Why 'Stressed Out' U.S. Soldier Killing Comrades in Iraq Was Inevitable

The slaughter of five comrades by a "stressed out" U.S. soldier today in Baghdad is a true tragedy -- but should not come as a shock.

Some of us have warned about this kind of thing happening for years, with many in the media ignoring the effects of the war on our soldiers and veterans, or paying attention for just a short while and then moving along. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Salon's Mark Benjamin.

It's revealing that today's incident took place at a clinic for soldiers suffering from trauma or mental fatigue, and the killer, a sergeant, apparently was a patient himself.

Suicides both in Iraq and among vets back home have been unusually high almost from the beginning of the war and have surged in recent months. Also truly shocking is the number of veterans with brain trauma or mental problems. These numbers get reported when a study emerges, then are forgotten. At least President Obama has upped money for treatment.

Nearly one in five American soldiers deployed in Iraq suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), according to the U.S. military's battlemind.army.mil website.

Too often the media treats our presence in Iraq as essentially benign now, ignoring the plight of those serving there, and the travails when they come home.

I have written about soldier suicides for almost six years now. I always have plenty to write about, unfortunately. And now, mass murder.

Paul Rieckhoff, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said this afternoon: "Unlike during the Vietnam War, today's military is a professional, all-volunteer force.  There have been only five cases of intentional fratricide by U.S. service members in Iraq.  But these incidents, however rare, draw public attention to an important issue: the enormous stress on our armed forces.  Many troops are under great psychological strain and are not receiving the treatment they need.  Over 600,000 troops have served more than one combat tour since 9/11.  Military suicide rates have hit record highs every year since 2003.  Much more must be done to address troops' psychological injuries before they reach a crisis point."

And remember: We still have as many soldiers in Iraq as we did before the surge -- and are sending thousands more to Afghanistan.

Greg Mitchell's book "So Wrong for So Long" included several chapters on soldier suicides. His latest book is "Why Obama Won."

Comments

[JohnIII]

This is no different than people freaking out in the civilian sector. Some people are just unstable.

I was in the Navy and we had a murder on our ship. It was a senseless act. I don't blame the Navy for it.
I blame the guy that did it. He was full of hate. The Navy didn't teach him that, he brought it from somewhere else.

[BluePrideStephen]

Our family has experienced my brother's severe ptsd for decades. Two tours of Vietnam as a Ranger and the brother we knew was gone. When he's at his worst the only types of people he trusts are other soldiers who understand what it was like. Since the military has outsourced everything to private profit companies those experiencing stress in combat zones have none of 'their own' to help them. This is not only highly volotile, it's predictable.

It's exponentially more critical, yet strangely similar to the healthcare quagmire we have in this country. When a soldier needs help, they need it STAT. An officious privateer jus' won't do.

[Dale07]

I was told Obama was going to bring the troops home...... well???

[research]

End these wars, Obama!

[musings2]

Such denial going on about the effect of the Global War on Terror on humans. Repeated deployments and the odd feeling of being in two worlds happened during Vietnam. I knew someone whose father returned from Nam after four deployments with a plate in his head, before he died prematurely. His daughter had a tough time of it in high school. Physical trauma and lifelong handicaps go into the family circle. Like Vietnam, there's been an underlying domino theory operating which spreads war like cancer. A diminishing return crowns efforts, because good news is constantly trumped by refugee crises, disease outbreaks (just wait), and environmental rape not to speak of the human kind. The bad boys made us do it. They always do.

A Satanic force is pushes us onward. Could it be (partly) within ourselves? Some of the soldiers seem to know that. They see their friend's face as a bit of goo and they "know what to do" but sometimes not who to do it to.

Now there are soldiers near American suburbs targeting to 7000 mile range, "avoiding" PTSD. Like a new garden weed killer that proves carcinogenic, the Predator Drone system could be hit fleeing suspects or political rivals, here or abroad. It's only a matter of time until Big Brother is holding the sword of Damocles, as 60 Minutes demonstrated when it showed its own camera crew in the monitor of the guys who play the Predator game. A guy could snap.

[ElitistWhitePerson]

Isn't war grand? Whether it may be legal, it is never moral. The only good war is something that I like to call "Peace."
Unfortunately, I am merely considered an unrealistic voice, shouting in the wind. Just like John Lennon, I guess I am a dreamer. I think I am in good company.
Please, President Obama, bring home our troops NOW! And spend the money to care for them when they get home. I would love my tax dollars to go for that...

