Soldiers Freed From Lockdown In Goggles Theft

The 120 soldiers confined for nearly a month to their Fort Lewis unit have been released, but there’s no word on the 13 sets of night-vision goggles that were reported missing Aug. 12.

“They were released because the commander and (Criminal Investigation Division) felt there was no longer any reason to keep them confined,” Army spokesman Sgt. Maj. Ian Knight said after members of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade were freed Friday.

Army officials would not say whether the goggles - more sophisticated than commercial goggles and worth $6,000 each - were ever found.

“Their release doesn’t speak to whether there are suspects in the case,” Knight said. “We cannot comment on the investigation.”

Some soldiers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that morale suffered as a result of the nearly monthlong confinement.

“Morale is definitely declining,” one of them said. “Basically what you’ve got out there is a lot of bummedout people.”

“It would be different if this was a field exercise or something,” said another. “Then being away from your family wouldn’t be such a big deal. But this, there doesn’t seem to be any point to it.”