FEATURE-Fatal shooting shows stress risk facing US troops

* Soldier's shooting spree led to soul-searching

* Causes of combat stress are many, troops say

* Multiple deployments increase risk



By Tim Cocks

COMBAT OUTPOST COBRA, Iraq, May 31 (Reuters) - Experts say the risk of soldiers suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) goes up substantially on their third tour of duty. Sergeant Joseph Huiet is on his sixth.

The killing of five U.S. soldiers at a clinic in Iraq two weeks ago by a comrade on his third tour, possibly suffering a stress disorder, has led to soul-searching in the U.S. military about the effects of serial deployments.

Huiet, 28, from Modesto, California, took part in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, just a week after completing basic training. More than six years later, he's still here and on his second marriage.

"Dealing with the stress has been real hard," he said inside combat outpost "Cobra", on the edge of Iraq's violent Diyala province.

"Normally, it's just something you deal with. I smoke like a chimney and my hair's falling out," Huiet said, gesturing to a still full but thinning head of brown hair.

The stress on U.S. troops may pale compared with the suffering of Iraqis, tens of thousands of whom have been killed in bombings, sectarian slaughter or U.S. combat operations and who, unlike Americans, often struggle to obtain basics such as water and electricity.

Few Iraqis have access to mental health services.

Still, the toll of war on U.S. troops can be traumatic.

"I've had times when I'm extremely angry, when I'm stressed out and so pent up I wanted to shoot or punch something. But I didn't," said Huiet, whose brigade is based in Alaska. A recent hardship: his daughter was born the day he started this tour.

Stress suffered by U.S. soldiers during multiple deployments came under the spotlight when a U.S. soldier shot dead five others at a clinic on May 14. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested stress was a factor.

Sergeant John Russell of the 54th Engineer Battalion was charged with murder after the shooting spree at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad Airport. He was on his third tour.

The shooting, which shocked many in the U.S. military, led to some soul searching about stress and how soldiers cope.



NO PREDICTOR

"Multiple deployments do put soldiers in a higher risk group for behavioural health," said Edward Brusher, a deputy director in the U.S. Surgeon General's office. "Most soldiers do quite well. The simple answer is there's not a predictor which will allow us to pick out who's going to react in what way."

Troops say causes of combat stress are many. The most obvious are danger, trauma of friends dying, frequent roadside bombs and other sneak attacks common in Iraq's guerrilla war.

"I've been hit by bombs 37 times in a route clearance vehicle. Now I can't hear out of my right ear," said Staff Sergeant Shane Aslup, 27, from Indiana, Indianapolis, who is on his third tour of Iraq and previously carried out peacekeeping duties in Kosovo.

"There's the stress of not knowing who your enemy is half the time. You probably saw him in the street and didn't know."

Problems at home, not getting on with colleagues or being overwhelmed by work and heat can be just as punishing.

Most troops do not snap: they find ways to deal with stress. Some smoke cigarettes, most go the gym to blow off steam.

Staff Sergeant Chuck Hipple, 29, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on his third Iraq tour, calls his wife at home.

"Or I'll go talk to a friend. Talking about it is important. Watch a movie, go take a shower, use the Internet. There's always something you can do before it gets too bad," he said.

Failing that, there's counselling. Even remote outposts, like Cobra, have at least a chaplain, a professional listener. Sometimes admitting you are not coping in the macho environment of the military can be the hardest thing of all.

"There's still a level of stigma," said Brusher. "But in terms of acceptance of being open and talking about experiences, we're doing better than at any other time in U.S. army history." (Editing by Michael Christie)