January 2007: A sergeant was demoted to corporal and told to forfeit two months’ wages or seek psychiatric help, after he shot livestock owned by local farmers for “his own amusement”.
As part of a convoy driving south-west of Baghdad, in January 2007, the sergeant – a gunner on the rear vehicle – told the driver to slow down and separate from the rest of their unit.
He then proceeded to shoot “two camels and several stray dogs” in front of the animals’ owners, and fellow American passengers.
When his captain later reported him for investigation, he admitted the shooting and was subsequently demoted.
He was then given the choice of forfeiting two months’ wages or attending “counseling sessions with a Fallujah psychiatrist”, although the report does not reveal his decision.
Camels are valuable livestock across North Africa and the Middle East, fetching up to $700 each. The owners were eventually traced and given compensatory ‘claims cards’.
October 23rd, 2010at 11:43 pm(#)
[...] BIJ: “US soldier fires shots for fun” [...]
October 25th, 2010at 1:00 am(#)
Animal violence is barbaric and savage. That man is mentally ill and morally sick.