Who's Shooting Who?
How the U.S. Military strung along the family of a Fort Lewis soldier killed by "friendly fire."
By Rick Anderson
THIRTEEN DAYS after Fort Lewis Ranger and ex–pro football player Pat Tillman, 27, was killed in Afghanistan, a Fort Lewis military policeman named Jesse Buryj, 21, was killed in Iraq. In life, the famous chiseled athlete and the small-town baritone horn player never met. But their deaths have followed a parallel course. Both were victims of "friendly fire," the military's oxymoronic euphemism for death at the hands of a fellow soldier. And who exactly killed them, and under what circumstances, remains a mystery.
The Army is trying to answer that question in the high-profile Tillman case. It has undertaken four investigations in three years and is now performing a fifth review to answer questions about a possible Army cover-up and whether the killing was intentional, which could lead to criminal charges.
In contrast, the Buryj case has fallen silent. The service is satisfied with blaming an unknown soldier from Poland, even though the Polish government denies the claim and Buryj's mother in Ohio says she was told an American soldier has confessed to shooting her son.
"My son is another Kennedy—nobody seems to know who shot him," says Peggy Buryj with a hard laugh. She's grateful for the Army's attempts to provide her with information, although each new answer raised more infuriating questions. And she doesn't begrudge the Tillmans for the attention they've gotten, having conferred and commiserated with the family. Peggy Buryj feels the Tillman case has helped open the eyes of other parents to questions about the Pentagon's casualty reporting methods. And like the Tillmans, she suspects a military cover-up. "Where's my criminal investigation?" she asks.
Understandably, the Tillman case has gotten more notice. Pat Tillman was the Arizona Cardinals defensive back who gave up a $3.6 million NFL contract to join the Army in 2002. He signed up with his brother Kevin, who gave up a promising baseball career, eight months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. They ascended to Ranger School, were assigned to Fort Lewis' elite 75th Ranger Regiment, and served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. A hero to many, Pat Tillman was killed April 22, 2004. He was the 106th U.S. fatality in Afghanistan, where, as of this week, more than 370 have died.
His death made international headlines. The funeral was nationally televised. Moments of silence were held, flags were lowered, and memorials were established in his name. He's been given a special display at the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, his picture and story included in the NFL's "Wartime Heroes" exhibit and elsewhere.
Jesse Buryj's life was comparably modest. He grew up in Ohio, played in the high-school band, and joined the Army after graduating in 2002. Hoping to someday become a police officer, Buryj wound up in Fort Lewis' 66th Military Police Company, which, in addition to MP duties, can also be involved in combat situations. He shipped off to Iraq in February 2004 and was killed three months later. He was the 761st U.S. fatality in Iraq, where, as of this week—the war's fourth anniversary—more than 3,200 have died.
The name Buryj is Ukranian, by the way. It's pronounced BOO-dee. But, as Buryj's mother says with a chuckle, "In the Army, you'd never survive with a name that sounds like 'booty.' So he didn't complain when they started calling him Spc. 'Burage.'"
Buryj's death rated mostly small headlines back home. Family and friends turned out for the service, and citizens paused in the street as his procession passed. He was remembered as the typical good guy who strikes out for a career in the military. He had slung a few burgers at Wendy's and married his high-school sweetheart, Amber, a piccolo player in his school band, in a wedding ceremony officiated by the band's director.
He was honored in Canton, too, a gritty former steel town 45 minutes south of Cleveland. That's his hometown. He's buried in a small church cemetery there. Though he never became the local cop he'd hoped to be, his name is included on a list of fallen officers remembered at an annual Canton police memorial event.
The uneven contrast of their lives and their Canton memorials is reflected in the differing levels of investigation into the two soldiers' deaths, Buryj's family thinks.
The Army initially told both families their sons were killed during firefights with the enemy—Tillman ambushed in the mountains near the Pakistani border, Buryj fatally injured when his armored vehicle turned over during an attack in Karbala, south of Baghdad. Each family buried its loved one thinking the soldier was slain by forces aligned with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. That's hard enough to take. But it wasn't true.
Five weeks after Tillman's death, the Army revealed he was killed by his own troops—one, or several, of four U.S. soldiers—something the Army knew from the start. "Cease fire, friendlies," he is said by a witness to have futilely shouted, "I am Pat fucking Tillman, damn it!" He was hit in the head by three bullets and torn apart.
Fellow soldiers wrapped Tillman's body in a poncho and later burned his bloody clothing and body armor—because they were a biohazard, the soldiers claimed. Commanders meanwhile debated how and when they'd admit the fratricide. They were silent, Tillman's father, Patrick, would say later, because "they killed their poster boy" in an unpopular war during an election year.
Family pressure and heavy media coverage eventually prompted the four different investigations, with results of the fifth soon to be released. The latest probe is, in part, a review of the earlier ones, the Army says. It's supposed to clear up disputed details of Tillman's death—whether it was a "fog of war" accident caused by the confused inability to determine friend from foe, or possibly death by "fragging" (an intentional shooting). A secondary probe could also establish whether officials tried to criminally cover up details of the case.
Truth has been just as elusive and delayed in the Buryj case, as his family sees it. But theirs is a lonelier fight for a son no less loved. Mother Peggy remembers looking out her window and seeing the uniformed officer on her doorstep that sad day in May. She put off going to the door. The longer she waited, the longer Jesse would still be alive.
"He said Jesse was killed when a truck rammed his Humvee," Peggy Buryj says, referring to what a casualty officer told her. Her son was among a small contingent manning a checkpoint when a heavy dump truck sped out of the night toward them. Buryj, a Humvee turret gunner, fired hundreds of rounds, killing the driver and saving fellow soldiers' lives, the record shows. But the truck kept coming, knocking over the Humvee and throwing Buryj to the ground.
At first, Peggy Buryj believed the incident to have been an accident. That's what she was told by the military, according to an Associated Press report the day after his death: "'Everyone was fine, but Jesse's stomach was hurting him,' she said she was told. 'They took him to a hospital where they found he had massive internal injuries, and he died on the operating table.'" She didn't know it at the time, but he also had a bullet inside him. The fatal wound had not been obvious at the scene, but the mangled slug was discovered in a postmortem CAT scan.
No one in the truck had fired at them, the soldiers reported that day. That meant Buryj was killed by his own troops.
But it was more than two months before the Army told the Buryj family their son had been shot. When the death certificate arrived in July, it listed a "penetrating gunshot wound of the back."
The family was surprised and confused. There was no indication who fired the shot.
Peggy Buryj began making calls, writing letters, and sending e-mails. Fortuitously, President Bush came to Canton that summer during the 2004 election campaign and met some of Ohio's grieving war families. Peggy got a brief audience and asked him to help her learn more. He promised to do what he could.
But for the most part, the family was on its own. Peggy, 53, who works part time, learned how to file Freedom of Information Act requests with the Army. In February 2005, she and husband Steve, 54, a worker at an Akron plastics company, received a copy of Jesse's Army autopsy report. Nine months after Buryj's death, his family for the first time saw the official words "friendly fire," or death resulting from mistaken aim or misidentification of the target.
"We had no idea until then," the mother recalls.
Buryj is one of possibly two dozen U.S. service members killed by their own troops or allies in Afghanistan and Iraq—on the ground and in mistaken aerial attacks—out of more than 3,570 deaths. (The ratio was much worse in the 1991 Gulf War, with 35 out of 148 U.S. combat deaths from friendly fire.) The Army confirms 17 fratricides since 2001, and documents obtained by the Army Times last year turned up six other suspected friendly-fire incidents involving the deaths of nine U.S. soldiers. Several British and Canadian soldiers have also been killed by Americans. It can be devastating to all involved. Last month, the London Sun said a cockpit recording of two U.S. pilots—who'd just learned they'd accidentally killed a British soldier on the ground—captured them saying "I'm going to be sick" and "We're in jail, dude." Last week, a London coroner's inquest found the soldier's death avoidable and "criminal."
Fog of war is "the generic answer" to many of the deaths, says John Pike, a military expert and director of the D.C. think-tank Global Security, "though there are always more specific elements in each case." He didn't want to comment directly on Buryj's or other individual cases, but said, "Combat is an enormously confusing, chaotic environment, which is one reason ground troops spend so much time training, so that when faced with actual combat, they are able to respond instinctively." The services have been developing new techniques and technology to prevent such deaths, including sewing electronic chips into military clothing that can be seen on computer screens in vehicles and aircraft.
Some of the very first deaths in the "war on terror" were from friendly fire. A 2,000-pound U.S. bomb missed its target and killed three Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan in December 2001. One of the dead was Army Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, 28, whose mother and stepfather live in Seattle; they were informed within 24 hours of the well-publicized bombing that left 20 other U.S. soldiers injured, and six allied Afghan fighters dead. The first American soldier to die from "unfriendly," or enemy, fire was Army Sgt. Nathan Chapman, 31, of Puyallup, who was killed the next month in Afghanistan.
The military uses the term "nonhostile fire" to describe what are usually noncombat deaths caused by fellow soldiers, oftentimes merely by stumbling or failing to secure a weapon. That's what happened to Capt. James Shull of Kirkland, for example. He was accidentally killed in 2003, on routine patrol in Baghdad, when one of his men tossed a rifle into the back of a Humvee and the M-16 discharged. Shull, 32, married with three children, was killed instantly.
The Army's casualty reporting methods have been questioned in other friendly-fire cases, such as the death of Army 1st Lt. Ken Ballard, 26, from California. He died in May 2004 in Iraq—killed in action, his family was initially told. They later learned, by requesting military records, that the tank commander died from the accidental discharge of an unmanned machine gun (incredibly, it had been triggered by a tree limb as the tank passed under it). The reporting system also failed for the families of two California National Guardsmen, Spc. Patrick McCaffrey, 34, and Lt. Andre Tyson, 33, killed in 2004 supposedly in an enemy ambush in Iraq. It wasn't until last summer that the Army finally admitted the two were murdered by members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps they were training.
Last year, the Army reviewed nearly 800 fatalities in an attempt to improve its reporting. The service says it found seven cases—Tillman's and Buryj's among them—where families were misinformed. Lt. Col. Kevin Arata of the Army's Human Resources Command in Virginia says that led to "major steps" to improve the casualty-report process. Another layer of review, by field-grade officers, has been added to verify the accuracy of initial casualty information, Arata tells Seattle Weekly, and any war death now will get a more thorough look "to ensure families ultimately received the most accurate information."
New procedures to cross-reference and double-check investigations are in place, Arata adds, and families now are entitled to receive a follow-up report, redacted and declassified, "to verify or clarify the initial circumstances in a much shorter period of time."
That's well and good, says Peggy Buryj, if it prevents other families from going through the misery she has endured. But she thinks an independent entity should be established to help families hack a path through the Army's tangled bureaucracy. "The only people shooting that day were the good guys," she says. "I buried my son not knowing that."
It wasn't until Army officials arrived at her home in April 2005, handing over a "final" report, that she learned Buryj's unit had been on a joint mission with Polish troops, who then had about 300 soldiers in Iraq.
And "most likely," the report said, one of the Poles had killed her son. But when Buryj put in a call to the Polish Embassy in D.C., "they denied it," she recalls.
The embassy confirmed that denial to Seattle Weekly. Defense attaché Maj. Rafal Nowak says the Polish government conducted its own inquiry into the death, and "the conclusion was that the Polish troops were not responsible for Buryj's death." The inquiry determined that the bullet fragment found in Buryj's body was standard 5.56 ammunition used by both U.S. and Polish troops, but that it couldn't have been fired by a Polish soldier because the Polish unit was positioned to shoot at the truck and not toward the checkpoint where Buryj was posted.
After two field investigations, the U.S. Army couldn't fully resolve this and other questions. With the Buryjs pushing for more details, in part through their congressional representatives, the service's watchdog agency, the Army inspector general's office, last year decided to undertake a new probe, reviewing both the case and the investigations into it.
Last November, the report arrived, leaving Peggy Buryj lost in her own kind of fog of war.
She learned for the first time that, like in Tillman's case, as many as four American soldiers, in addition to the Polish troops, had apparently been suspected of firing the fatal bullet.
But the bullet fragment taken from Jesse Buryj's body had been lost—accidentally destroyed in late 2005, the inspector general said, when it was mixed in with evidence from hostile-fire cases and criminal investigators tossed them all out.
"They threw away the bullet!" exclaims a frustrated Peggy Buryj. That news hit her in much the same way the news of Tillman's clothing destruction affected his stunned parents. "I lost the last bit of confidence I had in the Army," Buryj says.
The fragment could have been instrumental in determining which gun had fired the fatal shot. But it may have been a moot point: The IG also discovered that no ballistics samples were taken from the suspect weapons after the shooting in 2004.
"Had the four U.S. weapons been tested [and the bullet retained], this might have eliminated doubts over whether U.S. weapons fired the fatal round," said the report.
The IG outlined a series of Army errors compounded by more mistakes, paperwork screwups, and unexplained reporting delays, although the probe found no evidence of an intentional cover-up.
The Army's methods in the case were "often inaccurate and untimely," the IG concluded. The Army officially declared the shooting "a tragic accident" likely caused by an unknown ally.
With her son's story lacking the final, whodunit chapter, Peggy Buryj would like to see a full-scale probe like the one being done in the Tillman case by the Army Criminal Investigative Division, under orders from the IG. There's reasonable cause, she says.
"I think it may have been someone from the 66."
At least, that's what she was told, she says, by one of the officers in Jesse's 66th MP Company.
A lieutenant, he "came to our house last February [2006]," Buryj says."He had heard me on a radio show talking about Jesse. He called and asked if he could come by and talk to me. He was very afraid and at first wouldn't tell me his name.After a while, I figured out who he was." She won't publicly identify the officer.
"He told me who had confessed to killing Jesse. [The officer] was not there when Jess was killed, but he was there when the confession was made and the reports were falsified."
Buryj says she relayed the information to the IG's office, but was told the officer who had spoken with her had since left the service and the Army lacked jurisdiction. The IG's office won't comment today.
