Any hint of a military cover-up is over. A soldier has been charged with murder in the September shootings of a superior and a fellow team leader at their Army patrol base in central Iraq.
Sgt Joseph Bozicevich, 39, has been returned to the US from Iraq and is being held in pre-trial confinement at an undisclosed location in southern Georgia.
Bozicevich is charged with the September 14 slayings of Army Staff Sgt Darris Dawson, 24, and Sgt Wesley R Durbin, 26. Written charges filed against Bozicevich say he shot both soldiers with a rifle.
Maxine Mathis, Dawson's stepmother in Florida, said she wasn't rushing to judgment.
"I don't want to condemn him," Mathis said. "I don't know what state that child was in. He's somebody's son, too."
Bozicevich's father, who lives near Albany, New York, said he hadn't heard from his son much since his unit deployed to Iraq last year. He said he was unaware his son faced criminal charges until a reporter contacted his family yesterday evening.
"We just have to wait and see what the circumstances were," said Joe Bozicevich Sr, the soldier's father. "In a combat zone, where people are highly stressed, who knows what happened?"
The soldiers were serving a 15-month deployment to Iraq with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
Sgt Joseph Bozicevich, 39, has been returned to the US from Iraq and is being held in pre-trial confinement at an undisclosed location in southern Georgia.
Bozicevich is charged with the September 14 slayings of Army Staff Sgt Darris Dawson, 24, and Sgt Wesley R Durbin, 26. Written charges filed against Bozicevich say he shot both soldiers with a rifle.
Maxine Mathis, Dawson's stepmother in Florida, said she wasn't rushing to judgment.
"I don't want to condemn him," Mathis said. "I don't know what state that child was in. He's somebody's son, too."
Bozicevich's father, who lives near Albany, New York, said he hadn't heard from his son much since his unit deployed to Iraq last year. He said he was unaware his son faced criminal charges until a reporter contacted his family yesterday evening.
"We just have to wait and see what the circumstances were," said Joe Bozicevich Sr, the soldier's father. "In a combat zone, where people are highly stressed, who knows what happened?"
The soldiers were serving a 15-month deployment to Iraq with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
3 comments:
This war is very hard on all of soldiers. Their mental health is taking a beating, the depolyments are too long. My brother is on his third tour and he has recently suffered from mental duress. Continue to not only pray for the soliders safe return but that when they do return their mental health is in tact. My prays to all persons involved in this case. May God be with you.
along with this point that you speak of, is the issues and problem of the male soldiers killing female soldiers at american bases.
there have been numerous killings at ft bragg.
senseless killings of women that represent the same army, the same country as the men.
the soldiers (female and male) mental health upon return will not be the same as when they left. they have seen too much and have been changed. people handle the atrocities of war differently.
repairing the VA's is the point of correcting the problems that hinder the help these women and men need upon returning to the states.
also they need intense training about Not raping the very women soldiers that are sent to watch their backs while at the war.
and i know Not All the male soliers are doing these crimes against women...but too many are.
if one woman is raped--that is one too many.
All - Have you seen Robert Redford's movie, 'Lions for Lambs'?
Jazzy - With the economic news in our face ... sometimes we forgot about the toll being taken on these young men and women. I'll join you in your prayers for those involved in this case.
I hope Obama wins so that America can end this war in Iraq.
WisdomTM - The issue of women soldiers being raped, abused and killed by their mates while in the armed forces is one that I haven't focused on very much. Individual cases, such as LaVena Johnson, make it to my screen. However, I haven't seen much on other cases. Do you post on it often on your blog?
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