I found out yesterday that a friend and ex-military colleague died in a motorcycle accident. Wasn't surprising though, as he was a motorcycle stunt enthusiast...
If Maj. Malik had actually been Private (insert typical white male name here), this shooting incident wouldn't have been surprising either, given the stresses of being in the military and being deployed or about to be deployed. Since I've been in both situations, I can testify to that.
The only thing that surprises me is that it was a Major. That's pretty much as far as the surprise goes, really. I'm used to seeing Majors as being intelligent, grounded, responsible men and they're in leadership positions usually as a result of those qualities if not for time in service and qualification alone.
But I guess everyone has their breaking points.
When I was in the army there were 3 suicides and several more attempts, in my battalion alone. And far far more stress-related violent outbursts, but thankfully nothing of the magnitude that went down at Hood.
I'm just saying that I've seen what the military can do to people who can't handle it, and in that respect, I'm not surprised.
I think the military really needs to look at this incident as a flag for the need of significant change in the way they do business. You can't protect your country if your own soldiers are turning on each other due to the stress put on them by organization to which they're bound. And don't say "You knew it would suck when you signed up"...
Knowing something will be tough is one thing... Knowing you can handle it is only possible when you go through it... and unfortunately, by the time you find out that you can't, it's too late.
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