The US Army Staff Sergeant implicated in the massacre of 16 civilians, including nine children and three women in a southern Afghan village on March 11, 2012. The 38-year-old soldier, whose military unit is based south of Tacoma, Washington, was a four-tour veteran having spent a total of 37 months during three deployments in Iraq between 2003 and 2010. He was wounded twice in Iraq before he was sent to combat duties in Afghanistan.

The massacre, along with a Koran burning incident in February, sent American-Afghan relations into a tailspin. Robert Bales was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on March 16th and held in pre-trial confinement.