Bales's read as /beilziz/?

[NewHope]

Context:
The assault case was dismissed and didn't involve any members of Sgt. Bales's family, Mr. Browne said Friday.

[Tdol]

It can be read like that, though many would drop the -iz despite the way it's written.

[emsr2d2]

If I read that aloud, what you would hear would be "did not involve any members of Sergeant Bales family".

[Tullia]

If I read that aloud, what you would hear would be "did not involve any members of Sergeant Bales family".

If I read it aloud, it would be the same.

[pandovic]

If you pronounce it as "Sergeant Bales Family" how do you know his name is Bales and not Bale? They are both common surnames. I would always pronounce Bales's as /beilziz/

[bhaisahab]

If I read it aloud, it would be the same.

I agree.

[raindoctor]

In speech, citation forms are usually heard when they are pitch accented or emphasized. In which case, yes, apply the standard formula (sibilant +'s = sibilant + i + s/z). Besides this, there is another phenomenon, which kinda elides the similar looking syllable.

career center >cur center (check Language Log » Why it can be hard to wreck a nice beach )
social security > so' security (as heard in the financial media)
absolutely right > absly right
Bales's family > Bales family

One can ask "how to distinguish social security from campus security, career center from computer center, Bale's family from Bales's family". You don't need to emphasize these words, if the audience can figure out--this is an easy way of describing. There are books that deal with emphasis, focus (both broad and narrow), and accent. Just because some accent reduction course or ESL book does not describe these phenomena, it doesn't mean that such phenomena do not exist.

[pandovic]

Would you ever pronounce the /iz/ - for example, in "that's James's jacket" or "Kate Moss's husband"? James jacket or Kate Moss husband sound like Tarzan-speak to me! Is it a Brit/US thing?

[5jj]

I always pronounce the /ɪz/.