Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in notes he left on his cellphone that he needed to “cleanse” his mind “of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.” Livelsberger served in the Army since 2006 and deployed twice to Afghanistan.
“This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives,” Livelsberger wrote in one letter found by authorities and released Friday.
If he was trying to keep his clearance, then he would strive to avoid any appearance of mental health issues. Strictly speaking you’re still encouraged to take care of your mental health, but you have no confidentiality in your mental health records if you have a clearance and certain psychological issues can be a cause to deny or revoke a clearance. Many clearance-holders opt to avoid therapy and other mental health treatments as a result.