DAVE ROSS

The confession of Robert Bales

Jun 6, 2013, 7:01 AM | Updated: 7:41 am

In this courtroom sketch, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, left, stands in a military courtroom a...

In this courtroom sketch, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, left, stands in a military courtroom as his wife, Kari Bales, right, looks on, Wednesday, June 5, 2013, during a plea hearing at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state. Robert Bales pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder, stemming from a pre-dawn attack on two villages in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan in March, 2012. (AP Photo/Peter Millett)

(AP Photo/Peter Millett)

A judge has accepted the guilty plea of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales – the soldier who now admits to the one-man nighttime attack on two Afghan villages last year that left 16 people, mostly women and children dead.

He took a deal to avoid the death penalty. But the military was also eager to avoid a trial that would call attention to what repeated deployments can do to a soldier.

We know there are thousands of soldiers who endured the same stresses Bales was under and never came close to doing what he did. But it’s also hard to believe that his circumstances didn’t play some role. Which is not to excuse what happened, but just to acknowledge the numerous reports of military wives whose husbands have come back from deployment changed men. Sometimes more attentive, more grown up. But other times more distant. Yelling in their sleep.

Throwing and breaking things. Needing to be alone more. Sometimes, just suddenly leaving without even a farewell.

“I need a lot of space,” wrote one soldier on a blog for military spouses, “I still respect and care for my wife, but I don’t have loving feelings anymore. I’m not sure what changed me but I have changed. I can’t surrender myself to love.”

Another soldier wrote, “When I looked at my 12-year-old son all I could see was the faces of children I had seen on the side of the road. I just couldn’t take it.” And still another wrote, “Everyone who comes back from a tour of duty changes. Some change a lot, some not so much, but in the end you have to wait it out till he recovers from the things that happened out there.”

Read more:
Judge finds JBLM soldier guilty in Afghan massacre

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

3 days ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

10 days ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

1 month ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

1 month ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

1 month ago

Super Bowl celebration...

Dave Ross

Ross: The NFL does it again

The NFL once again put on a show that was able to keep me tuned in for four hours even though I had no stake in either team.

1 month ago

The confession of Robert Bales