FORT CARSON, Colo.—The Army says it hasn’t found any single factor linking a half-dozen Fort Carson Iraq war veterans who were suspected or convicted in homicides over the past year.
Army Secretary Peter Geren made the disclosure in a letter to Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. Salazar released the letter Thursday.
Salazar asked for the review in October after a soldier was arrested on suspicion of raping and killing a 19-year-old woman in Colorado Springs, adjacent to Fort Carson.
Other soldiers in the same unit, the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, were charged in the deaths of two soldiers last year and in the deaths of a Colorado Springs couple placing garage-sale signs in their neighborhood this year.
The brigade returned from Iraq in 2007 after 15 months of fighting in Baghdad.
Fort Carson officials say they’re working with Army experts to determine if there are common factors in violence linked to soldiers that can be addressed to prevent future crimes.
The study includes a review of pre-enlistment background checks and mental-health screenings done before and after deployment to Iraq.
Geren said a final report is due to Fort Carson Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Graham by March 1.
Salazar spokesman Matt Lee-Ashley said it was too early to draw any conclusions and that the Army needs to provide more information.
Salazar was nominated this week to be President-elect Barack Obama’s interior secretary and will likely be out of the Senate by the time the final report arrives.
Geren also says he has asked top commanders to review the possibility of an Army-wide review of violence blamed on returning veterans.
Fort Carson announced in October it would re-screen about 1,200 soldiers from the 4th Brigade for potential physical or mental health problems.
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Information from: The Gazette,
