The past seven years of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have shown us, repeatedly, that our military hasn’t always successfully identified and helped those troops struggling mentally and emotionally.
An Army report released Wednesday found that 14 GIs based at Fort Carson who are convicted or charged in 11 homicides, two attempted murders and other violence actually represent a much broader set of problems — a “toxic mix,” in the words of Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army’s surgeon general.
The report looked into the risk factors surrounding the 14 men, but also used focus groups and a survey to study more than 3,000 soldiers.
Of the 14 troubled Fort Carson soldiers, 10 had been diagnosed with mental illness. The report said risk factors included “prior criminal behavior and psychopathology.”
The Army should heed the advice of the experts who released the report. Among the suggestions: Identify high-combat-exposure individuals or units and give them more reintegration support before they are deployed again.
And though Army officials denied any link between violent combat experience and criminal behavior back home, the report did suggest a link. More than half of the 14 troubled soldiers said they had seen war crimes during their deployment, such as the killing of civilians.
Most were members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, which called itself the “Lethal Warriors,” a unit that had a particularly high casualty rate.
Despite the obvious fact that the Army demands of its troops stressful duties in violent places, the report found failed programs meant to detect and treat mental health troubles and behavioral problems.
Schoomaker said that substance abuse, recruits entering the forces with mental illness and failed programs to treat the troubled warriors likely contributed to the violence of the 14 Fort Carson soldiers.
The investigation, sought by then-Sen. Ken Salazar, dug further into the recruitment process. It found that between 2004 and 2007, struggling to meet recruitment goals, the Army issued a high number of so-called “moral waivers” that overlooked criminal records and drug problems, including three of the troubled 14.
We’ve said before that the Army should make better use of mental health programs. This latest report cries out for the Army to also take better ownership of the men and women it brings into service.
The Army, as the report suggests, should develop a system to track high-risk individuals.
The Army is trying, but clearly struggling, to get beyond a culture that deals with complex emotional problems with a simplistic “suck it up” attitude. It’s not acceptable to demand bravery in service and battle and then not be there for our troops when they return.