"They totally discredited him by saying he was demoted while in Iraq and had an ax to grind with commanders of the 66th," Buryj says. "That may be true, but people I've talked to in the 66th say it isn't."
Time is working against her now, as it is for the Tillmans. Three of the four likely shooters in Tillman's case are out of the service, free from military punishment.
"I think they're waiting for the same thing in Jess' case," says Buryj, suggesting the Army can just drop the case altogether if the alleged shooter of her son leaves the service.
A civil lawsuit would be expensive and perhaps futile—the military services are shielded from most tort claims for injury and death under a 60-year-old law known as the Feres doctrine, which, for the "good of the service," immunizes the military from what could be a barrage of claims.
Besides, says Buryj, if key evidence is missing, other than asking for a criminal probe, "There's just no place I know to go from here. Is it good enough? No. But what can I do about it? I guess you just live with your frustration."
She pauses.
"He was funny; that's the one thing I miss most. He was the funniest person I ever met. We were always on the same wavelength." She visits him weekly, sometimes driving past the football fans downtown.
randerson@seattleweekly.com
Friday, April 06, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Gen. Petraeus and a High-Profile Suicide in Iraq
Col. Ted Westhusing, a West Point scholar, put a bullet in his head in Iraq after reporting widespread corruption. His suicide note -- complaining about human rights abuses and other crimes -- was addressed to his two commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, now leader of the U.S. "surge" effort in Iraq. It urged them to "Reevaluate yourselves....You are not what you think you are and I know it."
By Greg Mitchell
(March 14, 2007) -- The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious, and seriously underreported, problem, as this column has observed numerous times in the past three years. One of the few high-profile cases involved a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing.
A portrait of Westhusing written by T. Christian Miller for the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 (which I covered at the time) revealed that Westhusing, before putting a bullet through his head, had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.
His widow, asked by a friend what killed this West Point scholar, had replied simply: "Iraq."
Now, a new article reveals -- based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- that Westhusing's apparent suicide note included claims that his two commanders tolerated a mission based on "corruption, human right abuses and liars." One of those commanders: the new leader of the "surge" campaign in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.
Westhusing, 44, had been found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport in June 2005, a single gunshot wound to the head. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq. The Army concluded that he committed suicide with his service pistol. Westhusing was an unusual case: “one of the Army's leading scholars of military ethics, a full professor at West Point who volunteered to serve in Iraq to be able to better teach his students. He had a doctorate in philosophy; his dissertation was an extended meditation on the meaning of honor,” Miller explained in his L.A. Times piece.
”So it was only natural that Westhusing acted when he learned of possible corruption by U.S. contractors in Iraq. A few weeks before he died, Westhusing received an anonymous complaint that a private security company he oversaw had cheated the U.S. government and committed human rights violations. Westhusing confronted the contractor and reported the concerns to superiors, who launched an investigation.
”In e-mails to his family, Westhusing seemed especially upset by one conclusion he had reached: that traditional military values such as duty, honor and country had been replaced by profit motives in Iraq, where the U.S. had come to rely heavily on contractors for jobs once done by the military.”
His death followed quickly. "He was sick of money-grubbing contractors," one official recounted. Westhusing said that "he had not come over to Iraq for this." After a three-month inquiry, investigators declared Westhusing's death a suicide.
Now, nearly 18 months after Miller's article, The Texas Observer this month has published a cover story by contributor Robert Bryce titled "I Am Sullied No More." Bryce covers much of the same ground paved by Miller but adds details on the Petraeus angle.
"When he was in Iraq, Westhusing worked for one of the most famous generals in the U.S. military, David Petraeus," Bryce observes. "As the head of counterterrorism and special operations under Petraeus, Westhusing oversaw the single most important task facing the U.S. military in Iraq then and now: training the Iraqi security forces."
Bryce refers to a "two-inch stack of documents, obtained over the past 15 months under the Freedom of Information Act, that provides many details of Westhusing’s suicide. The pile includes interviews with Westhusing’s co-workers, diagrams of his sleeping quarters, interviews with his family members, and partially redacted reports from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and Inspector General.
"The documents echo the story told by Westhusing’s friends. 'Something he saw [in Iraq] drove him to this,' one Army officer who was close to Westhusing said in an interview. 'The sum of what he saw going on drove him' to take his own life. 'It’s because he believed in duty, honor, country that he’s dead.'"
In Iraq, Westhusing worked under two generals: Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, and Petraeus, then a lieutenant general. In a March 2005 e-mail, Petraeus told Westhusing that he had “already exceeded the very lofty expectations that all had for you.”
But Bryce continues: "By late May, Westhusing was becoming despondent over what he was seeing. Steeped in—and totally believing in—the West Point credo that a cadet will 'not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do,' Westhusing found himself surrounded by contractors who had no interest in his ideals. He asked family members to pray for him. In a phone call with his wife, Michelle, who was back at West Point, Westhusing told her he planned to tell Petraeus that he was going to quit. She pleaded with him to just finish his tour and return home."
When his body was found on June, a note was found nearby addressed to Petraeus and Fil. According to Bryce it read:
"Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more.
"Trust is essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it."
Twelve days after Westhusing’s body was found, Army investigators talked with his widow, Michelle, who told them: "The one thing I really wish is you guys to go to everyone listed in that letter and speak with them. I think Ted gave his life to let everyone know what was going on. They need to get to the bottom of it, and hope all these bad things get cleaned up.”
Bryce concludes:
"In September 2005, the Army’s inspector general concluded an investigation into allegations raised in the anonymous letter to Westhusing shortly before his death. It found no basis for any of the issues raised. Although the report is redacted in places, it is clear that the investigation was aimed at determining whether Fil or Petraeus had ignored the corruption and human rights abuses allegedly occurring within the training program for Iraqi security personnel. The report, approved by the Army’s vice chief of staff, four-star Gen. Richard Cody, concluded that 'commands and commanders operated in an Iraqi cultural and ethical environment often at odds with Western practices.' It said none of the unit members 'accepted institutional corruption or human rights abuses. Unit members, and specifically [redacted name] and [redacted name] took appropriate action where corruption or abuse was reported.'
"The context, placement and relative size of the redacted names strongly suggest that they refer to Petraeus and Fil.
"Last November, Fil returned to Iraq. He is now the commanding general of the Multinational Division in Baghdad and of the 1st Cavalry Division. On February 12, Petraeus took command of all U.S. forces in Iraq. He now wears four stars."
By Greg Mitchell
(March 14, 2007) -- The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious, and seriously underreported, problem, as this column has observed numerous times in the past three years. One of the few high-profile cases involved a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing.
A portrait of Westhusing written by T. Christian Miller for the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 (which I covered at the time) revealed that Westhusing, before putting a bullet through his head, had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.
His widow, asked by a friend what killed this West Point scholar, had replied simply: "Iraq."
Now, a new article reveals -- based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- that Westhusing's apparent suicide note included claims that his two commanders tolerated a mission based on "corruption, human right abuses and liars." One of those commanders: the new leader of the "surge" campaign in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.
Westhusing, 44, had been found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport in June 2005, a single gunshot wound to the head. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq. The Army concluded that he committed suicide with his service pistol. Westhusing was an unusual case: “one of the Army's leading scholars of military ethics, a full professor at West Point who volunteered to serve in Iraq to be able to better teach his students. He had a doctorate in philosophy; his dissertation was an extended meditation on the meaning of honor,” Miller explained in his L.A. Times piece.
”So it was only natural that Westhusing acted when he learned of possible corruption by U.S. contractors in Iraq. A few weeks before he died, Westhusing received an anonymous complaint that a private security company he oversaw had cheated the U.S. government and committed human rights violations. Westhusing confronted the contractor and reported the concerns to superiors, who launched an investigation.
”In e-mails to his family, Westhusing seemed especially upset by one conclusion he had reached: that traditional military values such as duty, honor and country had been replaced by profit motives in Iraq, where the U.S. had come to rely heavily on contractors for jobs once done by the military.”
His death followed quickly. "He was sick of money-grubbing contractors," one official recounted. Westhusing said that "he had not come over to Iraq for this." After a three-month inquiry, investigators declared Westhusing's death a suicide.
Now, nearly 18 months after Miller's article, The Texas Observer this month has published a cover story by contributor Robert Bryce titled "I Am Sullied No More." Bryce covers much of the same ground paved by Miller but adds details on the Petraeus angle.
"When he was in Iraq, Westhusing worked for one of the most famous generals in the U.S. military, David Petraeus," Bryce observes. "As the head of counterterrorism and special operations under Petraeus, Westhusing oversaw the single most important task facing the U.S. military in Iraq then and now: training the Iraqi security forces."
Bryce refers to a "two-inch stack of documents, obtained over the past 15 months under the Freedom of Information Act, that provides many details of Westhusing’s suicide. The pile includes interviews with Westhusing’s co-workers, diagrams of his sleeping quarters, interviews with his family members, and partially redacted reports from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and Inspector General.
"The documents echo the story told by Westhusing’s friends. 'Something he saw [in Iraq] drove him to this,' one Army officer who was close to Westhusing said in an interview. 'The sum of what he saw going on drove him' to take his own life. 'It’s because he believed in duty, honor, country that he’s dead.'"
In Iraq, Westhusing worked under two generals: Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, and Petraeus, then a lieutenant general. In a March 2005 e-mail, Petraeus told Westhusing that he had “already exceeded the very lofty expectations that all had for you.”
But Bryce continues: "By late May, Westhusing was becoming despondent over what he was seeing. Steeped in—and totally believing in—the West Point credo that a cadet will 'not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do,' Westhusing found himself surrounded by contractors who had no interest in his ideals. He asked family members to pray for him. In a phone call with his wife, Michelle, who was back at West Point, Westhusing told her he planned to tell Petraeus that he was going to quit. She pleaded with him to just finish his tour and return home."
When his body was found on June, a note was found nearby addressed to Petraeus and Fil. According to Bryce it read:
"Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more.
"Trust is essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it."
Twelve days after Westhusing’s body was found, Army investigators talked with his widow, Michelle, who told them: "The one thing I really wish is you guys to go to everyone listed in that letter and speak with them. I think Ted gave his life to let everyone know what was going on. They need to get to the bottom of it, and hope all these bad things get cleaned up.”
Bryce concludes:
"In September 2005, the Army’s inspector general concluded an investigation into allegations raised in the anonymous letter to Westhusing shortly before his death. It found no basis for any of the issues raised. Although the report is redacted in places, it is clear that the investigation was aimed at determining whether Fil or Petraeus had ignored the corruption and human rights abuses allegedly occurring within the training program for Iraqi security personnel. The report, approved by the Army’s vice chief of staff, four-star Gen. Richard Cody, concluded that 'commands and commanders operated in an Iraqi cultural and ethical environment often at odds with Western practices.' It said none of the unit members 'accepted institutional corruption or human rights abuses. Unit members, and specifically [redacted name] and [redacted name] took appropriate action where corruption or abuse was reported.'
"The context, placement and relative size of the redacted names strongly suggest that they refer to Petraeus and Fil.
"Last November, Fil returned to Iraq. He is now the commanding general of the Multinational Division in Baghdad and of the 1st Cavalry Division. On February 12, Petraeus took command of all U.S. forces in Iraq. He now wears four stars."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Day Promotes Plan for Boosting Military Health Care Standards
From the Lincoln County News
Story date: 03/28/2007
By Judi Finn
Barbara Damon Day of Newcastle left last week’s private meeting with Gov. John Baldacci jubilant. She approached Baldacci to ask if he would sponsor the bill she was promoting that, among other things, would link the Maine Center for Disease Control with the Maine National Guard to better track and communicate health concerns. The bill would create a state model for linkage that Damon hopes ultimately could lead to national legislation to have higher standards regarding all health issues in the military.
“He said he would sponsor it enthusiastically,” said Day.
Day’s son, 41-year-old Maine Army National Guard Capt. Patrick Damon of Falmouth, died June 15, 2006, in Afghanistan. Damon’s cause of death was listed as an apparent heart attack. The military categorizes his death as a sudden, unexpected death. Day contends it was a prolonged, preventable death. “Pat fell through the cracks,” she said, and Day wants to fill those cracks, so other soldiers don’t die because of an unknown reaction to a drug or vaccine, for example.
Her goal is to keep Maine soldiers safe from preventable, non-combat deaths. Day believes her son’s death was due to reactions to immunizations and medications, poor response time by emergency personnel and to the lack of medical equipment.
According to Day, the rough draft of the bill is still in the revision stage and will be turned over to a legislative committee, probably Legal and Veterans Affairs. If enacted, the new law would call for setting up an advisory commission that would hold at least one public hearing a year. This would be for the loved ones of dead service people or veterans with undiagnosed health problems, for example, who have questions. Day doesn’t want people “to have to jump through the hoops” she did to try to get answers about her son.
Damon continues to tenaciously research non-combat deaths in the military and drug and immunization reactions as a way to give credence to her belief that the status quo health care protocols in the military are substandard and deadly.
Her immediate focus is on the proposed bill. She said, “I want to line up people to testify before the Legal and Veterans Affairs.”
Day has become a familiar face at the State House, and many there knew her son well. He began working in state government in 1994 as a legislative aide in the House and worked for four Speakers as their aide. A Democrat, Day has met with both parties’ leadership and received bipartisan support for her efforts, she said. At the time of Damon’s death, he was on leave from his job as administrative director of the Public Utilities Commission.
Any veteran with a disability or a veteran who has not received help or family members of deceased service people willing to testify should contact Day at 586-5003.
Story date: 03/28/2007
By Judi Finn
Barbara Damon Day of Newcastle left last week’s private meeting with Gov. John Baldacci jubilant. She approached Baldacci to ask if he would sponsor the bill she was promoting that, among other things, would link the Maine Center for Disease Control with the Maine National Guard to better track and communicate health concerns. The bill would create a state model for linkage that Damon hopes ultimately could lead to national legislation to have higher standards regarding all health issues in the military.
“He said he would sponsor it enthusiastically,” said Day.
