Two VA workers among dead at Fort Hood - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Two VA workers among dead at Fort Hood

Two of the 13 people slain at Fort Hood on Thursday were military reservists who worked for the Veterans Affairs Department as civilians, VA officials said. A third VA employee, a social worker, was seriously wounded.

One of the slain, Army Reserve Capt. Russell Seager, 51, was motivated to prevent mental health problems of combat soldiers from occurring in the first place, VA officials said. Seager joined the Army Reserve four years ago and was preparing for his first overseas deployment. He was to be assigned to a combat stress control unit to watch for warning signs such as anger and insubordination among soldiers.

At the VA medical center in Milwaukee, Seager led a mental health team treating a wide variety of veteran patients, from combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to World War II veterans dealing with depression.

Seager was a teacher at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee. He is survived by his wife and son.

Maryland National Guard Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, 55, also preparing for a deployment to Iraq, was a nurse practitioner at the VA medical center in Perry Point, Md., in civilian life. She volunteered for the “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” program, helping members of the Maryland National Guard readjust after returning from overseas deployments. She provided mental health counseling and helped develop a program about the myths and realities of post-traumatic stress disorder.

She is survived by two daughters and six grandchildren.

Army Reserve Capt. Dorothy Carskadon, 47, was wounded and is in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. She was also preparing for her first deployment.

As a social worker and team leader at the VA Vet Center in Madison, Wis., she oversees other social workers in providing individual and group counseling for combat veterans experiencing difficulty readjusting to the civilian community after military service.