Russell Seager
Russell Seager, a nurse from Racine, Wis., was heading to Iraq to help soldiers suffering from mental health problems because of the war.
So it was a terrible irony that he was shot to death not by an enemy overseas, but by a colleague -- an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood, Texas.
(AP)
Mr. Seager, a 51-year-old nurse at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, led a mental health team whose patients ranged from soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq to veterans of World War II. He also taught at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee.
"His unit was involved in counseling soldiers," said Peter Pavone, director of the college's Milwaukee campuses. "In July, I went to his going-away party. I stood back and watched as his co-workers and students gave vignettes about what he meant to them. It was touching."
Mr. Seager was among 13 people shot to death Thursday at the military base. Authorities have identified Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, as the killer.
"I just don't know what to think," said Larry Seager, an uncle. "The guy that done the shooting was a psychologist, too. To take someone's life because he didn't want to go oversees is just too much."
Mr. Seager was "unassuming, dedicated and full of energy," Pavone said.
Mr. Seager was profiled in August by WUWM-FM (89.7), a public radio station in Milwaukee. He said in the interview that he signed up for the Army Reserve about four years ago and pursued his first deployment to Iraq. "I've always had a great deal of respect for the military and for service, and I just felt it was time that I stepped up and did it. Actually, I mean it sounds corny and patriotic, but when you talk to people that decide to do this, the feelings are similar," he said in the interview.
Mr. Seager said his Combat Stress Control Unit would watch for warning signs among soldiers on the front lines, including anger and insubordination.
"Every soldier wants to be perceived as being strong, but the Army has made it a point to stress that it takes a strong soldier to ask for help, and I think we've come a long way," he said.