# Sergeant tracked 'kills' with skull tattoos, military reports show



## bribrius (Sep 30, 2010)

Sergeant tracked 'kills' with skull tattoos, military reports show

*(CNN)* -- The Army sergeant accused of leading his men to kill innocent Afghan civilians kept a personal body count of skull tattoos and associated with white supremacists online, according to interviews conducted by military investigators.
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs and four soldiers under his command have been charged with murder in the deaths of three civilian men in Afghanistan. And CNN has learned the Army is also re-examining a 2004 shooting that involved Gibbs in Iraq in which three members of a family were killed. 
After his May 11 arrest in Afghanistan, Gibbs showed investigators a tattoo on his lower left leg depicting crossed pistols and six skulls. He told investigators the skulls were a way to keep track of his kills in both Iraq and Afghanistan, according to investigative interview notes shown to CNN.
And a soldier under his command told investigators Gibbs "associates with skinheads online," the investigative notes show. The soldier, who is not charged, told investigators the skinheads "are worse than most gang members I have ever met."
Gibbs is among 12 soldiers from the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade who have been charged in a military investigation stemming from their service in Afghanistan. In addition to the five, including Gibbs, who are charged with premeditated murder, seven more soldiers face charges ranging from conspiracy and interfering in a military investigation to drug use, specifically smoking hashish while in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan killings took place between January and May, when members of Gibbs' platoon admit they were heavily smoking hashish, some of it laced with opium, according to investigators.
According to investigative documents made available to CNN, Gibbs collected human fingers from his victims. Also, the Army has accused members of Gibbs' platoon of possessing photographs of victims.
Gibbs' attorney has declined comment on the allegations, saying he is still reviewing the case. When contacted at her home, a woman who identified herself as the sergeant's mother also refused to comment.
On Army interrogation tapes obtained by CNN, members of Gibbs' platoon say they fear him.
"I take that man very seriously," said Spc. Adam Winfield, who also faces premeditated murder charges. "He likes to kill things. He is pretty much evil incarnate."
Winfield added, "I have never met a man who can go from one minute joking around, then mindless killings. I mean, he likes to kill things."
Eric Montalvo, an attorney for Winfield, told CNN his client "is not guilty of premeditated murder." 
The Army did investigate a fourth killing in Afghanistan involving a man who approached the platoon and refused to follow orders to stop and lift up his shirt. Soldiers fired after the man refused to heed warnings to stop -- which were yelled in Pashto, a commonly spoken language in Afghanistan, according to documents provided to CNN.
And CNN has learned the Army is now re-examining Gibbs' record in Iraq, where he was involved in the killing of an Iraqi family in the summer of 2004.
According to an Army report on the incident, U.S. troops on foot in the northern city of Kirkuk opened fire on a car that approached them, swerving, from behind. Troops feared the vehicle was a possible car bomb, the report states.
When the shooting stopped, two adults and a child were dead and another child was wounded, the report states.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/30/afghanistan.killings.sergeant/


what do you think. This guy really racist or was he just left out in the field too long and someone should have caught warning signs in his psych eval before re-deployment?


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## bribrius (Sep 30, 2010)

*Suicides on the Rise in The Military; 4 at Fort Hood In 1 Week*

Published on 30 September 2010. | Written by R Shelley</SPAN> 









 Suicides on the rise in the military

Officials at Fort Hood Texas are currently investigating what appears to be a group of suicides that occurred last week. The most recent of the suicides include the reported murder-suicide of a soldier and his wife from Sunday. Prior to that case there were 4 other suicides at Fort Hood in just the past week. All four of the reported suicides were decorated veterans for their service in either Iraq or Afghanistan. 
The four suicides are not all confirmed yet, but as of now the cases are being treated as likely suicides. If they are confirmed as suicides it will bring the total number of suicides at Fort Hood up to 18 just this year; which is a record number for the base. Officials say two soldiers were found dead on Saturday from what appeared to be self inflicted wounds; they were found in separate areas and did not appear to be related at all. Prior to that another man was found on Friday, dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound.
This outbreak of suicides comes to a base that has dealt with all too many tragedies in the past years. Suicide numbers have always been higher than average at Fort Hood, but the base has also had to deal with multiple shootings breaking out in past years as well. The U.S. military is constantly working to improve methods to prevent suicide in post-war veterans, though many believe they are not doing enough.
Suicide numbers are on the rise throughout the entire military system this year; analysts say it is likely a compounding of many issues. Psychological problems have become a real issue in the military, especially following multiple tours of duty. Law makers are currently in the process of creating a new organization to oversee the rehab process many soldiers go through.

http://knowelty.com/suicides-on-the-rise-in-the-military-4-at-fort-hood-in-1-week/873497/



.... <sigh>


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## Nomad (Oct 4, 2010)

bribrius said:


> what do you think. This guy really racist or was he just left out in the field too long and someone should have caught warning signs in his psych eval before re-deployment?



