Feedback to WaPo's "Cursed Platoon"

The Washington Post solicited comments from veterans in response to the "Cursed Platoon" pieces on the Lorance case. Today's paper has a selection. Excerpts:

My job for my year in Afghanistan was to defend soldiers. Sometimes the charges were serious; sometimes they were minor, like not showing up to formation, consuming alcohol in theater — telltale signs of soldiers falling apart and command neglect. I defended dozens of other soldiers who were ignored and discarded — the command would call them “sh--birds.” Their prior service meant nothing; zero tolerance was the command philosophy. I’m not surprised at how the men of 1st platoon were treated when their cracks started to show. — Jas Easterly, 52, Army Reserve 1989-1997; Active Duty 2005-2013