into the 

home of the 7th Fleet 

over the weekend for 

the first open-base 

event in nearly three 

years. 

“I am excited for 

the base and the 

community to be 

hosting this event,” 

base commander 

Capt. Les Sobol said 

Sunday in an email 

to Stars and Stripes. 

“It is the first time in 

almost three years we 

have been able to hold 

an event like this, and 

I’m sure there will be 

many new friendships 

made and many more 

renewed.” 

Yokosuka’s last open 

event was the Mikoshi 

Parade on Oct. 20, 

2019, just months 

before the coronavirus 

Around 43,000 

visitors, along with 

another 10,000 people 

from the naval base 

and the Ikego Housing 

Area, joined Sunday’s 

festivities, which 

included a vendor 

market, live music, 

street performances 

and a guided tour of 

the 7th Fleet flagship 

USS Blue Ridge, 

the Navy’s oldest 

operational warship.


pandemic put a halt 

to mass gatherings. 

Since then, the base 

has held several large 

events, but none 

were open to Japan’s 

general public. 

“It’s all about building 

and renewing 

friendships with the 

local community 

and the Japanese 

people,” Sobol wrote 

in his email. “The 

last three years have 

been challenging for 

many from both of 

our communities, 

and it’s my hope that 

today we can turn the 

page on the last three 

years and start a new 

chapter.” 

Masks were not 

required during the 

festival, thanks to 

the outdoor nature 

of the event and 

low COVID-19 

transmission rates, 

Sobol said. 

commands sold 

souvenirs or food. 

Japanese visitors were 

particularly interested 

in American products 

that they can’t easily 

access elsewhere, such 

as Monster energy 

drinks, according to 

Petty Officer 1st Class 

Aaron Weitzel, 29, of 

Omaha, Neb. 

"Everyone has been 

really friendly and 

excited," he told 

Stars and Stripes on 

Sunday, adding that 

the event helps build 

camaraderie between 

the local population 

and the base. 

Shinobu Suzuki, 47, 

of Tokyo, said he was 

looking forward to 

trying the food and 

added that Friendship 

Day is a great chance 

for kids to get out and 

have fun. 

Kanako Naito, 42, 

and her husband Yoh, 

42, of Yokosuka, said 

it was the first time 

they’d been on base 

since 2018. 

“I like this kind of 

atmosphere,” Kanako 

told Stars and Stripes 

on Sunday. “My 

husband often finds 

these kinds of events 

and tells me about 

them. I lived on 

Okinawa, and I’m 

interested in and 

familiar with military 

bases, so I wanted to 

visit." 

The day concluded 

with nearly 40 

minutes of fireworks 

over Tokyo Bay, 

provided by the city 

of Yokosuka, with 

thousands of people 

gathering along the 

base’s shoreline to 

watch. 

“The city provided us 

tremendous assistance 

in managing the 

crowds,” base 

spokesman Randall 

Baucom told Stars 

and Stripes by 

phone Monday. “We 

appreciate all the 

support from them.” 

The crowd gathered 

at Berkey Field, 

where the 7th Fleet 

Band and other music 

groups performed, 

or the parking lot 

of the base’s mess 

hall, where vendors 

representing various


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GAO Examines US Border Practices in Facing 

Record Numbers of Migrants 

Migrant families who were released along 

the border last year with instructions to 

show up later at U.S. immigration offices 

generally complied with those directives, 

but most of the addresses initially 

gathered by the government were wrong 

or incomplete, an oversight report to 

Congress said Monday. 

The findings by the U.S. Government 

Accountability Office, the nonpartisan 

congressional agency that is the 

government's primary oversight body, 

examined some of the ad hoc practices 

deployed by the Biden administration to 

contend with record numbers of bordercrossers 

in U.S. custody. 

When the number of migrants entering the 

country illegally soared in the months after 

Biden took office in 2021, U.S. Border 

Patrol stations were quickly overwhelmed 

and detention facilities became crowded 

beyond their pandemic-rated capacity. 

The administration responded by issuing 

some family groups a "Notice to Report" 

directing them to go to an office of U.S. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

at their destination city within 60 days. 

The process reduced paperwork for U.S. 

agents along the border, but it essentially 

amounted to an honor system for migrants 

asking them to initiate their own potential 

deportations. 

U.S. authorities recorded 1.7 million 

detentions along the Mexico border 

during the 2021 fiscal year, and this year's 

figure is projected to exceed 2.3 million, 

the highest ever. 

