17 Ft Carson soldiers charged with or convicted of murder/attempted murder/manslaughter in 4 years

G'day ATS,

I did a search for this and had no success, I believe this is a story that needs to be told.

Fort Carson soldiers' killing spree after Iraq combat

Seventeen US soldiers from a Colorado military base who mostly served in Iraq have been linked to violent killings and attempted killings since their return to US soil. Three of them came from one platoon - highlighting how a generation of American soldiers are struggling to cope with life after military service.

This is so terrible, so unfair. These young men have been sent to fight for their country and have been totally let down by the very same people that ordered them into battle.

Yes, of course they have to take responsibility fore their own actions, but surely they need more support, better access to psychiatric care and greater investment in their future after they leave the army.

The Wounded Platoon

This is a film recounting the story of Third Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st battalion, 506th infantry.

Human Cost of Combat Can Come Due at Home

“The Wounded Platoon” opens with the death of an American soldier. He had been to Iraq, but he didn’t die there. That soldier, Specialist Kevin Shields, survived combat only to be killed in Colorado Springs after a night of drinking with three Army buddies, who are all now serving prison sentences for his murder.

SECOND SOURCE

Four of the platoon have ended up in prison. Two are dead - one died from an overdose, another was killed by a suicide bomb.

In all, 15 out of 42 soldiers from Third Platoon left the army after a single Iraq tour. Four were kicked out for failing drug tests, and one was sent to prison for driving while drunk and fleeing the scene of an accident. Five were medically discharged. Only five left the army because their service had ended.

More than half of the platoon said they suffered from psychological problems after Iraq.

I found the documentary on YouTube, so here it is:

















What a sad sad tale.

I hope you can set aside your opinions regarding the war on terror for a moment and see the damaged generation of men and women, irreparably scarred from their time in Iraq and Afghanistan.


All the best ATS, Kiwifoot



[edit on 25-8-2010 by kiwifoot]

This is a real shame. The Army trains you to kill, while desensitizing you to it, then expects these soldiers to come home and just turn it off. While most can, obviously some can't. Some people may argue that this had to have been a personality trait before being trained to kill, though I beg to differ. These were probably just ordinary Americans turned into machines to do this country's dirty work and who simply couldn't turn it off.

If you think about it, soldiers are deployed for 15 months. That's 1 1/4 years. All of the other branches (with a few exceptions) only deploy for 6 months or so. 15 months in a combat zone can completely change one's mind. That is enough time to really burn traits into one's mind.

I'm not making excuses for these soldiers because it is their responsibility to keep their mental preparedness in tact, though I'm just trying to comment on how this happens and the repercussions of taking young men, putting them in an undefined combat zone for so long and sending them signals of hate, whether intentionally or unintentional, against not only an enemy but an entire population, due to the variables of the theatre.

When in combat, constant combat at that, you are at first scared and anxious, though you can rely on your training, brothers and leadership to pull you through. Then, as time goes on, you can add experience to get you through, however in order to turn off the fear and make life a little more comfortable, even if just in your own mind, you have to literally change your mind or way of thinking.

It's hard for anyone to live in fear for 15 months or longer, so naturally soldiers are going to turn that fear off in their brains. It's when they do this that they risk mental illness, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other mental ailments.

--airspoon





[edit on 25-8-2010 by airspoon]

reply to post by airspoon


Thanks airspoon, I was beginning to think that ATS didn't give a damn. I'm big enough to admit that I'd probably never had made it in the forces. Simply because I don't think I could handle being told what to do all the time. I respect anyone who joins up.

I believe that the wars we are fighting are total BS, we shouldn't be there IMO, Nevertheless, I support those fighting all the way, it may not make sense, but you can't blame soldiers for the decisions made by their governments and puppet masters.

The stats cannot be ignored, there is obviously something really wrong here, I hope the US Military stands up and takes responsibility for it. But I doubt they will.

I hate hearing stories like this but I really wish there were more of them getting more coverage. Not that I wish there were more incidents to cover, just more stories about what is already going on. Thanks for bringing this up. The video sounds interesting but youtube is kind of an annoyance for me. Do you know where "The Wounded Platoon" might be found complete somewhere? Even if I had to buy it I think I would like to watch it. Either way, thanks and I will watch it on here if I cannot find it somewhere else. I wish more word about this sort of thing got around.

Originally posted by cindyremains
Do you know where "The Wounded Platoon" might be found complete somewhere? Even if I had to buy it I think I would like to watch it. Either way, thanks and I will watch it on here if I cannot find it somewhere else.

I agree mate, thanks for posting.

It was PBS Frontline special, I "think" you can find a link HERE, on the FRONTLINE web page. They have a heap of extra information which you may find informative.

All the best, Kiwifoot

reply to post by kiwifoot


When I 1st saw this thread, I thought the army had bred 17 foot tall super soldiers that went on a killing spree.



Then I read the article.


It sucks what this country does to its soldiers; we send them off to kill indiscriminately in senseless wars, then we don't take their emotional state into consideration when we bring them home.

Not that I think this excuses these soldiers for what they've done, I just think the Army and the policymakers who sent them off to war should accept some of the blame as well.

[color=414141]Subliminal Influence Today. can you see it?
i spent 44 months of my 11 year military career in warzones.
i was medically discharged with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) accredited to being too close to stuff that went boom (short version).

what the OP shared is just the tidbit of the truth. so many are forever effected by these wars, and just because we come home does not mean we left the warzone. hyper-alert. weeks at a time without sleep has become a regular occurance for me since 2004. i was told after my last 3 deployments i probably should not have been deployed. the first time i received brain damage (that is really weird for me to say) was on my second tour, i had 5 more tours, and received additional brain damage during my fourth tour being too close to stuff that went boom.

the doctors prescribed me with carbamazepine, to decrease my brain activity since it was their professional opinion that i thought too much.
i think i thought too much because i thought to ask the right questions.

the doctors prescribed me with happy pills to make me happier about being stupider.

the doctors prescribed me with a very powerful sleeping medicine. sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but either way i felt like i was in a foggy dream all day long. that together with medicine that already "decreased brain activity" made my waking hours not feel very awake.

there is no way any one wants to share what it is about our experiences at war.

there is no way anyone wants to experience it. but they don't have the experience to know that until after they experience it for themselves.

i would say the OP's 17th information is probably almost a condensed version of what happens to the same percentage of all those who participate in these wars, coming "home".

"home". a lost concept, that means nothing. there is no "home". just decievers who call themselves friends and family while reinforcing a system where there are so many rules to the game no child born can live long enough to learn all the mandatory expectations (laws).

friends don't talk to friends and say, you can only be my friend only if you conform to more rules than you will live long enough to learn.
family does not talk to family and say, you can only family if you conform to more rules than you will live long enough to learn.
this is not an example of being my friend.
this is not an example of being my family.
this is not an example of being my "home".
this is not an example of being "freedom".

how many laws are there, friend?
how many laws are there, family?
how many laws are there, "home"?

maybe we can pay taxes to pay more people to make more laws?

how many laws are there?
__________________________________________

can you read my words? can i type these words?
thank you america for having your government label me 100% mentally disabled and paying me 3 grand a month to sit on my ass and blog here with you guys on ATS.

looking for a conspiracy? you are part of it.

___________________________________________

forgive me if my truth and my rant offends you.

-et


[edit on 25-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher

forgive me if my truth and my rant offends you.

-et

Not at all et. I'm sorry that you've gone through such hardship, it only brings to life what I was trying to convey. Thanks, I couldn't imagine how it must be to be you.

All the best, Kiwi