Questions about the fragging attack; Updated: More details
The shooter in the Monday attack at Camp Liberty’s combat stress clinic outside Baghdad has been identified.
He’s Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineer Battalion.
He was on his third tour of duty.
For the past 24 hours, the MSM has set a narrative suggesting that the shooter was under combat stress himself. But it’s not clear what exactly he was being treated for, what his possible relationship with the men he murdered was, and what precipitated the fight at the clinic that led him to leave and return to gun them down. News accounts describe him as a “communications specialist.”
Russell had been on the military’s radar screen as a potentially violent threat for some time– and his superiors had taken the unusual step of taking away his weapon.
What did he say or do before the murders of his fellow soldiers that caused the military to take that step? Did he keep a homicidal diary like convicted fragger Hasan Akbar? Did he make prior threats? If so, what was the nature of those threats?
Before the MSM continues to push the stressed soldier narrative, they might want to find out the answers.
***
Update: A few more details…
The soldier’s son, John M. Russell II, said Tuesday that he has communicated with his father by e-mail regularly. In the last message he received from him, on April 25, his father sounded normal and planned to be back in Texas to visit in July.
“He’s not a violent person,” he said. “For this to happen, it had to be something going on that the Army’s not telling us about.”
Sgt. Russell grew up in rural Grayson County and graduated from high school in 1985. He entered the Army National Guard in 1988 and served until going on active duty in 1994.
He lives with his wife in Germany, where he’s been for the better part of the past 10 to 15 years but comes home a couple times a year, his father said.
Russell’s ex-wife filed for divorce in 1991 and obtained a temporary restraining order against him, alleging in the petition that he committed “acts of family violence.”
The petition also cited an alleged incident in which he had a confrontation with Denise Russell’s mother.
“During this time, respondent physically attacked my mother, age 58, hitting her on the shoulders and about the head,” a petition affidavit stated.
There was no response Tuesday to a telephone call and a visit to Russell’s ex-wife.
In 1993, a month after the divorce decree was issued, Russell was charged with misdemeanor assault but the matter was dropped, records show.
Jack McGowen, listed as Russell’s attorney for the divorce as well as the threat case, said Tuesday he can’t recall either matter.
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Why should mere facts stand in the way of the MSM using this incident to condemn the entire military as being out of control and liable to “go postal” and live up to the label of RWE?
“Before the MSM continues to push the stressed soldier narrative, they might want to find out the answers.”
Well that depends on how much the “stessed soldier narrative” aids the anti-war meme. If it does then you can be certain they will do zero investigation.
Oh for goodness sake. This “combat stress” thing is really annoying.
At the risk of saying something extremely unpopular and pissing people off, oh to hell with it:
So often this “combat stress” thing is pure nonsense and used by either the media (as a political toll) or by the soldier and his defense team (as a crutch).
Is there such a thing as PTSD? Of course there is. However, it has never been so focused on and explored to the degree it has in this war. This is a good thing.
HOWEVER, when you basically go out and try and educate everyone about this very real danger, you are going to have people that abuse it.
I don’t care what the circumstances were. This guy could have been under the harshest combat conditions imaginable. He is still responsible for being a murderer.
To a certain extent his COC could be responsible for not taking the proper actions and that certainlly needs to be explored. If they took his weapon away though, it sounds like they were more or less on top of things.
Unless he can be shown to be clinically insane (that is, not “combat stressed” by actually bonkers) execute him! IF, by some miracle, he believed himself to be a 10th level wizard from Narnia, lock him in a mental institution and relieve his COC.
Damn, how hard is this?
Correct MM! We don’t know the details yet and probably never will know the truth. Until some sort of official line of crap is released we can and should devote our thoughts and prayers the the dead, the injured, and all those affected by this tragedy. We know the MSM will treat this as anti-everything. Those of us who have served in combat know there may be no real answer forthcoming.
Janet Napolitano is watching MSNBC right now and thinking to herself, I knew all military types were violent right wing nuts. Now we need to round up all those criminal anti-illegal immigration protesters who voice opposition to my cheap cleaning and landscaping services.
Let’s hope that Murtha doesn’t hear about this!
Agreed. There are more questions than answers.
Though, those answers have to be balanced with the Sargent’s privacy, and what the Military will, and has already, revealed.
Apparently, a case of the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to this story (AP, so taken with a grain of salt), the murderer had been ejected from the clinic earlier, and then returned. He was apparently “escorted” by another soldier, which would indicate he was under guard. From the account, he took the “escort”’s weapon.
He had been deployed to several other areas, including in Eastern Europe.
We had a guy in our unit while in country that was questionable.
