Geren Mulls Study of War Vet Violence

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Geren Mulls Study of War Vet Violence
January 05, 2009
International Herald Tribune

For the past several years, as this Army installation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains became a busy way station for Soldiers cycling in and out of Iraq, the number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes has raised alarm.

Nine current or former members of Fort Carson's 4th Brigade Combat Team have killed someone or were charged with killings in the last three years after returning from Iraq. Five of the killings took place last year alone. In addition, charges of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault have risen sharply.

Prodded by Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, the base commander began an investigation of the Soldiers accused of homicide. An Army task force is reviewing their recruitment, medical and service records, as well as their personal histories, to determine whether the military could have done something to prevent the violence.

Now Secretary of the Army Pete Geren says he is considering conducting an Army-wide review of all Soldiers "involved in violent crimes since returning" from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a letter sent to Salazar in December. Geren wrote that the Fort Carson task force had yet to find a specific factor underlying the killings, but that the inquiry was continuing.

Focusing attention on Soldiers charged with killings is a shift for the military, which since the start of the war in Iraq has largely deflected any suggestion that combat could be a factor in violent behavior among some returning service members.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/geren-mulls-study-of-war-vet-violence.html?col=1186032310810&wh=wh