Day’s son, 41-year-old Maine Army National Guard Capt. Patrick Damon of Falmouth, died June 15, 2006, in Afghanistan. Damon’s cause of death was listed as an apparent heart attack. The military categorizes his death as a sudden, unexpected death. Day contends it was a prolonged, preventable death. “Pat fell through the cracks,” she said, and Day wants to fill those cracks, so other soldiers don’t die because of an unknown reaction to a drug or vaccine, for example.
Her goal is to keep Maine soldiers safe from preventable, non-combat deaths. Day believes her son’s death was due to reactions to immunizations and medications, poor response time by emergency personnel and to the lack of medical equipment.
According to Day, the rough draft of the bill is still in the revision stage and will be turned over to a legislative committee, probably Legal and Veterans Affairs. If enacted, the new law would call for setting up an advisory commission that would hold at least one public hearing a year. This would be for the loved ones of dead service people or veterans with undiagnosed health problems, for example, who have questions. Day doesn’t want people “to have to jump through the hoops” she did to try to get answers about her son.
Damon continues to tenaciously research non-combat deaths in the military and drug and immunization reactions as a way to give credence to her belief that the status quo health care protocols in the military are substandard and deadly.
Her immediate focus is on the proposed bill. She said, “I want to line up people to testify before the Legal and Veterans Affairs.”
Day has become a familiar face at the State House, and many there knew her son well. He began working in state government in 1994 as a legislative aide in the House and worked for four Speakers as their aide. A Democrat, Day has met with both parties’ leadership and received bipartisan support for her efforts, she said. At the time of Damon’s death, he was on leave from his job as administrative director of the Public Utilities Commission.
Any veteran with a disability or a veteran who has not received help or family members of deceased service people willing to testify should contact Day at 586-5003.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Pat Tillman's Death Investigation
Although Pat Tillman's death was a "combat death", it exemplifies the lies and cover-ups that families of "non-combat deaths" must deal with. While this may seem like an exaggerated case, I assure you that it is SOP (standard operating procedure).
Braveheart
Officer: Criminal conduct not found
Family calls report 'unsatisfactory,' denounces Pentagon for exploiting death
By Frank Davies and Julia Prodis Sulek, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Last Updated: 03/27/2007 02:31:50 AM PDT
WASHINGTON — A four-star general will determine what punishments await up to nine Army officers — including four other generals — who gave inaccurate or misleading information about the "friendly fire" death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the Pentagon's top leaders announced Monday.
Findings of two simultaneous investigations concluded Tillman, a former NFL star and San Jose native, was killed accidentally by other Rangers during a patrol in Afghanistan in 2004. But Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, head of Army criminal investigations, found no criminal conduct or cover-up in the shooting.
Thomas Gimble, however,acting inspector general of the Defense Department, concluded that individual officers made "critical errors" in handling and reporting Tillman's death and "had no reasonable explanation" for why they did not inform the family of how Tillman died until three weeks after a nationally televised memorial service in San Jose.
Punishment for those officers could include reprimands, demotions, dismissal from the Army or court martial trials for making false statements under oath.
Tillman's family, including his widow Marie and brother Kevin, who have been critical of the investigation, all gathered at an undisclosed location in San Jose on Monday to be debriefed on the reports. The lead investigators from each probe were sent to San Jose from Washington to explain the reports' findings.
In a statement released Monday night, Tillman's family called the report "unsatisfactory" and denounced the Pentagon for using Tillman and his family as "props ... in a public relations exercise."
Outside the small blue house in San Jose's New Almaden neighborhood, where Tillman grew up, TV trucks were parked out front.
Tillman received national attention — and a personal letter of thanks from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — when he gave up a lucrative pro football career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army with brother Kevin after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Army investigators refused to explain what motivated officers to mislead or withhold information about Tillman's death, but one of the investigations included a reference to the political sensitivity and celebrity of the case.
One week after the shooting, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of joint special operations, sent a message to top brass that it was "highly possible" that Tillman was killed by "friendly fire."
McChrystal told investigators that he sent that alert a few days before the memorial service to allow top generals "to warn the acting secretary of the Army and President of the United States about comments they might make in speeches to preclude embarrassment if the public found out friendly fire was involved."
McChrystal testified he assumed family members had been told that Tillman's death may have been caused by friendly fire. They hadn't.
Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, a now-retired three-star general who was in charge of Army special operations, also was criticized by investigators. Kensinger attended the May 3 memorial service.
"We found compelling evidence that Lt. Gen. Kensinger learned of suspected fratricide well before the memorial service and provided misleading testimony to both Brig. Gen. Gary Jones and to our investigators," the report found.
Kensinger testified "that he decided not to tell the Tillman family because friendly fire had not yet been confirmed, the investigation was not yet completed, and it was just 'not the right time' to do so."
Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army, said Monday the findings of the two investigations were sent immediately to Gen. William Wallace, a four-star former battlefield commander in Iraq, and he expected a swift review.
"It is important to the Tillman family, to our Army and to the American people that we resolve this matter as quickly as possible," Geren said in a Pentagon briefing. "Far too much time has passed in getting things right in this case."
Geren apologized to the Tillman family and acknowledged that the Army's handling of the case had eroded its standing: "We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can."
The four generals were named in the report, the other officers were not. The Army cited privacy concerns in their cases.
McChrystal is the highest current ranking officer criticized in the investigation. He was also blamed for "misleading statements" in the documents recommending a Silver Star for Tillman, as was Tillman's regimental commander, James Nixon, who is now a brigadier general at the Center for Special Operations in Florida.
The citation for the Silver Star cited Tillman's valor under hostile fire, and investigators said Monday that the Army rushed its procedures to be able to present the Silver Star to the family at the memorial service.
In Monday's statement, the Tillman family questioned the award, pointing out that before Pat, the Pentagon had never awarded a Silver Star to a soldier killed by friendly fire and "never fired upon by the enemy."
"The award of the Silver Star appears more than anything to be part of a cynical design to conceal the real events from the family and the public, while exploiting the death of our beloved Pat as a recruitment poster," the statement says.
Geren said an Army board had affirmed that Tillman earned the Silver Star with heroic action, but would modify the wording on the citation.
In the three years since the shooting, seven soldiers have been disciplined in the Tillman case, including the four Rangers who fired on him, thinking they were attacking enemy Afghan forces. At least two were demoted or forced out of the military.
Frank Davies can be reached at fdavies@mercurynews.com or (202) 662-8921.
Braveheart
Officer: Criminal conduct not found
Family calls report 'unsatisfactory,' denounces Pentagon for exploiting death
By Frank Davies and Julia Prodis Sulek, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Last Updated: 03/27/2007 02:31:50 AM PDT
WASHINGTON — A four-star general will determine what punishments await up to nine Army officers — including four other generals — who gave inaccurate or misleading information about the "friendly fire" death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the Pentagon's top leaders announced Monday.
Findings of two simultaneous investigations concluded Tillman, a former NFL star and San Jose native, was killed accidentally by other Rangers during a patrol in Afghanistan in 2004. But Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, head of Army criminal investigations, found no criminal conduct or cover-up in the shooting.
Thomas Gimble, however,acting inspector general of the Defense Department, concluded that individual officers made "critical errors" in handling and reporting Tillman's death and "had no reasonable explanation" for why they did not inform the family of how Tillman died until three weeks after a nationally televised memorial service in San Jose.
Punishment for those officers could include reprimands, demotions, dismissal from the Army or court martial trials for making false statements under oath.
Tillman's family, including his widow Marie and brother Kevin, who have been critical of the investigation, all gathered at an undisclosed location in San Jose on Monday to be debriefed on the reports. The lead investigators from each probe were sent to San Jose from Washington to explain the reports' findings.
In a statement released Monday night, Tillman's family called the report "unsatisfactory" and denounced the Pentagon for using Tillman and his family as "props ... in a public relations exercise."
Outside the small blue house in San Jose's New Almaden neighborhood, where Tillman grew up, TV trucks were parked out front.
Tillman received national attention — and a personal letter of thanks from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — when he gave up a lucrative pro football career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army with brother Kevin after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Army investigators refused to explain what motivated officers to mislead or withhold information about Tillman's death, but one of the investigations included a reference to the political sensitivity and celebrity of the case.
One week after the shooting, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of joint special operations, sent a message to top brass that it was "highly possible" that Tillman was killed by "friendly fire."
McChrystal told investigators that he sent that alert a few days before the memorial service to allow top generals "to warn the acting secretary of the Army and President of the United States about comments they might make in speeches to preclude embarrassment if the public found out friendly fire was involved."
McChrystal testified he assumed family members had been told that Tillman's death may have been caused by friendly fire. They hadn't.
Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, a now-retired three-star general who was in charge of Army special operations, also was criticized by investigators. Kensinger attended the May 3 memorial service.
"We found compelling evidence that Lt. Gen. Kensinger learned of suspected fratricide well before the memorial service and provided misleading testimony to both Brig. Gen. Gary Jones and to our investigators," the report found.
Kensinger testified "that he decided not to tell the Tillman family because friendly fire had not yet been confirmed, the investigation was not yet completed, and it was just 'not the right time' to do so."
Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army, said Monday the findings of the two investigations were sent immediately to Gen. William Wallace, a four-star former battlefield commander in Iraq, and he expected a swift review.
"It is important to the Tillman family, to our Army and to the American people that we resolve this matter as quickly as possible," Geren said in a Pentagon briefing. "Far too much time has passed in getting things right in this case."
Geren apologized to the Tillman family and acknowledged that the Army's handling of the case had eroded its standing: "We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can."
The four generals were named in the report, the other officers were not. The Army cited privacy concerns in their cases.
McChrystal is the highest current ranking officer criticized in the investigation. He was also blamed for "misleading statements" in the documents recommending a Silver Star for Tillman, as was Tillman's regimental commander, James Nixon, who is now a brigadier general at the Center for Special Operations in Florida.
The citation for the Silver Star cited Tillman's valor under hostile fire, and investigators said Monday that the Army rushed its procedures to be able to present the Silver Star to the family at the memorial service.
In Monday's statement, the Tillman family questioned the award, pointing out that before Pat, the Pentagon had never awarded a Silver Star to a soldier killed by friendly fire and "never fired upon by the enemy."
"The award of the Silver Star appears more than anything to be part of a cynical design to conceal the real events from the family and the public, while exploiting the death of our beloved Pat as a recruitment poster," the statement says.
Geren said an Army board had affirmed that Tillman earned the Silver Star with heroic action, but would modify the wording on the citation.
In the three years since the shooting, seven soldiers have been disciplined in the Tillman case, including the four Rangers who fired on him, thinking they were attacking enemy Afghan forces. At least two were demoted or forced out of the military.
Frank Davies can be reached at fdavies@mercurynews.com or (202) 662-8921.
Monday, March 26, 2007
I Am Sullied No More
March 09, 2007
I am Sullied-No More
Faced with the Iraq war's corruption, Col. Ted Westhusing chose death before dishonor.
--submitted by Patti Woodard
I am Sullied-No More
Faced with the Iraq war's corruption, Col. Ted Westhusing chose death before dishonor.
--submitted by Patti Woodard
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Army is Ordering Injured Troops to go to Iraq
This mostly talks about physical injuries, but we know (as one mentioned) there are many with psychiatric issues going back too. This is an investigative piece naming names.
The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq
At Fort Benning, soldiers who were classified as medically unfit to fight are now being sent to war. Is this an isolated incident or a trend?
By Mark Benjamin
Mar. 11, 2007
"This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear. "This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers," he said angrily. "If you are fit to fight you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight."
As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.
On Feb. 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's "physical profile," an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems -- from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to-five-second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny.
The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.
That is what worries Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, who has long been concerned that the military was pressing injured troops into Iraq. "Did they send anybody down range that cannot wear a helmet, that cannot wear body armor?" Robinson asked rhetorically. "Well that is wrong. It is a war zone." Robinson thinks that the possibility that physical profiles may have been altered improperly has the makings of a scandal. "My concerns are that this needs serious investigation. You cannot just look at somebody and tell that they were fit," he said. "It smacks of an overstretched military that is in crisis mode to get people onto the battlefield."
Eight soldiers who were at the Feb. 15 meeting say they were summoned to the troop medical clinic at 6:30 in the morning and lined up to meet with division surgeon Lt. Col. George Appenzeller, who had arrived from Fort Stewart, Ga., and Capt. Aaron K. Starbuck, brigade surgeon at Fort Benning. The soldiers described having a cursory discussion of their profiles, with no physical exam or extensive review of medical files. They say Appenzeller and Starbuck seemed focused on downplaying their physical problems. "This guy was changing people's profiles left and right," said a captain who injured his back during his last tour in Iraq and was ordered to Iraq after the Feb. 15 review.
Appenzeller said the review of 75 soldiers with profiles was an effort to make sure they were as accurate as possible prior to deployment. "As the division surgeon and the senior medical officer in the division, I wanted to ensure that all the patients with profiles were fully evaluated with clear limitations that commanders could use to make the decision whether they could deploy, and if they did deploy, what their limitations would be while there," he said in a telephone interview from Fort Stewart. He said he changed less than one-third of those profiles -- even making some more restrictive -- in order to "bring them into accordance with regulations."
In direct contradiction to the account given by the soldiers, Appenzeller said physical examinations were conducted and that he had a robust medical team there working with him, which is how they managed to complete 75 reviews in one day. Appenzeller denied that the plan was to find more warm bodies for the surge into Baghdad, as did Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., the brigade commander. Grigsby said he is under "no pressure" to find soldiers, regardless of health, to make his unit look fit. The health and welfare of his soldiers are a top priority, said Grigsby, because [the soldiers] are "our most important resource, perhaps the most important resource we have in this country."
Grigsby said he does not know how many injured soldiers are in his ranks. But he insisted that it is not unusual to deploy troops with physical limitations so long as he can place them in safe jobs when they get there. "They can be productive and safe in Iraq," Grigsby said.
