When a Soldier Attacks a Comrade
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
Published: June 15, 2008
Fragging. The term sounds like some medieval form of punishment, but actually is quite modern. A fragging is an attack on one soldier by another, most commonly an enlisted man turning on his commanding officer. The weapon most frequently used in such attacks has been a fragmentation grenade, hence the term.
Once an unfortunately routine occurrence in Vietnam, the attacks have been rare during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But this summer, Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, of the New York National Guard, is expected to face court-martial on charges that he murdered two members of his unit, Capt. Phillip Esposito and First Lt. Lou Allen , only the second such episode recorded during this war.
To understand the history and psychology of such attacks, we asked Paul J. Springer, a history professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, to address some questions on a topic he has long studied, including the Army's response to such attacks, the reasons for their decline and whether certain types of soldier-on-soldier attacks should qualify for the label. Here is an edited transcript of that conversation with Dr. Springer.
go here for more
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/16guard.springer.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Showing posts with label NY National Guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NY National Guard. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
New programs aim to ease National Guard return from war
New programs aim to ease Guard return from war
By Michael Virtanen - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 30, 2008 14:33:43 EDT
LATHAM, N.Y. — When Capt. Brian Rockwell returned from Iraq last fall, like most soldiers he just wanted to be home. Four months later, though, he was starting to think he might like another mission.
“It wears on you when you’re over there,” Rockwell said. But there’s another set of stresses back here. “It’s an adjustment.”
Unlike the regular Army, whose soldiers usually return from combat zones to the steady rhythms of military bases after a couple weeks’ leave, National Guard troops have been leaving their comrades at the airport and go straight back into civilian life.
Now, with almost half its troop strength having gone to Iraq, the New York Army National Guard is changing the way they come back. Instead of cutting them loose for the first 90 days, Guardsmen will be required — and families invited — to attend weekend retreats at upscale hotels after 30 days and 60 days.
The full program starts with the 104th Military Police Battalion in mid-April. New York needed the recent change in Defense Department policy to do it, following Minnesota’s lead. Now 14 states are doing it. But officers said Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, now adjutant general for New York following his own Iraq tour, and his wife, Susan, provided a push to get the program running here.
At a congressional hearing this month, several people testified about the sometimes unresponsive — but improving — mental health system for military personnel with problems from prolonged warfare and lengthy deployments. The increase in military suicides has dramatized the issue. The Army said recently that as many as 121 soldiers committed suicide last year, more than double the number reported in 2001.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_guardsmen_returnhome_033008/
By Michael Virtanen - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 30, 2008 14:33:43 EDT
LATHAM, N.Y. — When Capt. Brian Rockwell returned from Iraq last fall, like most soldiers he just wanted to be home. Four months later, though, he was starting to think he might like another mission.
“It wears on you when you’re over there,” Rockwell said. But there’s another set of stresses back here. “It’s an adjustment.”
Unlike the regular Army, whose soldiers usually return from combat zones to the steady rhythms of military bases after a couple weeks’ leave, National Guard troops have been leaving their comrades at the airport and go straight back into civilian life.
Now, with almost half its troop strength having gone to Iraq, the New York Army National Guard is changing the way they come back. Instead of cutting them loose for the first 90 days, Guardsmen will be required — and families invited — to attend weekend retreats at upscale hotels after 30 days and 60 days.
The full program starts with the 104th Military Police Battalion in mid-April. New York needed the recent change in Defense Department policy to do it, following Minnesota’s lead. Now 14 states are doing it. But officers said Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, now adjutant general for New York following his own Iraq tour, and his wife, Susan, provided a push to get the program running here.
At a congressional hearing this month, several people testified about the sometimes unresponsive — but improving — mental health system for military personnel with problems from prolonged warfare and lengthy deployments. The increase in military suicides has dramatized the issue. The Army said recently that as many as 121 soldiers committed suicide last year, more than double the number reported in 2001.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_guardsmen_returnhome_033008/
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