Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Wounded Platoon - New Documentary on Mental Casualties of War

PBS Documentary on the often forgotten and often hidden casualties of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.



On November 30, 2007, 24-year-old Kevin Shields went out drinking with three Army buddies from Fort Carson, Colo., a base on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. A few hours later, he was dead -- shot twice in the head at close range and left by the side of the road by his fellow soldiers. Shields' murder punctuated a string of violent attacks committed by the three, who are now serving time in prison for this and other crimes, and it contributed to a startling statistic: Since the Iraq war began, a total of 17 soldiers from Fort Carson have been charged with or convicted of murder, manslaughter or attempted murder committed at home in the United States, and 36 have committed suicide.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this video. This video can't bee seen in Canada for some reason on the PBS site. I can watch all their other videos though. I wonder why?

I've been scared of the same things happening to Canadian soldiers that are in Afghanistan. So far our media has not made any connections between crimes at home and PTSD. It will only be time. I'm also sure that our Military is keeping quiet.