The injured soldiers interviewed by Salon, however, expressed considerable worry about going to Iraq with physical deficits because it could endanger them or their fellow soldiers. Some were injured on previous combat tours. Some of their ills are painful conditions from training accidents or, among relatively older troops, degenerative problems like back injuries or blown-out knees. Some of the soldiers have been in the Army for decades.
And while Grigsby, the brigade commander, says he is under no pressure to find troops, it is hard to imagine there is not some desperation behind the decision to deploy some of the sick soldiers. Master Sgt. Jenkins, 42, has a degenerative spine problem and a long scar down the back of his neck where three of his vertebrae were fused during surgery. He takes a cornucopia of potent pain pills. His medical records say he is "at significantly increased risk of re-injury during deployment where he will be wearing Kevlar, body armor and traveling through rough terrain." Late last year, those medical records show, a doctor recommended that Jenkins be referred to an Army board that handles retirements when injuries are permanent and severe.
A copy of Jenkins' profile written after that Feb. 15 meeting and signed by Capt. Starbuck, the brigade surgeon, shows a healthier soldier than the profile of Jenkins written by another doctor just late last year, though Jenkins says his condition is unchanged. Other soldiers' documents show the same pattern.
One female soldier with psychiatric issues and a spine problem has been in the Army for nearly 20 years. "My [health] is deteriorating," she said over dinner at a restaurant near Fort Benning. "My spine is separating. I can't carry gear." Her medical records include the note "unable to deploy overseas." Her status was also reviewed on Feb. 15. And she has been ordered to Iraq this week.
The captain interviewed by Salon also requested anonymity because he fears retribution. He suffered a back injury during a previous deployment to Iraq as an infantry platoon leader. A Humvee accident "corkscrewed my spine," he explained. Like the female soldier, he is unable to wear his protective gear, and like her he too was ordered to Iraq after his meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon on Feb. 15. He is still at Fort Benning and is fighting the decision to send him to Baghdad. "It is a numbers issue with this whole troop surge," he claimed. "They are just trying to get those numbers."
Another soldier contacted Salon by telephone last week expressed considerable anxiety, in a frightened tone, about deploying to Iraq in her current condition. (She also wanted to remain anonymous, fearing retribution.) An incident during training several years ago injured her back, forcing doctors to remove part of her fractured coccyx. She suffers from degenerative disk disease and has two ruptured disks and a bulging disk in her back. While she said she loves the Army and would like to deploy after back surgery, her current injuries would limit her ability to wear her full protective gear. She deployed to Iraq last week, the day after calling Salon.
Her husband, who has served three combat tours in the infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he is worried sick because his wife's protective vest alone exceeds the maximum amount she is allowed to lift. "I have been over there three times. I know what it is like," he told me during lunch at a restaurant here. He predicted that by deploying people like his wife, the brigade leaders are "going to get somebody killed over there." He said there is "no way" Grigsby is going to keep all of the injured soldiers in safe jobs. "All of these people that deploy with these profiles, they are scared," he said. He railed at the command: "They are saying they don't care about your health. This is pathetic. It is bad."
His wife's physical profile was among those reevaluated on Feb. 15. A copy of her profile from late last year showed her health problems were so severe they "prevent deployment" and recommended she be medically retired from the Army. Her profile at that time showed she was unable to wear a protective mask and chemical defense equipment, and had limitations on doing pushups, walking, biking and swimming. It said she can only carry 15 pounds.
Though she says that her condition has not changed since then, almost all of those findings were reversed in a copy of her physical profile dated Feb. 15. The new profile says nothing about a medical retirement, but suggests that she limit wearing a helmet to "one hour at a time."
Spc. Lincoln Smith, meanwhile, developed sleep apnea after he returned from his first deployment to Iraq. The condition is so severe that he now suffers from narcolepsy because of a lack of sleep. He almost nodded off mid-conversation while talking to Salon as he sat in a T-shirt on a sofa in his girlfriend's apartment near Fort Benning.
Smith is trained by the Army to be a truck driver. But since he is in constant danger of falling asleep, military doctors have listed "No driving of military vehicles" on his physical profile. Smith was supposed to fly to Iraq March 9. But he told me on March 8 that he won't go. Nobody has retrained Smith to do anything else besides drive trucks. Plus, because of his condition he was unable to train properly with the unit when the brigade rehearsed for Iraq in January, so he does not feel ready.
Smith needs to sleep with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine pumping air into his mouth and nose. "Otherwise," he says, "I could die." But based on his last tour, he is not convinced he will be able to be in places with constant electricity or will be able to fix or replace his CPAP machine should it fail.
He told me last week he would refuse to deploy to Iraq, unsure of what he will be asked to do there and afraid that he will not be taken care of. Since he won't be a truck driver, "I would be going basically as a number," says Smith, who is 32. "They don't have enough people," he says. But he is not going to be one of those numbers until they train him to do something else. "I'm going to go to the airport, and I'm going to tell them I'm not going to go. They are going to give me a weapon. I am going to say, 'It is not a good idea for you to give me a weapon right now.'"
The Pentagon was notified of the reclassification of the Fort Benning soldiers as soon as it happened, according to Master Sgt. Jenkins. He showed Salon an e-mail describing the situation that he says he sent to Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley. Jenkins agreed to speak to Salon because he hopes public attention will help other soldiers, particularly younger ones in a similar predicament. "I can't sit back and let this happen to me or other soldiers in my position." But he expects reprisals from the Army.
Other soldiers slated to leave for Iraq with injuries said they wonder whether the same thing is happening in other units in the Army. "You have to ask where else this might be happening and who is dictating it," one female soldier told me. "How high does it go?"
-- By Mark Benjamin
http://www.salon.com/news/2007/03/11/fort_benning/?source=rss
--Submitted by Kathie Costos
The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq
At Fort Benning, soldiers who were classified as medically unfit to fight are now being sent to war. Is this an isolated incident or a trend?
By Mark Benjamin
Mar. 11, 2007
"This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear. "This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers," he said angrily. "If you are fit to fight you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight."
As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.
On Feb. 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's "physical profile," an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems -- from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to-five-second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny.
The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.
That is what worries Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, who has long been concerned that the military was pressing injured troops into Iraq. "Did they send anybody down range that cannot wear a helmet, that cannot wear body armor?" Robinson asked rhetorically. "Well that is wrong. It is a war zone." Robinson thinks that the possibility that physical profiles may have been altered improperly has the makings of a scandal. "My concerns are that this needs serious investigation. You cannot just look at somebody and tell that they were fit," he said. "It smacks of an overstretched military that is in crisis mode to get people onto the battlefield."
Eight soldiers who were at the Feb. 15 meeting say they were summoned to the troop medical clinic at 6:30 in the morning and lined up to meet with division surgeon Lt. Col. George Appenzeller, who had arrived from Fort Stewart, Ga., and Capt. Aaron K. Starbuck, brigade surgeon at Fort Benning. The soldiers described having a cursory discussion of their profiles, with no physical exam or extensive review of medical files. They say Appenzeller and Starbuck seemed focused on downplaying their physical problems. "This guy was changing people's profiles left and right," said a captain who injured his back during his last tour in Iraq and was ordered to Iraq after the Feb. 15 review.
Appenzeller said the review of 75 soldiers with profiles was an effort to make sure they were as accurate as possible prior to deployment. "As the division surgeon and the senior medical officer in the division, I wanted to ensure that all the patients with profiles were fully evaluated with clear limitations that commanders could use to make the decision whether they could deploy, and if they did deploy, what their limitations would be while there," he said in a telephone interview from Fort Stewart. He said he changed less than one-third of those profiles -- even making some more restrictive -- in order to "bring them into accordance with regulations."
In direct contradiction to the account given by the soldiers, Appenzeller said physical examinations were conducted and that he had a robust medical team there working with him, which is how they managed to complete 75 reviews in one day. Appenzeller denied that the plan was to find more warm bodies for the surge into Baghdad, as did Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., the brigade commander. Grigsby said he is under "no pressure" to find soldiers, regardless of health, to make his unit look fit. The health and welfare of his soldiers are a top priority, said Grigsby, because [the soldiers] are "our most important resource, perhaps the most important resource we have in this country."
Grigsby said he does not know how many injured soldiers are in his ranks. But he insisted that it is not unusual to deploy troops with physical limitations so long as he can place them in safe jobs when they get there. "They can be productive and safe in Iraq," Grigsby said.
The injured soldiers interviewed by Salon, however, expressed considerable worry about going to Iraq with physical deficits because it could endanger them or their fellow soldiers. Some were injured on previous combat tours. Some of their ills are painful conditions from training accidents or, among relatively older troops, degenerative problems like back injuries or blown-out knees. Some of the soldiers have been in the Army for decades.
And while Grigsby, the brigade commander, says he is under no pressure to find troops, it is hard to imagine there is not some desperation behind the decision to deploy some of the sick soldiers. Master Sgt. Jenkins, 42, has a degenerative spine problem and a long scar down the back of his neck where three of his vertebrae were fused during surgery. He takes a cornucopia of potent pain pills. His medical records say he is "at significantly increased risk of re-injury during deployment where he will be wearing Kevlar, body armor and traveling through rough terrain." Late last year, those medical records show, a doctor recommended that Jenkins be referred to an Army board that handles retirements when injuries are permanent and severe.
A copy of Jenkins' profile written after that Feb. 15 meeting and signed by Capt. Starbuck, the brigade surgeon, shows a healthier soldier than the profile of Jenkins written by another doctor just late last year, though Jenkins says his condition is unchanged. Other soldiers' documents show the same pattern.
One female soldier with psychiatric issues and a spine problem has been in the Army for nearly 20 years. "My [health] is deteriorating," she said over dinner at a restaurant near Fort Benning. "My spine is separating. I can't carry gear." Her medical records include the note "unable to deploy overseas." Her status was also reviewed on Feb. 15. And she has been ordered to Iraq this week.
The captain interviewed by Salon also requested anonymity because he fears retribution. He suffered a back injury during a previous deployment to Iraq as an infantry platoon leader. A Humvee accident "corkscrewed my spine," he explained. Like the female soldier, he is unable to wear his protective gear, and like her he too was ordered to Iraq after his meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon on Feb. 15. He is still at Fort Benning and is fighting the decision to send him to Baghdad. "It is a numbers issue with this whole troop surge," he claimed. "They are just trying to get those numbers."
Another soldier contacted Salon by telephone last week expressed considerable anxiety, in a frightened tone, about deploying to Iraq in her current condition. (She also wanted to remain anonymous, fearing retribution.) An incident during training several years ago injured her back, forcing doctors to remove part of her fractured coccyx. She suffers from degenerative disk disease and has two ruptured disks and a bulging disk in her back. While she said she loves the Army and would like to deploy after back surgery, her current injuries would limit her ability to wear her full protective gear. She deployed to Iraq last week, the day after calling Salon.
Her husband, who has served three combat tours in the infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he is worried sick because his wife's protective vest alone exceeds the maximum amount she is allowed to lift. "I have been over there three times. I know what it is like," he told me during lunch at a restaurant here. He predicted that by deploying people like his wife, the brigade leaders are "going to get somebody killed over there." He said there is "no way" Grigsby is going to keep all of the injured soldiers in safe jobs. "All of these people that deploy with these profiles, they are scared," he said. He railed at the command: "They are saying they don't care about your health. This is pathetic. It is bad."
His wife's physical profile was among those reevaluated on Feb. 15. A copy of her profile from late last year showed her health problems were so severe they "prevent deployment" and recommended she be medically retired from the Army. Her profile at that time showed she was unable to wear a protective mask and chemical defense equipment, and had limitations on doing pushups, walking, biking and swimming. It said she can only carry 15 pounds.
Though she says that her condition has not changed since then, almost all of those findings were reversed in a copy of her physical profile dated Feb. 15. The new profile says nothing about a medical retirement, but suggests that she limit wearing a helmet to "one hour at a time."
Spc. Lincoln Smith, meanwhile, developed sleep apnea after he returned from his first deployment to Iraq. The condition is so severe that he now suffers from narcolepsy because of a lack of sleep. He almost nodded off mid-conversation while talking to Salon as he sat in a T-shirt on a sofa in his girlfriend's apartment near Fort Benning.
Smith is trained by the Army to be a truck driver. But since he is in constant danger of falling asleep, military doctors have listed "No driving of military vehicles" on his physical profile. Smith was supposed to fly to Iraq March 9. But he told me on March 8 that he won't go. Nobody has retrained Smith to do anything else besides drive trucks. Plus, because of his condition he was unable to train properly with the unit when the brigade rehearsed for Iraq in January, so he does not feel ready.
Smith needs to sleep with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine pumping air into his mouth and nose. "Otherwise," he says, "I could die." But based on his last tour, he is not convinced he will be able to be in places with constant electricity or will be able to fix or replace his CPAP machine should it fail.
He told me last week he would refuse to deploy to Iraq, unsure of what he will be asked to do there and afraid that he will not be taken care of. Since he won't be a truck driver, "I would be going basically as a number," says Smith, who is 32. "They don't have enough people," he says. But he is not going to be one of those numbers until they train him to do something else. "I'm going to go to the airport, and I'm going to tell them I'm not going to go. They are going to give me a weapon. I am going to say, 'It is not a good idea for you to give me a weapon right now.'"
The Pentagon was notified of the reclassification of the Fort Benning soldiers as soon as it happened, according to Master Sgt. Jenkins. He showed Salon an e-mail describing the situation that he says he sent to Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley. Jenkins agreed to speak to Salon because he hopes public attention will help other soldiers, particularly younger ones in a similar predicament. "I can't sit back and let this happen to me or other soldiers in my position." But he expects reprisals from the Army.
Other soldiers slated to leave for Iraq with injuries said they wonder whether the same thing is happening in other units in the Army. "You have to ask where else this might be happening and who is dictating it," one female soldier told me. "How high does it go?"
-- By Mark Benjamin
http://www.salon.com/news/2007/03/11/fort_benning/?source=rss
--Submitted by Kathie Costos
From the New York Times
March 13, 2007
For U.S. Troops at War, Liquor Is Spur to Crime
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
In May 2004, Specialist Justin J. Lillis got drunk on what he called “hajji juice,” a clear Iraqi moonshine smuggled onto an Army base in Balad, Iraq, by civilian contractors, and began taking potshots with his M-16 service rifle.
