Top military general defends JBLM culture after Afghanistan killing spree

The head of all Army forces in the US calls the mass
murder of 16 Afghan civilians, reportedly at the hands of
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a
tragedy and said the Army will do the right thing.

General David M. Rodriguez, commanding general of U.S.
Army Forces Command, wouldn’t discuss the case, but he
said the Army has a long tradition of holding people
accountable, and that’s what it will do in this case.

But it’s too soon, he said, to know all of the facts.

“We are disappointed that it happened and shocked just
like everybody else. We have a tradition of doing what’s
right and we’ll do it in this situation too as we find out
and get to the bottom of the situation.”

It’s believed Staff Sgt. Robert Bales left the base
in the middle of the night,
and walked a mile to the local village. He broke into
houses and gunned down everyone inside, including women
and
children.

After the shooting spree, the sergeant reportedly walked
back to the base and turned himself in.

Bales, 38, reportedly suffered a mild traumatic brain
injury in the past, according to ABC news sources, either
from hitting his head on the hatch of a
vehicle or in a car accident. But he was deemed “fit for
combat duty” when he was deployed to Afghanistan in
December after undergoing advanced treatment at Fort
Lewis. Investigators are looking at whether Bales suffered
from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A local pro-soldier, anti-war group Coffee Strong accused
JBLM of being a “rogue base” after hearing of the
soldier’s weekend killing spree and believes the base’s
“systemic failures” go much deeper than this one incident.

“If Fort Lewis was a college campus, it would have been
closed down years ago,” said Jorge Gonzalez, executive
director of Coffee Strong.

However, General Rodriguez doesn’t believe JBLM is ‘rogue’
at all.

“There’s nothing different here than most places. Again,
those things happen; everybody knows that doesn’t reflect
our standards and our values, nor does it reflect the
majority of leaders and soldiers who serve here every day,
as well as overseas.”

He says he’s confident in the leadership at JBLM and its
ability to handle the mental health and PTSD issues of
soldiers living through multiple deployments.

“This base is a powerful platform for projecting soldiers
worldwide and as our armed forces transition to preparing
for our nation’s future needs, JBLM will remain an asset
to the US Army and the US Air Force.”

Bales, who lives in the Seattle area, asked to be
represented by John Henry Browne when he was taken into
custody, the lawyer said.

“It’s a tragedy all the way around,” Browne told CBS. He
has described Bales as decorated with an exemplary
record.

Browne recently represented Colton Harris-Moore, who
gained international attention for stealing airplanes,
boats and cars during a two-year run from the law.

Browne said he has met with Bales’ family,
which was recently moved to JBLM for safety reasons.
Unless Bales is returned to JBLM in the next few
days, Browne, or an associate, will travel to meet the
him wherever he is being held.

97.3 KIRO FM Reporters Chris Sullivan and Linda Thomas
contributed to this report.