At least 10 U.S. soldiers of the Fort Lewis-based 5th Stryker Brigade unit in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegation they deliberately killed three Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illegal activities, reports CNN.com, citing unidentified military sources.
The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, Wash. It was just under 11 months ago, that the 3,900 members of the 5-2 held their ceremonial deployment in June of 2009, actually arriving in Afghanistan last July.
By all accounts it has been very tough duty fighting Taliban insurgents. So far 35 Stryker Soldiers have died. Memorial services back at what is now known as Joint Base Lewis McChord are all too frequent.
But CNN's Barbara Starr says the Army is investigating some members of one company, yet un-named.
Allegations, and they are allegations at this point, is of deliberate killing of three Afghan civilians, illegal drug use by the soldiers, assault and conspiracy, at least one of the soldiers already being held in confinement, said Starr.
Retired General Barry McCaffrey, an NBC Contributor, recently met with the unit in Afghanistan.
This is one of the most effective units in the Army, they're under huge stress, we have to presume they're innocent until proven guilty, and see how the investigation comes out, he said.
One question raised is over training, as General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces, tries to reduce civilian casualties and move units, including the Strykers, into less of a combat role and toward helping rebuild the country.
The concern, says Starr, is that if the allegations are true, it could be a huge setback.
When this incident comes to light, they are prepared for a very serious backlash by the Afghan Civilians, she said.
But General McCaffrey says this is unlikely to be as serious as the Abu Graib Prison abuse case in Iraq.
This is not a system problem, this should be investigated to find out if there is criminal behavior, he said.
Starr says we could see the military equivalent of formal charges in the next week or so.
CNN.com reports the Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade has been the subject of controversy for months inside Army circles. The unit has suffered one of the highest casualty rates of the war. Several senior U.S. Army officials tell CNN there's a growing belief in Army circles the brigade was not embracing McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy and was too heavily focused instead on combat operations.