In 2021, about 450,000 migrants arrived 

as part of a family group, and that figure 

rose to approximately 550,000 during 

the 2022 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 

according to the latest U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection data. 

The GAO found the Border Patrol issued 

nearly 94,000 Notice to Report documents 

to migrant family members between 

March 2021 and Sept. 2021, primarily 

in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. 

For the first three months of the new 

process, about 60 percent of the address 

info gathered by U.S. agents was often 

incomplete or invalid, the report said. 

"For example, officials stated that Border 

Patrol sometimes recorded the onward 

destination state but not a street or city," 

it said. "These officials also stated that the 

addresses were sometimes associated with 

an apartment building, but the apartment 

number was not included. Or, they stated 

agents may have misspelled the address 

in the data system or listed an (ICE) field 

office as the family unit's destination." 

Border Patrol officials also failed to 

coordinate the program with U.S. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

whose offices in U.S. cities were 

unprepared to receive hundreds of migrants 

per day lacking court appointments, the 

report said. 

Adding to the confusion, migrants were 

provided with lists of ICE field offices but 

not instructed to go to specific locations, 

so immigration officials at those locations 

had little idea how many people to expect, 

the GAO found. 

Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), who 

asked the GAO to evaluate the Biden 

administration's Notice to Report process, 

said the findings reflected a "hurried 

process to get people into the country 

faster." 

"The administration has created a new 

process at the border and it's important to


understand how it's working," Lankford 

said, in an interview. "Basically they 

had a backlog at the border and they just 

moved it into the interior of the country." 

The lack of coordination between CBP 

and ICE during the initial phases of 

the Notice to Report process in 2021 

generated "significant challenges," the 

GAO found, as hundreds of migrants 

began showing up daily on a walk-in basis 

at ICE field offices. ICE administrative 

staff couldn't handle the workload, and 

crowds of parents with children were left 

waiting in long lines in the streets outside 

agency offices, including one with "a 

waiting room that can accommodate only 

six people." 

The Department of Homeland Security 

did not immediately respond to a request 

for comment on the GAO report. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

responded to criticism of the Notice to 

Report process by significantly improving 

the accuracy of the address collection 

process after June 2021, the GAO said. 

CBP phased out that process in favor of a 

different procedure known as Parole with 

Alternatives to Detention that allowed 

the government to keep better track 

of released migrants using electronic 

monitoring apps and other technology. 

Migrants released from custody after 

entering the United States illegally are 

typically issued a charging document 

known as a "Notice to Appear," which 

initiates the deportation process. 

Completing the paperwork for those forms 

typically takes border agents 2 to 2.5 

hours, but the new fast-track procedures 

launched under Biden only take about 30 

minutes, the GAO found. 

Families have generally complied with 

the government's instructions, according 

to GAO. About three-quarters of the 

roughly 180,000 migrant family members 

released into the United States under 

the new programs between March 2021 

and February 2022 have reported to ICE 

offices. In about half of those cases, ICE 

has initiated deportation proceedings, 

which generally allows families to remain 

in the United States while seeking asylum 

or some other legal residency status 

through immigration courts, the report 

said. 

To track down the roughly 45,000 migrant 

family members who failed to show up 

at ICE offices as directed, the agency 

has sent notices via mail and attempted 

to contact individuals by phone, the 

report said. Migrants who do not respond 

are referred to ICE fugitive operations 

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for possible arrests. ICE officials told 

the GAO they are concerned about 

their growing workload because CBP 

has released about 100,000 additional 

migrants using Parole with Alternatives 

to Detention since the spring. 

Migrants who arrive as part of a family 

group and state a fear of persecution 

if returned to their home countries 

are generally released into the United 

States and allowed to seek humanitarian 

protections under U.S. law. The backlog 

of unresolved asylum claims has 

ballooned in recent years, and the cases 

often take years to resolve, creating 

what is widely acknowledged to be an 

incentive for migrants who may not have 

valid claims to avoid a quick deportation 

and detention.


According to Defense Department data, suicides among active-duty service 

members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020. The numbers 

jumped by 15% in 2020 alone. In longtime suicide hotspot postings such as 

Alaska – service members and their families contend with extreme isolation 

and a harsh climate – the rate has doubled. 

A 2021 study by the Cost of War Project concluded that since 9/11, four 

times as many service members and veterans have died by suicide as have 

perished in combat. The study detailed stress factors particular to military 

life: “high exposure to trauma — mental, physical, moral, and sexual — stress 

and burnout, the influence of the military’s hegemonic masculine culture, 

continued access to guns, and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian life.” 

