Afghan Atrocity: Can Stress and Head Trauma Cause a Soldier to ‘Snap’?

[xchrom]

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/03/16/afghan-atrocity-can-stress-and-head-trauma-cause-a-soldier-to-snap/

The lawyer for a 38-year-old U.S. serviceman accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians has disputed a number of theories floated to explain the actions of the staff sergeant, who was being flown to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on Friday to stand trial. Efforts to characterize the unidentified soldier’s alleged crimes on March 11 include a New York Times article indicating that he simply “snapped” prior to the shooting due to the stresses of combat, marital problems or drinking too much alcohol.

The soldier—who enlisted in the military a week after the September 11, 2001, attacks and had served three tours in Iraq—has suffered several combat-related injuries, including a concussion sustained by a roadside bomb and the loss of part of a foot, his attorney John Henry Browne acknowledged. The lawyer did not speculate as to whether his client might have psychological or mental health problems. But Browne did tell CNN that during a brief phone conversation with the soldier, “he seemed to be unaware of some of the facts I talked to him about, which makes me concerned about his state of mind.”

Even if the soldier’s state of mind is unknown at this time, the nature of his previous injuries may provide some insight into the forces at work on him. Blunt-force trauma, which can be caused by concussion-inducing trauma, damages the brain by bruising it, stretching or tearing nerve cells, or triggering electrical misfiring, Scientific American Mind reported in its December 2008 issue. In addition, an incident strong enough to cause traumatic brain injury can also be powerful enough to produce emotional trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A combination of mild traumatic brain injury and PTSD is considered the signature injury of the Iraq War.

[Alameda]

1. We will be dealing with this for the next 60 years or more.

They are coming home, and bringing this back with them. If we had problems with other Vets, I shudder to think of what we have brought on ourselves this time. I hope people will think twice before flipping off anyone. Be tender and gentle with those around you. You don't know what you are dealing with.
Easier to say than to do. I think these things come out more when in automobiles in road rage.

[madrchsod]

2. just a brief history of this guy points in that direction

yes..america will be dealing with this well into the future