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DdC · 07-30-2009, 06:46 PM

The Hell of War Comes Home: Newspaper Series Documents Murder, Suicide, Kidnappings by Iraq Vets

A startling two-part series published in the Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs titled “Casualties of War” examines a part of war seldom discussed by the media or government officials: the difficulty of returning to civilian life after being trained to be a killer. The story focuses on a single battalion based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment. Soldiers from the brigade have have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides. The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs. We speak with the reporter who broke the story and get the Army’s response.

transcript

Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs

After coming home from Iraq, 21-year-old medic Bruce Bastien was driving with his Army buddy Louis Bressler, 24, when they spotted a woman walking to work on a Colorado Springs street.

Bressler swerved and hit the woman with the car, according to police, then Bastien jumped out and stabbed her over and over.

(A word of caution about the language and content of this story: Please see Editor's Note)

It was October 2007. A fellow soldier, Kenneth Eastridge, 24, watched it all from the passenger seat.

At that moment, he said, it was clear that however messed up some of the soldiers in the unit had been after their first Iraq deployment, it was about to get much worse.

“I have no problem with killing,” said Eastridge, a two-tour infantryman with almost 80 confirmed kills. “But I won’t just murder someone for no reason. He had gone crazy.” continued...

US Military Suicides at Record High; Report Finds Most Deaths at Single Colorado Base Were Preventable (2/20/2009)

Fort Carson soldiers participate in a CORE, or Combat Operational Recovery Exercises, training on the base in early June. Soldiers lie on their back as they participate in a trauma release exercise. The Gazette, Bryan Oller

Pot Shots for Israeli Soldiers

Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories

Israel To Soothe Trauma With Marijuana
By Corinne Heller October 02, 2004

IDF To Treat Shell Shock With Cannabis Israel August 05, 2004
The IDF will soon begin using cannabis to treat soldiers suffering from combat stress, the military said Wednesday. An army statement said the military medical corps and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would begin treating victims of post-traumatic stress - commonly known as shell shock - with THC, the active ingredient in the cannabis plant. It said the treatment would begin on an experimental basis. The use of THC as part of the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder was approved by military and civilian committees relevant to the subject, the statement said.

The Stoners Will Survive

07-30-2009, 06:46 PM	#7 (permalink)
DdC Decade Yahookan Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Santa Cruz,CA,USA Posts: 2,117 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 51 Thanked 607 Times in 399 Posts	Warning signs The Hell of War Comes Home: Newspaper Series Documents Murder, Suicide, Kidnappings by Iraq Vets A startling two-part series published in the Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs titled “Casualties of War” examines a part of war seldom discussed by the media or government officials: the difficulty of returning to civilian life after being trained to be a killer. The story focuses on a single battalion based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment. Soldiers from the brigade have have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, drunk driving, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides. The Army unit’s murder rate is 114 times the rate for Colorado Springs. We speak with the reporter who broke the story and get the Army’s response. transcript Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs After coming home from Iraq, 21-year-old medic Bruce Bastien was driving with his Army buddy Louis Bressler, 24, when they spotted a woman walking to work on a Colorado Springs street. Bressler swerved and hit the woman with the car, according to police, then Bastien jumped out and stabbed her over and over. (A word of caution about the language and content of this story: Please see Editor's Note) It was October 2007. A fellow soldier, Kenneth Eastridge, 24, watched it all from the passenger seat. At that moment, he said, it was clear that however messed up some of the soldiers in the unit had been after their first Iraq deployment, it was about to get much worse. “I have no problem with killing,” said Eastridge, a two-tour infantryman with almost 80 confirmed kills. “But I won’t just murder someone for no reason. He had gone crazy.” continued... US Military Suicides at Record High; Report Finds Most Deaths at Single Colorado Base Were Preventable (2/20/2009) Fort Carson soldiers participate in a CORE, or Combat Operational Recovery Exercises, training on the base in early June. Soldiers lie on their back as they participate in a trauma release exercise. The Gazette, Bryan Oller Pot Shots for Israeli Soldiers Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories Israel To Soothe Trauma With Marijuana By Corinne Heller October 02, 2004 IDF To Treat Shell Shock With Cannabis Israel August 05, 2004 The IDF will soon begin using cannabis to treat soldiers suffering from combat stress, the military said Wednesday. An army statement said the military medical corps and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would begin treating victims of post-traumatic stress - commonly known as shell shock - with THC, the active ingredient in the cannabis plant. It said the treatment would begin on an experimental basis. The use of THC as part of the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder was approved by military and civilian committees relevant to the subject, the statement said. The Stoners Will Survive