“He shot up some contractor’s rental car,” said Phil Cave, a lawyer for Specialist Lillis, 24. “He hopped in a Humvee, drove around and shot up some more things. He shot into a housing area” and at soldiers guarding the base entrance.
Six months later, at an Army base near Baghdad, after a night of drinking an illegal stash of whiskey and gin, Specialist Chris Rolan of the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division, pulled his 9mm service pistol on another soldier and shot him dead.
And in March 2006, in perhaps the most gruesome crime committed by American troops in Iraq, a group of 101st Airborne Division soldiers stationed in Mahmudiya raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killed her and her family after drinking several cans of locally made whiskey supplied by Iraqi Army soldiers, military prosecutors said.
Alcohol, strictly forbidden by the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan, is involved in a growing number of crimes committed by troops deployed to those countries. Alcohol- and drug-related charges were involved in more than a third of all Army criminal prosecutions of soldiers in the two war zones — 240 of the 665 cases resulting in convictions, according to records obtained by The New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Seventy-three of those 240 cases involve some of the most serious crimes committed, including murder, rape, armed robbery and assault. Sex crimes accounted for 12 of the convictions.
The 240 cases involved a roughly equal number of drug and alcohol offenses, although alcohol-related crimes have increased each year since 2004.
Despite the military’s ban on all alcoholic beverages — and strict Islamic prohibitions against drinking and drug use — liquor is cheap and ever easier to find for soldiers looking to self-medicate the effects of combat stress, depression or the frustrations of extended deployments, said military defense lawyers, commanders and doctors who treat soldiers’ emotional problems.
“It’s clear that we’ve got a lot of significant alcohol problems that are pervasive across the military,” said Dr. Thomas R. Kosten, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston. He traces their drinking and drug use to the stress of working in a war zone. “The treatment that they take for it is the same treatment that they took after Vietnam,” Dr. Kosten said. “They turn to alcohol and drugs.”
The use of alcohol and drugs in war zones appears to reflect a broader trend toward heavier and more frequent drinking among all military personnel, but especially in the Army and Marine Corps, the two services doing most of the fighting, Pentagon officials and military health experts said.
A Pentagon health study released in January, for instance, found that the rate of binge drinking in the Army shot up by 30 percent from 2002 to 2005, and “may signal an increasing pattern of heavy alcohol use in the Army.”
While average rates of alcohol consumption in the Navy and Air Force have steadily declined since 1980, the year the military’s health survey began, they have significantly increased in the Army and Marine Corps and exceed civilian rates, the Pentagon study showed. For the first time since 1985, more than a quarter of all Army members surveyed said they regularly drink heavily, defined as having five or more drinks at one sitting.
The rate of illicit drug use also increased among military members in 2005, to an estimated 5 percent, nearly double the rate measured in 1998, a trend that the study called “cause for concern.”
The study also found other health problems in the military, from the growing popularity of chewing tobacco to a 20 percent increase during the past decade in service members who are considered overweight.
Lynn Pahland, a director in the Pentagon’s Health Affairs office, said the rising rates of heavy drinking and illegal drug use among active-duty military personnel are particularly troubling inside the Defense Department. “It is very serious,” Ms. Pahland said in an interview. “It is a huge concern.”
In the military, seeking help for psychological problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, is considered a taboo, especially among officers competing for promotions. Several officers interviewed for this article said the Pentagon was not doing enough to reduce that stigma.
Though the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars on several initiatives to reverse the trend, including a new Web site that deglamorizes drinking, financing to combat alcohol abuse has fallen over time, a Pentagon spokesman said. Spending on programs to reduce alcohol abuse, smoking and obesity dropped to $7.74 million in the current fiscal year from $12.6 million in fiscal year 2005 — a 39 percent decline.
Some military doctors and other mental health experts said the Army’s greater use of so-called moral waivers, which allow recruits with criminal records to enlist, may also be a factor in the increased drug and alcohol use.
Getting liquor or drugs in Iraq is not difficult. One of the most common ways to smuggle in brand name gin or clear rum is in bottles of mouthwash sent from friends back home, soldiers said. Blue or yellow food coloring makes the liquid look medicinal. Some Army medics have been known to fill intravenous fluid bags with vodka, Army officers said.
In Iraq, liquor of a distinctly more dubious quality can be purchased from Iraqi Army soldiers or civilian contractors working on American bases, and Iraqi soldiers have sold locally produced prescription drugs to American troops for a tidy profit.
Commanders have not always regarded drinking as a problem. The Army “was a culture in the 1970s that encouraged drinking,” said a retired Army colonel. “You’d go out drinking together and you’d find your buddy hugging the toilet at the officer’s club and think nothing of it.”
Command tolerance for such behavior began changing in the 1980s, and by the 1990s, “if you had more than a couple drinks at the club, people started looking at you strange,” the retired colonel said.
But at a time when the military is fighting two major ground wars, the often serious consequences of heavy drinking has emerged with increasing clarity as more troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems, military officials and mental health experts said.
“I think the real story here is in the suicide and stress, and the drinking is just a symptom of it,” said Charles P. O’Brien, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who served as a Navy doctor during the Vietnam War. There is a high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq veterans, he said, adding that “there’s been a lot of suicide in the active-duty servicemen.”
More than 90 percent of sex crimes prosecuted by the military involve alcohol abuse, defense lawyers and military doctors said. Roughly half of the marines charged with crimes in Iraq exhibit clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a Marine defense lawyer said.
“They turn to alcohol and drugs for an escape,” he said.
The health study released in January was produced for the Pentagon by RTI International, a nonprofit research organization. Robert M. Bray, the group’s project director, first agreed to be interviewed for this article but later declined after a Defense Department spokesman said he was not available to comment.
In the past two years, though, top military officials have begun talking publicly about the danger that excessive drinking among the troops.
In 2005, the Army’s deputy chief of staff at the time, Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck, wrote in an editorial in a magazine for Army leaders that the rising rate of heavy drinking and drug use “seriously impacts mission readiness.”
General Hagenbeck, now the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, said more than half of soldiers discharged for misconduct had also been disciplined for drug or alcohol use within the previous year.
“When one soldier has an alcohol or other drug incident, it impacts the whole unit,” General Hagenbeck wrote.
That kind of ripple effect has played out repeatedly in Iraq, military defense lawyers said, as soldiers who drink or use drugs commit crimes and hinder their unit’s combat and support missions.
Specialist Lillis, for example, was given a bad conduct discharge and sentenced to 10 years in prison as punishment for his drunken shooting spree; he is in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. A military judge sentenced Specialist Rolan, who testified that he drank to relieve depression in Iraq, to 33 years in prison for killing a fellow soldier.
Two of the soldiers charged in the Mahmudiya case pleaded guilty to murder, and a former Army private described as the ringleader, Steven D. Green, is awaiting trial for rape and murder in a federal district court.
Last year, the Pentagon spent $2 million to initiate its “That Guy” campaign, (http://www.thatguy.com/), which recommends that service members “reject binge drinking because it detracts from the things they care about: family, friends, dating, sex, money and reputation.”
The Pentagon is poised to launch another Web-based antidrinking campaign this summer.
Capt. Robert DeMartino, a doctor with the United States Health Service who is coordinating the project, said the hope is that service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will use the site to find help coping with post-deployment problems, including alcohol dependency.
Andrew Lehren contributed reporting.
For U.S. Troops at War, Liquor Is Spur to Crime
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
In May 2004, Specialist Justin J. Lillis got drunk on what he called “hajji juice,” a clear Iraqi moonshine smuggled onto an Army base in Balad, Iraq, by civilian contractors, and began taking potshots with his M-16 service rifle.
“He shot up some contractor’s rental car,” said Phil Cave, a lawyer for Specialist Lillis, 24. “He hopped in a Humvee, drove around and shot up some more things. He shot into a housing area” and at soldiers guarding the base entrance.
Six months later, at an Army base near Baghdad, after a night of drinking an illegal stash of whiskey and gin, Specialist Chris Rolan of the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division, pulled his 9mm service pistol on another soldier and shot him dead.
And in March 2006, in perhaps the most gruesome crime committed by American troops in Iraq, a group of 101st Airborne Division soldiers stationed in Mahmudiya raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killed her and her family after drinking several cans of locally made whiskey supplied by Iraqi Army soldiers, military prosecutors said.
Alcohol, strictly forbidden by the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan, is involved in a growing number of crimes committed by troops deployed to those countries. Alcohol- and drug-related charges were involved in more than a third of all Army criminal prosecutions of soldiers in the two war zones — 240 of the 665 cases resulting in convictions, according to records obtained by The New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Seventy-three of those 240 cases involve some of the most serious crimes committed, including murder, rape, armed robbery and assault. Sex crimes accounted for 12 of the convictions.
The 240 cases involved a roughly equal number of drug and alcohol offenses, although alcohol-related crimes have increased each year since 2004.
Despite the military’s ban on all alcoholic beverages — and strict Islamic prohibitions against drinking and drug use — liquor is cheap and ever easier to find for soldiers looking to self-medicate the effects of combat stress, depression or the frustrations of extended deployments, said military defense lawyers, commanders and doctors who treat soldiers’ emotional problems.
“It’s clear that we’ve got a lot of significant alcohol problems that are pervasive across the military,” said Dr. Thomas R. Kosten, a psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston. He traces their drinking and drug use to the stress of working in a war zone. “The treatment that they take for it is the same treatment that they took after Vietnam,” Dr. Kosten said. “They turn to alcohol and drugs.”
The use of alcohol and drugs in war zones appears to reflect a broader trend toward heavier and more frequent drinking among all military personnel, but especially in the Army and Marine Corps, the two services doing most of the fighting, Pentagon officials and military health experts said.
A Pentagon health study released in January, for instance, found that the rate of binge drinking in the Army shot up by 30 percent from 2002 to 2005, and “may signal an increasing pattern of heavy alcohol use in the Army.”
While average rates of alcohol consumption in the Navy and Air Force have steadily declined since 1980, the year the military’s health survey began, they have significantly increased in the Army and Marine Corps and exceed civilian rates, the Pentagon study showed. For the first time since 1985, more than a quarter of all Army members surveyed said they regularly drink heavily, defined as having five or more drinks at one sitting.
The rate of illicit drug use also increased among military members in 2005, to an estimated 5 percent, nearly double the rate measured in 1998, a trend that the study called “cause for concern.”
The study also found other health problems in the military, from the growing popularity of chewing tobacco to a 20 percent increase during the past decade in service members who are considered overweight.
Lynn Pahland, a director in the Pentagon’s Health Affairs office, said the rising rates of heavy drinking and illegal drug use among active-duty military personnel are particularly troubling inside the Defense Department. “It is very serious,” Ms. Pahland said in an interview. “It is a huge concern.”
In the military, seeking help for psychological problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, is considered a taboo, especially among officers competing for promotions. Several officers interviewed for this article said the Pentagon was not doing enough to reduce that stigma.
Though the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars on several initiatives to reverse the trend, including a new Web site that deglamorizes drinking, financing to combat alcohol abuse has fallen over time, a Pentagon spokesman said. Spending on programs to reduce alcohol abuse, smoking and obesity dropped to $7.74 million in the current fiscal year from $12.6 million in fiscal year 2005 — a 39 percent decline.
Some military doctors and other mental health experts said the Army’s greater use of so-called moral waivers, which allow recruits with criminal records to enlist, may also be a factor in the increased drug and alcohol use.
Getting liquor or drugs in Iraq is not difficult. One of the most common ways to smuggle in brand name gin or clear rum is in bottles of mouthwash sent from friends back home, soldiers said. Blue or yellow food coloring makes the liquid look medicinal. Some Army medics have been known to fill intravenous fluid bags with vodka, Army officers said.
In Iraq, liquor of a distinctly more dubious quality can be purchased from Iraqi Army soldiers or civilian contractors working on American bases, and Iraqi soldiers have sold locally produced prescription drugs to American troops for a tidy profit.
Commanders have not always regarded drinking as a problem. The Army “was a culture in the 1970s that encouraged drinking,” said a retired Army colonel. “You’d go out drinking together and you’d find your buddy hugging the toilet at the officer’s club and think nothing of it.”
Command tolerance for such behavior began changing in the 1980s, and by the 1990s, “if you had more than a couple drinks at the club, people started looking at you strange,” the retired colonel said.
But at a time when the military is fighting two major ground wars, the often serious consequences of heavy drinking has emerged with increasing clarity as more troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems, military officials and mental health experts said.
“I think the real story here is in the suicide and stress, and the drinking is just a symptom of it,” said Charles P. O’Brien, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who served as a Navy doctor during the Vietnam War. There is a high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among Iraq veterans, he said, adding that “there’s been a lot of suicide in the active-duty servicemen.”
More than 90 percent of sex crimes prosecuted by the military involve alcohol abuse, defense lawyers and military doctors said. Roughly half of the marines charged with crimes in Iraq exhibit clear signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a Marine defense lawyer said.
“They turn to alcohol and drugs for an escape,” he said.
The health study released in January was produced for the Pentagon by RTI International, a nonprofit research organization. Robert M. Bray, the group’s project director, first agreed to be interviewed for this article but later declined after a Defense Department spokesman said he was not available to comment.
In the past two years, though, top military officials have begun talking publicly about the danger that excessive drinking among the troops.
In 2005, the Army’s deputy chief of staff at the time, Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck, wrote in an editorial in a magazine for Army leaders that the rising rate of heavy drinking and drug use “seriously impacts mission readiness.”
General Hagenbeck, now the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, said more than half of soldiers discharged for misconduct had also been disciplined for drug or alcohol use within the previous year.
“When one soldier has an alcohol or other drug incident, it impacts the whole unit,” General Hagenbeck wrote.
