For those of you that do not know, my name is Ryan and I am Bryan's older cousin. I have served 9 years with the United States Army and a handful of deployments, so although I might not understand Bryan's specific demons I do however understand the time in the desert never leaves a person.
For many years after my return home I would always cringe at the 4th of July holiday. It was only til recent that I was able to cope with the holiday and this year was no different. That was until my uncle Pat gave me a call saying that Bryan was having a difficult time down in Gulfport. I quickly buzzed Bryan, but I feel as if it was too late as he was already self-medicating and had flipped into the "Desert mode". After numerous calls, hang ups, calls, hang ups, his brother, Chris, myself and numerous other people tried desperately to calm his tension. Needless to say the night ended rather abruptly and unfortunately not in Bryan's favor.
Here are some details that I feel should be noted about Bryan switching over into "desert mode":
1. The Navy Seabees uniform is a Battle Dress Uniform(BDU) which is the old style often referred to as the Woodland Camo uniform. This is not the digitized style that most Army and Marine units wear but more of the style that you would dig out of dad's closet and use for a paintball game.
2. He spent the day in his shorts and a t-shirt but ended the night in a Desert Camo Uniform pant, desert boots, brown t-shirt and a side arm holster attached to his leg. It is important to note that he took the time to sport a very specific uniform, tucked in his boots, as well as brown t-shirt. These details are that of a trained service member about to go into duty.
3. He has documented PTSD records from his first deployment in 2004 but Hurricane Katrina/Rita had interrupted his medical treatment. With the medical community still not confident how to treat or even diagnose such cases, the only solution at that time was medication which Bryan states mainly zoned he and his fellow buddies out for the day. Very little if at all was done to dig into the sub-conscious of these sailors.
4. Like most macho jobs filled with testosterone and limited knowledge of medical terminology, Bryan did what everyone else in his situation would have done once Katrina/Rita interrupted his medical supply...he just got over it and moved on. This worked for him and countless other soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, but is merely putting a band aid on a gushing wound. Sooner or later that bandaid has to burst.
5. Over the course of the last 2 years Bryan has had surgery on his knee cap for an injury he sustained in Iraq while taking cover from incoming, as well as a separate encounter with incoming that left him with a torn labrum in his shoulder. It is important to note that he stopped taking his pain meds a few weeks ago for his last shoulder injury. This is important because there can be no doubt that by taking pain meds and mixing them with Bryan's choice of self-medication(alcohol) could lead to the events of July 4th. His toxicology reports display nothing but alcohol in his system.
Exact details of the night from the time he made his last call to myself, his brother, mother or who ever else that was trying call, and the time he was shot are still a mystery until the official police report is put out. It is the families goal to get as much details into the report from our side of things so when Bryan's case is handed over to the District Attorney, there will be some leverage in our favor. It was us, the family, that reached out to the detectives in Gulfport in a sign of cooperation and wanted to understand the process for Bryan's well being. Within 24 hours of our calls to the Detectives, Bryan was in custody of the P.D. and booked later that night.
As of now, nearly a week after the incident, no family member to my knowledge has been reached out to, nor interviewed by the Investigative Detectives or Police Department. If there has ever been a case for being PRO-ACTIVE, this is it. If anyone has any details of the night of the 4th, please e-mail, comment, or call an we can all do our best to help Bryan.
