QuantumRN
July 18th, 2009, 01:41 PM
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Army Study Links Multiple Deployments, Combat Exposure to Soldier Violence
Study Prompted by 14 Murders Near Fort Carson, Colo., Between 2005 and 2008
By GORDON LUBOLD
July 18, 2009—
The Army released a study Wednesday that looks at how deployments, prior history, or other factors could cause soldiers to commit violent acts, including homicide.
Although "higher levels of combat intensity" among the units involved likely contributed in some way to some of the crimes, analysts could not pinpoint any one factor as a cause.
"Identifying at-risk soldiers is a complex issue," said Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commanding general of Fort Carson, Colo., during a phone briefing with reporters. "How do we know which soldier may be the very one to take his own life or the life of someone else -- this is a hard question to answer."
The study was prompted by 14 murders or attempted murders in or around Fort Carson between 2005 and 2008.
General Graham ordered a study to look at what factors drove the violent behavior. That led to a wider review that looked at several potential factors: the number of deployments, enlistment policies that allow individuals with criminal conduct or medical waivers to be admitted to the Army, or other problems with drugs and alcohol.
But few common threads emerged. Although the units in question had deployed to Iraq and had seen more than average violence, the analysts could not conclude that that led to the violent behavior. "Moral waivers" used to enlist an increasing number of individuals into the recruiting-pressed Army also seemed not to be a direct cause.
Of the 14 soldiers involved in the crimes there, two had deployed more than one time, 10 had deployed once, and two soldiers had never deployed. Five of the 14 soldiers had been admitted with a waiver, but only three for conduct -- the rest were for medical reasons such as a hearing problem.
The Army has already struggled to get a handle on the rising number of suicides, some of which appear to stem from deployments. Meanwhile, the study on violent crime is leading the Army to look closer at the role models leaders and commanders at all levels provide to soldiers, as well as the environments in which soldiers work and live, to identify risky behaviors.
Some improvements in mental health screening have been made as the Army tries to tackle the broader problem of reducing the stigma of soldiers struggling with mental health issues.
"The Army's new message is that it is a sign of strength, not weakness, to reach out for help for yourself or to escort your battle buddy for care," Graham said.
Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8110512&page=1
Army: Soldiers in slayings faced intense combat
By P. SOLOMON BANDA (AP)
FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — Soldiers from a Colorado unit accused in nearly a dozen slayings since returning home — including a couple gunned down as they put up a garage sale sign — could be showing hostility fueled by intense combat in Iraq, where the troops suffered heavy losses and told of witnessing war crimes, the military said Wednesday.
In what was billed as its most comprehensive study to date of violent crimes and combat exposure, the Army looked at soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division — nicknamed the Lethal Warriors — who were accused in a spate of five killings around Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson, in 2007 and 2008.
Six other slayings involving unit soldiers occurred in Colorado and other states since 2005.
"This investigation suggest a possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes," the study said.
Army investigators compared the Fort Carson unit of about 3,700 soldiers with a similarly sized unit and found it suffered more combat deaths in Iraq and was deployed there longer.
"This deployment experienced higher levels of combat intensity," the report said, adding that the soldiers also faced "significant disruptions in family-social support."
Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the Army's surgeon general, said Wednesday the unit's crime cluster appeared to be unique among Army bases and that its combat exposure and length of deployments are just two factor officials are looking at.
"We're starting to look into the deployments and ... how it's related with attitudes and behavior," Schoomaker said.
The accused soldiers also were at risk of violence because of prior criminal activity, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health issues, according to Schoomaker, Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, the Army's deputy chief of staff, and Army West Division Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Graham.
Task force members suggested the Army find a way to identify soldiers who have been exposed to fierce combat. But in a bid to put the cluster in perspective, Rochelle stressed that, between 2004 and 2008, 2,726 Army soldiers were involved in violent crimes, out of a population of 1.1 million.
Nationally, at least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing in the United States or been charged in one.
They also recommended better training for commissioned and noncommissioned officers to manage soldiers with behavioral problems and ensure soldiers who seek help aren't humiliated or belittled.
Investigators focused on the cases of 14 soldiers accused of murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and aggravated assault, mostly with firearms.
