The tragic story of 1st Sgt. Jeff McKinney »
Posted By bubba2 1 year, 6 months ago in NewsOn July 11 in Adhamiyah, Iraq, while on a simple meet-and-greet patrol, Jeff McKinney stepped out of his Humvee and yelled. "F--- this!" He raised his M4 to his chin and squeezed off one shot. The first sergeant, who sang Sesame Street songs to his men and teased them just enough to make them feel like family, left his soldiers shattered.
Read Full Story at armytimes.com »
428 Views Share Story 42 Comments Report
Submitted By:
bubba2
I AM OUTTA here! The new format STILL S-U-C-K-S! Propeller has NO idea what "spam" is (or is not) and I am tired of dealing ...
Who Also Submitted: All »
Other Related Articles: All »
Why not submit a story?
RSS Join the Discussion
+ Add CommentComments So Far: 129 (view all)
-
-
Neutral
hyperbola1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
It is the veterans who come to know that they are just collateral damage in our society. This is well described in this article from Chris Hedges.
Collateral Damage: What It Really Means When America Goes to War
Do No Evil â;; American Marines and soldiers have become socialized to atrocity. The killing project is not described in these terms to a distant public. The politicians still speak in terms of glory, honor, and heroism, in improving the world, in lofty phrases of political and spiritual renewal. Those who kill large numbers of people always claim it as a virtue.
http://donoevil.propeller.com/story/2008/06/04/...
Reply -
-
-
Neutral
gamahuche1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
FTA
As of May 3, 139 soldiers, 25 Marines and seven sailors have killed themselves in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, according to Pentagon data.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, more suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other problems. But getting combat vets to seek help is difficult.
Studies by the Army, the Defense Department, Rand Corp. and others cite the same reasons why troops with mental health issues don't seek help: fear of being seen as "weak," inadequate access to care, concern that asking for help can hurt a career, and guilt about letting battle buddies go out on patrol without them.
Reply-
Neutral
gamahuche1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
cont..
Among the troubling factors is that, like McKinney, many of those who choose suicide aren't young first-tour junior troops. Forty-seven percent of soldiers who have killed themselves in theater are older than 30. And half were in paygrades E-5 or above. Experts are concerned that it's harder to spot signs of potential suicide in such war-hardened veterans.
Reply
-
-
raats6662Comment removed: Retracted by user23 Replies
-
mackiemesserComment removed: Retracted by user1 Reply
-
KvilleTXComment removed: Hard Banned18 Replies
-
-
Neutral
icono11 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
US Politicians send soldiers to war.
Politicians;
1. don't actually do the real person to person fighting and living with the 24/7 paranoia of death, disfigurement and paralysis from combat wounds, the ever present chances of instant terror, the day by day horror of war, the worries about home and family and the psychological breaking down of the civilized person that changes that soldier into either a cold and emotionless human that will kill without remorse or one that 'snaps' then either kills himself and/or others emotionally close to him.
2. So US politicians are never held accountable for their commitment of US troops to hostilities. US politicians like all politicians have this wonderful rationaliztion scheme for military personnel that goes like this; they signed up for the military and they are getting paid for their services so they shouldn't complain.
3. So the blame for such behaviour in our society falls on the ones 'sent to war' not the ones 'doing the sending'.
Reply
-
-
Neutral
sumptuousdigs1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
mackiemesser, it is difficult to read. Those companies could have been rotated out of the battle theater, especially after taking hits like the ones described leading up to Sgt. McKinney's death. The fact is, like Viet Nam, the whole country is a potential battle theater.
Kville...What a maroon! What Iraqis attacked the U S A?
Do you mean the Saudis? Or are you espousing a holy war in general.
Codi...These tragedies happen in all wars. This particular foray into madness has a dubious, nay, a criminal stench to it. Do you have any idea how many Germans opposed Hitler's wars? Quite a few, but they were cowed by statements like yours and Kville's.
Reply -
Neutral
sumptuousdigs1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
mackiemesser, it is difficult to read. Those companies could have been rotated out of the battle theater, especially after taking hits like the ones described leading up to Sgt. McKinney's death. The fact is, like Viet Nam, the whole country is a potential battle theater.
Kville...What a maroon! What Iraqis attacked the U S A?
Do you mean the Saudis? Or are you espousing a holy war in general.
Codi...These tragedies happen in all wars. This particular foray into madness has a dubious, nay, a criminal stench to it. Do you have any idea how many Germans opposed Hitler's wars? Quite a few, but they were cowed by statements like yours and Kville's.
Reply -
Neutral
sumptuousdigs1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
mackiemesser, it is difficult to read. Those companies could have been rotated out of the battle theater, especially after taking hits like the ones described leading up to Sgt. McKinney's death. The fact is, like Viet Nam, the whole country is a potential battle theater.