He tried to pick a fight with an officer and guess what? We took his weapons away!
Eventually, he got sent to the rear when he consistently demonstrated that he was a f*ck-up.
One day not too long ago, when I was still in the Army, I found myself in charge of bayonet training at Basic. We had another questionable loon. Again, we took the weapons away and made him go sit in a corner. This was no case of combat stress because the particular soldier wasn’t even out of training!
The media simply needs to understand that “combat stress” isn’t a catch-all to describe bad behavior from soldiers. They use it all the time to basically say, “Look! See what war does! War is bad and the war in Iraq is especially bad! See what Boosh did!”
They need to accept that it’s entirely possible that this guy would have killed people with or without combat stress.
That would not fit with their preconceived ideas about the military member as a victim of the Bushies.
The MSM will treat this soldier with all the respect they can muster. After all, he only killed his own, not like he abused the poor Jihadists!
Sorry, having a bad day.
*Only time will allow for the complete story to unfold, but the MSM has their agenda, and they will pursue it; Expect Katie Couric to lead the way.
*Bottom line is, people snap all day, every day, all around the world, and it often ends in tragedy; The limbic brain remains predictably unpredictable.
‘Dyin’ ain’t much of a living, boy.’–Josey Wales
I don’t believe in PTSD. Just like I don’t believe in Hyperactive disorders. Everyone believe what they want.
One thing I do believe is that there are a lot of disgruntled people in the military. Some people in society know how to control their angers and take sensible and responsible action to improve their situations. Many cannot and feel that a way to release the anger is to harm other people. It is part of human nature that people like this exist.
As for the specifics on this guy. I definitely don’t know much other than he should face a firing squad at the very least.
Our current military is a not-very-representative cross section of the nation.
They tend to be smarter, better educated, and more motivated than their peers.
This murderer was apparently a pretty good troop for a number of years. For his honorable service, he is due our thanks.
He had at least one broken marriage in his wake. We don’t know what other stress he had working at home.
What we do know is that he violated all norms of military conduct, and took the lives of several innocent people, apparently including some of those there to try to help him. There were a series of choices, and he seems to have made all the wrong ones.
The Army takes care of its own. They will handle it.
Frankly civilians do not have a need to know.
Out.
As a soldier who has served in Iraq (and spent the last couple of years there as a civilian) I would like to tell you all that PTSD does exist and it takes it toll on people differently. As Michelle has pointed out we do not have the complete story (and may never have it), so let us all not jump to conclusions like the MSM.
On a side note, the reason that I feel we see so many more incidents like this do to the liberalization of basic training. Part of basic training is to teach basic soldier skills in a very short time and the other half is to teach you how to work under stressful situation to try to help mentally prepare you for war.
Under the Clinton administration and continued on through the Bush administration basic training (at least for the Army) has gone through “stress minimizing” changes. One example is giving recruits “stress cards” that they can present to a Drill Sergeant that is causing them to have a “stressful day”. Once presented with this card the Drill Sergeant can no longer cause any stress to the recruit.
It is this type of mentality that leads our troops to be less prepared for war and leads to these travesties.
It’s hardly surprising that the MSM are spewing this line. To them, EVERY SINGLE SOLDIER who has spent more than a second in combat ABSOLUTELY MUST have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Anything to tear down a successful war…
I concur.
IMHO, one of the many reasons for stress-related failures, not only in the military but in all walks of life, is the public school system in the U.S.
Kids are force-fed the most narcissistic garbage for at least 12 years and they are unable to handle bills, mortgages, job stress, etc. And most branches of the service are no longer allowed to separate the wheat from the chaff, since doing so will damage their little psyche.
I will never forgive myself for not sending my three kids through private schools, whatever the price.
At the end of Michelle’s post…
This looks like you had more to share, Michelle…? Link/expound further, please!
Its GULF WAR SYNDROME acerbated by all the deleted uranium!
Do you all know that Iraq wasnt a desert until George Bush Sr sent Global Warming there to punish the Arabs? If we would have only paid attention 20 years ago, then we could have seen that one day his son would eventually send Katrina to punish New Orleans.
Crows gotta eat, same as worms.
The family of those killed need to be in our prayes. This man seems to have had problem and was overlooked. My dad was in WW11 and had so many problems having to play TAPS for the dead at sea, he killed himself numerous years later. God be with the families of those killed, PLEASE.
L
OT: Why is this not the headline on all the blogs:
Read the whole thing, it’s important like nothing else today.
So, where’s the MSM and left loon outrage? Imagine if his had happened under Bush.
Oh wait, it’s all his fault anyway.
