Response on That Michael Yon SOS...

Wow. Ask for a Danish med team, get a Danish med team. Well, almost. Yesterday I referred the fact that our Viking partners inside ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) have become realllly popular with wounded troops in Afghanistan. The Danes are doing arterial repairs in the field and are getting a rep for medical rock-starishness.  Because they seem to be on the cutting edge of the field triage and surgery bidness, I asked if they could please help with the Michael Yon situation.

For those of you just joining us... we have a serious ongoing FUBAR with independent war journo Michael Yon. Throughout his career, Yon mainly has been known for taking great pics in the Sandbox. Seriously. His photos are gorgeous, and he has an eye for drama, composition, and pathos. He's filed some excellent reports, too. And... he is enviably gifted in the art of self promotion and personal fundraising. For instance, he has this up on his World Famous Propaganda Outlet website: Reporting from a war zone is very rough on equipment, Michael is constantly having to have his equipment repaired and replaced. Without the continued support and contributions of readers it will be impossible for him to continue his mission in Afghanistan and reporting on the victory in Iraq. Your CASH is required to keep these dispatches coming. Please donate NOW. Your support is crucial and appreciated).

All well and good. Keep the economy rolling (and see my Tip Jar at left).
 
Recently, though, Our Mister Yon seemingly has ventured upriver into the heart of darkness, a la Jospeh Conrad's Col Kurtz. Without going into all the sordid backstory, I'll just hit the highlights. For years, Yon has been a serial brawler, engaging in or threatening lawsuits against filmmaker Michael Moore, publishing conglomorate Hachette Filippachi, and others, with varying levels of merit. Earlier this year, Yon was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma Airport in Washington, under murky circumstances that don't make sense, as Yon describes them. He got kicked off of four embeds with U.S. troops. He wrote paranoid rants about Gen. McChrystal, saying McChrystal "must be watched;" compared Army public affairs officers to crazy Indian monkeys; and other foolishness. Really: it's all too sordid and ridiculous, but suffice it to say, it was enough to prompt some of Yon's biggest supporters to urge him to stand down; take a break; get a mental health eval. And no, I am not talking about the legion of female groupies smitten by the one and only much-circulated pic that makes Yon appear to be a hottie. I'm talking seasoned, been-there-done-that blogger-vets like Greyhawk, Bouhammer, Blackfive's Uncle Jimbo, and C.J.
 
Most recently, Yon went into a tirade about a key bridge being blown up, and blamed ISAF troops when, my sources assure me, ISAF was off duty, and the Afghan National Army was watching the bridge. And then the unforgivable. Yon tweeted ISAF plans that the enemy read. He further violated OpSec, and put our troops' lives in danger.
 
Obviously, he's got to be stopped. And he kind of has been, at least temporarily. McChrystal has banned Yon from official embeds. But Yon - no doubt enabled by those adlled-brained females who can't keep their fingers off the Donate Now! widget on PayPal - plans to return to Afghanistan privately (and is gonna hijack an APC? I dunno....)
 
Anyway... this was a long way of getting to my point, which is: I called for help and I got it. An ISAF med team member advises:
 
From the personality change I'm thinking brain tumor or maybe TBI, something's seriously wrong there. Yon is showing classic symptoms of TBI, not sure how many blasts he's taken to his nogging but must be a coupla, the whole world is out to get me is spot on.
 
Hey, Mike! You're not the only one who gets emails from soldiers! But this one is verified genuine. Seriously, though. Let's take the professional's advice. Yon is way past the need for voluntary STAT eval. Somebody needs to send in a team. Pick him up. Bring him in. Tie him down and run him through a CAT-scan machine. Before he goes totally Kurtz.