Photo: JOHN MOORE/Getty Images NewsRobert Bales and the Case for a Measured Approach to Alcohol in Combat -- Michael Larson and Mark Larson, New York Times
When we first heard the news that a lone American soldier was accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, and desecrating the corpses of nine, we had the same gut suspicion: alcohol had to be involved.
This newspaper and other sources have reported, citing anonymous government officials involved in the investigation, that the soldier, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, had been drinking illicitly with two other service members before the attack. They paint a picture of a soldier who, because of a combination of stress, domestic issues and alcohol, had reached his breaking point and simply “snapped.”
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My Comment: The writers of this post focus on alcohol, but I have been hearing from others that the abuse of pharmacological drugs (in theater) is becoming a bigger problem than what many are willing to openly acknowledge.
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