FROM WHERE I SIT ITS TIME TO SHUT UP AND FACE THE TRUTH.

At least one of four soldiers accused in the killing of a buddy in Georgia after their return home from Iraq may argue in court that they were unhinged by the horrors they had seen on the battlefield.

Attorney David S. West said he plans to have his client, Pfc. Alberto Martinez, examined for post-traumatic stress disorder...

Martinez is accused of stabbing Spc. Richard Davis, 25, of St. Charles, Mo., at least 30 times a few days after their unit returned from Iraq in July.

Davis had insulted a dancer during their drunken homecoming celebration and had gotten the group thrown out of a strip club in Columbus, not far from Fort Benning, where all the soldiers were based.

Two other soldiers are accused of assisting Martinez, while the fourth is accused of helping conceal Davis' slaying. All four soldiers remain in jail. No trial date has been set.

They all were members of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which sent 16,500 soldiers to Iraq from Fort Benning and Fort Stewart and spearheaded the drive on Baghdad.

"It became clear to me that that certainly had to have influenced these guys,'' West said. "Certainly, it had to affect them from the psychological standpoint.''

He and another lawyer for the soldiers suggested the Army is not adequately screening veterans for psychological problems on their return from Iraq.

"They basically say, `Turn in your gun, report back whenever and have a nice time,''' West said.

Mr. West has no idea what he's talking about. Wait a minute...that may be too charitable. At best he doesn't know what he's talking about. At worst, he's lying.

Take a look at this class sponsored by the Chaplains at Fort Benning, the very fort at which these guys are stationed.

Take a look at this memo from the command at Fort Carson. Go read paragraph 4.a.1. which says in part:

Military Leadership (in theater) will: Evaluate every soldier utilizing the Unit Risk Reduction Leader Tip Card (see enclosure 2) to identify soldiers at risk. Notify Rear Detachment Commanders of identified soldiers at risk.

And those were just the first two returns when I googled "reunion and reintegration training", which is the umbrella term given by the Army to this process.

And though I'm in no way responsible for giving such training, I work in the office that is...and I know first hand the incredible amount of time and resources that have been focused on screening soldiers for psychological problems before and after they return.

For Mr. West to assert it is nothing more than turn in your gun and have a nice day indicates that he doesn't have one single clue.

And I can tell you this...he'd better figure it out pretty quick. If he intends to defend this jackass on the basis of a lack of effort by the Army leadership, he's barking up the wrong tree. Because every Soldier sitting on that jury will know exactly how much effort the Army has put into this. And that will be bad for Mr. West's credibility...not to mention his clients prospects.

Let's face facts...this guy mixed too much alcohol with too much testosterone. He's a mean drunk. Can't handle his liquor.

We don't need the psychobabble, Mr. West. And as a former leader in the Army, and one who is married to a leader in the Army, I'm awfully tired of punks like you attempting to discredit what leaders do for their soldiers.

On the face of it it would appear your client is a murderer, Mr. West. A mean drunk and a murderer.