That kind of ripple effect has played out repeatedly in Iraq, military defense lawyers said, as soldiers who drink or use drugs commit crimes and hinder their unit’s combat and support missions.
Specialist Lillis, for example, was given a bad conduct discharge and sentenced to 10 years in prison as punishment for his drunken shooting spree; he is in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. A military judge sentenced Specialist Rolan, who testified that he drank to relieve depression in Iraq, to 33 years in prison for killing a fellow soldier.
Two of the soldiers charged in the Mahmudiya case pleaded guilty to murder, and a former Army private described as the ringleader, Steven D. Green, is awaiting trial for rape and murder in a federal district court.
Last year, the Pentagon spent $2 million to initiate its “That Guy” campaign, (http://www.thatguy.com/), which recommends that service members “reject binge drinking because it detracts from the things they care about: family, friends, dating, sex, money and reputation.”
The Pentagon is poised to launch another Web-based antidrinking campaign this summer.
Capt. Robert DeMartino, a doctor with the United States Health Service who is coordinating the project, said the hope is that service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will use the site to find help coping with post-deployment problems, including alcohol dependency.
Andrew Lehren contributed reporting.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Independent Review Group Announces Public Meeting
March 09, 2007
Independent Review Group Announces Public Meeting
The Independent Review Group (IRG) recently established by the Secretary of Defense to identify shortfalls in rehabilitative care and administrative processes at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), will sponsor public meetings next week at WRAMC on March 13, and at NNMC on March 14. Locations for these meetings are the Joel Auditorium in building 2 at WRAMC and the Clark Auditorium, building 10 at NNMC; both meetings will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Members of the IRG will be available to speak with the media at the conclusion of meetings both days.
Details regarding how patients and family members may offer comments appear on the IRG website, www.ha.osd.mil/dhb/irg. Patients and family members may provide their experiences and insights via the Internet and may do so anonymously if they choose.
The IRG has arranged an IRG Hotline that can be accessed by dialing, 1-866-268-2285. Comments submitted via telephone also may be anonymous. IRG members or staff will not be on the line when patients provide comments, however, comments will be recorded and reviewed by the IRG staff throughout the day. These two sources for providing information to the IRG will continue in operation for the duration of the IRG, April 16, 2007.
Media interested in attending the public meetings at WRAMC should email, http://www.defenselink.mil/advisories/mailto:WRAMCpublicaffairs@amedd.army.mil, and phone, (202) 782-8474. Media interested in attending the public meeting at NNMC should phone, (301) 295-5727. There will be a media opportunity following the public meetings. Vehicle make and model, license plate number, and photo identification will be required when entering the installation.
Independent Review Group Announces Public Meeting
The Independent Review Group (IRG) recently established by the Secretary of Defense to identify shortfalls in rehabilitative care and administrative processes at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), will sponsor public meetings next week at WRAMC on March 13, and at NNMC on March 14. Locations for these meetings are the Joel Auditorium in building 2 at WRAMC and the Clark Auditorium, building 10 at NNMC; both meetings will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Members of the IRG will be available to speak with the media at the conclusion of meetings both days.
Details regarding how patients and family members may offer comments appear on the IRG website, www.ha.osd.mil/dhb/irg. Patients and family members may provide their experiences and insights via the Internet and may do so anonymously if they choose.
The IRG has arranged an IRG Hotline that can be accessed by dialing, 1-866-268-2285. Comments submitted via telephone also may be anonymous. IRG members or staff will not be on the line when patients provide comments, however, comments will be recorded and reviewed by the IRG staff throughout the day. These two sources for providing information to the IRG will continue in operation for the duration of the IRG, April 16, 2007.
Media interested in attending the public meetings at WRAMC should email, http://www.defenselink.mil/advisories/mailto:WRAMCpublicaffairs@amedd.army.mil, and phone, (202) 782-8474. Media interested in attending the public meeting at NNMC should phone, (301) 295-5727. There will be a media opportunity following the public meetings. Vehicle make and model, license plate number, and photo identification will be required when entering the installation.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Walter Reed Debacle
The "outrage" over conditions at Walter Reed isn't ringing true for me. Of course, Army officials knew about the way veterans are being treated within the system. Salon published an article a year ago, but it didn't have the visibility of the most recent series. So, heads are rolling, numerous articles and interviews are being aired, but we all know that the attention span of the American public, and especially our politicians, is short. They'll get as much mileage out of their "outrage" as possible and then move on to other things.
The next perceived crisis or event or whatever will turn the public's attention elsewhere and the injustice will continue.
This is clear to all the families of victims of uninvestigated non-combat deaths. We get the limited attention of politicians, but nothing is ever done to right the wrongs. Even major articles about the problem of uninvestigated non-combat deaths, as poignant and fact-filled as they are, have had only limited effect on reform of the military.
Military personnel are used, abused, and thrown to the side of the street in America. Like trash. Once they are no longer useful, they are forgotten.
Paul Krugman, in today's New York Times, wrote an editorial called, "Valor and Squalor" about the Walter Reed debacle. It is a "Times Select" article, so I will not paste it in its entirety. Here is an excerpt:
The redoubtable Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform, points out that IAP Worldwide Services, a company run by
two former Halliburton executives, received a large contract to run Walter Reed
under suspicious circumstances: the Army reversed the results of an audit
concluding that government employees could do the job more cheaply.
And Mr. Waxman, who will be holding a hearing on the issue today, appears to have solid
evidence, including an internal Walter Reed memo from last year, that the
prospect of privatization led to a FEMA-type exodus of skilled personnel.
The next perceived crisis or event or whatever will turn the public's attention elsewhere and the injustice will continue.
This is clear to all the families of victims of uninvestigated non-combat deaths. We get the limited attention of politicians, but nothing is ever done to right the wrongs. Even major articles about the problem of uninvestigated non-combat deaths, as poignant and fact-filled as they are, have had only limited effect on reform of the military.
Military personnel are used, abused, and thrown to the side of the street in America. Like trash. Once they are no longer useful, they are forgotten.
Paul Krugman, in today's New York Times, wrote an editorial called, "Valor and Squalor" about the Walter Reed debacle. It is a "Times Select" article, so I will not paste it in its entirety. Here is an excerpt:
The redoubtable Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform, points out that IAP Worldwide Services, a company run by
two former Halliburton executives, received a large contract to run Walter Reed
under suspicious circumstances: the Army reversed the results of an audit
concluding that government employees could do the job more cheaply.
And Mr. Waxman, who will be holding a hearing on the issue today, appears to have solid
evidence, including an internal Walter Reed memo from last year, that the
prospect of privatization led to a FEMA-type exodus of skilled personnel.
You may be able to pick up a paper copy of the NY Times if you don't subscribe online. I am planning to listen as much as I can to today's hearings.
--submitted by Braveheart
Thursday, March 01, 2007
More on Walter Reed from The Army Times
Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 20:26:13 EST
Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.
“Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.
Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6 p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.
They were also told they would be moving out of Building 18 to Building 14 within the next couple of weeks. Building 14 is a barracks that houses the administrative offices for the Medical Hold Unit and was renovated in 2006. It’s also located on the Walter Reed Campus, where reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel. Building 18 is located just off campus and is easy to access.
The soldiers said they were also told their first sergeant has been relieved of duty, and that all of their platoon sergeants have been moved to other positions at Walter Reed. And 120 permanent-duty soldiers are expected to arrive by mid-March to take control of the Medical Hold Unit, the soldiers said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Army public affairs did not respond to a request sent Sunday evening to verify the personnel changes.
The Pentagon also clamped down on media coverage of any and all Defense Department medical facilities, to include suspending planned projects by CNN and the Discovery Channel, saying in an e-mail to spokespeople: “It will be in most cases not appropriate to engage the media while this review takes place,” referring to an investigation of the problems at Walter Reed.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 20:26:13 EST
Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.
“Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.
Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6 p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.
They were also told they would be moving out of Building 18 to Building 14 within the next couple of weeks. Building 14 is a barracks that houses the administrative offices for the Medical Hold Unit and was renovated in 2006. It’s also located on the Walter Reed Campus, where reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel. Building 18 is located just off campus and is easy to access.
The soldiers said they were also told their first sergeant has been relieved of duty, and that all of their platoon sergeants have been moved to other positions at Walter Reed. And 120 permanent-duty soldiers are expected to arrive by mid-March to take control of the Medical Hold Unit, the soldiers said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Army public affairs did not respond to a request sent Sunday evening to verify the personnel changes.
The Pentagon also clamped down on media coverage of any and all Defense Department medical facilities, to include suspending planned projects by CNN and the Discovery Channel, saying in an e-mail to spokespeople: “It will be in most cases not appropriate to engage the media while this review takes place,” referring to an investigation of the problems at Walter Reed.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Murder Charge in Non-combat Death
Posted: Friday, February 23rd, 2007 5:14 AM HST
Hickam airman charged with fellow airman's shooting death
By Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) _ A Hawaii-based airman has been charged with the shooting death of a fellow Hickam airman in Iraq last year.
A military charge sheet says Airman First Class Kyle Dalton shot Airman First Class Carl Ware Junior with a nine-millimeter pistol.
Military officials say Dalton will face a court-martial on April 23rd at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Few details, including a motive, have been revealed about the shooting.
The military first reported the death as a non-combat related incident. Ware, who was 22 years old, was married to Senior Airman Christine Ware, also of Hickam Air Force Base. The couple have a one-year-old daughter, Caitlyn.
From the Air Force Times:
A1C accused of killing fellow airman in Iraq
By Erik Holmes - staff writerPosted : Saturday Feb 24, 2007 6:16:36 EST
Airman 1st Class Carl J. Ware Jr. was to return from his six-month deployment to Iraq in time — if barely — for the birth of their second daughter in January. Instead, Carl Ware came home months early in a flag-draped casket, the victim of an alleged fratricide July 1 at the hands of his roommate, friend and squadron-mate at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.
Carl and Christine Ware were relative newlyweds, and they weren’t inclined to make plans beyond getting ready for the new baby.
After all, they were only 22 years old and assumed they had all the time in the world to think about the future.
“Our only plan was to get a new vacuum when he got home,” said Christine Ware, a former airman. “The only thing we knew was that we wanted to come home [to Delaware] on vacation to have the baby.”
Airman 1st Class Kyle J. Dalton, like Ware a member of the 15th Security Forces Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, faces court-martial on charges of murder, assault and wrongfully drawing or aiming a firearm after allegedly shooting and killing Ware with a 9mm handgun. The Air Force declined to release Dalton’s age and hometown, citing privacy concerns.
Dalton’s court-martial is scheduled to begin April 23 at Langley Air Force Base, Va.; if convicted, he will face life in prison, a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
Dalton, who has been in the Air Force since July 2003, is not in pretrial confinement, but he remains in Southwest Asia at an undisclosed base. A Central Command Air Forces spokesman declined to say where Dalton is stationed, citing “host nation sensitivities.”
His tour was extended so he could be closer to his defense counsel, Capt. Jason Robertson, who is at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
Dalton and Ware deployed in May with the 886th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron to Camp Bucca, an Army detention facility for captured enemy fighters.
The Air Force Safety Center originally said in July that Ware’s death was the result of an accidental discharge while another airman was cleaning a weapon.
Christine Ware, who now lives in Glassboro, N.J., said it didn’t become clear until months later that the incident was being treated as a murder. But she said she was suspicious from the beginning.
“I personally don’t believe it was an accident,” she said. “I never thought that’s what happened in the first place.”
Ware’s parents, Carl and Rosalie Ware of Dinuba, Calif., said the Air Force told them in November that it was time “to stop referring to Carl’s death as an accident.”
Charges were filed Nov. 30, and Dalton had an Article 32 hearing — roughly equivalent to a civilian grand jury proceeding — Dec. 20 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. Neither Dalton’s attorney nor the prosecuting attorney responded to requests for comment.
The chain of events alleged by the Air Force is still unclear. CentAF has refused to release signed summaries of the statements made by witnesses at the Article 32 hearing, despite the fact that the hearing was open to the public. A CentAF spokesman said the summaries are not releasable because making them public could prejudice the court-martial.
Christine Ware, now 23, said even she does not have the full story of the allegations because the Air Force has not provided her with the investigation report. She filed a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act.
She declined to reveal all the details of what she has heard about the events.
“I don’t want to compromise anything that’s going to happen,” she said, referring to the trial.
Ware and Dalton met at Hickam in early 2006, Christine Ware said, but they were only acquaintances while in Hawaii.
Members of the 15th Security Forces Squadron form a tight-knit group and hang out together socially, but Dalton had been at Hickam only since January 2006 and the men were assigned to different flights, so they didn’t know each other well.
Christine Ware has met Dalton twice, both times at barbecues thrown at the Wares’ home in Hawaii. “He was nice,” she said. “He didn’t seem like he was capable of killing someone.”
Another member of their squadron who trained in Texas and then deployed with Ware and Dalton said the two seemed to get along well. The source asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to reporters.
The men were friends and shared common interests such as video games, the source said.
“To my knowledge there was never any friction between Airman Ware and Airman Dalton,” the source said.
“They never expressed any displeasure toward each other. They were actually very good friends, from what I could see.”
How this friendship allegedly disintegrated into a shooting death and murder charge is unknown.
What is clear from documents released by the Air Force is that there were at least two, and possibly three, separate incidents during a one-month period in which Dalton allegedly brandished a firearm toward Ware.
The first and second, for which Dalton has been charged with assault, occurred around June 1 and June 30, according to Air Force documents.
Christine Ware, who said she just recently learned of those incidents, told Air Force Times that Dalton allegedly pointed a loaded firearm at the feet of Ware and another airman. The other airman, according to the documents, was Airman 1st Class Ryan J. Gasper, also of the 15th Security Forces Squadron. Gasper, who has returned to his unit in Hawaii, said he does not want to discuss the incidents until after Dalton’s trial.
About 3 p.m. July 1, Dalton shot Ware in the chest with a 9mm handgun while the men were in their shared dorm room, authorities said. It is unclear whether the murder charge and the second assault charge are related to the same incident, and a CentAF spokesman was unable to clarify.
