Sgt. John Russell trial example of what went wrong on PTSD

By now most people have forgotten what happened in 2009 at Camp Liberty. The witnesses haven't forgotten. The families haven't forgotten. Aside from the trial, the military must have forgotten about this too.

Camp Liberty shootings leave a lot of questions but so far we're still asking questions and getting few answers. In May of 2009 The Guardian headline was "Horror and stress of Iraq duty led US sergeant to kill comrades" and it is something you should read before you decide how you feel about this story.

U.S. soldier enters no plea in 2009 Iraq shootings
By Laura L. Myers
Reuters
November 19, 2012

Sgt. Russell, Army sergeant accused of killing five fellow soldiers in Iraq, is seen in military photo provided by his father, Wilburn in Sherman
(JESSICA RINALDI, REUTERS / November 19, 2012)

TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 entered no plea at an arraignment on Monday at a military base in Washington state.

Sergeant John Russell is accused of going on a shooting spree at Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, in an assault the military said at the time could have been triggered by combat stress.

Russell, of the 54th Engineer Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany, faces five charges of premeditated murder, one charge of aggravated assault and one charge of attempted murder in connection with the May 2009 shootings. Six months ago, he was ordered to stand trial in a military court that has the power to sentence him to the death penalty, if convicted.

Two of the five people killed in the shooting were medical staff officers at the counseling center for troops experiencing combat stress. The others were soldiers.
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Combat stress unit at center of Iraq slaying trial
May 17, 2009
The trial of Pfc. Steven Green may end up explaining part of what was behind Sgt. Russell's action at Camp Liberty's Stress Clinic. If doctors are under pressure to return soldiers back to duty, they are not getting the kind of care the doctors are trying to give them. What good do stress clinics do if the commanders are more interested in getting them back into action instead of being healed enough first before sending them back?

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