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U.S. military officials tell NBC News the Army is preparing to conduct a psychological examination on Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, charged with killing 17 Afghan civilians.
The officials say the exam, officially called a "706 Board," is considered routine in serious cases such as Bales's, who is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder that could be punishable with the death penalty. The board would include a team of psychiatrists, officials said.
According to one military official, given the "serious nature of the charges," the Army wants its "best team" on the examination board.
Bales' attorney claims 'information blackout' from government
Army and Pentagon officials deny rumors coming out of Seattle that Bales will be brought to Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. for the examination.
According to the officials, given the security concerns and logistics it's likely Bales would remain at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the board doctors would go to him. That said, the officials add that no final decision has been made in that regard.
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Better do a good job we are watching
I wouldn't like to be on that board. Damned if they write this off to a mental breakdown and damned if they don't.
It seems the evaluation is tremendously overdue. Unfortunate
Sadly this guy will never lead a normal life in or out of prison, whether he's sane, insane or had some sort of temporary mind snap; I just hope it wasn't pre-planned like some have speculated. A lot of people have already judged him and his family will likely never find peace.
I wouldn't worry too much about Bales or his family. People eventually forget. In a year or so no one will even remember this story. The lynch mobs will have moved on to someone else. Same thing with the guy in Florida. The media will milk a tragedy for every little drop of ratings and then move on to the next one.
I suppose that's the silver lining is that in a few days, weeks or years, someone else will do something horrible and we'll have forgotten all about this. The human mentality is really an amazing and scary thing.
For Ssgt. Bales and his family I hope he gets a diagnosis of P.T.S.D. CHRONIC . Along with that I hope they find some brain damage from the road side bomb. These factors alone should prohibit a death penalty sentence.
My gut feeling is he will spend a good many years in a mental hospital. Behind the scenes he might get let go or off early, much like Lt. Callie after his court marshal for Me LI. The military knows a ton more about his mental state and others like him than they dare let on.
bob
But the Afghans want blood. They don't care if he snapped (and I probably wouldn't either in their place). It's a no-win situation for all involved.
the whole thing is a sad thing for the people who lost their lives and the soldier and his family no matter what happens ....more later world .there more i want to say but leave it at that.....
yes there are a lot of people insane or have small - big mental health issues ...but the world in many cases in this state of mind and even in the health care industry dont take the time to listen and make little and big mistakes as result ...more later world
Yes, a lot is riding on the psych evaluation, not just Sgt Bales, but thousands of troops who have claims for PTSD. It is an issue and our troops are not being treated for it, they have served their country in harms way and get the boot because of downsizing, let's not let them down again.
Air Force Vet and mother of a Combat Soldier...HOOAH!!!
Scheduled for psychological testing???
And that's NEWS ???
We're all just a jumble of chemicals, carbon, water and an array of elements from the Periodic Table of . Get that out of balance and disruptive brain actions occures. It is the direct result is the result of a brain disorder caused by tension, fear, loneliness, seperation from family, family problems exasperated by the fact that he had no control over any of those issues. He watches his fellow soldiers commit suicide, listens to their crys, sees their tears and watches them die. FU if you can't understand that. Better yet get you simple azzes over there to relieve some of these boys.
I heard some report that it may have been due to Lariam that they give the troops for malaria; it has a reported incidence of psychosis in 1 in 10,000 people. This episode is horrible; at least if there was some cause we could attach it to, there could be some feeling that we could prevent this from happening again
Jerry...there are many of us who do understand. Desert Storm combat vet, two bullet wounds and mild PTSD to boot. There isnt a day that goes by that I don't flash back to those events.
I know an Army psychiatrist with plenty of time on his hands one Dr. Nidal Hassan a practicing psychiatrist trained by the Army. Perfect match!
I feel very bad for this guy and I do not think jail time should be an option here for him - he did not intentionally do this - obviously some sort of breakdown that should be treated to help him, but not treat him as if he were a criminal. Granted this is not a situation to take lightly as he is a pilot with lives he is reponsible for and the situation could have turned out differently if the co-pilot had not handled it the way he did. However with that said, I still have to feel sympathy for him and I think people need to try to understand that this was not something he purposely set out to do. I wish him well in his recovery.