[vinny]

"today's military is a professional, all-volunteer force"

volunteer implies doing something and not asking for anything in return...

[jqcitizen]

vinny-

Way too many 'volunteers' are professionals in fields other than fighting ill conceived wars. Many volunteered to National Guard units to serve, at home, for two weeks training annually plus one weekend per month. -These people did not volunteer for endless deployments into combat zones.

Those that volunteer for 'Active' duty, in the service, do so knowing that they will have the best of training and will be going wherever asked for the next several years.

The military, for some, is a great career but many National Guard troops did not 'volunteer' for the 'Draft'. Like it, or not, the draft is alive and well. Unlike the draft of the 'Nam days, the Guard is an almost certain way of finding yourself in combat.

[Libbyland]

Hmmm...is it possible that the Bush Administration not only tortured the "enemy" but also, in stretching deployments and re-deploying troops far too soon and too much, without concern for their mental health, that they were also torturing out own citizens? The case could be made by attorneys with chutzpah...

[dan-o]

Don't be an idiot! Sure it's stressful but there are millions of current and former Soldiers and Marines who have served multiple tours and have not killed anyone at home or themselves. They are undergoing incredible stress and services need to be increased but, just like the Vietnam generation of soldiers, a few incidents paint the whole generation of soldiers. In the 70's and 80's it was the Vietnam Vet who was crazy and now the media is trying to do the same thing to this generation of soldiers.

[mjtaylor22]

OUR SOLDIERS ARE OVERWORKED N UNDERPAID

[demfriend]

While I have been working the past months in the psych wards the strangest change has overcome the "just suicidal" to now include homicidal ideations.... The soldiers are not just focused on themselves to end the stress/tra­uma/horror they are now seeing those around them as "making them be there" and are looking at ending it all in other ways. These very same soldiers who get to us have already done something or said something which scares someone enough to send them our way. The ones with a real plan, like with the very suicidal, do not talk or act until they can do what was done today. The people surrounding this guy were obviously having thoughts and feelings not so unlike the one who acted but they are now the victims too. The military is listening for the most part as many who just try taking too many aspirin or tylenol are brought in rapidly but just how many soldiers can be brought in before the military has no one left on the front to fight? I believe there is not one soldier untouched by the stress and more but PTSD is still in the learning stages as how can you treat every single one who needs it without putting them inpatient?

[egal]

Yet again, we knew this was coming. THIS was why soldiers opposed tour lengthening, not because of any lack of bravery or patriotism. The studies, psychological reports, and reviews of history all said with certainty that the price for increasing length or frequency of deployments was manifold, including but not limited to suicide, fratricide, hair-triggers, poor judgment, inability to perform jobs safely or effectively, reduced troop effectiveness, physical ailments not cause by physical injury, PTSD, and other psychological disorders.

And those are just the symptoms we KNEW beforehand. This is WHY the military opposed Bush's increased deployment lengths and pacing. It wasn't just about destroying soldiers' lives at home and with family, but ALSO about ruining their effectiveness as a fighting force. Why is it that nobody listened before it hit the fan.

[damilitantone]

I was stationed at Fort Ord in the early 80s with no war going on. I was pulling guard duty at the ammo dump and over the walkie talkie came the message of shots being fired at the PX. I locked a loaded my "three rounds" in my M-16 went into the bush and waited for what might have been coming down the road. Turns out the next day that there were some kids lighting firecrackers. Now imagine that you are in Iraq and the sounds you hear are not firecrackers but AK-47s and RPGs. The stress can be unrelenting and not everyone can handle the day to day madness in a sane manner. It's not an excuse for killing your fellow soldiers, but it should be a wake up call for the field commanders and the politicians to come up with some viable solutions to ease the pressure on the troops out in the field.

[luckynewman13]

this is just the beginning

these killings are on the bush-cheney crime syndicate's hands.

[bobWal]

At one time every base was its own city. Bakers, painters, electricians , gunsmiths and riflemen. In the sixties it was possible to take a breather at yes KP or rocks and dirts. Todays military is so high pitched and stressed to the MAX- jobs that would allow someone to cool down are now "civilianized" so if you aren't in arms there is no room for you. Terrible cost of war.