This will be like all the other news stories, it will be stress disorder caused by the previous administration until something comes out like he had converted to Islam or he had a civilian rap sheet an arm’s length long and the military was unable to find out due to privacy laws or something. When the story changes to any type of personal responsibility on behalf of the perpetrator, the MSM will have vanished or put a correction in an obscure newspaper on section G p34. The only people interested in the whole story, or as Paul Harvey would say “the rest of the story” will be bloggers.
Well said.
But would he have snapped if Obama had initiated the conflict??? Of course, but the MSM would report it differently.
The only way the Lame Stream Media will play this down is if they discover that Russell was on drugs. Since the intelligentsia wants illicit drugs legalized any and all stories involving the down side of drugs will get the “this wouldn’t happen if they were legal” treatment or completely swept under the rug.
Personally I’ve got my money on the Lame Stream Media playing the “redneck hick” card as they continue their adoration of St. Nepolitano
The murders and rapes and other stories that have been hitting the news lately, over seas and here at home at various locations, are some of the byproducts of eliminating the draft and lowering the acceptance into service to the lowest common denominator… which seems to be: “…take a breath in, now let it out, OK, your 1A”.
The liberals and media blindfold and tie the military’s hands and then tattle like a spoiled six year old telling mommy when something happens. Detractors and subversives should not be allowed on the battle field. What can be expected when the military is forced not only to scrape the barrel but also take a hammer and chisel to the hard, crusty riff raff and limp-wristed foo-foos that have slipped through the societal cracks.
The draft should be reinstituted; they should be well screened; and every capable male should have to do his part in the military. Who knows, he may even come out of it a real man.
War should always be the last resort and VICTORY should always be the goal of a war. If the intent is otherwise, forget about it. The military should never be led by someone who refused to serve. Detractors and subversives should not be allowed on the battle field.
Here is what my step daughter e-mailed right after it happened:
The 2nd commentor in the Houston Chronicle story about this blamed (any guesses)George Bush.
As a draft-era soldier, I don’t have any idea where you get any support for this statement.
Today’s uniformed services are VASTLY better qualified and trained than we were in my day. You can’t have the military we have today by taking the dregs, which, I can assure you, was what we got via the draft.
Boy have you found a home!
Ahh, wishing for honesty in the media. Pipe dream nowadays. This story will not be factually reported but used for proaganda purposes. How low our independent media has sunk.
It has to be a stressed soldier issue, and don’t you know every last soldier in Iraq is just one wrong word away from wasting every living creature in their path. It can’t just be that one guy got hinky.
My true sympathies are for the soldiers Russell killed and their families. Otherwise, I’ll do my best to reserve judgment, but it’s probably best for Mr. Russell that I won’t be sitting for his Court Martial.
This would never have happened if those soldiers didn’t have guns. The military is way too dangerous. It’s time to make soldiers safe by taking away their guns.
***
Vietnam era “fragging” involved tying or taping a hand grenade to the platoon leader’s tent pole so that the pin would pull out when he opened the tent flap. Or putting the grenade in a beer can with the pin already pulled and the striker (firing hammer) release lever held in position by the can. Pulling the grenade out of the can with a tripwire or string started the 3 second delay to explosion.
***
The purpose of fragging was to kill or wound a leader who took his men into too many dangerous situations and got too many of them killed.
***
This sounds more like a psycho going berserk. The victims do not seem to be his combat platoon or company leaders.
***
John Bibb
***
Yeah, Bush’s fault…and all…
…something I agree with.
Here, Here!
They need to use Jedi mind tricks like DaOne…(idiot).
When PC affects those who protect us and the Constitution, we’re screwed…to the wall…dirty. And now our benevolent dictator-in-chief will see to it that this is the standard M.O.
…screwed…to the wall…dirty.
For those who are interested in more information, a local TV Station interveiws Sgt. John M. Russell’s Father.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003972329
Mind you it is second hand, from his Father, and it addresses a few of the questions MM has raised.
There is one word that the Father repeats, and you can read and see for yourself.
I feel for Sgt. John M. Russell and his victim’s.
PKAmmoTroop:
Oh come on! How is it that you guys always manage to turn a topic I agree with you on into an issue that I don’t? Despite supporting legalization of MJ, I still understand and accept the reasons why drugs; even legal ones like alcohol; need to be restricted in a combat area.
Jangar:
LOL! It happens from time to time. I need to periodically remind you guys that despite being a wacky social lib who doesn’t believe in God, wants MJ legalized, and doesn’t care what the word “marriage” means; I still think bad guys should be killed and we shouldn’t be ashamed of using lots of lead and fire to do it.
