What Steven Green’s Case Says About the Health of America’s Military

I've posted about Steven Green and this trial on my other blog at Screaming In An Empty Room and to tell you the truth, the comments left there show how little people think about what is an alarming thought. The troops, however noble and rare most of them are, there are some with clearly other reasons for going into the military. There were waivers given with two active military campaigns going on allowing people that would never be allowed to served otherwise in, people with criminal records, gangs and even medically unfit. Green's actions were appalling, reprehensible, but if we fail to take a look behind the obvious, we will learn nothing.

This is a great article on some thoughts behind the trial of Steven Green.

What Steven Green’s Case Says About the Health of America’s Military
Matthew Newton
Mental Notes
This past Friday, former U.S. Army soldier Steven Green was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of four Iraqi civilians in March of 2006. Green’s case, and countless others, have become an example of the military’s growing failure to properly screen recruits prior to enlistment (e.g. Green was one of over 5,000 soldiers granted conduct waivers in 2005). And the fact that news of Green’s sentencing came just as the nation started the Memorial Day weekend acts as a sobering example of not only the horrors of war, but the psychic cost to both civilians and veterans.

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What Steven Green Case Says About the Health of America’s Military