AP: American kills 5 fellow soldiers at clinic in Iraq
Update: They just released the name of the alleged gunman at the same time they charged him with murder. Sgt. Russell had already served three tours of duty in Iraq but was about to go home in 10 days. So was it better he got this out of his system before or after coming back stateside? Obviously, there's no answer for that.
This story out of Iraq just makes me sick at heart.
An unnamed soldier at a counseling center at Camp Liberty opened fire and killed five of his fellow soldiers. Another report stated that three others were wounded.
My heart really goes out to the families and friends of all involved. Those poor people. Think about it:
You think you're at the breaking point. Your duties and extended separation from your loved ones is putting unimaginable pressures on you and you go to the one place that offers you the best chance of getting some much-needed help. But that one place turns out to be the place of your death. Looking for help and getting fragged instead.
What could have been going through this soldier's mind that he thought this was more beneficial or cathartic than the help this center would've offered him free of charge? None of us who have never been to Iraq can answer that but one fact is abundantly clear: We need to get out of there and soon.
posted by jurassicpork @ Monday, May 11, 2009
4 comments
4 Comments:
The military has started a pretend PTSD treatment program- basically giving relaxation techniques, a short stint of counseling, with the idea that they just need to embrace that war = killing. Then they declare them cured & send them back to Iraq or active duty.
Yes we need to them out of there ASAP. All of them.
Yeah, huh? Even MASH units were as far from the front lines as they could comfortably get. This clinic should've been set up in Kuwait, somewhere far from the front lines which, in Iraq, is theoretically everywhere.
It is a terrible story. This soldier broke after his third tour -- and sadly, I don't think this will be the last such story.
We've made murdering machines of our youth. How can any sane human endure 3 or 4 tours of the hell-hole named Iraq? This generation will all come home again one day; I pity the fool.
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