Zyzzyg:
Sounds like rationalizations to me. After reading that, I can’t help but think this guy was a f*ck-up who couldn’t hack it and when he was told to, “man up, stop wasting our time, and let us treat people who are actually suffering from PTSD” he got pissed off and figured he’d, “teach them” and then later be able to claim it wasn’t his fault because of “combat stress.”
Anyhow, how’s that work in a firing squad again? Who gets the blanks…?
Ragspierre you are correct on this one. Today’s military has a higher education on average than any other time in history. They are motiviated and they want to be here.
The draft, even if they are “screened” as Simcoe puts it, would still place people where they don’t want to be. That is hardly motivating to either the individual or the ones in charge of them.
As for this:
You are safer, by far, in the military than you are on city streets or college campuses.
I repeat. Firing squad for those actions.
I don’t believe in PTSD.
Serviced in the first Gulf War and Somalia.
IMHO he’ll get what’s coming to him.
Nobody said the military was a representation of society. They are indeed part of our society. Thanks to those who served and who continue to. In my experience there is no excuse for criminal acts like intentional murder. No “need to know” there. Simple as pie.
Michelle:
Your readers are literate and you need to be more accurate in your headlines and reports.
is right.
Fragging = grenade
This was not a fragging incident.
If this soldier is just an E-5 after 20 years in the military, he has had many problems in his past and has probably been busted down in rank.
Lets wait for some more details to emerge.
oh rocketman and slp
Fragging = Fratricide
Yes they can use grenades to do it, but that is NOT where the term comes from. You might want to learn the actual meaning of the terms before bashing others on them.
I was under the impression that “fragging” came from “fragmentation grenades” and generally referred to killing superiors.
It seems to have evolved in it’s usage though. I blame the video game “DOOM”.
***
Hi PRESTO–#47. My use of the term FRAGGING was what it meant in 1964 when I was in the U.S. Army. Words evolve and take on more meanings.
***
My understanding of the word FRATRICIDE is that it refers to unintended “friendly fire” incidents–like when General Stonewall Jackson was shot by one of his sentries as he rode around scouting the battlefield during the Civil War.
***
John Bibb
***
Today’s soldier is better educated than ever before and surpasses the average educational accomplishments of his or her peers outside the military. Of course it would take a brain to look at the facts and we all now know that Simcoe is “fact-averse” like so many others trolls here.
Back in the 70s NCOs wouldn’t enter barracks alone or unarmed. I used to have to read and file MP reports and you would NOT believe some of the stuff that was going on with draft-era soldiers in the 70s.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines do a good job of weeding out misfits. This John Kerry, liberal idiot mantra about “ignorant, uneducated troops” needs to be put down once and for all. The draft is not the answer to problems like this.
Not that wiki is the end all be all to an arguement, but it supports slp and rocketman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging
Also, dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frag?jss=1
However, in MM’s defense (though she is sometimes wrong), the term seems to have evolved in common usage to refer to fratricide.
I have most often heard “fratricide” used in context of hypothetical nuclear exchanges.
See: http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA088843
Accession Number : ADA088843
Title : Reentry Vehicle Fratricide Constraints on Attack Planning,
Corporate Author : DEFENSE NUCLEAR AGENCY WASHINGTON DC
Personal Author(s) : Moulton,James F. , Jr
Report Date : 20 JAN 1978
Pagination or Media Count : 27
Abstract : At the present time, reentry vehicle (RV) fractricide can be a constraint in multi-burst (N-ON-1) attack planning involving an array of hard targets, such as a minuteman wing. If, however, total attack time, time on target, and other constraints of an operational nature can be met, it would appear that RV fratricide can be eliminated for 2-on-1 attacks. With continued improvements in RV accuracy, the constraints associated with mult-burst attack may ultimately become inconsequential. (Author)
Descriptors : *REENTRY VEHICLES, *FRATRICIDE, NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS, ACCURACY, NUCLEAR CLOUDS, TARGETING, SURFACE TO SURFACE MISSILES, GUIDED MISSILE TARGETS, HARDENED STRUCTURES, LAUNCHING SITES, MULTIBURSTS.
Subject Categories : GUIDED MISSILE REENTRY VEHICLES
Distribution Statement : APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
I have also heard it used in terms of “friendly fire” or “blue-on-blue” when used to describe conventional weapons targeted on friendly forces. I think this became a more commonly used term after Gulf War I.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fratricide
The word is derived from Latin.
It is often used in a military context to refer to a variety of things:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fratricide
ONE improperly timed MIRV detonation can RUIN your day…