I have never believed that one becomes wiser with age, but I do believe that watching the same sitcom over and over dulls your interest for the inevitable punch line.  Our military seems to react publicly in lock-step trying to explain the shocking story of a decorated Army Staff Sergeant who allegedly murdered 16 Afghan civilians.  This horrific incident has caused great distress within the ranks of active duty personnel and it is quite understandable that senior officers would try to calm service members claiming that the situation is “under control.”  While their actions are to be expected, the magnitude of this tragedy cannot be underestimated but most importantly:  the situation is not under control.

Earlier, SFTT reported that ‘we’re not perfect,’  but getting better.”   Gen. Rodriguez knows this not to be the case, so why the “happy talk?”

Sadly, we have seen this picture far too many times as senior officials within our military try to blind the American public (and perhaps themselves) to a serious and growing problem within the ranks of men and women who are strung out with repetitive deployments and suffering from a host of other medical and psychological ailments.   Claiming that the situation is under control and having it under control are two different situations entirely.

Witness this incredible article entitled “Opinion: Soldier accused of shooting rampage:  Not PTSD alone”  in which a former Army doctor, Dr. Harry Croft asserts that there were other contributing factors that caused a decorated Army Staff Sergeant to murder 16 Afghan civilians.  Now I do not wish to question Dr. Croft’s credentials, but for him to assert that there were “other contributing factors” is akin to saying that if the Staff Sergeant hadn’t been carrying a loaded weapon while on guard duty, this situation wouldn’t have happened.   Maybe he was bullied in elementary school as a child or reacted negatively to a soft drink.  Indeed, there are any number of contributing factors which could have triggered this event, but I doubt very seriously whether anyone in the chain of command will step up and say I made a terrible mistake redeploying this troubled young man a fourth time to Afghanistan.

More frightening is the implication by Dr. Croft that PTSD alone is not responsible for his erratic behavior.  On the basis of 7,000 patients he claims to have treated, not one of them murdered 16 civilians.   Boy, that is a relief!  What Dr. Croft is asking us to believe  is that there were other more compelling reasons which caused this Staff Sergeant to go on this murderous rampage.   By engaging in this “happy talk” masquerading as clinical experience, Dr. Croft is essentially laying out the position that PTSD cannot be used as an excuse or primary reason for criminal behavior.

Many have long suspected that senior officials within our military are not fully convinced of the deadly consequences of PTSD if left untreated.   Dr. Croft has deftly contributed to reinforce their position. I trust he did so unwittingly, since the lives of many other brave warriors hang in the balance until we come to grips with the problems of properly treating PTSD.