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Shock, concern are reactions at Joint Base Lewis-McChord over Afghanistan killings

Private First Class Jeremy Lozano is getting ready for his first deployment to Afghanistan. He anticipates the massacre of innocent civilians will make an already tough deployment tougher. “That’s now more problems that we have to worry about.”
Austin Jenkins
/
Northwest News Network
Private First Class Jeremy Lozano is getting ready for his first deployment to Afghanistan. He anticipates the massacre of innocent civilians will make an already tough deployment tougher. “That’s now more problems that we have to worry about.”

LAKEWOOD, Wash. – The U-S soldier who allegedly massacred at least 16 Afghan civilians is reported to be from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Soldiers assigned to the base express shock at the violence and concern about retaliation.

One Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade is already in Afghanistan. Another is on its way soon. At a uniform alterations shop near post, Army rucksacks ready to go line the floor and a steady stream of soldiers come in to pick up their battle ready uniforms.

"I’m picking up my SUs," said Joan Araujo.

Araujo is an infantryman preparing to deploy. He says an incident like this killing spree has the potential to make U.S. troops targets for retaliation.

“The same way they were burning Koran’s over there. They’re going to think that we all think the same way. So of course it’s going to be more dangerous," Araujo said.

Out in the parking lot, Specialist Chris Smith calls the massacre “sad” and “disturbing.” He too is about to deploy and expects to encounter more resentment.

“They’re going to be very upset as we would be too if they had done that to us,” Smith said.

Recently, four Lewis-McChord soldiers were sentenced to prison for the murders of three Afghan civilians in 2010.

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.