The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport and adjacent to another facility where PresidentObama visited last month.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday that the shooting was a "terrible tragedy" and Obama plans to meet with Defense Secretary Gates later Monday to discuss the matter. Gibbs said the president's heart goes out to the victims' families.
At the Pentagon, Gates called the incident shocking and said that "we're still in the process of gathering information on exactly what happened."
The shooting happened at a stress clinic where troops can go for help with the stress of combat or personal issues.
It was unclear whether those killed were workers at the clinic or were there for counseling. No details were released about the gunman or what might have provoked the shooting.
"Anytime we lose one of our own, it affects us all," U.S. military spokesman Col. John Robinson said in Baghdad. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the servicemembers involved in this terrible tragedy."
The death toll from the Monday shooting was the highest for U.S. personnel in a single attack since April 10, when a suicide truck driver killed five American soldiers with a blast near police headquarters in Mosul.
Attacks on officers and sergeants, known as fraggings, were not uncommon during the Vietnam War as morale in the ranks sank. But such attacks are believed to be rare in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lengthening and repeated deployments were a cause for growing concern when the Army last gauged mental health stress levels in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007.
That year, teams of Army psychological specialists fanned out across battle zones to produce the fifth consecutive mental health assessment of troops in Iraq since the war began and the second consecutive study of troops in Afghanistan.
A key finding of the study released last year was that "reports of work-related problems due to stress, mental health problems and marital separations generally increased with each subsequent month of the deployment."
The researchers also found that soldiers on their third or fourth deployments were at "significantly higher risk" for mental health problems than soldiers in their first or second deployments.
The researchers surveyed nearly 3,000 soldiers in Iraq and 699 in Afghanistan. They also conducted focus groups.
Soldiers in those groups said it was difficult to gauge morale because it varied day to day, week to week and month to month. They said low points were when casualties were suffered or when they had just returned from a two-week leave.
When asked about families, soldiers invariably characterized their stress levels as suffering. They used comments such as "they are stressed, upset,"; "frustrated"; or "excited for me to come home." Many soldiers complained about the relatively short time they have spent with their families during years of war.
Lack of sleep was a continuing issue for soldiers; most got an average of 5.6 hours per night, the study found.
"Reports of sleep deprivation are a significant risk factor for reporting mental health problems and work-related problems," the study found.
The Army is planning a sixth mental health review of troops in the field this year.
From USAToday
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