In the six years since combat operations began in Iraq, Fort Carson — the country's third-largest Army base, with 22,000 active soldiers on duty — has become its own kind of killing field. Before Kevin Shields was gunned down, at least three other Iraq War veterans from the base had been arrested for murder, and a fourth had committed suicide after killing his wife. Since then, at least five more GIs at Fort Carson have been arrested in connection with murders, attempted murders or manslaughter. All told, the military acknowledged this summer, 14 soldiers from the base have been charged or convicted in at least 11 slayings since 2005 — the largest killing spree involving soldiers at a single U.S. military installation in modern history.
Spurred by public outrage, the Army conducted a six-month study into the Fort Carson killings, examining the medical and combat histories of the 14 accused soldiers. Like Bressler, nine of the vets served in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, which suffered a casualty rate in Iraq eight times higher than other Fort Carson units. The Army's 126-page report, released in July, marked the first time the military has ever acknowledged the significance of combat in the behavior of returning veterans. There is, according to the report, a "possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes." But in classic bureaucratic language, the study fell short of calling for any real specific action beyond a need for more studies.
"We don't have enough data yet to determine any cause-and-effect relationships," Maj. Gen. Mark Graham told me before stepping down as commander of Fort Carson in August. "And even if you could identify high-risk soldiers, what are you going to do? Lock them up? What you have to do is watch their behavior."
In fact, that's exactly what Fort Carson failed to do. The story of how a once-promising infantryman like Louis Bressler wound up in prison for taking part in two murders reveals as much about the Army's negligence as it does about Bressler's mental decline.
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Spurred by public outrage, the Army conducted a six-month study into the Fort Carson killings, examining the medical and combat histories of the 14 accused soldiers. Like Bressler, nine of the vets served in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, which suffered a casualty rate in Iraq eight times higher than other Fort Carson units. The Army's 126-page report, released in July, marked the first time the military has ever acknowledged the significance of combat in the behavior of returning veterans. There is, according to the report, a "possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes." But in classic bureaucratic language, the study fell short of calling for any real specific action beyond a need for more studies.
"We don't have enough data yet to determine any cause-and-effect relationships," Maj. Gen. Mark Graham told me before stepping down as commander of Fort Carson in August. "And even if you could identify high-risk soldiers, what are you going to do? Lock them up? What you have to do is watch their behavior."
In fact, that's exactly what Fort Carson failed to do. The story of how a once-promising infantryman like Louis Bressler wound up in prison for taking part in two murders reveals as much about the Army's negligence as it does about Bressler's mental decline.
More...
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- SleepDirt
- added this
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Give a child a gun and there's your result.
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watch their behavior... tell-tale behavior isn't always displayed, right?
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- tangibleparadox
- 14 days ago
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It is so sad. What makes a person snap and do something like this?
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The military has been stretched to the snapping point, hell in Vietnam you only had to serve one tour overseas about 10 to 12 months these soldiers have been deployed 2,3,4,5 times what do you expect. I'll tell you this the future civilian life for many will be hundreds of green river killers.
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- kennymotown
- 13 days ago
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