When the Pentagon was wrestling with the idea of ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military, the Marine Corps quickly came to be seen as the service most opposed to the change. After all, General James Amos said he feared lifting the ban would be a “distraction” that could lead …
Troops
Afghan Massacre: Potentially Toxic Exposures?
In the national quest to understand what motivated Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales to leave his compound in the middle of the night, and allegedly gun down 16 men, women and children, there have been many motives already put forth. These include a “witches brew” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury …
The Army’s Continuing Dearth of Mental-Health Workers
The Afghan massacre, allegedly carried out by Staff Sergeant Robert Bales a week ago Sunday, is only going to highlight the chronic shortage of Army mental-health experts that we reported on in 2010. An Army social worker in …
Afghan Massacre Suspect: News From Home
Time’s Bonnie Rochman files from Seattle on Afghan massacre suspect Robert Bales:
In 2007, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales participated in a bloody, two-day battle in Iraq in which 250 enemy troops died. After the bullets stopped flying, he and his comrades pitched in to assist the wounded and their families. “We ended up helping the
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Up in the Mushroom Clouds Somewhere, Curtis LeMay Is Smiling
The directorate director at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Nuclear Capabilities Directorate’s Nuclear College has just announced he’s launched an advanced nuclear concepts course. (“Directorate director”? “Nuclear Weapons Center Nuclear Capabilities Directorate’s Nuclear College?” Department of Redundancy Department: your …
Yesterday’s Top Army Psychiatrist Ponders Today’s Mental-Health Army Ills
I drove home past the now-shuttered Walter Reed Hospital last night. The cherry trees are blooming pink within the compound, and the hospital where I spent so much of my life is visible through the bars and closed gates. I graduated four times on the wide lawn: from psychiatric internship, residency, and forensic and disaster …
Alcohol In The Ranks
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 …
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. …
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.
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 …
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 …
Military Commanders Fighting for Resources as Mission Demands Grow
Military commanders are lining up to tell Congress they don’t have enough resources to accomplish their many missions as ongoing defense budget cuts catch up to those in uniform and hinder mission success.
President Obama …
Army Policy: Deferring Mental-Health Diagnoses in War Zones
Some Army mental-health professionals say official instructions urging them to avoid declaring a soldier mentally ill in war zones keeps too many such ailing troops in combat. It’s part of a stretched Army’s quest to keep …