Just released this afternoon, Quartzsite Town Attorney
Martin Brannan gets up close and personal.
Press Release
Dec. 22, 2011
Martin Brannan
Quartzsite Town Attorney
PO Box 2812
Quartzsite, AZ 85346-2812
I was just notified by a reporter from KSWT television in Yuma that Jennifer Jones has issued a “press”
release making generally silly accusations about her request that I be investigated by the FBI and the
Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) for threatening her and others. Assuming that the FBI and
DPS even find grounds to believe that there is criminal conduct requiring and investigation, which I
highly doubt, I know that I have engaged in no illegal conduct. There is one accusation that Ms. Jones
made which I do want to address, however, because I believe it is of great importance.
Ms. Jones alleged to the KSWT reporter that I am mentally unbalanced. I want to address this accusation
in the hopes that it will help others who are stigmatized by such outrageous allegations.
I am a veteran of the first gulf war (1990-1991). I received an Air Medal for my role in piloting medium
lift helicopters during combat operations in support of the 18th Airborne Corps. Shortly after returning
from the conflict, I began having migraine headaches and experiencing difficulties which fall under the
diagnostic heading of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I receive services from the Veteran’s
administration and have a service-connected disability for, along with several physical ailments, PTSD. I
continue to suffer from occasional depression, anxiety and troubled sleep. I take medication for my
condition which makes dealing with this disorder easier, but I do have symptoms and suffer from a
condition designated by mental health professionals as a mental illness.
I admit this freely and without reservation because, like thousands of other Americans who have served
this country against an armed enemy, I am not ashamed of the scars I earned ensuring that people like
Jennifer Jones have the freedoms that Americans enjoy. While Ms. Jones uses her freedom of speech to
ridicule people who bear the mental scars of combat like myself and Council Member Joe Winslow, she
rails against anyone who dares to exercise their free-speech rights to ridicule her and her “service” to her
fellow human beings.
The last US Combat troops have finally left Iraq and many more are still serving in Afghanistan. Some
of them will soon be returning to the United States and to civilian life. Some of them may return to this
community. All of them will have been impacted by their combat service. Some of them, like me, will
have a service-connected disability as a result of their service. All of them, like me, will nevertheless be
capable of really serving their communities both in spite of and, more importantly, because of the
personal price they paid to secure your freedoms.
How you treat these brave men and women who suffer scars that you cannot see will be up to you. You
can honor their service and their sacrifice and help them to adjust to civilian life.
You can also ridicule them and make scurrilous claims that they are mentally unstable like Ms. Jones
does. Like Ms. Jones you can even claim that you are a “patriot” in doing so. That, too is your right; a
right that these brave men and women and Joe Winslow and I all sacrificed a part of their own wellbeing
to ensure.
