The lawyer for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, said Monday that Bales has a “sketchy memory” of the night of the attacks, according to the AP.

Seattle defense attorney John Henry Brown said the 38-year-old Bales remembers some details from before and after the killings, but very little during the time the military believes he went on a rampage through two Afghan villages.

Brown told KIRO 7’s Richard Thompson that Bales’ defense may center around the stress of his repeated deployments into war zones, even after Bales suffered several injuries, including one to his brain.

“(He) was injured in Iraq to his brain and his body, and despite that was sent back. I think that is an issue. I think that is a concern,” Browne said.

Bales is being held in pre-trial confinement. Officials said he is being treated like all other inmates awaiting trial, which includes being given time to exercise in the facility’s recreation areas.

“He’s had some recreation time. He’s begun the schedule that every other pre-trial service member goes through,” Ft. Leavenworth Spokeswoman Rebecca Steed said.

But nearly all of Bales’ day Monday was spent meeting with his defense team.

Browne said it was emotional to talk with Bales about the horrors of war. He said Bales told him about watching a friend’s leg get blown off two days before the alleged attacks on Afghan civilians.

“It’s a tragedy all the way around, there is no question about that,” Browne said.

Bales has not been charged yet in the March 11 shootings, but charges could come this week.