Kville...What a maroon! What Iraqis attacked the U S A?
Do you mean the Saudis? Or are you espousing a holy war in general.
Codi...These tragedies happen in all wars. This particular foray into madness has a dubious, nay, a criminal stench to it. Do you have any idea how many Germans opposed Hitler's wars? Quite a few, but they were cowed by statements like yours and Kville's.
Reply-
Neutral
bigurn1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
All,
I think Knox's point was that this entire series of events was propogated by a terrorist attack on the United States. No, it wasn't Iraqis, but neither was that the statement Mackie typed; he just used "we" and "our".
And, really, more references to Hitler? Didn't anyone read any other history? The Germans were cowed not by statements, but by the the SS and Gestapo. Before this, many of those same people cheered when Germany reasserted itself out of their own Great Depression, brought on (in part) by the Treaty of Versailles.
Finally - criminal? That particular meme needs to play itself out. OIF has stumbled badly, been managed badly, but we've been winning since Day 1, and we are making tremendous progress now. We've beaten the Taliban back, we have bin Laden on the run and we've deposed a genocidal maniac. It's not been perfect, but it's been successful.
Reply
-
-
Neutral
chevydog1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
It breaks ones heart to read something like this.
Of course there are people who blame it on GWB. They're at least partly right. The whole concept of a "pre-emptive war" is alien to American history and tradition. No war, no casualties, no what-ifs.
The US Army, like the armies of other countries, is built partly on mythology. What one does, how one should act, and other things of that nature. Without that mythology, one probably doesn't have an effective army. To the extent that a person makes that mythology a part of himself and possibly feels that he is failing it, stuff like this can creep in.
Monday morning quarterbacking notwithstanding, it's hard to place blame in any specific place. Stuff of this sort has probably been happening since the dawn of armies and warfare. Better communication has given it a name and a face. What makes it tragic is that it's basically a waste.
Reply-
-
Neutral
cloud151 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
I agree with your middle paragraph, without tradition and mythology it was be hard to keep order and control. Much like the Russian army of the early 1900's, they had all the numbers in the world, I believe at some points it was upwards of 5 million troops, but it was hard to mobilize and terribly undisciplined. This led to it being ineffective.
Reply
-
-
-
-
Neutral
koranagirl1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
What a very sad story. My heart and prayers go out to the family and friends of that soldier. Every person is special and blessed.
War is indeed hard on everyone and it touches so much lives in a highly adverse way.
Looking forward to a future of peace and love, try reading the "korana of Mother Goddess" available from LuLu dot com, Amazon dot com and ebay (cheapest). Or email me for a free ecopy.
Reply -
SwampFox-82ndComment removed: Retracted by user6 Replies
-
Neutral
thorericchester1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
Ever try to get a soldier help like this man needed?
It's almost impossible.
I know.
I had a soldier who had issues and that troop needed professional help. Their issues even affected their marriage.
I talked with the commander and their response was send them to the chaplain.
The troop needed more then a chaplain could offer.
When the troop did see the chaplain, the chaplain was so overworked that he fell asleep during their talk.
There are "social" issues within the military that have to be recognized, dealt with and overcome to get troops the help they need.
When this is accomplished, sad stories like this on the 1st Sgt will decrease.
They won't end, but they will decrease.
Reply -
-
baddad59Comment removed: Retracted by user
-
-
-
Neutral
questionseverything1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
and the worst part is the current admin wants to attack iran and use these same ovr worked troops to do it
there r too few troops doing too many jobs...thats why the huge increase in suicides
on a side note...do u suppose the current admin sending jobs out of the country was part of the plan all along...its easier to get soldiers if there is nothing else to earn a living at?
Reply-
baddad59Comment removed: Retracted by user
-
-
-
Neutral
AOL-my-crater1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
wrong war wrong place wasted life lost times.
real enemy may be reached at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364703,00.html
Reply -
Neutral
billcorno1 year, 6 months ago
This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »
We have a great Army, when they do an Army mission. They can take any objective with people and technology. But the Army isn't into "regime change." They are not a Security force.
When Bush and the Repubs sent our forces over there, without international support, they set up the Army for failure.
I'm a retired Army NCO, and although I didn't go to Iraq, going into combat as a leader of troops is a huge responsibility. Doing this for years, I don't know how anyone does this. God bless them, they have something that I didn't.
I really didn't like being in the Army with Bush in charge. I always felt I was expendable. And whenever Bush needed an excuse to get more money for his failed policy, it was "to not let our troops down." Didn't mention trying to make a success out of this debacle.
I hope we can make it up to this generation of soldiers . They sure have paid a high price for us.
Reply
Add a Comment
Sign In With Your Propeller Account
Please keep your comments relevant to this story.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.