WASHINGTON: Three days before the shooting rampage in Kandahar, Afghanistan, that killed 16 unarmed men, women and children, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales's house in suburban Tacoma, Washington state, was put up for sale.

Years of overseas duty on a sergeant's salary had squeezed the family's resources to breaking point, and now Bales's property was in disrepair and worth $US50,000 ($47,000) less than what the family paid for it.

The news was another blow to the 38-year-old father of two who was then three months into an Afghanistan assignment he had hoped to avoid. He had also been overlooked for a promotion last year to sergeant first class, which would have eased the family's financial problems.

Outwardly, friends say, Bales bore physical scars from injuries suffered during three previous tours in Iraq. But the inner wounds from his multiple deployments and his family's deteriorating circumstances had largely escaped notice.