This guy sounds more like a true psychotic than merely a racist to me.  Clearly, conditions on his tours of duty (including the ready access to opium laced hash) may have contributed to this, but I suspect that he had more than a bit of crazy before he ever signed up.  

That said, it might not be particularly easy to have caught this beforehand... it depends on whether and/or how it was displayed.


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## Big Don (Oct 4, 2010)

In any group of people there will be a certain percentage of a holes. This is a law of the universe, such as gravity.


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## MA-Caver (Oct 4, 2010)

Friends of mine who have served in Nam told me about guys in their platoon who kept track of their kills (both VC and civilians). To be able to kill someone with little or no repercussions is a powerful incentive to those that are borderline psychotics to begin with to get involved in a war, by signing up and putting on the false face until they're in actual combat situations or on patrol and using "self-defense" as an excuse to unleash their inner beast. 

Remember that many serial killers have lured their victims through perfected acts of normalcy. I'm not saying that there are serial killers or potential serial killers in the military, just that putting on a good face helps one get away with a lot. 

There are stories of gang members voluntarily joining the military to learn tactics, weaponry and other useful skills to bring back to their urban environments and use it for their advantage. 
To say skinheads are worse than gang-bangas ... I think is a mis-statement... they're *all* the same. Useless garbage of our society that continually disrupt the peace of mind and safety of everyday citizens.


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## Tez3 (Oct 4, 2010)

I'm not sure what you mean by skin heads whether it's the same as we do. Being a skinhead is a fashion statement more than anything else, just like being a Mod, a Rocker, Punk or a Goth etc. It's not necessarily someone who is a thug though some thugs have chosen to dress as skin heads, many thugs dress as Mods or Rockers though too. We have left wing skinheads, black skinheads etc.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead


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## geezer (Oct 4, 2010)

Tez, thanks for that informative link about the social history of Skinheads. I never knew half that stuff. Still, however inaccurate, here in the States you commonly hear the term "skinhead" used to describe young bald white racists, often members of supremacist gangs.


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## jks9199 (Oct 4, 2010)

MA-Caver said:


> There are stories of gang members voluntarily joining the military to learn tactics, weaponry and other useful skills to bring back to their urban environments and use it for their advantage.
> To say skinheads are worse than gang-bangas ... I think is a mis-statement... they're *all* the same. Useless garbage of our society that continually disrupt the peace of mind and safety of everyday citizens.



It's not stories.  It's documented.  Tragically in some cases.

Gang members are serving in the military.  White supremacists -- including violent white supremacists -- are serving in the military.  And the military is largely in denial.

What little I've seen of this suggests this guy was a white supremacist.  And white supremacists are most certainly criminal street gangs.


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## jks9199 (Oct 4, 2010)

Tez3 said:


> I'm not sure what you mean by skin heads whether it's the same as we do. Being a skinhead is a fashion statement more than anything else, just like being a Mod, a Rocker, Punk or a Goth etc. It's not necessarily someone who is a thug though some thugs have chosen to dress as skin heads, many thugs dress as Mods or Rockers though too. We have left wing skinheads, black skinheads etc.
> 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead


Tez, the skinhead movement in the US is largely associated with neo-Nazis and white supremacism.   SHARPs (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) are out there, but most I've come across have some pretty close leanings ideologically still.  They all tend to be pretty violent.


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## David43515 (Oct 4, 2010)

Big Don said:


> In any group of people there will be a certain percentage of a holes. This is a law of the universe, such as gravity.


 
Both the US Army and the British Army have been doing extensive psychological testing since the 2nd world war.. They can usually tell you after X# of days in the field X% of a unit will be suffering PTSD or other psychological problems. And they found that if you leave a unit in the field for long enough those numbers will keep climbing until it hits 96%.  Why does it stop at 96%? Because they estimate that 4% of the general population (and therfore the Army as well) are sociopaths who actually function better in combat than society.Some become heroes, like Audy Murphy. Some become villains.

This guy is a racist nut who has 4% written all over him. I`m just sad that he was able to convince or intimidate others to join him


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## LoneRider (Oct 5, 2010)

I wonder where the guys' PL and PSG or heck even their CO and 1SG were at the time(s) of a lot of these incidents.


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