Will anything change after Sgt. Robert Bales actions?

Will anything change after Sgt. Robert Bales actions?
by
Chaplain Kathie

To say that Bales is "accused" won't make much sense, since he said he did it when he turned himself in. The only question that has to be answered now is why he did it. No matter what the outcome of the trial he will face, all of us should understand what has been clear for over 40 years. We do a lousy job of taking care of the men and women we send into combat.

We are a nation of over 300 million people but only have about 24 million veterans. Less than one percent serve in the military today. That tiny portion of the population have been suffering but there hasn't been any kind of public outrage over the reports we've been reading since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started. We can talk all we want about this nation, our blessings and our pride in our country, we can talk about how patriotic we are and all of that is true in most cases, but we cannot honestly say we support our troops or our veterans.

While Sgt. Bales' story is big news today, the issue is far from new. Local media stations have been reporting trials of veterans for years but cable news stations have not been interested in reporting them on a national scale. Why? The nation sends them into combat and the nation is ultimately responsible for what happens to them after combat. Aren't we? We pay for all of it with our taxes. What we don't do is pay for it with our interest and actions.

In Washington there have been countless hearings and testimonies. Organizations like the DAV, VFW, American Legion, IAVA along with an ever growing list of non-profits testify on the suffering of millions of veterans, but nothing really happens. Each branch of the military issues statements they are doing all they can to address the strain on the military but sooner or later we read that what they are doing isn't working. When we read between the lines we notice they are repeating the same mistakes, using the same failed programs and in turn, failing our troops. The VA repeats mistakes in some locations while others are thinking outside the box and coming up with programs of their own. Claims are approved in one part of the country while the same type of claim will be denied in another.

Communities may come together to help a veteran while in another part of the country, the same thing is happening to another veteran but no one notices or does anything to help. One part of the country may welcome facilities to treat veterans and help them heal while another community does all they can to keep a facility out of their neighborhood because suffering veterans don't belong there and will hurt their property values.

We have elected official after elected official showing up, talking to veterans when they want their support but avoiding their suffering the rest of the time they are in office. At most, lip service is all veterans get.

They all knew what redeployments would do but kept sending servicemen and women back for repeated tours. In too many cases, they were sent back wounded and on medication. It is disgracefully clear that nothing will change after all the reports surrounding Sgt. Bales come out for one simple reason. Nothing has changed before this.

Lawyer on Bales: 'There may be explanations'
By Adam Levine, Chris Lawrence and Michael Martinez CNN
Tue March 20, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Charges against Bales are expected Thursday, his attorney says
The military's administrative review is in addition to a criminal investigation
U.S. general tells Congress probe will look at why Bales was sent to Afghanistan
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is the suspect in 16 Afghan villagers' deaths, including nine children

Washington (CNN) -- A lawyer for Sgt. Robert Bales said Tuesday "there may be explanations" for the alleged shooting this month by his client of 16 Afghan civilians, but -- even if that is what happened -- the government will have a difficult time making its case.

"I don't know if the government is going to prove much," lead attorney John Henry Browne told CNN about the shootings of nine children, three women and four men in a village in southern Afghanistan. "There's no forensic evidence, there's no confessions."

He added, "Nothing really justifies killing women and children in a noncombat situation. But there may be explanations if that's true. And right now I want to say once again, I'm not sure that's true."

Bales, who had served three tours of duty in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan, may have been suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, Brown said. Bales suffered a traumatic brain injury during a roadside bomb explosion and lost part of his foot in separate tours in Iraq, his attorney has said. "Anybody that has seen what he's seen and done what he's done at the request of the military -- and I'm not talking about these allegations -- I think would have PTSD ... Dragging parts of bodies around is not something you forget very often."
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McHugh: Army reviewing mental health programs
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 21, 2012 12:26:58 EDT
WASHINGTON — The secretary of the Army on Wednesday said the service is reviewing mental health programs amid renewed attention to the stress of war after a U.S. soldier was suspected of killing 16 Afghan civilians.

John McHugh was pressed on the issue by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who said the Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington state reversed 40 percent of diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder for candidates for military retirement.
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