As Suicides Rise, 

US Military Seeks to 

Address Mental Health 

WASHINGTON — After finishing a tour in 

Afghanistan in 2013, Dionne Williamson felt 

emotionally numb. More warning signs appeared 

during several years of subsequent overseas 

postings. 

“It’s like I lost me somewhere,” said Williamson, 

a Navy lieutenant commander who experienced 

disorientation, depression, memory loss and 

chronic exhaustion. “I went to my captain and 

said, ‘Sir, I need help. Something’s wrong.’" 

The Pentagon did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But Austin 

has publicly acknowledged that the Pentagon’s current mental health offerings 

— including a Defense Suicide Prevention Office established in 2011 — 

have proven insufficient. 

“It is imperative that we take care of all our teammates and continue to 

reinforce that mental health and suicide prevention remain a key priority,” 

Austin wrote in March. “Clearly we have more work to do.” 

Last year the Army issued fresh guidelines to its commanders on how to 

handle mental health issues in the ranks, complete with briefing slides and 

a script. But daunting long-term challenges remain. Many soldiers fear the 

stigma of admitting to mental health issues within the internal military culture 

of self-sufficiency. And those who seek help often find that stigma is not only 

real, but compounded by bureaucratic obstacles. 

As the Pentagon seeks to confront spiraling 

suicide rates in the military ranks, Williamson’s 

experiences shine a light on the realities for 

service members seeking mental health help. For 

most, simply acknowledging their difficulties 

can be intimidating. And what comes next can be 

frustrating and dispiriting. 

Williamson, 46, eventually found stability through 

a monthlong hospitalization and a therapeutic 

program that incorporates horseback riding. But 

she had to fight for years to get the help she needed. 

“It's a wonder how I made it through,” she said. 

In March Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 

announced the creation of an independent 

committee to review the military’s mental health 

and suicide prevention programs.


Much like the issue of food insecurity in military 

families, a network of military-adjacent charitable 

organizations has tried to fill the gaps with a 

variety of programs and outreach efforts. 

Some are purely recreational, such as an annual 

fishing tournament in Alaska designed to provide 

fresh air and socialization for service members. 

Others are more focused on self-care, like an 

Armed Services YMCA program that offers 

free childcare so that military parents can attend 

therapy sessions. 

The situation in Alaska is particularly dire. In 

January, after a string of suicides, Command Sgt. 

Maj. Phil Blaisdell addressed his soldiers in an 

emotional Instagram post. “When did suicide 

become the answer,” he asked. “Please send me a 

DM if you need something. Please …” 

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said that 

while posting to Alaska can be a dream for some 

service members, it's a solitary nightmare for 

others that needs to be addressed. 

“You’ve got to be paying attention to this when 

you see the statistics jump as they are,” Murkowski 

said. “Right now, you’ve got everybody. You’ve 

got the Joint Chiefs looking at Alaska and saying, 

‘Holy smokes, what’s going on up there?’” 

The stresses of an Alaska posting are compounded 

by a shortage of on-the-ground therapists. During 

a visit to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in 

Alaska earlier this year, Army Secretary Christine 

Wormuth heard from base health care workers 

who say they are understaffed, burned out and 

can’t see patients on a timely basis. If a soldier 

seeks help, they often have to wait weeks for an 

appointment. 

“We have people who need our services and 

we can’t get to them,” one longtime counselor 

told Wormuth during a meeting. “We need staff 

and until we get them, we will continue to have 

soldiers die.” 

The annual Combat Fishing Tournament in 

Seward, Alaska, was formed to "get the kids out 

of the barracks, get them off the base for the day 

and get them out of their heads,” said co-founder 

Keith Manternach.




The tournament, which was 

begun in 2007 and now 

involves more than 300 

service members, includes 

a day of deep-water fishing 

followed by a celebratory 

banquet with prizes for the 

largest catch, smallest catch 

and the person who gets the 

sickest. 

“I think there’s a huge 

element of mental health to 

it,” Manternach said. 

It's not just in Alaska. 

Sgt. Antonio Rivera, an 18- 

year veteran who completed 

three tours in Iraq and a year 

at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, 

freely acknowledges that he 

has serious PTSD. 

Eventually, she entered 

a monthlong in-patient 

program in Arizona. When 

she returned, a therapist 

recommended equineassisted 

therapy, which 

proved to be a breakthrough. 

