Maine's congressional delegation is calling on the Department of Defense to swiftly implement recommendations from two Army investigations into the mass shooting last October committed by a reservist.
The delegation is also asking for regular briefings from Pentagon officials on any actions that are being taken.
Earlier Tuesday, the Army released a long-awaited review of how Army Reserve leaders and the military's medical system handled the growing concerns about 1st Sgt. Robert Card's deteriorating mental health. A 20-year veteran of the Reserves, Card spent more than two weeks at a psychiatric hospital in New York last July after his commanders — alarmed by his paranoia and aggressive behavior — ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation.
The Army's report identified "multiple communication failures between military and civilian hospitals as well as with SFC Card’s chain of command" and determined these failures severely impacted Card's behavioral health care. Card killed 18 and wounded 13 in Lewiston on October 25 in the worst mass shooting in Maine history.
The delegation members — Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King and Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden — wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that they supported the recommendations as "critical in taking steps to provide effective care and prevent future violence."
"The U.S. Army Reserve Command’s . . . investigation and the U.S. Army Inspector General’s subsequent review identified multiple recommendations that — if followed — will benefit the Department of Defense as it provides care for service members," they wrote to Austin. "While we continue to press for change, we feel a sense of frustration because, truthfully, recommendations are nothing without action. Therefore, we are deeply interested in how your office intends to implement these recommendations, as well as the timeline for implementation. This is life and death and, as we have seen over the past few years, delays can be costly."
The report from the Army and the Army's Inspector General includes recommendations that the Reserves update its behavioral health programs and policies. Another recommendation calls for increased staffing in behavioral health and expanding the Army's suicide prevention program.
The Army report also calls for determining whether a private psychiatric hospital in New York, Four Winds Hospital, failed to adequately care for Robert Card months before he committed the mass shooting. Card was sent to Four Winds for more comprehensive evaluation after a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the military's Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point found he was suffering from psychosis.
Four Winds began the process of involuntarily committing Card but then withdrew its request and released him the day after his scheduled court hearing. Card returned to Maine and, according to the Army reports and other investigations, never complied with his treatment plan to take medication and undergo treatment. The Army investigator said it was unclear why he was released suddenly from Four Winds because the private hospital did not cooperate with the investigation.
Three of Card's commanding officers in his Saco-based Reserve unit were the subjects of unspecified "adverse administrative actions" for their dereliction of duty in following up with Card's care and following standard procedures.
"While we cannot undo this tragedy, we can do our best to learn from past errors," the delegation wrote in their letter. "We urge you to implement the recommendations from (Army report) and Inspector General reviews immediately, and your office should carefully assess which recommendations should be implemented across the entire force. We look forward to hearing from you, and we request regular briefings on the actions the Department is taking."
