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Our country has recently seen one of the most horrific war crimes in decades. Although facts continue to trickle in, it has been reported that a US Army Staff Sergeant slaughtered 16 Afghan civilians, including 9 children and 3 women. Condemned by President Obama as “tragic and shocking”, this heinous act has sent a shockwave through our Armed Forces, the Afghan people, and our Nation.
As often is the case when American service members hit the front pages for despicable acts, I was contacted by a New York based reporter and asked for my opinion about the “psychology” of the Soldier in question. I usually have one or two sound bites at the ready, but not in this particular case. I found myself wanting to stress what I believe are the two most salient points that our Nation needs to hear during this confusing time: 1) this Soldier's actions are not representative of our men and women in uniform; and 2) this Soldier’s actions were not the result of combat stress alone.
The first point is a relatively simple one to understand. Countless acts of bravery, heroism, and benevolence have occurred since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started. However, these acts are rarely posted on the front pages of the New York Times or USA Today. Instead, we are shown the vile images of Marines urinating on the deceased and enemy detainees being humiliated. These people do not represent the past, present, or future of our military.
The second point is a little more complicated, but still easy to understand. Even when bombarded with extreme levels of combat stress, an otherwise psychologically healthy individual will not commit the deplorable acts we have just witnessed. In other words, for someone to engage in this type of antisocial behavior there must be some predisposition to violence triggered by a "perfect storm" of risk factors such as PTSD, traumatIc brain injury, relationship discord, extreme emotional fatigue, etc.
My hope is that we keep these two points in clear sight. If we lose focus of the first then we diminish the many good deeds that are done daily in such ungodly environments. To forget the second means we brand all service members returning from war as damaged and dangerous when in reality our Nation’s protectors are incredibly resilient.
