Staff Sgt. Robert Bales checking identity papers during a training exercise at a mockup of an Afghan village at the National Training Center in California last August. The photo appeared in a military publication, High Desert Warrior. | U.S. Army
Former Lewis-McChord Soldiers Weigh In On Bales -- McClatchy News
Two former Stryker soldiers who've gone on multiple combat deployments and dealt with the trauma that can follow them offer divergent perspectives about whether such experiences could have played a role in Staff Sgt. Robert Bales' alleged massacre of Afghan civilians.
“It’s not shocking to me,” said Kevin Baker, a former staff sergeant with Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers who are screaming for help, but they aren’t getting it. And this was what, his fourth deployment? That’s pretty ridiculous.”
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My Comment: What`s my take .... I cannot even imagine what was going through Staff Sgt. Robert Bales mind when he left the base and committed these acts. What I do know is that suicide rates, PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse, broken families .... this is going to be the American legacy of the Iraq and Afghan wars .... and as for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales`s and his crimes .... that will represent the worse part of America`s legacy in these wars.
1 comment:
war sucks and being in "the frontrow" of a fiasco such as Iraq and Afghanistan as a infantryman can do strange things to ones mind...ever here of search and destroy in the Nam? it happened and how soon we veterans forget...this SSgt. Bales could be many of us who humped a ruck and did Uncle Sammy's dirty work...instead of judging this soldier and letting the media and politicians use him as a pawn we should stand up and demand justice for him and see he gets the help he deserves...how many vets are collecting a check at the VAMC pretending to have problems which this troop has shown vividly...
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