Joint Base Lewis-McChord on edge following Afghan shooting spree

UPDATE
Lawmakers press Pentagon on massacre suspect's brain injury

By Sharon Begley and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON
Tue Mar 13, 2012

(Reuters) - A congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops.

The Army staff sergeant accused in Sunday's shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. The soldier, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, was treated for a traumatic brain injury suffered in a vehicle rollover in 2010 in Iraq, according to a U.S. official.

Representative Bill Pascrell, founder of a U.S. congressional task force on brain injuries, wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta requesting details of the accused soldier's injury, diagnosis, and when and how he was returned to combat duty.

"I am trying to find out basically whether there was a premature 'OK' on this guy," Pascrell, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview.
read more here

Joint Base Lewis-McChord on edge following Afghan shooting spree
By SANDI DOUGHTON
The Seattle Times
Published: March 13, 2012

SEATTLE — The mood at Joint Base Lewis-McChord was uneasy Monday, as news vans gathered at the main gate and journalists outnumbered customers in some shops in the wake of a shooting spree by a base Army staff sergeant that left 16 Afghan civilians dead.

Many uniformed personnel shrugged off questions about the shootings in Afghanistan. Those who discussed it said they fear the consequences for their fellow troops in-country.

“I’m worried another war might break out,” said Specialist Eric Windley, of Connecticut. “They are going to retaliate.”

A single soldier’s pointless actions are likely to undo years of effort to build trust between the United States and Afghanistan, he said.

While nothing can justify the murder of civilians, many soldiers who have been through multiple deployments will have seen some of their friends killed in action, said Specialist Joe Neumeyer, of Oklahoma, who spent a year in Iraq. The military’s rules of engagement also can be frustrating to soldiers, who are often not allowed to shoot until someone shoots at them, he said. “But no matter what, what he did was really, really wrong.”

Windley said his unit’s leaders always encourage troubled soldiers to speak up. “It’s very easy to get help.”

But Jorge Gonzalez, a former member of the Third Stryker Brigade and an Iraq veteran, said it can be almost impossible to ask for help while on deployment. Gonzalez, 32, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after he returned home. He now runs Coffee Strong, a nonprofit Internet cafe near the base whose motto is “Pro-GI; Anti-War.” Paintings on the walls depict soldiers brandishing guitars instead of rifles and lobbing steaming mugs of joe in place of grenades.
read more here