The charge sheet released by the Air Force originally listed both incidents as occurring on July 1, but someone then crossed out that date regarding the second assault charge and changed it to June 30.
Ware’s father, Carl Ware Sr., said that medics on the scene did all they could to save his son.
“It appears that … the bullet wound caused such massive injury initially that there just wasn’t much they could do,” he said.
Christine Ware said she does not know what the motive for the alleged murder was, but she hopes to get more information when Air Force lawyers brief her in the coming weeks. She also hopes to learn more about a possible motive at the trial, which she plans to attend.
“I have, like, 18 different stories on how it happened,” Christine Ware said, “but not so much why it happened.”
Christine Ware is an amiable young mother of two who laughs easily and often, despite losing her husband eight months ago.
She and Carl had been together since they were 14 years old, and she was drawn to his ability to use humor to put others at ease.
“He always made a joke out of the situation, whatever it was,” she said. “No matter what was going on, he was always calm, and he was able to make a bad situation better.”
The couple married at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, in January 2003 after Christine finished Air Force basic military training. Carl enlisted in the service about a year later.
Their first daughter, Caitlyn, was born in July 2005, and their second daughter, Carly, was born Jan. 5. Carl was scheduled to return from Iraq a couple weeks before Carly’s birth, and the Wares were planning a trip to Delaware and New Jersey to have the baby.
Carl’s relationship with his parents was strained, and Christine said the couple regarded David and Barbara Stutzbach of Glassboro, N.J., as their closest family.
Carl lived with the Stutzbachs, his legal guardians, after his family went to California when he was 14.
David Stutzbach served 20 years as an aircraft crew chief in the Air Force, retiring as a master sergeant in 2001. Christine said Carl joined the Air Force in part because he wanted to follow in his guardian’s footsteps and in part because he was interested in police work. “He’s always wanted to be a military police officer,” she said. “He was going to apply to K-9 after he got back from Iraq.”
One of Carl’s favorite hobbies, Christine said, was playing poker with friends. She said the same skills that made him a good poker player also made him a good cop.
“He knew how to read people really well,” she said. “I think it helped him out a lot, because he was able to tell who was lying and who was telling the truth when he interviewed them.”
Despite the seriousness of police work, Christine said, Carl was known in the squadron as something of a class clown.
“He was a jokester at work,” she said, “but he always did it so he could still get the job done and not get in trouble.”
Christine moved to New Jersey after Carl’s death and stayed with the Stutzbachs until September. She now lives just down the street from them and sees them every day.
“They’re like my mom and dad,” she said. “They’ve taken care of us when we’ve needed them.”
Christine is in school to become a kindergarten teacher, and she plans to start working part time after the trial.
She said she promised Carl that she would finish school, and she plans to keep that promise.
Hickam airman charged with fellow airman's shooting death
By Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) _ A Hawaii-based airman has been charged with the shooting death of a fellow Hickam airman in Iraq last year.
A military charge sheet says Airman First Class Kyle Dalton shot Airman First Class Carl Ware Junior with a nine-millimeter pistol.
Military officials say Dalton will face a court-martial on April 23rd at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Few details, including a motive, have been revealed about the shooting.
The military first reported the death as a non-combat related incident. Ware, who was 22 years old, was married to Senior Airman Christine Ware, also of Hickam Air Force Base. The couple have a one-year-old daughter, Caitlyn.
From the Air Force Times:
A1C accused of killing fellow airman in Iraq
By Erik Holmes - staff writerPosted : Saturday Feb 24, 2007 6:16:36 EST
Airman 1st Class Carl J. Ware Jr. was to return from his six-month deployment to Iraq in time — if barely — for the birth of their second daughter in January. Instead, Carl Ware came home months early in a flag-draped casket, the victim of an alleged fratricide July 1 at the hands of his roommate, friend and squadron-mate at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.
Carl and Christine Ware were relative newlyweds, and they weren’t inclined to make plans beyond getting ready for the new baby.
After all, they were only 22 years old and assumed they had all the time in the world to think about the future.
“Our only plan was to get a new vacuum when he got home,” said Christine Ware, a former airman. “The only thing we knew was that we wanted to come home [to Delaware] on vacation to have the baby.”
Airman 1st Class Kyle J. Dalton, like Ware a member of the 15th Security Forces Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, faces court-martial on charges of murder, assault and wrongfully drawing or aiming a firearm after allegedly shooting and killing Ware with a 9mm handgun. The Air Force declined to release Dalton’s age and hometown, citing privacy concerns.
Dalton’s court-martial is scheduled to begin April 23 at Langley Air Force Base, Va.; if convicted, he will face life in prison, a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
Dalton, who has been in the Air Force since July 2003, is not in pretrial confinement, but he remains in Southwest Asia at an undisclosed base. A Central Command Air Forces spokesman declined to say where Dalton is stationed, citing “host nation sensitivities.”
His tour was extended so he could be closer to his defense counsel, Capt. Jason Robertson, who is at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
Dalton and Ware deployed in May with the 886th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron to Camp Bucca, an Army detention facility for captured enemy fighters.
The Air Force Safety Center originally said in July that Ware’s death was the result of an accidental discharge while another airman was cleaning a weapon.
Christine Ware, who now lives in Glassboro, N.J., said it didn’t become clear until months later that the incident was being treated as a murder. But she said she was suspicious from the beginning.
“I personally don’t believe it was an accident,” she said. “I never thought that’s what happened in the first place.”
Ware’s parents, Carl and Rosalie Ware of Dinuba, Calif., said the Air Force told them in November that it was time “to stop referring to Carl’s death as an accident.”
Charges were filed Nov. 30, and Dalton had an Article 32 hearing — roughly equivalent to a civilian grand jury proceeding — Dec. 20 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. Neither Dalton’s attorney nor the prosecuting attorney responded to requests for comment.
The chain of events alleged by the Air Force is still unclear. CentAF has refused to release signed summaries of the statements made by witnesses at the Article 32 hearing, despite the fact that the hearing was open to the public. A CentAF spokesman said the summaries are not releasable because making them public could prejudice the court-martial.
Christine Ware, now 23, said even she does not have the full story of the allegations because the Air Force has not provided her with the investigation report. She filed a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act.
She declined to reveal all the details of what she has heard about the events.
“I don’t want to compromise anything that’s going to happen,” she said, referring to the trial.
Ware and Dalton met at Hickam in early 2006, Christine Ware said, but they were only acquaintances while in Hawaii.
Members of the 15th Security Forces Squadron form a tight-knit group and hang out together socially, but Dalton had been at Hickam only since January 2006 and the men were assigned to different flights, so they didn’t know each other well.
Christine Ware has met Dalton twice, both times at barbecues thrown at the Wares’ home in Hawaii. “He was nice,” she said. “He didn’t seem like he was capable of killing someone.”
Another member of their squadron who trained in Texas and then deployed with Ware and Dalton said the two seemed to get along well. The source asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to reporters.
The men were friends and shared common interests such as video games, the source said.
“To my knowledge there was never any friction between Airman Ware and Airman Dalton,” the source said.
“They never expressed any displeasure toward each other. They were actually very good friends, from what I could see.”
How this friendship allegedly disintegrated into a shooting death and murder charge is unknown.
What is clear from documents released by the Air Force is that there were at least two, and possibly three, separate incidents during a one-month period in which Dalton allegedly brandished a firearm toward Ware.
The first and second, for which Dalton has been charged with assault, occurred around June 1 and June 30, according to Air Force documents.
Christine Ware, who said she just recently learned of those incidents, told Air Force Times that Dalton allegedly pointed a loaded firearm at the feet of Ware and another airman. The other airman, according to the documents, was Airman 1st Class Ryan J. Gasper, also of the 15th Security Forces Squadron. Gasper, who has returned to his unit in Hawaii, said he does not want to discuss the incidents until after Dalton’s trial.
About 3 p.m. July 1, Dalton shot Ware in the chest with a 9mm handgun while the men were in their shared dorm room, authorities said. It is unclear whether the murder charge and the second assault charge are related to the same incident, and a CentAF spokesman was unable to clarify.
The charge sheet released by the Air Force originally listed both incidents as occurring on July 1, but someone then crossed out that date regarding the second assault charge and changed it to June 30.
Ware’s father, Carl Ware Sr., said that medics on the scene did all they could to save his son.
“It appears that … the bullet wound caused such massive injury initially that there just wasn’t much they could do,” he said.
Christine Ware said she does not know what the motive for the alleged murder was, but she hopes to get more information when Air Force lawyers brief her in the coming weeks. She also hopes to learn more about a possible motive at the trial, which she plans to attend.
“I have, like, 18 different stories on how it happened,” Christine Ware said, “but not so much why it happened.”
Christine Ware is an amiable young mother of two who laughs easily and often, despite losing her husband eight months ago.
She and Carl had been together since they were 14 years old, and she was drawn to his ability to use humor to put others at ease.
“He always made a joke out of the situation, whatever it was,” she said. “No matter what was going on, he was always calm, and he was able to make a bad situation better.”
The couple married at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, in January 2003 after Christine finished Air Force basic military training. Carl enlisted in the service about a year later.
Their first daughter, Caitlyn, was born in July 2005, and their second daughter, Carly, was born Jan. 5. Carl was scheduled to return from Iraq a couple weeks before Carly’s birth, and the Wares were planning a trip to Delaware and New Jersey to have the baby.
Carl’s relationship with his parents was strained, and Christine said the couple regarded David and Barbara Stutzbach of Glassboro, N.J., as their closest family.
Carl lived with the Stutzbachs, his legal guardians, after his family went to California when he was 14.
David Stutzbach served 20 years as an aircraft crew chief in the Air Force, retiring as a master sergeant in 2001. Christine said Carl joined the Air Force in part because he wanted to follow in his guardian’s footsteps and in part because he was interested in police work. “He’s always wanted to be a military police officer,” she said. “He was going to apply to K-9 after he got back from Iraq.”
One of Carl’s favorite hobbies, Christine said, was playing poker with friends. She said the same skills that made him a good poker player also made him a good cop.
“He knew how to read people really well,” she said. “I think it helped him out a lot, because he was able to tell who was lying and who was telling the truth when he interviewed them.”
Despite the seriousness of police work, Christine said, Carl was known in the squadron as something of a class clown.
“He was a jokester at work,” she said, “but he always did it so he could still get the job done and not get in trouble.”
Christine moved to New Jersey after Carl’s death and stayed with the Stutzbachs until September. She now lives just down the street from them and sees them every day.
“They’re like my mom and dad,” she said. “They’ve taken care of us when we’ve needed them.”
Christine is in school to become a kindergarten teacher, and she plans to start working part time after the trial.
She said she promised Carl that she would finish school, and she plans to keep that promise.
Links to More on Mistreatment of US Soldiers
http://www.attytood.com/2007/02/its_not_just_walter_reed_what.html
http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,3927998,print.story
http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,3927998,print.story
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-factorvii,0,1209631.storygallery
--Submitted by Patti Woodard
http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,3927998,print.story
http://www.courant.com/news/specials/hc-mental1a.artmay14,0,3927998,print.story
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-factorvii,0,1209631.storygallery
--Submitted by Patti Woodard
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
DOD Announcement, February 20, 2007
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 198-07February 20, 2007
Department to Review Military Medical Rehabilitative and Administrative Care
The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy have begun a review of the medical care provided at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center to those wounded in service to their country. To complement these efforts an independent review group will be formed to look into outpatient care and administrative processes at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.
The group shall promptly conduct its work and report its findings and provide recommendations to the Secretaries of the Army and Navy and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
"The quality of medical and rehabilitative care for all service members at our DoD facilities is second to none," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "We are committed to improving the clinical and administrative processes, including improving temporary living conditions for our service members and their families."
The group will have unrestricted access to all facilities and personnel and will be provided appropriate assistance and administrative support to conduct this review.
The group shall also have a special advisor not serving as a member of the group, who can provide special advice and expertise in the area of social work, rehabilitation, psychological counseling and family support issues.
No. 198-07February 20, 2007
Department to Review Military Medical Rehabilitative and Administrative Care
The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Navy have begun a review of the medical care provided at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center to those wounded in service to their country. To complement these efforts an independent review group will be formed to look into outpatient care and administrative processes at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.
The group shall promptly conduct its work and report its findings and provide recommendations to the Secretaries of the Army and Navy and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
"The quality of medical and rehabilitative care for all service members at our DoD facilities is second to none," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "We are committed to improving the clinical and administrative processes, including improving temporary living conditions for our service members and their families."
The group will have unrestricted access to all facilities and personnel and will be provided appropriate assistance and administrative support to conduct this review.
The group shall also have a special advisor not serving as a member of the group, who can provide special advice and expertise in the area of social work, rehabilitation, psychological counseling and family support issues.
Moral Waivers and the Military
--from the New York Times
Published: February 20, 2007
The Iraq war has plunged the Army into a vicious cycle of declining standards. Multiple, extended tours of duty have sapped morale and blighted recruiting. New plans for a larger overall force could reduce pressures but would also mean that recruiters would have to meet higher quotas.
To keep filling the ranks, the Army has had to keep lowering its expectations. Diluting educational, aptitude and medical standards has not been enough. Nor have larger enlistment bonuses plugged the gap. So the Army has found itself recklessly expanding the granting of “moral waivers,” which let people convicted of serious misdemeanors and even some felonies enlist in its ranks.
Last year, such waivers were granted to 8,129 men and women — or more than one out of every 10 new Army recruits. That number is up 65 percent since 2003, the year President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. In the last three years, more than 125,000 moral waivers have been granted by America’s four military services.
Most of last year’s Army waivers were for serious misdemeanors, like aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and vehicular homicide. But around 900 — double the number in 2003 — were for felonies. Worse, the Army does no systematic tracking of recruits with waivers once it signs them up, and it does not always pay enough attention to any adjustment problems. Without adequate monitoring and counseling, handing out guns to people who have already committed crimes poses a danger to the other soldiers they serve with and to the innocent civilians they are supposed to protect.
