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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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July 15th,
2009 - Army: Soldiers in Slayings Faced Intense Combat News article from the Associated
Press Summary
of the Fort Carson 2nd/4th Brigade Combat Team Killings |
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Army: Soldiers in Slayings
Faced Intense Combat By P. Solomon Banda Associated Press July 15, 2009 Fort Carson, Colo. -
Soldiers from a Colorado unit accused in nearly a dozen slayings since
returning home - including a couple gunned down as they put up a garage sale
sign - could be showing hostility fueled by intense combat in Iraq, where the
troops suffered heavy losses and told of witnessing war crimes, the military
said Wednesday. In what was billed as its
most comprehensive study to date of violent crimes and combat exposure, the
Army looked at soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division - nicknamed the Lethal Warriors - who were accused in a spate of
five killings around Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson, in 2007 and 2008. Six other slayings involving
unit soldiers occurred in Colorado and other states since 2005. "This investigation
suggest a possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure
and risk for negative behavioral outcomes," the study said. Army investigators compared
the Fort Carson unit of about 3,700 soldiers with a similarly sized unit and
found it suffered more combat deaths in Iraq and was deployed there longer. "This deployment
experienced higher levels of combat intensity," the report said, adding
that the soldiers also faced "significant disruptions in family-social
support." Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker,
the Army's surgeon general, said Wednesday the unit's crime cluster appeared
to be unique among Army bases and that its combat exposure and length of
deployments are just two factor officials are looking at. "We're starting to look
into the deployments and ... how it's related with attitudes and
behavior," Schoomaker said. The accused soldiers also
were at risk of violence because of prior criminal activity, drug and alcohol
abuse, and mental health issues, according to Schoomaker, Lt. Gen. Michael D.
Rochelle, the Army's deputy chief of staff, and Army West Division Commander
Maj. Gen. Mark Graham. Task force members suggested
the Army find a way to identify soldiers who have been exposed to fierce
combat. But in a bid to put the cluster in perspective, Rochelle stressed
that, between 2004 and 2008, 2,726 Army soldiers were involved in violent
crimes, out of a population of 1.1 million. Nationally, at least 121 Iraq
and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing in the United States or
been charged in one. They also recommended better
training for commissioned and noncommissioned officers to manage soldiers
with behavioral problems and ensure soldiers who seek help aren't humiliated
or belittled. Investigators focused on the
cases of 14 soldiers accused of murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and
aggravated assault, mostly with firearms. Two of those 14 soldiers
were not deployed. Among the 12 who were, investigators found the accused had
experienced heavy combat in Iraq and that half of those interviewed reported
witnessing war crimes, including the killing of civilians. Schoomaker stressed
Wednesday that an Army probe did not substantiate the soldiers' reports of
war crimes. Back home, the soldiers
carried weapons with them because they felt "naked" and unsafe and
had difficulty transitioning to civilian life. Some said they felt
"weird" and didn't fit in, the Army report said. "There, we were the law;
here, the cops are the law," one of the accused told investigators. The Army report says the
accused claimed their commanders and fellow soldiers did not encourage them
to seek help at home. The 4th BCT experienced a
combat death rate of 8.9 per 1,000 soldiers during a first Iraq deployment
and 9.6 per 1,000 on a second deployment. In comparison, the other,
unidentified unit had death rates of 0.4 and 2.1 per 1,000, respectively. The Colorado slayings
include the June 6, 2008, deaths of a man and a woman gunned down by a man
with AK-47 assault rifle as they put up garage sale signs on a street. Pfc. Jomar Dionisio
Falu-Vives faces first-degree murder charges in the shootings. He lived
nearby and told friends he liked hearing the sirens as authorities raced to
the scene, according to the Army report. In May, Thomas Woolly, a
Fort Carson soldier and Purple Heart recipient, was arrested on suspicion of
manslaughter in the slaying of a 19-year-old woman. Woolly was in Fort
Carson's Warrior Transition Unit, which provides support for soldiers
returning from combat who were injured or have psychiatric disorders. The spate of killings
prompted then-U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, now interior secretary, to ask the Army
last year to investigate the killings. Wednesday's study comes as
the Army struggles with other combat-related issues, including increased
rates of post-traumatic stress syndrome and soldier suicides. A study last year by the
RAND Corp. research organization estimated nearly 20 percent of returning veterans,
or 300,000 people, have symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Army suicides have increased
yearly since 2004 as soldiers deal with longer and repeated tours in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Eight soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., have killed themselves this
year, and the Army has made suicide prevention training mandatory for
soldiers and leaders. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_xI7LfbSV47Z5pzZq8NLfHx9nWQD99F2NFG0 |