ìLethal Warriorsî is a riveting book about a tragically sad subject. A superb investigative reporter, David Philipps, used incredibly fluid prose to create a MUST READ for anyone wishing to understand the true consequences of war.Philipps doesnít mince this fact: No mental shut-off switch engages when soldiers return home from war. Combatants in Iraq faced suicide bombers, routine blasts from IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and sniper fire from an invisible enemy who blended into the populace after their mission was accomplished. All of the above is true for the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan today.When our troops walked through the simulated fog and into the arms of loved ones at Fort Carson ìWelcome Homeî ceremonies, they were called ìheroes.î But when violent crime sprees began sweeping Colorado Springs, some were assigned new titles: ìdrunks, drug addicts, wife beaters, thieves, rapists, murderers.îDespite the sudden uptick in horrendous acts occurring in ìan otherwise peaceful city,î officials at Fort Carson chalked up the crime wave to ìa few bad apples.îSome members of the media, including Philipps, noticed that the majority of the recent murders were committed by soldiers from the 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. The regiment was known as ìThe Band of Brothersî during World War II. Both then and now, they engaged the enemy in the most hazardous regions of a conflict. After many deployments, their new handle changed to ìLethal Warriors.î Which is exactly what a small number of them became when they brought the war home to Colorado Springs.Yet, local media outlets never dug deep enough to uncover the full story. Thatís why Philipps decided to take up the slack. At the time, he was writing articles for the Lifestyle section of the Colorado Springs Gazette. So perhaps we can forgive their staff for dismissing his request to investigate this subject further. Really, itís just as well, because that only helped to fuel the passion necessary to create such a masterful book.Readers in the Pikes Peak region should be familiar with the majority of names in this book. Their mug shots were plastered across television screens and newspapers. ìLethal Warriorsî begins on Dec. 1, 2007, as a newspaper deliveryman discovers the body of Kevin Shields sprawled out in the snow on the west side of the city. Shortly thereafter, police arrested Kenneth Eastridge, Louis Bressler and Bruce Bastien ñ all three were members of the 2nd Brigade that served with Shields in Iraq.Over the next 12 months, Philipps writes, ìSoldiers from the returning brigade killed five more people.î Myra Cervantes and Cesar Ramirez were gunned down as they were putting up signs for a garage sale. On her way to work, a 19-year-old single mother was run over by a car as she walked to the bus stop. And the list of senseless violence goes on.But if this book was merely a rehash of old headlines, Philipps wouldnít have become a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Check out the ìNotesî at the back of the book. Philipps wanted to discover the ìwhat, why, where, and whenî behind this aberrant behavior. Zeroing in on Kenneth Eastridge, he writes a chilling account of the 2nd Brigadeís deployments in Korea and Iraq. Through numerous interviews, he delves into childhood backgrounds, education levels, violent video games they played in Korea to pass the time and the gung-ho movies they watched. Going a step further, he conducts interviews with their relatives to determine personality patterns before and after Iraq.The action in Iraq was mind-boggling, to say the least. But in the end, a clearer picture emerges. Repeated deployments, long tours of duty, seeing your buddies get killed and living in fear of the same can warp even the most stable mind.Intertwined in the pages, Philipps covers every aspect of post-traumatic stress disorder. Here are a few examples: 1) denial by both soldiers and the military that PTSD actually exists; 2) the stigma associated with PTSD, which brands troops as not being manly enough to ìsuck it up;î 3) a lack of doctors and medical resources to adequately treat the increasing numbers afflicted by the disease; 4) treatments that mask the symptoms of PTSD ñ for a short time. This includes an array of cocktail prescription drugs: anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-seizure medication, sleeping pills and more. In combination, or when taken with alcohol and street drugs, the cure can cause more harm than good.In Chapter 4, ìCasualties of War,î Philipps details the parts of the brain affected by PTSD. Itís a primer on what neuroscientists have recently discovered about the disease. Using analogies, Philipps makes the medical jargon understandable.While the Armyís process of turning a ìbattle mind into a peacetime mindî was woefully inadequate, Philipps never excuses the soldiersí criminal activity. He reiterates what he was told by Fort Carson officials, ìthe vast majority of soldiers in the unit had not committed any crimes.îThe inclusion of Gen. Mark Graham and his family in ìLethal Warriorsî proves that the militaryís attitude toward PTSD is indeed changing. Graham attacked the stigma associated with PTSD. Under his command, Fort Carson soldiers displaying mental problems were no longer to be classified as ìslackers.î Instead, he ordered his officers to make sure soldiers received the mental care they needed.In addition, reading the toll war extracted from Grahamís own family makes it clear that mental illness associated with combat has no boundaries. No socioeconomic class escapes its wrath.My only criticism of ìLethal Warriorsî is that it is too multifaceted to do it justice in a book review. Philipps also covers depression, traumatic brain injuries and the increased suicide rate among veterans.In my opinion, Philipps may have missed out on that Pulitzer because of his bluntly honest conclusion, stated on the second-to-last page. Itís a truth no one wants to contemplate while we still have troops in Afghanistan.Read ìLethal Warriors.î Itís an appalling part of our recent history. Letís hope our leaders read it, too, because war always extends beyond the battlefield.
