After Vegas explosion, worrying trend among highly exposed veterans explained
Jan 10, 2025, 6:20 AM
In this undated photo provided by the Las Vegas Police Department a passport belonging to Matthew Livelsberger, found inside a Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas can be seen. (Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
(Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Police Department via AP)
It was a confusing scene on New Year’s Day in Las Vegas when Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty Green Beret, took his own life in an explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel. The event has sparked a conversation about the hidden struggles many military personnel face, particularly regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries.
KIRO Newsradio’s “Seattle’s Morning News” discussed the circumstances surrounding Livelsberger’s death with Dave Philipps, a reporter from The New York Times who has been investigating the challenges faced by veterans like Livelsberger.
Looking at Livelsberger’s career in the military
Philipps shared insights into Livelsberger’s military career and the signs of his declining mental health. “Here’s a guy who joined special forces out of high school, and by the time he died this year, he was in for 18 1/2 years,” the journalist explained to KIRO Newsradio. “He deployed nine times, including five times to Afghanistan. He had five Bronze Stars, including one with valor, which means that he did something heroic under fire. So this is a guy who was really a successful and well-respected Green Beret.”
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When Livelsberger began to struggle
Despite his impressive service record, Livelsberger started to struggle as his career progressed. Philipps recounted how his difficulties became noticeable during his time at Washington’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in 2021, where he attended the Special Forces Surveillance School.
“He breezed through all sorts of schooling before and was really a high-achieving guy, but by the time he got there, he was having so many issues that he essentially failed out of the school,” Philipps said. “That was the first time that some of the people close to him saw him really start to struggle with issues from his service.”
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Considering more than PTSD: Brain health may be a factor
“Seattle’s Morning News” focused on the two years leading up to Livelsberger’s death, asking about the signs of his distress.
“There are thousands of current and retired military members with PTSD and brain trauma, and they would never do something like what Livelsberger did. Has anyone been able to pinpoint what went wrong specifically with him?” Philipps was asked.
Philipps highlighted symptoms that go beyond PTSD, pointing to possible brain injuries.
“He was having trouble with nightmares, he was having trouble controlling his emotions,” he said. “But what might be underlying all this — and maybe more important — is that for years and years, he was exposed in training and in deployment to all sorts of blasts, firing weapons, being around explosives, and those shockwaves can go through the brain and actually damage the brain cells. Think of it a little bit like smoking. Now if you’ve experienced one blast, it’s not that dangerous, but if you experience a career of thousands and thousands of blasts, it can be devastating to your brain health.”
Philipps went on to point out a worrying trend among highly exposed military personnel.
“While it’s really uncommon for folks who are exposed to blasts over about 20 years of a career to become violent, there is a pattern with these people,” he noted.
Philipps referenced a similar case from Maine in 2023, where a grenade instructor’s prolonged exposure led to severe mental health issues and violence.
“For years before that, he had been a grenade instructor at an Army Reserve unit where he experienced thousands and thousands of grenade blasts. Then, very suddenly, about six months before he went on this rampage, he started to experience all sorts of psychosis,” Philipps described. “The military didn’t know what was going on because, unfortunately, for years they’ve not recognized that this kind of exposure is dangerous. Now we’re starting to see that increasingly.”
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Are steps being taken to look at this differently?
In response to these findings, “Seattle’s Morning News” asked if the military is beginning to take steps to reduce the risks associated with repeated blast exposure.
“They’re starting to take steps just this year to do things, and some of it’s very simple—just like any other dangerous exposure. If you limit exposure, you limit risk,” Philipps explained. “Maybe don’t have somebody work with grenades on a training range for 10 years in a row. Now the military still has to do its job right, and the nature of warfare is unlikely to change, but if we can track how much people are exposed, try and limit it in whatever ways possible.”
The Times journalist called out how vital it is to acknowledge injury signs and treat them rather than assuming something else is the problem.
“And most of this exposure, by the way, is happening in training — maybe 80%. So we need to track how people are exposed, limit that exposure, recognize the signs when someone may be injured and treat them because right now a lot of those signs are missed. People are either seen as having PTSD or they’re just seen as having a behavior problem and they’re kicked out of the military. We can do a lot better than that.”
“Seattle’s Morning News” then asked about resources available for those affected. Philipps highlighted specialized brain and concussion clinics that offer free treatment to combat veterans.
“They’re very good at teaching how to manage those symptoms that are affecting people right now — sleep, mood, anxiety — and they allow people to put their lives back together. I’ve seen it happen, and people can get a lot of good help there.”
The interview concluded with a note of gratitude for Philipps, who responded by saying, “I hope that folks from JBLM are listening.”
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Charlie’s stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