[mikey2]

You make a very good point...Yes, As I was getting out in '98, all MOS's that did not have some type of field componenet, were being civilanized. And anyone left in the uniform was going to spend a lot of time in the field with the rest of the grunts.
Thought that was a shame.
After doing your time in an infantry unit, it was good to know that you could get retrained to become a nurse or dental assistant or something and lead a halfway normal life for a few years while still serving your country. Think it's important for soldiers to have those choices after a combat tour or two (or three, or four!). It would very much help someone traumatized by combat to reintegrate back into the real world...It would give them a chance to put down the weapon, get a useable skill and allow the military some time to keep an eye on the soldier for awhile instead of just dumping him back in society to find his own way thru...

[musings2]

I've noticed the new talk about people being a class of "warriors". This caste system would then allow for contractors to perform all the other tasks, I guess. It's a flattering come-on, but there is the profit motive in the civilian contractor. If you are of the "warrior" caste I suppose you cannot be assigned other tasks, like building a decent shower or something. I wish my dad were still alive. I would ask him about his four years in Italy, scrounging around and living off the land with other GIs. All I have are some photos of them with the locals, etc. Compared to Iraq, it seemed sane. Even so, my dad could probably be classified as someone with PTSD under current criteria. There were also men in the neighborhood who were hospitalized sometimes for nervous disorders (but not him - he took it out on others). it was just not explicitly talked about, except in an anecdote now and then. But that war had a beginning, a middle and an end, like a drama. This one is just modern and formless like Vietnam. I hate that kind of modern art.

[Steve Robinson]

We don’t know what happened in this particular case but we do know what is happening in our military surrounding STIGMA, mental health in the Military and the needs of returning veterans.
We must deconstruct the sequence of events that lead to this tragic incident and find out what went right and what went wrong. The military teaches us to dis-identify with the brains normal response to war and pursue the military objective, sometimes for the greater good or national policy but most service members find themselves simply fighting to survive and protect the men and women to the right and left on the battlefield. But is it that simple? Soldiers can be easily trained to dis-identify with what their mind is telling them and press on with the collective task at hand but being trained to set aside who we are and what we believe or feel to accomplish a military objective does not mean that the mind wont revisit these issues before , during or after the battle is over.. Without resources and community partnerships the veteran and their families are left unattended and unsupported. This is a recipe for disaster and we can do better.

[Lins7777]

My boyfriend is overseas for his second tour (army reserves). He is actually living on the base that the shooting happened on. I was friends with him prior to his first tour in 2004, and have been dating him since he returned in early 2005, so I have seen firsthand both the mental strain that deployment has on the people who go over there, and the lack of serious help for these veterans. The military seems so desperate for manpower that they are willing to overlook any potentially "at-risk" profiles. My boyfriend suffered a lot of emotional turmoil during his first tour, which went mostly untreated. He was given a prescription of anti-depressants (which did very little for him), and sent back out on combat missions. He didn't really have any resources, especially once he returned home. He was left mainly to his own devices. The army, AFTER he was deployed this second time, noticed his military profile, that until then had apparently not been reviewed, showing mental duress and other issues that made him non-deployable. They briefly considered letting him go home, but decided instead to just pop him with pills and send him on his way. To me this is just a prime example of where the military is failing their soldiers. Rather than seriously treating soldiers, or even relieving them of their combat duties if their emotional profiles suggest it may be necessary, they are just given a prescription of pills and sent on.

[LTBROWN]

Bring our boys home and treat the right when they get home. PLEASE PRESIDENT OBAMA.

[Magris]

Right you are! Bring them all home now. We cannot "win" in Iraq and Afghanistan until we leave. We will continue to pour the lives of our troops and billions of dollars into a deep well. We had our chance against the Taliban after 9/11 and blew it by invading Iraq.

The longer we stay, the longer the wars will continue. Did we not learn from Alexander the Great, the Romans, the British, and the Soviet invasions? They don't want us there, just as we wouldn't want them here. And you know this, President Obama.

Let's coerce the governments of those two countries to take a semblance of responsibility for their people and get out of there. As long as we stay, their corruption will continue to feed on our billions.

Yes, we broke it; but we can't fix it by staying. Just leave and hope the countries in their neighborhood will step up their efforts to secure their own safety and welfare.

[Rogan]

You'd think that people who don't learn lessons from Alexander the Great... might remember the story about the "tar baby."