'The Army pounds it into your head: kill everybody'

[undergroundpanther]

COLORADO SPRINGS - Soldiers from an Army unit that had 10 infantrymen accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning to civilian life described a breakdown in discipline during their Iraq deployment in which troops murdered civilians.Some Fort Carson, Colorado-based soldiers have had trouble adjusting to life back iTaxi drivers got shot for no reason, and others were dropped off bridges after interrogations, said Marcus Mifflin, who was eventually discharged with post traumatic stress syndrome.

"You didn't get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong," he said.Soldiers interviewed by the Gazette cited lengthy deployments, engaging in some of the bloodiest combat in Iraq.

Since 2005, brigade soldiers also have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides. the United States, saying they refused to seek help, or were belittled or punished for seeking help. Others say they were ignored by their commanders, or coped through drug and alcohol abuse before they allegedly committed crimes, the Gazette of Colorado Springs said.




http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10586996

[Nevilledog]

1. Chilling......and it will just get worse. n/t

[HowHasItComeToThis]

2. OUR DYSFUNCTIONAL MILITARY

SO SAD

[Karenina]

6. Coming soon to a police dept. near you...

:scared: Poor guys... :cry:

[tuckessee]

3. "...and others were dropped off bridges after interrogations...."

How threads like this sink into oblivion on a progressive site I'll never know.......

[G_j]

4. I thought the same thing

I tried to rec this but it's too late.
shame!!

[booley]

5. I can understand though not approve of them not seeking help

When I was in the Navy and having problems (far less serious then these guys but still...) it was commonly understood there was no patient/doctor confidentiality.

Anything you said could be discovered by your CO to use against you if they wanted because ultimately the doctors or chaplan's loyalty was to the brass.

[Fire1]

7. Fascist indoctrination at it's finest. n/t

[chollybocker]

8. It's like The Manchurian Candidate, times A Clockwork Orange, cubed.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. I think we live in a violent society

Those soldiers who served in Iraq are probably just a cross-section of that society. I think we live in a time when people are living on a hair-trigger as far as going violent is concerned. You accidentally cut someone off on the freeway and they can go berserk, even shoot you from their car. Kids have a disagreement in school and they show up the next day with their daddy's automatic weapons. You make a small political remark in a grocery store and a right-winger in front of you can go ballistic. I know that whereas the legal profession used to have a more courteous and professional attitude towards each other, now it's outright warfare in the adversarial process and discourtesy, lack of respect, and name-calling is not uncommon at all. We need the police to protect us from violent wrong-doers but the police are not immune to the ever coarser nature of civil interactions that have infected our society and they can also become violent and murderous at the drop of a pin.

Part of it might be due to the training. But I do think those soldiers also come from a society where violence is glorified. They come from a society where everyone's ego is so inflated they think they are the masters of the world and can do as they please. I know that British soldiers, despite being trained to be very good fighters, have expressed shock at the violent behavior of American troops towards civilians and prisoners in custody in the theater of war.