“Hunger trance” kills
i don’t know how I’ve missed this story. Back in late June, Staff Sergeant Rashad Valmont shot multiple times and killed his supervisor 47-year-old Pedro Mercado at their Army Reserve Center at Fort Gilliam, Georgia, south of Atlanta.
Here’s a picture of Valmont in happier times;
It seems that portly Valmont was denied permission to attend a military school because he couldn’t meet the weight standards;
Sgt. Rashad Valmont’s attorney William Cassara said Monday his client was dehydrated and exhausted from sauna treatments, body wraps and other efforts to meet “arbitrary” weight guidelines to go to an advanced training course.
Well, if by “arbitrary weight guidelines” Mr. Cassara means the same standards that have been around since the carter Administration – and the same “arbitrary weight guidelines” that the whole Army is subject to when we attend military schools, he might be right – well, except for the fact they’ve been around forever and everyone is required to comply.
Oh, and I see where Valmont tried body wraps, fasting and saunas, but nothing about actual exercise to lose weight. He sounds like a lazy slug. I’m just saying. Only a slug would think he could loose weight by sitting around in a sauna. I’ve known plenty of them. Some I met while sitting around in a sauna trying to lose weight.
Cassara said Valmont was in “some sort of delirium” when he shot and killed 47-year-old Master Sgt. Pedro Mercado in June at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in nearby Fort Gillem.
Prosecutors say Valmont, who was charged with premeditated murder, went into a downward spiral after he was denied his leave for repeatedly showing up to work late.
It’s not clear to me who was on leave prior to MSG Mercado’s murder, because the Associated Press author of the article isn’t clear on that point. I guess they should be giving remedial writing class at AP. It’s hard to understand the whole “hunger delirium” excuse, though. By the looks of him, Valmont had another six weeks of “stored energy” under his skin. And if he was on vacation, I doubt that his adherence to a strict regimen of saunas and body wraps were uninterrupted by trips to Dairy Queen.
Thanks to Just a Grunt for the link.
Category: Military issues
For anybody out there who doesn’t know this…sauna treatments and the chemical “body wraps” are not only useless in losing weight, they can be DANGEROUS. A sauna can cause a dangerous imbalance in electrolytes, it can cause a fatal rise in blood pressure, and it can cause a fatal rise in core body temperature. The chemical body wraps have been known to be toxic, and in some cases, caustic, causing first- and second- degree burns. DON’T USE THESE FOR WEIGHT LOSS!Saunas do have their uses and, if not abused, do have therapeutic effects. I know of no legitimate use for the body wraps…they are simply a current fad, and are best avoided.
There is no excuse for what this man did. Different body types require different types of conditioning to achieve desired body mass. Simply pumping iron to “work off” a high fat diet is about the worst idea there is, since what you will end up with is a heavy-muscled fat guy with a cholesterol level of about 700.
I would think this man would have had expert trainers available to help him work on his muscle-fat ratios, to get him where he needed to be for weigh-in. He used all the wrong tools to try to lose weight.
PT in the Reserves is a self motivating, self discipline issue. You are expected to maintain fitness on your own, unless, like me, you are coming off an injury. Unfortunately, I don’t think being a fat, sloppy POS mess is an injury recognized by the US Army. If there is one thing I hate, its hearing about or witnessing NCO’s not doing the right thing!!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!
Hunger delirium? WTF is that? Does that mean that every graduate from Ranger School has about a two month window to go out and kill people? Cuz I’ll guarantee you that heavy drop here has no idea what hungry is.
On the upside I understand that some of the “boys” at levenworth like a little extra cushion.
I hope you enjoy it Rashad, you earned it. Douchebag!
I’m no expert but in the picture looks like he’s not wearing the beret properly, looks sloppy.
Reverse twinkie defense.
Anonymous 7:14 – you got it right.
I ate a Twinkie once. It made me want to rape and kill.
The first thing Valmont did when he turned himself in was ask for some food. Good grief!
The poor bastard was delirious because he had no food? Really? SO THAT IS HIS EXCUSE FOR MURDER?
What a joke, but it’s not so funny because MSG Mercado was murdered in cold blood by a poor excuse for a Soldier.
I hope this moron rots in hell. He deserves what he’s got coming to him!! SLUG!!
This picture is the property of the us army please remove it from your website, or we will sue.
Sporkmaster: If your going to lie about being a official in the Army then at least make it believable.
And on whose behalf will you be suing, cupcake?
Since the government serves the people, all of the pictures they put on the internet are public property. And, oh, it’s Army policy that when conducting official business on the internet, Army officers aren’t allowed to post anonymously. And I’m pretty sure they’re more inclined to type “U.S. Army” rather than use that pre-adolescent all lower-case style of yours.
all i have to say is this person that did this to my cousin MSG Pedro Mercado, to me is considerd trash, a disgrace, a Fat Lazy inmate who couldve just have chosen to go to the gym & eat right instead of chosing to do what he did to my cousin who wouldve accomplished one of the many things that he told me he wanted to do for himself & his 2 grandchildren was to retire 12 months from the month this trashy disgraced FAT LAZY turd did to my cousin MSG Pedro Mercado was he wanted to retire with 30 years of service so he can receive a hand writtn letter from President B. Obama & let his 2 grandaughters have it because of the history that President B. Obama has accomplished, on that note I must let my Awesome cousin MSG Pedro Mercado RIP…..I Love You Cuz, I’ll be there with you one day & we once again chill like we used to, MUCH LOVE PEEDEEPEE, C-Ya…..
Everyone in this blog stop guessing about things you don’t know. Valmont had made the tape to go h to school, but his immediate supervisor wanted him to be 3% under the required standards that’s why he was doing extra things including extra pt. Valmont was supposed to be on pass the day the incident happened but it denied the day before when he was told he wasn’t going to school that sunday.
So that justifies murder? Fat chance.
Pun intended.
Does anyone know when this fat pigs trial will be? If so please post.
Interesting Says:
April 18th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Everyone in this blog stop guessing about things you don’t know. Valmont had made the tape to go h to school, but his immediate supervisor wanted him to be 3% under the required standards that’s why he was doing extra things including extra pt. Valmont was supposed to be on pass the day the incident happened but it denied the day before when he was told he wasn’t going to school that sunday.
A soldier should not go to any military training just barely passing his or her tape. That is not the proper way to do business and is a direct reflection on his or her chain of command. All this guy had to do is eat one burger on his way to school and he would have failed the tape and been considered a NO GO. His command did the right thing by not allowing him to attend. Valmont failed as a soldier, as a man and as a human being! May MSG Pedro Mercado, a true soldier in every sense, rest in peace!
While I will never make an excuse for Murder I knew Valmont and this really isnt who he is. There is alot of pressure placed on our soldiers esp after years of service..No excuse for murder I know but unless MSG Mercado was your friend or family let us not Judge. RIP