"Soldier who killed 16 Afghans says he was 'consumed by war'"

2015-06-09T10:53:30-04:00

Originally published on news.yahoo.com:
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TACOMA, Washington (AP) — The U.S. soldier who murdered 16 Afghan villagers in 2012 says he had lost compassion for Iraqis and Afghans over the course of his four combat deployments.

The News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain an eight-page letter former Staff Sgt. Robert Bales wrote to the senior Army officer at Joint Base Lewis-McChord requesting that his life sentence be reduced.

"My mind was consumed by war," Bales wrote late last year.

"I planted war and hate for the better part of 10 years and harvested violence," he added. "After being in prison two years, I understand that what I thought was normal was the farthest thing from being normal."

In March, Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza rejected the request to overturn Bales' conviction or modify his sentence, an Army spokesman said Friday. That automatically sends the case to the Army Court of Criminal Appeal, where it might be considered again by military judges one day.

Bales, an Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Washington state, shot 22 people in all, including 17 women and children, during pre-dawn raids on two villages in Kandahar Province in March 2012. The massacre prompted such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations, and it was three weeks before Army investigators could reach the crime scene.

Bales pleaded guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty, and he apologized in a statement at his sentencing in 2013. He described the perpetual rage he felt, his heavy drinking and reliance on sleeping pills, and his steroid use. He also said he couldn't explain what he did, a sentiment he repeated in the letter.

"Over my past two years of incarceration, I have come to understand there isn't a why; there is only pain," he wrote.

The letter provides additional detaila about the paranoia Bales says he felt during his last deployment and the toll financial worries were taking on him.

"I didn't want to make a decision on the ground and lose one of my guys," he wrote. "Normally that would be a good thing, but now I know it made me paranoid and ineffective."

Over his combat tours he came to hate "everyone who isn't American," he wrote, and he became suspicious of local residents who might be supportive of those fighting Americans.

"I became callous to them even being human; they were all enemy. Guilt and fear are with you day and night. Over time your experiences solidify your prejudice," he wrote.

Since his confinement, Bales has been baptized and focused on his Christian faith, he said. He's also taking classes to finish a bachelor's degree and learning to be a barber.

The newspaper also obtained letters from Bales' wife, his in-laws and several soldiers who knew him on his earlier Iraq deployments when he was regarded as a sound infantryman.

His veteran friends described the qualities that led them to trust Bales during earlier tours in Iraq.

"My only regret in life is that I wasn't there in Afghanistan when Robert really needed a friend to see that he was struggling and pull him from the edge," a staff sergeant wrote on Bales' behalf.

http://news.yahoo.com/soldier-killed-16-afghans-says-consumed-war-205118088.html

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2015 10:59 AM

2015-06-09T10:59:25-04:00

Truly a sad story for SSG Bales and his family and the family of those that were killed in his attack. What truly drives an individual do to such an crazy act? He will live with this pain the rest of his life. What signs did others see in this SSG actions prior to the attack. Praying for him, his famly and all that where involved!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2015 11:02 AM

2015-06-09T11:02:36-04:00

It's sad. He really needed help, I hope he finds some peace while he sits in his cell. Don't read into what I said as if I am defending his actions, there is a reason he's locked up and I completely agree with it, I just recognize the pain he's going through and hope he can eventually find a way to let go of his anger.

Response by LTC Ed Ross made Jun 9 at 2015 11:44 AM

2015-06-09T11:44:44-04:00

PTSD is a common phenomenon among U.S. warriors; however, very few take out their problems by killing innocent civilians. Many, like Bales, argue that whatever caused them to do what they did was beyond their control--they just snapped. The truth most often is that people who are screwed up during or after they served in the military where screwed up before they joined the military. The overwhelming majority of warriors, especially those who experience the most horrific aspects of war, do not do what Bales did. Their moral compass kicks in and prevents them from committing atrocities. This is a different phenomenon from rogue unit behavior. Often in combat, troops follow the lead of their commander or some other person in their unit, and do things such as dismembering or defiling dead enemy bodies. Incidents of this kind of behavior have frequently occurred in every American war. There is no excuse for this or for what Bales did, and I have no sympathy for him.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jun 9 at 2015 1:08 PM

2015-06-09T13:08:46-04:00

Sounds like he consumed with by war, among other things.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 9 at 2015 1:30 PM

2015-06-09T13:30:00-04:00

I hope he gets the help he desperately needs, and I hope his family is being taken care of.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 9 at 2015 1:51 PM

2015-06-09T13:51:18-04:00

My thoughts returned to the My Lai Massacre: Anger & rage are delivered to the innocent. I cannot find a plausible defense for his actions. Bales got a life sentence --a far cry better than those whom he murdered. And the precipitate is directly counter-productive to the overall mission. On an individual level, I hope he can find peace... at least within himself.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 9 at 2015 2:12 PM

2015-06-09T14:12:36-04:00

You can see it in the eyes. Eyes don't lie.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Jun 9 at 2015 3:07 PM

2015-06-09T15:07:55-04:00

- Former SSG Bales committed a crime for which he received due process and an appropriate conviction and sentence (life in prison vice a death sentence).
- PTSD is a matter of extenuation and mitigation but not justification. I believe, but the article does not show, that his lawyers brought this up during sentencing when the judge/jury properly considered and rejected it.
- The efforts to overturn or modify his conviction, while predictable, should not be allowed to succeed.
- Let's not forget that, beyond the 16 Afghans killed, Bales' crimes had a significant and negative impact upon the war effort thus placing all other Soldiers within the AO at increased risk.
- Former SSG Bales self reflection, contemplation and efforts at self improvement while in prison are a good thing but can never make up for the crimes that he committed.
- The Army taking a look at this case to see if and what the Army should do to prevent something like this is the future is a good thing but this organizational self assessment should not be seen as the Army being partly culpable for Bales' crimes. Bales, and only Bales, is responsible for the crimes he committed.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2015 6:12 PM

2015-06-09T18:12:48-04:00

So, it is somebody else's fault.
Sorry Bales. While I feel for the pain you have experienced, hundreds of thousands of troops have gone to Afghanistan and Iraq - many of them multiple times - and managed to not shoot a bunch of women and children in the night and then attempt to burn the bodies to conceal the evidence.
You have absolutely earned a lifetime of confinement. I hope you can use the time to find peace.

Response by SSG Keith Bodiford (Ret) made Jun 10 at 2015 11:58 AM

2015-06-10T11:58:59-04:00

Sad that even in confinement he still blames everything but himself. They should have kept the death penalty Option on the table

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2015 2:34 PM

2015-06-10T14:34:15-04:00

We have standards and rules that conduct our selves with.. If you cross them, you are voliated them... No excuse for that.. If you need help, seek hep

Response by A1C Johnathan Ostrander made Jun 10 at 2015 8:34 PM

2015-06-10T20:34:33-04:00

Let's stop fighting fake wars and maybe these headlines disappear?

Response by SSG Ranger Day made Jun 23 at 2015 7:19 PM

2015-06-23T19:19:49-04:00

Funny how our own military can say anything they want and feel no shame. Especially those that have never been up close and personal with the enemy. Though he's done wrong, let's not forget why you would look negative on every aspect of why a service member does what he/she does and nothing to show for when service members commit suicide. Prayers go out to him and his family. And prayers for you individuals that can only talk crap about each other and easily point the finger, become better people.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2015 9:38 AM

2015-11-14T09:38:29-05:00

What I don't understand is WHY did they continue to send this man on deployments if he was not mentally stable?