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| Iraq |
| Report: Flagstaff soldier killed self in protest |
| 2006-11-03 |
| This story does not make sense to me. If she had a problem, aren't there are better ways to protest than kill onself? Flagstaff soldier who died in Iraq committed suicide after she refused to participate in interrogation techniques being practiced by her U.S. Army intelligence unit, according to a report about an Army investigation aired by a Flagstaff radio station. U.S. Army Spc. Alyssa R. Peterson, 27, died Sept. 15, 2003, in Tel Afar, an Iraqi city of about 350,000 residents in the northern part of the country. At the time, the U.S. Department of Defense listed her cause of death as a "noncombat weapons discharge." I am from AZ so this is close to home. I am hoping some Rantburgers with expertise in Iraq or interrogation can shed some light on this. At minimum, it sounds like we need to screen people better who are going to be doing interrogations. I can see how some folks would not be a good psychological fit for that task. The story is poorly written, but the soldier sounds like a very capable, patriotic person. |
| Posted by:JAB |
| #4 BA nails it. The lady killed herself over three years ago. The story underlying the reasons for the suicide is just now coming to light? BS. It's a hit piece on the Trunks. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2006-11-03 11:34 |
| #3 I don't mean to be insensitive or anything, but right now I question the TIMING of all things reported. With the election just literally days away, why is something that happened over 3 years ago being reported? Unless, the suicide reasoning JUST came to light, it's pure politics in my mind. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-11-03 11:19 |
| #2 A good friend of mine took his life recently. It shocked everyone who knew him. The general question was why, what went through his mind? And the short answer was nobody knows. He obviously had his reasons and they probably accumulated over the many years of his life. Just like her. God rest her soul. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2006-11-03 10:39 |
| #1 Without knowing any specifics: Current practice is to treat psych problems related to combat stress as close to the soldier's unit as possible, and to get them back into the groove quickly. If her situation involved a discipline issue, that would also have been handled at the unit level. Very often, coaching by superiors and peer pressure work. Sometimes they don't. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-11-03 10:30 |