WE MUST ADDRESS ATTACKS ON FELLOW SOLDIERS | The Boston Globe

"[T]o the victims and their families, we, as your extended family, grieve with you and are here for you."

Sardar Anees Ahmad
Waterloo, N.Y.

MAJOR NIDAL Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers cope with warfare, has allegedly taken the lives of 13 and injured 30 Americans. Fingers are pointing at a number factors - his faith, harassment, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Whatever the motive, we as a society must help alleviate the situation.

Attacks on fellow soldiers, or acts of “fragging,’’ are shocking, as the military is an extension of the soldier’s family. Indeed, Lieutenant General Bob Cone, in command of Fort Hood, called it “home.’’

The Army reports 1.8 fraggings for every 1,000 American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Fraggings, while on the decline following Vietnam, have increased in recent years, crossing ethnic, religious, and cultural lines.

As one whose friends have served and are serving in the war, I keep in touch regularly, send gifts, and pray.

So, to the victims and their families, we, as your extended family, grieve with you and are here for you.


We must address attacks on fellow soldiers - The Boston Globe