Fighting for a Troubled Veteran

Here's a positive story about a troubled veteran who was offered compassion and a taste of redemption. After returning from Iraq in 2006, Brad Eifert, a highly-decorated staff sergeant descended into emotional and personal turmoil—divorce, rage, and alcohol abuse. "I just felt totally hopeless in every situation in my life," he said. Eifert's personal disintegration led to a standoff with police, in which Eifert held a pistol to his head and threatened to kill himself and a police officer. Surprisingly, the people involved in his case (including a wise and compassionate judge), banded together to help Eifert rather than just lock him up. Although they did charge him with a lesser felony, they also assigned him a mentor, enforced treatment, and even put a monitor on his ankle that records alcohol consumption. It's a beautiful example of how a community can help change lives through forgiveness, compassion, tough love, mentoring, and accountability.