Now Williamson is a regular 

at the Cloverleaf Equine 

Center in Clifton, Virginia, 

where riding sessions can 

be combined with a variety 

of therapeutic practices and 

exercises. Working with 

horses has long been used as 

a form for therapy for people 

with physical or mental 

disabilities and children 

diagnosed with autism. But 

in recent years, it has been 

embraced for helping service 

members with anxiety and 

PTSD. 

“In order to be able to work 

with horses, you need to 

be able to regulate your 

emotions. They communicate 

through body language 

and energy,” said Shelby 

Morrison, Cloverleaf's 

communications director. 

“They respond to energies 

around them. They respond to 

negativity, positivity, anxiety, 

excitement.” 

Military clients, Morrison 

said, come with “a lot of 

anxiety, depression, PTSD. 

… We use the horse to get 

them out of their triggers.” 

For Williamson, the regular 

riding sessions have helped 

stabilize her. She still 

struggles, and she said her 

long campaign for treatment 

has damaged her relationship 

with multiple superior 

officers. She's currently on 

limited duty and isn't sure if 

she'll retire when she hits her 

20-year anniversary in March. 

Nevertheless, she says, the 

equine therapy has helped 

her feel optimistic for the first 

time in recent memory. 

“Now even if I can't get out 

of bed, I make sure to come 

here,” she said. “If I didn’t 

come here, I don’t know 

where I would even be.” 

“I know that I need help. 

There’s signs and I’ve waited 

long enough,” said Rivera, 

48, who is assigned to Fort 

Hood in Texas. "I don’t want 

my children to suffer because 

of me not going to get help.” 

He's doing yoga, but says he 

needs more. He's reluctant to 

seek help inside the military. 

“Personally I’d feel more 

comfortable being able to talk 

to someone outside,” he said. 

“It would allow me to open 

up a lot more without having 

to be worried about how it’s 

going to affect my career.” 

Others who speak up say it's a 

struggle to get assistance. 

Despite the on-base presence 

of "tons of briefings and 

brochures on suicide and 

PTSD,” Williamson said 

she found herself fighting 

for years to get time off and 

therapy. 

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Senator's Human Rights Objections Block 

Some US Military Aid to Egypt 

WASHINGTON — 

A veteran senator's 

objections over 

Egypt's human rights 

record, including 

its holding of an 

estimated 60,000 

political prisoners, 

have compelled the 

Biden administration 

to trim a symbolically 

significant $75 

million off its planned 

annual military aid to 

that country. 

Senate Appropriations 

Chairman Patrick 

Leahy, the senator 

responsible, said in 

a statement Monday 

it was important that 

U.S. administrations 

not allow other policy 

interests to override 

congressionally 

mandated attention 

to Egypt's poor 

human rights record, 

"because the situation 

facing political 

prisoners in Egypt is 

deplorable." 

The U.S. gives more 

than $1 billion in 

military aid annually 

to Egypt, which it 

views as a regionally 

important ally to the 

U.S. and Israel. That's 

despite President 

Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's 

record on human 

rights, including what 

rights groups say is the 

killing, imprisonment 

and torture of critics 

of the Egyptian 

government. 

Congress in recent 

years has made the 

U.S. payment of $300 

million of that aid 

contingent on Egypt's 

government showing 

progress on rights, 

although the State 

Department can and 

often does overrule 

that requirement. 

Congress's 

conditioning of some 

of Egypt's security 

aid makes for an 

annual public test of 

U.S. administrations' 

balancing of strategic 

interests and human 

rights. 

The Biden 

administration said 

last month it planned 

to give a portion, 

$170 million, of that 

$300 million. It cited 

Egypt's release of 500 

political prisoners. 

Rights advocates, and 

family members of 

imprisoned activists, 

called Egypt's releases 

a token. 

Leahy objected to 

the administration's 

decision, urging 

State to either clarify 

its standards on the 

matter or give the 

money as scholarships 

to Egyptian students 

or as military aid 

to Ukraine, Leahy 

spokesman David 

Carle said. The 

funding remained at 

an impasse until it hit 

a Sept. 30 spending 

deadline, and expired. 

Egyptian news 

organization Mada 

Masr first reported 

the partial block of 

funding by a senator 

it did not identify. 

Reuters first reported 

it was Leahy. 

In a statement 

Monday, the State 

Department said 

"we will continue 

to consult closely 

with Congress as we 

engage on human 

rights with the 

Egyptian government 

and seek tangible 

steps to address the 

concerns shared by 

the administration 

and the Congress."

October 2022 — M2CC Newsletter

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