| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Iraq | |
| Soldiers in Colorado slayings tell of Iraq horrors | |
| 2009-07-27 | |
Some Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers have had trouble adjusting to life back in the United States, saying they refused to seek help, or were belittled or punished for seeking help. Others say they were ignored by their commanders, or coped through drug and alcohol abuse before they allegedly committed crimes, The Gazette of Colorado Springs said. The Gazette based its report on months of interviews with soldiers and their families, medical and military records, court documents and photographs. Several soldiers said unit discipline deteriorated while in Iraq. "Toward the end, we were so mad and tired and frustrated," said Daniel Freeman. "You came too close, we lit you up. You didn't stop, we ran your car over with the Bradley," an armored fighting vehicle. With each roadside bombing, soldiers would fire in all directions "and just light the whole area up," said Anthony Marquez, a friend of Freeman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. "If anyone was around, that was their fault. We smoked 'em." Taxi drivers got shot for no reason, and others were dropped off bridges after interrogations, said Marcus Mifflin, who was eventually discharged with post traumatic stress syndrome. "You didn't get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong," he said. Because AP has got its panties in a bunch about copying their work, I'll stop there with the teaser and let you click on the link to read the rest of the story and to find out how hard the folks at AP worked to substantiate the soldiers' stories. Maybe they didn't really need to go to such great lengths since everyone knows that all Iraq veterans all come back transformed into wild-eyed knuckle-dragging homicidal maniacs. Perhaps they should pull a soldier after few dozen kills or near-death injuries, whichever comes first. Of course, if we did that, we wouldn't have anyone left to fight! | |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #10 Forgiven, come home and rest, Thank-you for your service. Any other response is unacceptable. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2009-07-27 18:57 |
| #9 No surprise 10Grp is having that compared to line units. Mega-high stress, and a ton more peer pressure to never ever look weak. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-07-27 18:44 |
| #8 Here is a chance to get the straight story. Casualties of War, Part I: The hell of war comes home Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs Both articles are very long - more than 2500 words each - so I won't post them here. They were in our local newspaper, the Colorado Springs "Gazette", yesterday and today. AP appears to add some twists that aren't in the Gazette articles. All the troops came from Fort Carson, but not necessarily the same unit. There are three brigade combat teams, plus quite a few of the 10th Special Forces stationed at Fort Carson (there are several dozen smaller units, including three or four reserve units assigned there as well, but most of them haven't been deployed overseas). I can attest to the stigma of seeking out mental health abuse, and its effect on one's career. I can also say with confidence that most unit commanders don't have a very good feeling for members that repeatedly show up for sick call. There needs to be some changes made in how the military recognizes and treats combat-related physical and mental trauma. The Fort Carson study was one step in that direction. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-07-27 15:04 |
| #7 This is the Associated [with terrorists] Press. What do you expect? Of course they are going to smear the troops - its one of the ways they support their allies. Just like they (and most of the rest of the MSM) did with Abu Ghraib - never ever mentioning that the problem was already being investigated via offical channels when they 'broke' the story. ABC News And then you have to wonder how much of the soldier's mental state was influenced (if not inflamed) by the Media's disgusting treatment of them after they returned. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-07-27 11:40 |
| #6 A unit with 10 men is a squad. Three to 4 squads in a platoon. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-07-27 11:34 |
| #5 This sounds like the "Zoloft defense" that was popular in the 90's. A lawyer said 95%+ of the people using that defense were guilty and just throwing a "Hail Mary" and hoping the jury would buy it. As for My Lai, it happened among: 1) a unit of draftees(many from "project 100,000") 2) rampant drug use, 3) an obsession with body counts. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-07-27 11:33 |
| #4 OS, that's Journalism 101 core course material. The Jason Blair Ethics class is an unaccredited option. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-07-27 11:17 |
| #3 I hope this is not an attempt to smear soldiers and their work like there was in Vietnam. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-07-27 10:51 |
| #2 Never will you see addressed the Geneva Convention [real international law] that legal combatants must wear identifying markings or uniform for the expressed purpose of reducing civilian casualties. Instead the MSM gives a pass to those on the other side who flaunt that law with the intention of creating civilian casualties in a war zone. Soldiers from an Army unit that had 10 infantrymen.. What size unit/population are we dealing with - platoon, company, battalion, battalion task force. Can we compare the population to, say, another population of the same or similar demographic in civilian life and get a similar result? "You didn't get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong," he said. Well, that's what criminal law is generally about. Not to be confused with being accused and found guilty without a trial by MSM. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-07-27 08:04 |
| #1 It's not unheard of. My Lai was a case of deterioration of discipline within a unit. Also, I know in the civilian world the act of asking for mental help is very detrimental to one's career (ask Thomas Eagleton) so it would be no surprise if soldiers with PTSD were discouraged from seeking help - though I understand there has been serious pressure lately to overcome that tendency. As far as the rest of it goes, acknowledging that it's wrong even if it's true, I can understand the urge to 'light the whole area up' etc. You spend day after day getting shot at or blown up by people dressed as civilians and tolerated/assisted by essentially all the civilians in the area, and you would about have to get frustrated and rather casual in regarding their lives as having any value. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-07-27 07:46 |