Another Question Answered
I wondered how, given the “Stop-Loss” that was in effect, a member of the 502d allegedly involved in the rape/murder could have been discharged. CNN provides the answer: a “personality disorder”.
This guy was pulled out of a war zone and given an honorable discharge for a “personality disorder”. Exactly what kind of “personality disorder” could an airborne infantryman have that would disqualify him for military service, and be benign enough to allow him to be released on the unsuspecting civilian population?
I suspect that the Army realized he was crazy and wanted to be rid of him. They dumped him to avoid having to take care of his problems. I suspect someone in his chain of command knows a good deal more about the crime than has been admitted.
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Well, here are your options:
Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Over eccentric people who tend to hold almost delusional beliefs…. nah
Schizoid: Uninterested in human relationships, loners…. nah
Avoidant: Want human relationships, but are too anxious about them… nah
Borderline: unstable self-concept, unstable affect, unstable relationships…. couldn’t get through basic training… nah
Narcissistic: self-focus, belief that they are incredibly special, underlying sense of lack of worth and emptiness…. nah
Obsessive compulsive (personality disorder, not OCD): orderly (hmmm), concerned with schedules, lists, order (hmmm), bogged down on details, which leads them to be ineffective and stuck…. nah…. would spend too much time cleaning rifle….
Dependent: overly dependent, nah
Paranoid: not as odd as schizophrenic… nah
Histrionic: dramatic, focused on getting attention, whether negative or positive…. nah
Antisocial: break rules, they march to the beat of their own drums, can be violent…hmmm… could like the idea of joining the army to shoot things and kill people (and not go to jail!!!!!!)….. ding, ding, ding, ding…..
Another scary thought: I heard in a tv program about military snipers that psychopaths are over represented in that group and that they are not “accepted” in the military, they’re “tolerated.” Psychopaths are people that have superficial emotions, lack empathy for others, are out there for themselves, and care about no one… some tend to be impulsive and end up in jail for violent crimes… others are calculated and successful, but at great cost to others (like Ken Lay and the other Enron fellows)…. Anyway, back to snipers… I also heard that their main problem when shooting targets (people) is to reign in their excitement long enough to shoot the next one…
Alright, I’ll stop rambing…
From experience I know that he wasn’t pulled from the line and discharged because he was reluctant to kill people. That is usually classed as “cowardice” and doesn’t result in an immediate honorable discharge.
I would assume his attorney will go for an insanity defense.
Given the Army’s problems recruiting and retaining, I’m only surprised he was discharged at all.
Whatever his disorder, the symptoms must have been pretty bad.
Andante, that’s why I suspect that someone in the chain of command has known about the crime since before he was discharged. They’ve changed the rules so that you have to have significant rank to even suggest someone isn’t fit for re-enlistment, much less to have someone discharged.
Don’t worry Bryan, personality disorders cannot be used as insanity defense…
I hope they assign a decent US attorney. The Feds don’t try too many murder cases and I haven’t been impressed with the general competence of their prosecutors. It would be better if this were a state trial, but it has to be Federal.
I have higher hopes for the courts martial of the of the others, because a good general court panel will look into command issues as a matter of course.