July 16, 2009 10:52 AM
- Text
Baghdad Shooting Spotlights Combat Stress
(CBS/AP)
An American Army sergeant shot and killed five fellow soldiers following an altercation at a military counseling center in Iraq Monday, officials said. The attack drew attention to the issues of combat stress and morale among soldiers serving multiple combat tours over six years of war.
The suspect had been disarmed after an incident at the center but returned with another weapon, according to a senior military official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into the shootings was ongoing.
The U.S. military charged the suspect with five counts of murder, and one count of aggravated assault in the killings. Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters Tuesday that the charges were filed against Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany.
Perkins said the dead included two doctors, one from the Navy and the other from the Army. The other three dead were enlisted personnel.
Sources tell CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier the suspect was on his third tour of Iraq.
A recent Army study found soldiers on their third or fourth deployment are twice as likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Caught early enough, the symptoms including nightmares, sleep disturbances and rollercoaster emotions and hypervigilance, can be treated. But often troops won't ask for help, reports Dozier.
Attacks on fellow soldiers, known as fraggings, were not uncommon during the Vietnam war but are believed to be rare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A brief U.S. military statement said the assailant was taken into custody following the 2 p.m. shooting at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport.
President Barack Obama, who visited an adjacent base last month, said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the report, adding that "my heart goes out to the families and friends" of all those involved "in this horrible tragedy."
The military statement in Baghdad said nobody else was hurt, but military officials in Washington said one person was wounded.
Pentagon officials said the shooting happened at a stress clinic, where troops can go for help with the stresses of combat or personal issues. Soldiers routinely carry weapons on Camp Liberty and other bases, but they are supposed to be unloaded.
The military official told The Associated Press that the sergeant had been involved in a verbal altercation at the center. His service weapon was taken from him for his own protection and he was driven back to the center later in the day.
The official said that when the sergeant returned he had another weapon. It was unclear whether he was returning under orders or of his own volition.
Another senior military official said the shooter was a patient at the clinic. The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the probe, did not know what relationship the shooter had to those he killed.
The network also aired video of the stress clinic it said was taken just days ago. It showed the clinic's commander, Lt. Col Beth Salisbury, giving a tour of the clinic and describing certain areas where people cannot carry weapons. Salisbury is from the U.S. Army Reserve 55th Medical Company based in Indianapolis.
At the Pentagon, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shooting occurred "in a place where individuals were seeking help."
"It does speak to me about the need for us to redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress," Mullen said.
The U.S. military is coping with a growing number of stress cases among soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan - many of whom are on their third or fourth combat tours. Some studies suggest that about 15 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from some sort of emotional problems.
With violence declining, many soldiers face new challenges trying to shift from fighting a war to training and mentoring the Iraqis - tasks that often require skills in which they have not been trained.
Adding to the stress, there have been several incidents recently when men dressed as Iraqi soldiers have opened fire on American troops, including an attack in the northern city of Mosul on May 2 when two soldiers and the gunman were killed.
Rep. Harry Mitchell, a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the Camp Liberty shooting underscores the "critical need" to reach out to soldiers "suffering from the effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder."
The death toll from the shooting at the counseling center was the highest for U.S. personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in Mosul.
"Any time we lose one of our own, it affects us all," U.S. spokesman Col. John Robinson said. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the service members involved in this terrible tragedy."
There have been several previous fragging incidents in the Iraq war.
Last September, Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich, 39, of Minneapolis was detained after allegedly killing two members of his unit south of Baghdad. The case remains under investigation.
In April 2005, Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for killing two officers in Kuwait just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In June 2005, an Army captain and lieutenant were killed when an anti-personnel mine detonated in the window of their room at the U.S. base in Tikrit. National Guard Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez was acquitted in the blast.
Spc. Chris Rolan, an Army medic, was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2007 for killing a fellow soldier after a night of heavy drinking in Iraq.
In 2008, Army Cpl. Timothy Ayers was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the fatal 2007 shooting of his platoon sergeant in Iraq.
The suspect had been disarmed after an incident at the center but returned with another weapon, according to a senior military official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into the shootings was ongoing.
The U.S. military charged the suspect with five counts of murder, and one count of aggravated assault in the killings. Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters Tuesday that the charges were filed against Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany.
Perkins said the dead included two doctors, one from the Navy and the other from the Army. The other three dead were enlisted personnel.
Sources tell CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier the suspect was on his third tour of Iraq.
A recent Army study found soldiers on their third or fourth deployment are twice as likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Caught early enough, the symptoms including nightmares, sleep disturbances and rollercoaster emotions and hypervigilance, can be treated. But often troops won't ask for help, reports Dozier.
Attacks on fellow soldiers, known as fraggings, were not uncommon during the Vietnam war but are believed to be rare in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A brief U.S. military statement said the assailant was taken into custody following the 2 p.m. shooting at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport.
President Barack Obama, who visited an adjacent base last month, said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the report, adding that "my heart goes out to the families and friends" of all those involved "in this horrible tragedy."
After a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Mr. Obama said he would make sure "that we fully understand what led to this tragedy" and will do everything possible "to ensure that our men and women in uniform are protected as they serve our country so capably and courageously in harm's way."
The military statement in Baghdad said nobody else was hurt, but military officials in Washington said one person was wounded.
Pentagon officials said the shooting happened at a stress clinic, where troops can go for help with the stresses of combat or personal issues. Soldiers routinely carry weapons on Camp Liberty and other bases, but they are supposed to be unloaded.
The military official told The Associated Press that the sergeant had been involved in a verbal altercation at the center. His service weapon was taken from him for his own protection and he was driven back to the center later in the day.
The official said that when the sergeant returned he had another weapon. It was unclear whether he was returning under orders or of his own volition.
Another senior military official said the shooter was a patient at the clinic. The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the probe, did not know what relationship the shooter had to those he killed.
The network also aired video of the stress clinic it said was taken just days ago. It showed the clinic's commander, Lt. Col Beth Salisbury, giving a tour of the clinic and describing certain areas where people cannot carry weapons. Salisbury is from the U.S. Army Reserve 55th Medical Company based in Indianapolis.
At the Pentagon, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shooting occurred "in a place where individuals were seeking help."
"It does speak to me about the need for us to redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress," Mullen said.
The U.S. military is coping with a growing number of stress cases among soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan - many of whom are on their third or fourth combat tours. Some studies suggest that about 15 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from some sort of emotional problems.
With violence declining, many soldiers face new challenges trying to shift from fighting a war to training and mentoring the Iraqis - tasks that often require skills in which they have not been trained.
Adding to the stress, there have been several incidents recently when men dressed as Iraqi soldiers have opened fire on American troops, including an attack in the northern city of Mosul on May 2 when two soldiers and the gunman were killed.
Rep. Harry Mitchell, a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the Camp Liberty shooting underscores the "critical need" to reach out to soldiers "suffering from the effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder."
The death toll from the shooting at the counseling center was the highest for U.S. personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in Mosul.
"Any time we lose one of our own, it affects us all," U.S. spokesman Col. John Robinson said. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the service members involved in this terrible tragedy."
There have been several previous fragging incidents in the Iraq war.
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