U.S. troops numb, uncertain after Afghan massacre

Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby
Reuters
March 15, 2012


LAKEWOOD, Washington (Reuters) - Around the home base of the American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians there is a sense of dedication to a tough job, but stress from years of battle in repeated tours in the "sand box" of Iraq and Afghanistan is eating away at troops.

"A lot of the guys, especially those with a lot of deployments, have built up a numbness to people being killed or hurt," said one veteran of six tours abroad, including Iraq and Afghanistan, describing his own reaction to the weekend shooting. "The people who hate us are going to put a bad spin on us no matter what we do."

The 33-year-old sergeant says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. He asked not to be identified, since the base has told soldiers not to speak with media.

"These things happen," Vietnam veteran John Haddick, an elder at Lake City Community Church in Lakewood, Washington, said of the weekend killings in Afghanistan.

"It's not going to change individuals that much, this one incident, or their attitude to deployment. They understand it's a hazardous place," said Haddick, who speaks to many serving soldiers and veterans in his role at the church, a 10 minute drive from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and helps them overcome their ordeal.
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