Violent crimes at Fort Carson linked to PTSD

What appears to be a rising trend of violent crime perpetrated by combat veterans at Colorado’s Fort Carson has prompted an inquiry by Senator Ken Salazar, D-CO. An article that made it to the International Herald Tribune documents the trend among returning members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

The 4th Combat Brigade, previously called the 2nd Combat Brigade, fought in Iraq’s fiercest cities at some of the toughest moments: Falluja and Ramadi, after insurgents dug into the rubble; Baghdad and Sadr City, as body counts soared. By 2007, after two tours, the brigade had lost 113 soldiers, with hundreds more wounded. It is now preparing for a tour in Afghanistan.

Most Fort Carson soldiers have been to Iraq at least once; others have deployed two, three or four times.

At Fort Carson, domestic violence case reports have risen from 57 in 2006 to 145 reported in 2008 as of mid-December. Rape and sexual assault reports have risen from 10 in ‘06 to 38, and there have been nine homicides in the last three years perpetrated by 4th Combat Brigade veterans—five in 2008. At least two of the accused were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren is said to be responding to Senator Salazar’s inquiry but has not promised an army-wide inquiry into the matter yet. Geren said that the Fort Carson task force has yet to find a specific factor underlying the killings. Because, you know, combat stress is just a part of the life of a soldier.

Again I have to ask: how many more people are going to die?