Two of those 14 soldiers were not deployed. Among the 12 who were, investigators found the accused had experienced heavy combat in Iraq and that half of those interviewed reported witnessing war crimes, including the killing of civilians.
Schoomaker stressed Wednesday that an Army probe did not substantiate the soldiers' reports of war crimes.
Back home, the soldiers carried weapons with them because they felt "naked" and unsafe and had difficulty transitioning to civilian life. Some said they felt "weird" and didn't fit in, the Army report said.
"There, we were the law; here, the cops are the law," one of the accused told investigators.
The Army report says the accused claimed their commanders and fellow soldiers did not encourage them to seek help at home.
The 4th BCT experienced a combat death rate of 8.9 per 1,000 soldiers during a first Iraq deployment and 9.6 per 1,000 on a second deployment. In comparison, the other, unidentified unit had death rates of 0.4 and 2.1 per 1,000, respectively.
The Colorado slayings include the June 6, 2008, deaths of a man and a woman gunned down by a man with AK-47 assault rifle as they put up garage sale signs on a street.
Pfc. Jomar Dionisio Falu-Vives faces first-degree murder charges in the shootings. He lived nearby and told friends he liked hearing the sirens as authorities raced to the scene, according to the Army report.
In May, Thomas Woolly, a Fort Carson soldier and Purple Heart recipient, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the slaying of a 19-year-old woman. Woolly was in Fort Carson's Warrior Transition Unit, which provides support for soldiers returning from combat who were injured or have psychiatric disorders.
The spate of killings prompted then-U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, now interior secretary, to ask the Army last year to investigate the killings.
Wednesday's study comes as the Army struggles with other combat-related issues, including increased rates of post-traumatic stress syndrome and soldier suicides.
A study last year by the RAND Corp. research organization estimated nearly 20 percent of returning veterans, or 300,000 people, have symptoms of PTSD or major depression.
Army suicides have increased yearly since 2004 as soldiers deal with longer and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eight soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., have killed themselves this year, and the Army has made suicide prevention training mandatory for soldiers and leaders.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_xI7LfbSV47Z5pzZq8NLfHx9nWQD99F2NFG0
Army Study Links Multiple Deployments, Combat Exposure to Soldier Violence
Study Prompted by 14 Murders Near Fort Carson, Colo., Between 2005 and 2008
By GORDON LUBOLD
July 18, 2009—
The Army released a study Wednesday that looks at how deployments, prior history, or other factors could cause soldiers to commit violent acts, including homicide.
Although "higher levels of combat intensity" among the units involved likely contributed in some way to some of the crimes, analysts could not pinpoint any one factor as a cause.
"Identifying at-risk soldiers is a complex issue," said Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commanding general of Fort Carson, Colo., during a phone briefing with reporters. "How do we know which soldier may be the very one to take his own life or the life of someone else -- this is a hard question to answer."
The study was prompted by 14 murders or attempted murders in or around Fort Carson between 2005 and 2008.
General Graham ordered a study to look at what factors drove the violent behavior. That led to a wider review that looked at several potential factors: the number of deployments, enlistment policies that allow individuals with criminal conduct or medical waivers to be admitted to the Army, or other problems with drugs and alcohol.
But few common threads emerged. Although the units in question had deployed to Iraq and had seen more than average violence, the analysts could not conclude that that led to the violent behavior. "Moral waivers" used to enlist an increasing number of individuals into the recruiting-pressed Army also seemed not to be a direct cause.
Of the 14 soldiers involved in the crimes there, two had deployed more than one time, 10 had deployed once, and two soldiers had never deployed. Five of the 14 soldiers had been admitted with a waiver, but only three for conduct -- the rest were for medical reasons such as a hearing problem.
The Army has already struggled to get a handle on the rising number of suicides, some of which appear to stem from deployments. Meanwhile, the study on violent crime is leading the Army to look closer at the role models leaders and commanders at all levels provide to soldiers, as well as the environments in which soldiers work and live, to identify risky behaviors.
Some improvements in mental health screening have been made as the Army tries to tackle the broader problem of reducing the stigma of soldiers struggling with mental health issues.
"The Army's new message is that it is a sign of strength, not weakness, to reach out for help for yourself or to escort your battle buddy for care," Graham said.
Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8110512&page=1
Army: Soldiers in slayings faced intense combat
By P. SOLOMON BANDA (AP)
FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — Soldiers from a Colorado unit accused in nearly a dozen slayings since returning home — including a couple gunned down as they put up a garage sale sign — could be showing hostility fueled by intense combat in Iraq, where the troops suffered heavy losses and told of witnessing war crimes, the military said Wednesday.
In what was billed as its most comprehensive study to date of violent crimes and combat exposure, the Army looked at soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division — nicknamed the Lethal Warriors — who were accused in a spate of five killings around Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson, in 2007 and 2008.
Six other slayings involving unit soldiers occurred in Colorado and other states since 2005.
"This investigation suggest a possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes," the study said.
Army investigators compared the Fort Carson unit of about 3,700 soldiers with a similarly sized unit and found it suffered more combat deaths in Iraq and was deployed there longer.
"This deployment experienced higher levels of combat intensity," the report said, adding that the soldiers also faced "significant disruptions in family-social support."
Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker, the Army's surgeon general, said Wednesday the unit's crime cluster appeared to be unique among Army bases and that its combat exposure and length of deployments are just two factor officials are looking at.
"We're starting to look into the deployments and ... how it's related with attitudes and behavior," Schoomaker said.
The accused soldiers also were at risk of violence because of prior criminal activity, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health issues, according to Schoomaker, Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, the Army's deputy chief of staff, and Army West Division Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Graham.
Task force members suggested the Army find a way to identify soldiers who have been exposed to fierce combat. But in a bid to put the cluster in perspective, Rochelle stressed that, between 2004 and 2008, 2,726 Army soldiers were involved in violent crimes, out of a population of 1.1 million.
Nationally, at least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing in the United States or been charged in one.
They also recommended better training for commissioned and noncommissioned officers to manage soldiers with behavioral problems and ensure soldiers who seek help aren't humiliated or belittled.
Investigators focused on the cases of 14 soldiers accused of murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and aggravated assault, mostly with firearms.
Two of those 14 soldiers were not deployed. Among the 12 who were, investigators found the accused had experienced heavy combat in Iraq and that half of those interviewed reported witnessing war crimes, including the killing of civilians.
Schoomaker stressed Wednesday that an Army probe did not substantiate the soldiers' reports of war crimes.
Back home, the soldiers carried weapons with them because they felt "naked" and unsafe and had difficulty transitioning to civilian life. Some said they felt "weird" and didn't fit in, the Army report said.
"There, we were the law; here, the cops are the law," one of the accused told investigators.
The Army report says the accused claimed their commanders and fellow soldiers did not encourage them to seek help at home.
The 4th BCT experienced a combat death rate of 8.9 per 1,000 soldiers during a first Iraq deployment and 9.6 per 1,000 on a second deployment. In comparison, the other, unidentified unit had death rates of 0.4 and 2.1 per 1,000, respectively.
The Colorado slayings include the June 6, 2008, deaths of a man and a woman gunned down by a man with AK-47 assault rifle as they put up garage sale signs on a street.
Pfc. Jomar Dionisio Falu-Vives faces first-degree murder charges in the shootings. He lived nearby and told friends he liked hearing the sirens as authorities raced to the scene, according to the Army report.
In May, Thomas Woolly, a Fort Carson soldier and Purple Heart recipient, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the slaying of a 19-year-old woman. Woolly was in Fort Carson's Warrior Transition Unit, which provides support for soldiers returning from combat who were injured or have psychiatric disorders.
The spate of killings prompted then-U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, now interior secretary, to ask the Army last year to investigate the killings.
Wednesday's study comes as the Army struggles with other combat-related issues, including increased rates of post-traumatic stress syndrome and soldier suicides.
A study last year by the RAND Corp. research organization estimated nearly 20 percent of returning veterans, or 300,000 people, have symptoms of PTSD or major depression.
Army suicides have increased yearly since 2004 as soldiers deal with longer and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eight soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., have killed themselves this year, and the Army has made suicide prevention training mandatory for soldiers and leaders.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_xI7LfbSV47Z5pzZq8NLfHx9nWQD99F2NFG0