Trained to Kill

[coda]

I hear this happens pretty frequently -- it's either the case of once you kill, it's farily easy to continue or extreme post-war after effects. Either way.. I have heard of about many Iraq war soldiers as well as Desert Storm coming back and then killing their families.

Army: Soldier Apparently Kills Wife, Self

By DAN ELLIOTT
DENVER (AP) - A soldier who returned from Iraq nine days earlier apparently shot and killed his wife and then himself at their home near Fort Collins, Army officials said Thursday.

Pfc. Stephen S. Sherwood, 36, and his wife were found dead Wednesday, Army spokeswoman Dee McNutt said. The wife's name was not released.

The couple's 8-month-old child was in the care of a neighbor, who reported hearing gunshots at about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, said Eloise Campanella, a spokeswoman for the Larimer County sheriff. Investigators had not determined a motive.

Sherwood had returned from Iraq on July 25 after spending nearly a year there and was on leave at the time of the shootings, McNutt said.

He was a cannon crew member in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Carson but had a home in Fort Collins, a city about 130 miles north of the post, she said.

Sherwood enlisted in the Army in January 2004, McNutt said.

Steve Johnson, a neighbor since 1997, said Sherwood told him Tuesday he and his wife ``were having a hard time'' over their plans to move to Colorado Springs, adjacent to Fort Carson.

``She was not looking forward to moving,'' Johnson said.

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team lost 68 soldiers during its tour in Iraq. Sherwood was at least the second Fort Carson-based soldier to commit suicide shortly after serving there.


08/05/05 08:17

[Lord Testicles]

i think (and no offence to anyone intended i apologise in advance) that American soldiers are just soft for some reason they cant cope they did it after vietnam to maybe the trainings to effective at making them killers or maybe it just doesnt prepare them or even maybe its what they put in their food :blink: but who knows

[violencia.Proletariat]

they really mess with there minds, ive heard quit a few stories from people i know about crazy ex marines friends they have

[Bannockburn]

Well they are trained killers. you can't expect to burn into people head to kill, and then telling them to turn it off like a light switch.

[Smirnov]

I we been interested in this quistion after the well-known in Russia incident, when Russian Army colonel Yury Budanov killed Chetchen sniper - girl of 18. And in Russia guys from from Chechnia are coming back very aggressive. They often kill their friends after or during vodka drinking. Who is gilty - Government, no matter, Russian, American or someone's else, which sends it's citizens at the bloody massacre.

No to imperialists wars. Fuck the imperialists governments!!!

[Hegemonicretribution]

I am not sure what measures are taken in helping soldiers readjust in America, but it appears they are not sufficient.

Anyone tahthas tried living a military life, even for a couple of weeks, finds it a little difficult re-adjusting. Even little things such as not talking about weapons, women (or I am sure men) or minding you language at certain times becomes hard.

Anyone ever see that movie soldier? It seems as we turn our killers more and more into machines, the less capable they are of reverting back.

[Pawn Power]

It is not suprising that the mass media does not report on these incidences, more often or at all. These styles of post-traumatic incidences show the true effects of a bloody war. Not all of the effects will be seen now, maybe 10,20,or 30 years down the road other post-traumatic behavior will come up. This is something that the war hungry government would want to cover up. They do not want you and soldiers to know of the consequences of war.

[Bannockburn]

It is not surprising that the mass media does not report on these incidences, more often or at all...They do not want you and soldiers to know of the consequences of war.

I think you answered yourself bro. That is the whole point. To keep the citizenry, the soldiers, etc in ignorance. In any functioning democratic society, openly informative, openly critical, openly diverse media is key to a democracy. In the United States, or any other country for that matter hardly has that. Its the same reason why its official US policy not to show the dead. They learned the consequences of that in Vietnam. Same deal with not telling stories, or providing information of the real consequences of war both for the individual, the family, and the society.

[Pawn Power]

I think you answered yourself bro.

Answered what? I didn't ask a question??

[Bannockburn]

Answered what? I didn't ask a question??

yeah I know. I didn't mean answer as in reply to a question. Rather a correct response, or a correct reply which is implicit in your statements, but explicit within the thread.

[Amusing Scrotum]

I saw a program about this presented by a sychiatrist (Bad spelling?)

Anyway the program was about how you can train solidiers to shoot before thinking, but afterwards when they think about their actions, they cannot cope. This is made worse when what they kill for is in their minds not wholly justified. The programme talked especially about the high suicide rates with the Falklands solidiers.

My point is that you can kill a man and not suffer mentally, if you believe in what you're doing. Che Guervara for example did not suffer mentally. However solidiers from the Gulf Wars, Vietnam and the Falklands did because they doubted wither their actions were justifiable.

[Commandante_Ant]

The only time i know of Che to feel guilt over a death is when a small dog was killed during the Cuban revolution (i think)...he never killed the dog himself but he felt extreme guilt and sadness about it.

I think its hard to say who is to blame for soldiers actions after they have seen action. War isnt pretty and almost all if not all soldiers who see action in the wars come back worse, mentally or physically. its hard to kill someone without feeling something. If the death is justified so be it, but to kill an 18 yr old kid for his countries beliefs can be a hard thing to do. i can only imagine that, i am not a fighter...i'm a lover! :P

[Decolonize The Left]

BannockBurn summed everything I was thinking up in his first post on this thread.

My notes:
I think that this is re-occuring in tons of cases (I don't know, this is pure speculation). But I think that this happens a lot, and especially with the slashed veteren's benefits (thanks to Mr. Bush) it will happen even more often.

It is sad that in a country where we claim to be so militarily focused and powerful, that we can't even take care of those who we send to kill other people's children for us (by us in this statement I mean the general public or even more specifically, the supporters of this administration. Obviously I do not mean us in the literal sense as in the people of this thread or board, that would be ridiculous).

-- August