From the New York Times:
As a forensic psychiatrist, I read with great interest [the op-ed by] Judy Chu (Op-Ed, Aug. 4). I have been a consultant to the Veterans Administration for decades and have examined hundreds of veterans.
What Ms. Chu describes is traumatization as a means of improving the military performance of a soldier. The hazing procedure is not only cruel but also counterproductive. The performance of an individual who has been so traumatized that he will inevitably develop post-traumatic stress disorder will not improve but dramatically decline.
EMANUEL TANAY
Ann Arbor, Mich.,
A former member of the Florida A&M University marching band accused in the hazing of a female clarinet player last year has completed a diversion program offered by the State Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors dismissed the misdemeanor hazing charge against James R. Harris III, 23, on Aug. 1, according to court records in Tallahassee.
He was one of three band members charged in the hazing of Bria Hunter, a first-year band member treated at a hospital after being beaten during a meeting of the “Red Dawg Order,” a FAMU band subgroup from Georgia. Read about the other two defendants.
Here is more on the KFIR Brigade incident
Excerpt:
One of the combatants from the victim’s company revealed there is a bond of silence surrounding hazing cases. “Veteran soldiers don’t have many privileges so they set seniority rules,” he said. “In this case, they definitely went too far.”
The victim’s mother said she never dreamed her son would be beaten by his fellow soldiers. “These guys need to be put away for a long time. I would even say they should be expelled from the army and serve their time in a civilian prison, military prison is a picnic for them,” she said. “My son could have died there. This could have ended much worse and they must be held accountable.”
An initial investigation revealed this was not the first time the suspects were involved in a hazing. Some of the suspects claimed that even commanders took beatings from them and that everything “was done in good spirit and with no one complaining.”
The suspects refused to comment on the allegations but claimed they have evidence proving hazing is a common practice in the company and accepted by the commanders. Some said that hazing was done when soldiers wanted to showcase their physical strength. “We would tell those soldiers to show their six-pack or muscles and then punch them. Nothing was coerced, everything was voluntary.”
The mother of one suspect said, “I won’t let my son, who spent two and a half years of his life in the most elite combat unit, to be turned into a scapegoat. Everyone knows these things are in jest and there is no intent to harm. This is definitely not a one-time incident. It happened over and over again.”
Shai Roda, one of the suspects’ attorneys claimed the exact opposite. “This is a single case that went out of proportion. My client’s name was mistakenly linked to the case.”