It is unclear if this soldier did any tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and if the technique he used, mentioned in the article below, is one he had picked up during his training. Regardless of where he got this idea or why he used this technique, what is clear is that at best, the military failed to properly screen him resulting in tragic consequences:
"A soldier waterboarded his four-year-old daughter because she was unable to recite her alphabet.
Joshua Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was so angry.
As his daughter 'squirmed' to get away, Tabor said he
submerged her face three or four times until the water was lapping
around her forehead and jawline.
Tabor, 27, who had won custody of his daughter only four weeks
earlier, admitted choosing the punishment because the girl was
terrified of water.
Tabor, a soldier at the Lewis-McChord base in Tacoma, Washington, was
arrested after being seen walking around his neighbourhood wearing a
Kevlar military helmet and threatening to break windows.
<snip>
Police have not revealed Tabor's military service, but his base is home to units that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan."
So the likely answer is yes, he did serve in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Was this man trained in this technique and if so, why and by whom? Did he use this technique on POWs in US custody? On children?
I have said this over and over, but the majority of the public does not seem to really understand that when an honest, moral, person is asked to do dishonest and immoral things, they will likely crack and never recover.
We don't know what kind of person Tabor was prior to his tour(s) of duty (assuming he did any recent tours). But we do know that the man is now a monster - and war does make monsters of us all in one way or another.
On a side note - although related - police learned of the torture and abuse from Tabor's girlfriend when they went to investigate the complaints about his threats of breaking windows. Now, it is clear that he is completely out of control, but surely the girlfriend was sane and rational? The article does not say, but I am curious if the girlfriend also served abroad and is likewise a horror show? Because if she is sane and watching this without notifying authorities, then the most criminal person in this story is her.
As Joseph Conrad wrote, "the horror! the horror!"