Report: Accused GIs were ‘at risk’ - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Report: Accused GIs were ‘at risk’

Intense combat experiences, prior criminal behavior, substance abuse and barriers to seeking mental health care all contributed to a “cluster” of murders or attempted murders allegedly committed by soldiers from the same Fort Carson, Colo., brigade, Army leaders said July 15.

Fourteen soldiers are accused of murder, attempted murder or accessory to murder in separate attacks between Jan. 1, 2005, and Oct. 30, 2008. In all, the soldiers are accused of killing 11 people. Ten of the 14 soldiers are from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Six of the 14 belonged to the same infantry battalion.

“We would all like to look back at the cluster of misconduct and criminal activities ... and be able to say, ‘This is the reason they happened, and we know exactly what could have been done to prevent them,’ ” said Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general. “But that’s rarely the way things work when dealing with human behavior.”

Instead, a team of experts from Army Medical Command found the accused soldiers were “at risk for engaging in violent behavior” based on known risk factors such as prior criminal behavior and psychopathology, according to the team’s report, released July 15.

“The risk factors alone, however, do not entirely explain the apparent clustering of crime in this population,” according to the report. “These crimes remain very rare events in a large population of soldiers, who, to varying degrees, share many of the same risk factors but did not participate in criminal behavior.”

More research is needed to determine the link between exposure to combat and aggressive behavior, Schoomaker said.

Also ongoing is a review of violent crimes, said Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, the Army G-1. The Armywide review, directed by Army Secretary Pete Geren, was based upon recommendations in the Fort Carson study, Rochelle said.

Between 2004 and 2008, 2,726 of the Army’s 1.1 million soldiers were identified as being involved in a violent crime, Rochelle said.

The wider review, which will be expanded, found that enlistment waivers and deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan were not a disproportionate factor in the commission of violent crimes, he said.

For example, only about 11.4 percent of those 2,726 soldiers enlisted with a medical or conduct waiver, and 65 percent in that group had never deployed to combat, Rochelle said.

The Fort Carson study was requested by Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, the commanding general there, who said he wanted to study the trends behind the violent crimes but also identify risk factors, assess programs offered on post and develop ways to better serve soldiers.

The team also looked at issues soldiers have faced with stigma and getting behavioral health care.

Some soldiers told the experts conducting the study that they didn’t seek behavioral health care because they didn’t want to be viewed as a bad soldier, were afraid they would be belittled by peers or leaders, or negatively affect their careers, according to the report.

Soldiers also reported that their leaders announced behavioral health appointments during unit formations and discussed behavioral health issues within earshot of others, according to the report.

No disciplinary action has been taken against those unit leaders, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an Army spokesman.

However, senior leaders are looking at possible ways to reflect such behavior in officer or noncommissioned officer evaluations, he said.

“The Army’s stand is, it’s a sign of strength, not weakness, to reach out for help for yourself or to escort your battle buddy to care,” Graham said.