'Was Sgt. Bales 'broken'?' Newsday Read Time 1 Minute Issues and Ideas In an op-ed in Newsday, Jerry Lembcke, an associate professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross, writes about Sgt. Robert Bales, who was charged last week for the March 11 killing of 17 Afghans. He begins the piece by commenting on Bales’ description of a combat encounter in Iraq in 2007 as “cool,” and suggests that the “comment should slow the rush to a post-traumatic stress disorder explanation for Bales" killing spree.” “Bales' ‘cool’ doesn't disqualify the PTSD explanation, but it does hang an asterisk on it,” writes Lembcke. “Surprising. Threatening. Unsought. Those are some of the conditions associated with traumatic experiences. Experiences remembered as "cool," on the other hand, are less likely to have left the mind and emotions disturbed…”Still, many have explained Bales’ actions to be the result of PTSD—something Lembcke says is due to the news media portraying veterans as psychologically traumatized and linking symptoms of the disease—including violence—to masculinity, bravery and strength. “In the wake of the war in Vietnam,” says Lembcke, “PTSD morphed from a diagnostic category into a badge of honor—the credential that certified the recipient as the real deal and labeled the atrocity he committed abroad or at home evidence of his having experienced war's hell.”“Although Bales is not the problem, just an example of the issue’s effect," Lembcke writes, “Those problems begin with the conflation of masculinity with martial accomplishment—and the nature of the wars we send our soldiers off to fight.” Read the Newsday op-ed (.pdf) This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Sara Bovat '14. More Stories Image Go to Story Ritual, Community and Shared Experience: Running the Boston Marathon Image Go to Story Faculty, Worcester Partnerships Solve Real-World Problems Image Go to Story Remembering the Truth-Telling Outsider View All Stories
In an op-ed in Newsday, Jerry Lembcke, an associate professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross, writes about Sgt. Robert Bales, who was charged last week for the March 11 killing of 17 Afghans. He begins the piece by commenting on Bales’ description of a combat encounter in Iraq in 2007 as “cool,” and suggests that the “comment should slow the rush to a post-traumatic stress disorder explanation for Bales" killing spree.” 
