When a Soldier Attacks a Comrade

When a Soldier Attacks a Comrade


By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
Published: June 15, 2008
Fragging. The term sounds like some medieval form of punishment, but actually is quite modern. A fragging is an attack on one soldier by another, most commonly an enlisted man turning on his commanding officer. The weapon most frequently used in such attacks has been a fragmentation grenade, hence the term.


Once an unfortunately routine occurrence in Vietnam, the attacks have been rare during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But this summer, Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, of the New York National Guard, is expected to face court-martial on charges that he murdered two members of his unit, Capt. Phillip Esposito and First Lt. Lou Allen , only the second such episode recorded during this war.

To understand the history and psychology of such attacks, we asked Paul J. Springer, a history professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, to address some questions on a topic he has long studied, including the Army's response to such attacks, the reasons for their decline and whether certain types of soldier-on-soldier attacks should qualify for the label. Here is an edited transcript of that conversation with Dr. Springer.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/16guard.springer.html?_r=1&oref=slogin