"A Soldier's Officer"

Dana Priest and Anne Hull of The Washington Post delve into the case of 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, who was recently court-martialed for attempting suicide and endangering the life of another officer while in Iraq. The authors trace Whiteside's career in the army and detail her many successes. Whiteside's defense is that she committed her offenses while over-worked, over-stressed and certifiably mentally unfit. Her situation illustrates the greater issue that the military belittles mental illness and does not properly care for soldiers or officers who suffer from it.