Over the last two years, the Army’s had no shortage of proverbial “strategic knuckleheads“: alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning; the “Afghan Kill Squad”; and most recently, a soldier charged with murdering seventeen Afghan civilians.
Striking in many of these cases is that nearly every perpetrator of these heinous acts had patterns of misconduct, indicipline, and criminal behavior dating back years. Bradley Manning was nearly booted from Basic Training, further reprimanded during advanced training at Fort Huachuca, and had violent outbursts while stationed at Fort Drum. Likewise, Specialist Jeremy Morlock, one of the ringleaders in the infamous “Afghan Kill Squad”, was once punished for disorderly conduct, and even went AWOL to avoid a drug test shortly before deployment (a habit he took with him to Afghanistan). Or Major Nidal Hasan, the accused Fort Hood shooter, who had a history of extremist behavior. Add to this SSG Robert Bales, who had arrests for drunken driving and a hit-and-run accident.
My Comment: The military is always a reflection of who and what our society is in general .... the good, the bad, and the ugly all rolled up into one big institution. Unfortunately .... it is usually the bad that makes the headlines. The idea of establishing a permanent counseling file for soldiers is a good one .... the key is on how to implement it without causing negative ripples or abuse.
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