Soldier opens fire at a stress clinic

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Registered: 08-30-2008
Soldier opens fire at a stress clinic
4
Mon, 05-11-2009 - 9:32pm
GI held after 5 soldiers killed in Iraq
Shooting happened at sprawling Camp Liberty base outside Baghdad


The Associated Press

updated 9:09 p.m. ET, Mon., May 11, 2009



BAGHDAD - An American soldier opened fire at a counseling center on a military base Monday, killing five fellow soldiers before being taken into custody, the U.S. command and Pentagon officials said.


Although it was unclear what prompted the shooting, the incident draws attention to the issue of combat stress and morale after six years of war, as the mission of the 130,000-strong force transforms to one of training and mentoring the Iraqis.


Attacks on fellow soldiers, known as fraggings, were not uncommon during the Vietnam war but are believed to be rare in Iraq and Afghanistan.


A brief U.S. statement said the assailant was taken into custody following the 2 p.m. shooting at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport.


Names not released
The statement said nobody else was hurt, but a senior defense official in Washington said three people were wounded. The names of the victims and shooter were not released.


A senior military official in Washington told The Associated Press the shooter was an Army sergeant who had been disarmed after an earlier incident at the center but returned with another weapon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.


The official said that the sergeant had been involved in a verbal altercation at the center. His service weapon was taken from him for his own protection, according to the official, and he was driven back to the center later in the day.


The official said that when the sergeant returned he had another weapon. It was unclear whether he was returning under orders or of his own volition.


President Barack Obama, who visited a base adjacent to Camp Liberty last month, was shocked by the "terrible tragedy," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Obama planned to discuss the shooting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.


At the Pentagon, Gates said that "we're still in the process of gathering information on exactly what happened."


Pentagon officials said the shooting happened at a stress clinic, where troops can go for help with the stresses of combat or personal issues. It was unclear whether the gunman and his victims were workers at the clinic or were there for counseling. Soldiers routinely carry weapons on Camp Liberty and other bases, but they are supposed to be unloaded.


The U.S. military is coping with a growing number of stress cases among soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan — many of whom are on their third or fourth combat tours. Some studies suggest that about 15 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from some sort of emotional problems.


With violence declining, many soldiers face new challenges trying to shift from fighting a war to supporting the Iraqis — tasks that often require skills in which they have not been trained.


Troops under fire
Adding to the stress, there have been several incidents recently when men dressed as Iraqi soldiers have opened fire on American troops, including an attack in the northern city of Mosul on May 2 when two soldiers and the gunman were killed.


Rep. Harry Mitchell, a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the Camp Liberty shooting underscores the "critical need" to reach out to soldiers suffering from "the effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder."


"Many troops are under great psychological strain and are not receiving the treatment they need," said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and head of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Much more must be done to address troops' psychological injuries before they reach a crisis point."


The death toll from the shooting at the counseling center was the highest for U.S. personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in Mosul.


"Anytime we lose one of our own, it affects us all," U.S. spokesman Col. John Robinson said. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the service members involved in this terrible tragedy."


There have been several previous fragging incidents in the Iraq war.


  • Last September, Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich, 39, of Minneapolis was detained after allegedly killing two members of his unit south of Baghdad. The case remains under investigation.
  • In April 2005, Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for killing two officers in Kuwait just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
  • In June 2005, an Army captain and lieutenant were killed when an anti-personnel mine detonated in the window of their room at the U.S. base in Tikrit. National Guard Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez was acquitted in the blast.
  • Spc. Chris Rolan, an Army medic, was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2007 for killing a fellow soldier after a night of heavy drinking in Iraq.
  • In 2008, Army Cpl. Timothy Ayers was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the fatal 2007 shooting of his platoon sergeant in Iraq.

    In other violence Monday across Iraq, a car bombing in Kirkuk killed two people, including a 10-year-old boy, and wounded 10 others, police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said.


    In Baghdad, a senior Iraqi traffic officer was assassinated on his way to work. It was the second attack on a high-ranking traffic police officer in the capital in as many days.


    A car cut off Brig. Gen. Abdul-Hussein al-Kadhoumi as he drove through a central square in the capital and a second vehicle pulled up alongside and riddled him with bullets, police said, citing witnesses. Al-Kadhoumi was director of operations for the traffic authority.



    © 2009 The Associated Press.URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30678715/
  • iVillage Member
    Registered: 04-11-2009
    Mon, 05-11-2009 - 11:14pm

    More details:


    http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/army_soldier_killings_051109w/


    Soldier kills at least 4 in clinic shooting

    By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
    Posted : Monday May 11, 2009 21:42:00 EDT



    The soldier, whose identity had not been released Monday evening, was in custody, officials said.


    The Associated Press reported late Monday that the accused shooter was a sergeant.


    The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a large U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city’s international airport.


    According to the Army official, details of the incident continue to emerge as investigators continue their work, but preliminary reports show the soldier was was being escorted to the clinic, for reasons not yet explained. Once inside, he got into a verbal altercation with the staff and was asked to leave. The soldier and his escort got back into their vehicle and began to drive away, according to the Army official.


    At some point during the drive, the soldier got control of his escort’s weapon and ordered the escort out of the vehicle, the Army official said. The soldier then drove back to the clinic, walked in and began shooting, the official said.


    Army reports show five people were shot; four of them, all soldiers, were killed. Their identities have yet to be released, pending notification of their families.


    The condition of the fifth victim was not available Monday evening.


    “Anytime we lose one of our own, it affects us all,” Army spokesman Col. John Robinson said. “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the service members involved in this terrible tragedy.”


    During a press briefing Monday afternoon at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed his “horror and deep regret” over the shooting, adding that officials are still in the process of gathering information on exactly what happened.


    “Such a tragic loss of life at the hands of our own forces is a cause of great and urgent concern,” he said.


    When asked if the suspected gunman had been deployed multiple times, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he did not have that information. However, he said, the tragedy occurred while service members were seeking help at the clinic.


    “It does speak to me for the need for us to redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress ,” Mullen said. “It also speaks to the issues of multiple deployments increasing dwell time.”


    Separately, the military announced Monday that a U.S. soldier was also killed a day earlier when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Basra province in southern Iraq.


    The death toll from the Monday shooting was the highest for U.S. personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near a police headquarters in Mosul, in northern Iraq.>>>full article at the link above


     

    iVillage Member
    Registered: 03-18-2000
    Tue, 05-12-2009 - 8:26am

    Given soldiers' stressful situations in Iraq & Afghanistan, access to weapons, long multiple deployments away from their families it's no wonder they crack-up.


    This incident is a tragedy so are all the suicides.


    >"Army leadership has become more alarmed as suicides from January through March rose to a reported 56 -- 22 confirmed and 34 still being investigated and pending confirmation. Usually, the vast majority of suspected suicides are eventually confirmed."< From.....


    Army trying to stem increase in soldiers' suicides - Boston.com

     


    Photobucket&nbs

    iVillage Member
    Registered: 03-03-2009
    Tue, 05-12-2009 - 7:30pm

    My thoughts and prayers go out to the sergeant, his victims and the families of all those who were involved.

    War is hell. "Pre-emptive" wars just add to the futility and cost.

    Jabberwocka

    iVillage Member
    Registered: 03-23-2003
    Wed, 05-13-2009 - 5:08pm

    My heartfelt condolences to all involved in this as well.