Ear necklace ...

When I was growing up, I was about 5 years too young to get drafted for Vietnam, but all of the kids I hung with had older brothers who went over for a tour or two. I knew a couple guys who didn't come back quite right (looking back at it from an older man's perspective now, I realize they weren't quite right before they left). One of them had a necklace made of ears, 'souvenirs' he took home from the war. Another had other souvenirs, personal possessions (cigarette case, watch, stuff like that) from those he'd dispatched on the field of battle. At 12 and 13, we thought they were cool, tough men of the world. As I got older and began to understand, I became more revolted.

That said, I thought we'd left that problem behind in Vietnam. Not so:

...

The portrait of rogue soldiers at a forward operating base in Afghanistan has been painted by the Army itself in chilling charge sheets leveled at 12 members of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside Tacoma, Washington.

Five of the dozen are charged with pre-meditated murder in what investigators call the "staged" killings of three civilian Afghans. Those soldiers and the others face various other charges as well from unlawful use of illicit drugs, possession of a human skull, fingers and leg bones to the assault on Stoner.

Two directives have been sent to military and civilian attorneys representing the Stryker dozen. They involve grisly photos allegedly showing dead bodies and body parts, and soldiers posing as if they had killed a deer on a hunt.

...

As our good pal 'Nucks (from whom I stole the link) says:

... These people are going to come home to us.

God fucking help us ...

I am so fucking glad it's Friday.