SB you are commenting on the wrong story. This article is not about the Jet Blue pilot!
Looks like a bunch of bleeding hearts on here... this guy is a murderer, plain and simple! His ass needs to get the same treatment he gave to those sleeping children!!! I don't give a crap if he is the Pope himself... he deserves NO respect from anyone! His actions have hurt this country more than he ever helped it!!! We would not tolerate this in this country!! Can you imagine if someone from a foreign country came into one of our suburban neighborhoods, broke into homes, and killed 17 people to include our American children sleeping in their beds? We would want to nuke the country he came from for God's sake!!! This guy does NOT deserve any respect from anyone! I hope he gets exactly what he deserves... either the chair or life in prison with NO chance of parole, EVER!
GET OUT NOW!
He killed innocents. He absolutely should go to prison. If he is mentally-disordered, he should go to a psychiatric prison, and he should never be released. He killed innocents -- no spinning of this story gets us away from that. I am sorry for his wife and children, but he killed innocents, and has therefore forfeited the right to live outside of confinement.
screw the examination he is a child killer kill him the way he killed the kids geez shoot him then set him on fire he deserves to freaking die mental illness bull@!$%#
They will find a way to let this nutcase out...say he had PTSD...boo hoo and cry for him...put him in a psych ward for a couple of years and then let him out. He was probably nutty before he ever joined the military...his photos look quite wacky and he was making crazy comments way before his rampage. It was an injustice to remove him from Afghanistan...you know if a foreigner had killed a bunch of folks in the US...we sure in the Sam Heck wouldn't want him being shipped back home to be tried. But....double standards as usual in the US.
This is the first thing to do in this case! I can only hope he gets a fair trial?
They should string this guy up by his testicles and then set him on fire....extinguish the flames after a few seconds...set him on fire again...and repeat the process until nature takes its course. Ahhh the beloved American state of nature. I love the smell of burning human flesh in the morning!
He killed innocents. He must go to prison. If he is mentally impaired, then he needs to go to a psychiatric hospital. He killed innocents. He must never be released into the population. He killed innocents, period, end of story. I feel for his wife and children, but that does not diminish the FACT that he slaughtered innocents.
moss of my felo komintit/tors have the attitude that the Sgt has ben forcd over da line. [4] tours to the Battle zone?! nam, did onlys [1] an if u wantd to go bak, it tok some doin. but it was dun. i met a nam vet that went to iraq-90=91. 2 war vet, my hero. this guy is my hero also, and a kid i used to drive to highschull on the schullbus. this man has gone a bridge too far. the stinking wurman in da circkus -gong are the problem here. git wurman out of the mix. these guys are RESERVISTS, NOT Regular army?! why send these guys , start drafting the bullet/body for regular army. KEEP RESERVES HOME!!this is notin mor than mi lie, and calley. but his bunch were on experimental drugs before they were sent out.
wasn't there some kind of examination BEFORE he joined the armed services?
There should be at least 2 posychiatrists that are in civilian life but with psychiactric training for PTSD. I say that because I was evaluated by an air force psych and not told anything. It was 30 years later that I learned through the VA that he had diagnosed me with mental problems. If I had been told and had been treated I would not have had 30 years of hell. Thanks two two former marines who after knowing me for a short time took me to the nearest VA hospital. The first time I saw a psych there she informed me that I should be 100% service-connected disabled. I put in the papers and got it. Yes I am po'd about all that money I could have been living on instead of the streats, but the main thing is I could have been treated for those 30 years.
The army wants the best team on the examination board! Really? What board? The guy is supposedly a certifiable psycho whack job.
In other words the guys NUTS.Everybody knows that,when you supposedly and notice I said supposedly kill what,17 or 19 people,or somewhere in that ball park!
Bottom Line after hearing that poor little afghan kid,this whole thing STINKS!It reeks of a cover up!
There was a woman in Houston a few years ago that killed her five children in a bathtub. Does anyone believe that anyone in their right mind would do that? No one will convince me that Bales didn't have a mental breakdown. If you believe not, you have never seen a breakdown.