Officials identify Camp Liberty shooting victims

Defense Department officials released the names of five Soldiers killed in a shooting at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq Monday.

The victims are :
• Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C.
• Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, 54, of Amarillo, Texas, assigned to the 55th Medical Company in Indianapolis;
• Army Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany;
• Army Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of Lenox, Mo., assigned to the 277th Engineer Company, 420th Engineer Brigade, Waco, Texas; and
• Army Pfc. Michael E. Yates Jr., 19, of Federalsburg, Md., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Army Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, of Sherman, Texas, is in military police custody at Victory Base Complex in Baghdad, charged with five specifications of murder and one of aggravated assault, military officials confirmed Tuesday.
Russell is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, based in Bamberg, Germany.
In a briefing in Iraq Tuesday, Army Maj. Gen. David Perkins, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters the two officers killed were staff members at the Combat Stress Control Center at Camp Liberty, where Russell was being treated. The three enlisted Soldiers were at the clinic at the time of the shooting. Russell was apprehended by military police outside the clinic just after the shooting, Perkins said.
Russell was referred to the clinic for counseling about a week before the shooting. Russell's commander had taken away his personal weapon, and how and where Russell was able to get another weapon is part of the investigation that's under way, Perkins said.
All Soldiers in Iraq typically carry a weapon and ammunition, even while on a base.
Russell's unit was based at Camp Victory, and was preparing to leave Iraq. He had been deployed to Iraq at least two other times, Perkins said. Camp Victory is part of the Victory Base Complex, and it houses the headquarters for Multinational Corps Iraq. Camp Liberty also is on the complex. The clinic is near the headquarters of Multinational Division Baghdad.
Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of Multinational Division Baghdad said that if there's one thing leaders have learned from the war, it's that not all injuries are physical. "So, you have to have that door open for the guys," he added.
In Iraq, Soldiers can be referred for treatment at the clinic by unit doctors, or they can self-refer. But, despite senior leaders' best efforts, Bolger said, some servicemembers still perceive a stigma attached to seeking mental-health treatment. It is especially difficult, he noted, for those in leadership positions to seek the help they need.