There are reports that alcohol illicitly consumed by Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales in Afghanistan a week ago may have been the final link in a chain of stressors that caused him to “snap” and slaughter 16 …
BattlelandMilitary Personnel
BattlelandMilitary Personnel
BattlelandClose-up
Battleland Diary, March 10-16
TIME’s photo editors bring you the best pictures from the front lines and home.
BattlelandMilitary Justice
Alleged Afghan Killer: Staff Sgt. Robert Bales
The Army has identified the staff sergeant suspected in the killing of 16 Afghan civilians last Sunday as Robert Bales, who is now at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He could be charged in the case as early as this weekend.
The father of two, 38, appears to have a good military record. He returns home after three months in Afghanistan. …
BattlelandMilitary Mental Health
Combat Deployments: Unbalanced Burden
Here’s an interesting chart from a 2010 Defense Business Board study that looked at how evenly U.S. troops were sharing the burdens of war. It’s relevant given the fact that the alleged Afghan shooter was on his fourth combat deployment.
BattlelandMilitary Mental Health
Witches’ Brew: Alleged Afghan Slayer’s Growing List of Mitigating Circumstances
The trickle of mitigating circumstances trying to understand the motive of the Army soldier who allegedly slaughtered 16 Afghan civilians last Sunday has turned into an avalanche over the past 24 hours.
According to a defense attorney retained by his family, and news reports of rumors, innuendo and perhaps some facts, Staff Sergeant X …
BattlelandMilitary Spending
The Circle Game
BattlelandMilitary
Afghanistan Mission: Impossible?
No, not the challenging military mission that 90,000 U.S. troops are now carrying out: hunting down and killing Taliban insurgents while training Afghan security forces to take over by 2015.
No, the more vital mission right …
BattlelandNavy
Readying For Iran
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., had a question Thursday for Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Navy’s top officer. Just what investments is the Navy making to prepare for war with Iran?
Greenert, in his first appearance before the …
BattlelandCongress
The (S)Upper House
As least that’s what senators like to think of the Senate. They refer disparagingly to the House as “the other body,” as if they’re brushing crumbs from their lap after some fund-raising dinner. Senators – many of whom view themselves as Presidents-in-waiting – get to ratify treaties and confirm top Administration …
BattlelandTroops
Afghanistan: How’d We Get Here?
The gray-matter grit of the war in Afghanistan comes through loud and clear in this essay by Neil Shea, who has written for National Geographic and the Atlantic Monthly, among other publications:
Since 2006 I have written off
…
5 Things Teachers Could Learn from the Marines
Why Fallujah might have more to teach us than Finland about improving our schools
Surrounded.
Armed…with Headphones
Afghan soldiers listen via translator to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. They, as well as their U.S. and allied comrades, were disarmed before Panetta arrived. The unusual …
