Camp Liberty Victims - Updated: Complete List of Victims

Three of the vcitims have been identified by the Department of Defense.

Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C.,

Pfc. Michael Edward Yates Jr., 19, of Federalsburg, Md.,

Dr. Matthew Houseal, of Amarillo, Texas,

The names of the two others have not been released.

UPDATE:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died May 11 in Camp Liberty, Baghdad of wounds suffered in a non-combat related incident.

Maj. Matthew P. Houseal,
54, of Amarillo, Texas.
He was assigned to the 55th Medical Company, Indianapolis, Ind.;

Staff Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos,
25, of Paterson, N.J.
He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany;

Spc. Jacob D. Barton,
20, of Lenox, Mo.
He was assigned to the 277th Engineer Company, 420th Engineer Brigade, Waco, Texas; and

Pfc. Michael E. Yates Jr.,
19, of Federalsburg, Md.
He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Dr. Matthew Houseal,
of Amarillo, Texas

Camp Liberty Shooting Spurs Army to Review Mental Health Services

Via the Washington Times: Killings spur Army review of mental care

BAQOUBA, Iraq The U.S. commander of the Multi-National Force -- Iraq on Tuesday ordered a top-to-bottom review of mental health services for U.S. troops in the country after the worst act of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war.

Army Lt. Col. Brian Tribus, media relations chief for Multi-National Force - Iraq, told The Washington Times that Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby ordered procedures "to look into [mental health] services available and delivery of those services."

Gen. Jacoby also requested that the Army inspector general review all mental health services available to troops in Iraq, Col. Tribus said.

Five U.S. service members - two doctors and three enlisted men - were killed Monday afternoon at Camp Liberty on the outskirts of Baghdad when a soldier from the 54th Engineer Battalion entered a combat stress center and opened fire.

Col. Tribus identified Monday's suspected shooter as Sgt. John M. Russell but did not disclose additional personal details. He said Sgt. Russell has been formally charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault and is being held at a detention facility near the shooting location.

No reason for the shooting has been determined, officials said, but soldiers in the field cautioned against jumping to a conclusion of "combat stress" until an investigation has been completed. [Emphasis mine]

As I noted earlier, we need to wait and see what caused Sgt Russell to do what he did.

Of course the media hasn't helped much in this matter. First they jumped the gun with their commentary that this was a fragging incident, in an effort to once again link Iraq with Vietnam. As soon as that meme died off they started pushing the stress issue. It is my belief that most of the news reports that this was all related to the stress of being in a war zone are premature.

Yes our soldiers are under a lot of stress, and yes mental health in the Military has been for a long time a NO GO area, but let's let the investigation proceed before we pronounce any judgements upon this Soldier and the US Military.

Camp Liberty Update: U.S. Charges Soldier in Iraq with Murder

Accused of fatally shooting five fellow soldiers

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A U.S. Army sergeant who had served previously in Iraq has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of five fellow soldiers at a U.S. military counseling clinic in Baghdad, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany was charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in Monday's shooting, Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters.

Perkins said two of the dead were officers -- doctors from the Army and Navy -- and the others were enlisted personnel seeking treatment at the clinic. He did not identify the victims by name.

Perkins gave few details of the shooting since the investigation is ongoing and added that there were conflicting accounts of what happened.

He said the alleged assailant had been referred to the clinic by his superiors, presumably because of concern over his mental state. Perkins said Russell was "probably" on his third tour of Iraq but was due to leave soon.

Perkins said the assailant's weapon had been taken away. Somehow he got a new weapon, entered the clinic and opened fire, he added.

The Camp Liberty Shooting and the Spectre of Vietnam

Okay AP, lets not jump the gun on the shooting at Camp Liberty, every instance of murder is not a fragging incident, let’s stop dragging up the ghost of Vietnam at every moment. Thankfully most of the AP stories are no longer including the several paragraphs indicating that this was another “fragging” incident, but the damage has been done.

Lets be clear on this, there is nothing to suggest that this was a “fragging” incident in anyway. The soldier, a Sergeant, was attending a stress clinic at Camp Liberty. At some point he became involved in a verbal altercation and was disarmed, for his own protection. He later returned with another weapon and the incident occurred.

To indicate otherwise was simply wrong, of course the adolescents over at the HuffPo love you for it.

Five Dead in Shooting at Camp Liberty - UPDATE: Shooter in Custody!

Current reports are indicating that these are non-combat related.

Via MNF-Iraq: Five Coalition forces members were killed in a shooting at Camp Liberty in Baghdad today at approximately 2 p.m.

CNN is reporting that "A U.S. soldier in Baghdad opened fire on his fellow soldiers Monday, killing four American troops before killing himself, a senior defense official said. Three others were wounded in the incident at the U.S. military base, Camp Liberty, in Baghdad, the official said."

UPDATE:

Fox News is now reporting: A U.S. soldier gunned down four of his fellow troops and then killed himself at a stress clinic at the Camp Liberty military base in Baghdad, FOX News confirmed. The military said in a statement that the shooting occurred at about 2 p.m. Monday at the base, located near Baghdad International Airport.

UPDATE II: Via American Forces Press Service Shooter in Custody!

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 - An American soldier suspected in the shooting deaths of five U.S. servicemembers today in Baghdad is in U.S. custody, defense officials said.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. local time at the U.S. military base Camp Liberty in the Iraqi capital. Defense officials characterized the killings as an unexpected tragedy.

"Any time we lose one of our own, it affects us all," said Army Col. John Robinson, Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the servicemembers involved in this terrible tragedy."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman called the shooting an "unexpected and tragic event," adding that the incident is under investigation.

The names of the deceased are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification and release by the Defense Department.

UPDATE III:

The Huff Post has picked up the story...and stays as classy as always....

UPDATE IV:

The AP is reporting: ...the assailant was taken into custody following the 2 p.m. shooting at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport. Obama visited an adjacent base last month.

The statement said nobody else was hurt, but a senior defense official in Washington said three people were wounded. The names of the victims and shooter were not released.

Pentagon officials said the shooting happened at a stress clinic, where troops can go for help with the stresses of combat or personal issues. It was unclear whether the gunman and his victims were workers at the clinic or were there for counseling. Soldiers routinely carry weapons on Camp Liberty and other bases, but they are supposed to be unloaded.

At the Pentagon, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shooting occurred "in a place where individuals were seeking help."

"It does speak to me about the need for us to redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress," Mullen said.

Developing...