There is a long and honorable history of young people who have had minor scrapes with the law joining the military and successfully turning their lives around. But those who have committed more serious crimes, especially those involving weapons, vehicular homicide or sexual abuse, should generally be denied moral waivers. And those who do qualify for waivers should be monitored, counseled and carefully supervised.
The fastest way to drop the rate of moral waivers would be for the Army to rebuild its recently tarnished reputation among less problematic young Americans. That will require an end to involuntarily extended tours of duty and accelerated, multiple redeployments into combat. The military is America’s face to much of the world. It ought to present the best face of American youth.
Published: February 20, 2007
The Iraq war has plunged the Army into a vicious cycle of declining standards. Multiple, extended tours of duty have sapped morale and blighted recruiting. New plans for a larger overall force could reduce pressures but would also mean that recruiters would have to meet higher quotas.
To keep filling the ranks, the Army has had to keep lowering its expectations. Diluting educational, aptitude and medical standards has not been enough. Nor have larger enlistment bonuses plugged the gap. So the Army has found itself recklessly expanding the granting of “moral waivers,” which let people convicted of serious misdemeanors and even some felonies enlist in its ranks.
Last year, such waivers were granted to 8,129 men and women — or more than one out of every 10 new Army recruits. That number is up 65 percent since 2003, the year President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. In the last three years, more than 125,000 moral waivers have been granted by America’s four military services.
Most of last year’s Army waivers were for serious misdemeanors, like aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and vehicular homicide. But around 900 — double the number in 2003 — were for felonies. Worse, the Army does no systematic tracking of recruits with waivers once it signs them up, and it does not always pay enough attention to any adjustment problems. Without adequate monitoring and counseling, handing out guns to people who have already committed crimes poses a danger to the other soldiers they serve with and to the innocent civilians they are supposed to protect.
There is a long and honorable history of young people who have had minor scrapes with the law joining the military and successfully turning their lives around. But those who have committed more serious crimes, especially those involving weapons, vehicular homicide or sexual abuse, should generally be denied moral waivers. And those who do qualify for waivers should be monitored, counseled and carefully supervised.
The fastest way to drop the rate of moral waivers would be for the Army to rebuild its recently tarnished reputation among less problematic young Americans. That will require an end to involuntarily extended tours of duty and accelerated, multiple redeployments into combat. The military is America’s face to much of the world. It ought to present the best face of American youth.
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Other Walter Reed
Click on the title above to read this heartbreaking article in the Washington Post.
Experts say many suicidal war vets don't seek counseling
The Associated Press - Sunday, February 18, 2007
LITCHFIELD, Minn.
After David Fickel had been honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, friends and family members noticed he changed from a fun-loving guy to an anxious, angry man. They urged him to get help.
"We tried," said his stepfather, Mitch Aanden. "He said, 'No, I'm tough. I am a Marine.'"
Fickel, 25, took his own life with a shotgun last Memorial Day.
He is one of 13 active-duty or discharged servicemen under age 30 who committed suicide in Minnesota between Jan. 1, 2003, and last October, according to death records. Star Tribune interviews with relatives of 10 of those veterans said their loved ones hadn't sought counseling.
Experts say many suicide victims don't seek treatment, and surveys show six of 10 servicemen who need mental health counseling don't seek it.
Suicide by war veterans gained attention after Jonathan Schulze, a Marine veteran who fought in Iraq, took his life Jan. 16. His family says the St. Cloud VA Medical Center turned him away when he talked of suicide. Veterans Affairs officials won't comment and officials are investigating.
But his death raised concerns about the needs of 1.4 million troops whose duties in Iraq and Afghanistan can involve intense combat. Recent research found that nearly one in six recent combat veterans reported experiencing depression, general anxiety or post-traumatic stress.
In Iraq and Kuwait, 22 U.S. soldiers killed themselves in 2005, nearly double the national rate, an Army study found.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is nearly four times as common in veterans of Army or Marine ground units in Iraq and Afghanistan than in servicemen in other units, according to a 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
People who commit suicide often have depression, relationship problems or alcohol- and drug-abuse problems.
"All these things are warning signs, and the more you have, the more likely it is to happen," said Dr. Paula Clayton, retired head of the University of Minnesota psychiatry department and now medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in New York.
Dr. Martha Sajatovic, a psychiatry professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said post-traumatic stress complicates treatment.
"If I have a problem already, and I toss another problem on top of that, the burden I have to struggle with is going to be greater," said Sajatovic.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it's working to improve services for vets and it has programs.
"Everyone at the VA wants to reach these guys and get them in and support them when they come home," said Dr. Lawrence E. Adler, director of a VA mental health research center in Denver, which this month co-sponsored a conference on veteran suicide.
Robin Aanden said her son, David Fickel, was a level-headed, caring kid. He made people laugh and loved to play baseball and golf.
Fickel graduated from Litchfield High School in 1999 and hoped to be a teacher. His interest in the Marines surfaced in his junior year, surprising his family.
After boot camp, Fickel transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C. His unit went to Korea and Japan. After Sept. 11, 2001, his unit went to Afghanistan and later to the Persian Gulf.
When he returned home after four years of Marine duty, he'd changed.
"He quieted down," said Grady Huggett, his best friend.
Fickel seemed anxious that he'd be called back, said his sister Haley. He spoke vaguely of war, offering hints of sniper duty in Afghanistan. He told Huggett that he had shot people.
Early last year, he quit eating right, lost weight, slept badly and stopped caring about his appearance, his mother said. He drank heavily and got arrested for drunken driving, she said.
"I told him his anger was getting out of control," she added. When she offered to make an appointment for help at a clinic, he wouldn't go.
The day before his death, Fickel talked to his sisters and best friend about killing himself. They said they got him away from his loaded shotgun, and spent the evening around a bonfire in his sisters' back yard. They thought he was better, but he took his life the next day.
Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
--submitted by Patti Woodard
LITCHFIELD, Minn.
After David Fickel had been honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, friends and family members noticed he changed from a fun-loving guy to an anxious, angry man. They urged him to get help.
"We tried," said his stepfather, Mitch Aanden. "He said, 'No, I'm tough. I am a Marine.'"
Fickel, 25, took his own life with a shotgun last Memorial Day.
He is one of 13 active-duty or discharged servicemen under age 30 who committed suicide in Minnesota between Jan. 1, 2003, and last October, according to death records. Star Tribune interviews with relatives of 10 of those veterans said their loved ones hadn't sought counseling.
Experts say many suicide victims don't seek treatment, and surveys show six of 10 servicemen who need mental health counseling don't seek it.
Suicide by war veterans gained attention after Jonathan Schulze, a Marine veteran who fought in Iraq, took his life Jan. 16. His family says the St. Cloud VA Medical Center turned him away when he talked of suicide. Veterans Affairs officials won't comment and officials are investigating.
But his death raised concerns about the needs of 1.4 million troops whose duties in Iraq and Afghanistan can involve intense combat. Recent research found that nearly one in six recent combat veterans reported experiencing depression, general anxiety or post-traumatic stress.
In Iraq and Kuwait, 22 U.S. soldiers killed themselves in 2005, nearly double the national rate, an Army study found.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is nearly four times as common in veterans of Army or Marine ground units in Iraq and Afghanistan than in servicemen in other units, according to a 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
People who commit suicide often have depression, relationship problems or alcohol- and drug-abuse problems.
"All these things are warning signs, and the more you have, the more likely it is to happen," said Dr. Paula Clayton, retired head of the University of Minnesota psychiatry department and now medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in New York.
Dr. Martha Sajatovic, a psychiatry professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said post-traumatic stress complicates treatment.
"If I have a problem already, and I toss another problem on top of that, the burden I have to struggle with is going to be greater," said Sajatovic.
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it's working to improve services for vets and it has programs.
"Everyone at the VA wants to reach these guys and get them in and support them when they come home," said Dr. Lawrence E. Adler, director of a VA mental health research center in Denver, which this month co-sponsored a conference on veteran suicide.
Robin Aanden said her son, David Fickel, was a level-headed, caring kid. He made people laugh and loved to play baseball and golf.
Fickel graduated from Litchfield High School in 1999 and hoped to be a teacher. His interest in the Marines surfaced in his junior year, surprising his family.
After boot camp, Fickel transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C. His unit went to Korea and Japan. After Sept. 11, 2001, his unit went to Afghanistan and later to the Persian Gulf.
When he returned home after four years of Marine duty, he'd changed.
"He quieted down," said Grady Huggett, his best friend.
Fickel seemed anxious that he'd be called back, said his sister Haley. He spoke vaguely of war, offering hints of sniper duty in Afghanistan. He told Huggett that he had shot people.
Early last year, he quit eating right, lost weight, slept badly and stopped caring about his appearance, his mother said. He drank heavily and got arrested for drunken driving, she said.
"I told him his anger was getting out of control," she added. When she offered to make an appointment for help at a clinic, he wouldn't go.
The day before his death, Fickel talked to his sisters and best friend about killing himself. They said they got him away from his loaded shotgun, and spent the evening around a bonfire in his sisters' back yard. They thought he was better, but he took his life the next day.
Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
--submitted by Patti Woodard
Thursday, February 15, 2007
House Subcommittee Asks Archive for FOIA Reform Advice
National Security Archive Update, February 14, 2007
House Subcommittee Asks Archive for FOIA Reform Advice
Archive General Counsel Testifies that Congress Should Mandate Solutions; Cites 17 Year Delays, Lost Requests, and Agency Obstruction of FOIA
For more information contact:Meredith Fuchs - 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, February 14, 2007 - National Security Archive General Counsel Meredith Fuchs today told the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that, "problems [with the Freedom of Information Act system] will not be solved unless Congress mandates solutions.
"Ms. Fuchs recommended that Congress reform the FOIA to require better annual reporting and tracking of FOIA requests, citing examples of processing delays as long as 17 years and agency mismanagement or obstruction of requests causing delay.
She also called on Congress to stop agencies from playing litigation games that cost requesters and taxpayers money and waste judicial resources. She referenced examples of agencies that fail to take responsible legal positions until after a requester has filed a lawsuit and then suddenly reverse course when it becomes clear that a court will likely rule against the agency.
She advocated revision of the FOIA's attorneys' fees provision as a solution.
Ms. Fuchs explained that, "Despite many outstanding people administering FOIA programs throughout the government - and they deserve praise for their work - there are far too many FOIA offices that fail to live up to the expectations of the law and the needs of the taxpaying public."
Ms. Fuchs testified on a panel that included Clark Hoyt, former Washington Editor for Knight Ridder, who testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, and Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. In addition, representatives of the General Accounting Office and the Department of Justice testified.
The Archive has been at the forefront of organizations using and assessing the Freedom of Information Act.
The Archive has completed five government-wide audits of FOIA administration (supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation). Recommendations from the Archive's reports on those audits have been adopted in President Bush's Executive Order 13,392 ("Improving Agency Disclosure of Information"), included in FOIA legislationintroduced in earlier Congresses by Senators Cornyn and Leahy, and Congressmen Smith and Waxman, and included as goals in many of the 91 agency FOIA Improvement Plans developed under the Executive Order.For more information, see today's posting at
http://www.nsarchive.org/ .
THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
House Subcommittee Asks Archive for FOIA Reform Advice
Archive General Counsel Testifies that Congress Should Mandate Solutions; Cites 17 Year Delays, Lost Requests, and Agency Obstruction of FOIA
For more information contact:Meredith Fuchs - 202/994-7000
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, DC, February 14, 2007 - National Security Archive General Counsel Meredith Fuchs today told the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that, "problems [with the Freedom of Information Act system] will not be solved unless Congress mandates solutions.
"Ms. Fuchs recommended that Congress reform the FOIA to require better annual reporting and tracking of FOIA requests, citing examples of processing delays as long as 17 years and agency mismanagement or obstruction of requests causing delay.
She also called on Congress to stop agencies from playing litigation games that cost requesters and taxpayers money and waste judicial resources. She referenced examples of agencies that fail to take responsible legal positions until after a requester has filed a lawsuit and then suddenly reverse course when it becomes clear that a court will likely rule against the agency.
She advocated revision of the FOIA's attorneys' fees provision as a solution.
Ms. Fuchs explained that, "Despite many outstanding people administering FOIA programs throughout the government - and they deserve praise for their work - there are far too many FOIA offices that fail to live up to the expectations of the law and the needs of the taxpaying public."
Ms. Fuchs testified on a panel that included Clark Hoyt, former Washington Editor for Knight Ridder, who testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, and Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. In addition, representatives of the General Accounting Office and the Department of Justice testified.
The Archive has been at the forefront of organizations using and assessing the Freedom of Information Act.
The Archive has completed five government-wide audits of FOIA administration (supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation). Recommendations from the Archive's reports on those audits have been adopted in President Bush's Executive Order 13,392 ("Improving Agency Disclosure of Information"), included in FOIA legislationintroduced in earlier Congresses by Senators Cornyn and Leahy, and Congressmen Smith and Waxman, and included as goals in many of the 91 agency FOIA Improvement Plans developed under the Executive Order.For more information, see today's posting at
http://www.nsarchive.org/ .
THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.
-- submitted by Patti Woodard
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Death Tolls Manipulated
Fox News reports that non-combat deaths are not included in the statistics of military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. Click on the link above to go to the story.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Husband's death was murder, not suicide, widow says
by James Muñoz
The 2003 death of Col. Philip Shue was ruled a suicide by the justice of the peace.
His widow is fighting that ruling all the way to the Texas Supreme Court because she believes her husband was murdered.
Shue, 54, was found dead April 16, 2003, along Interstate 10 near Boerne.
Kendall County Justice of the Peace Nancy White didn't win re-election. She now lives in another city. Her attorneys say she shouldn't have to explain the "thought-processes" behind her ruling.
"Col. Shue's chest had been mutilated. His wrists and ankles were covered in duct tape," said attorney Jason Davis, who represents Mrs. Shue.
"[Mrs. Shue] and many others believe it was a murder, including experts who have analyzed the same evidence," Davis said.
The truth, in this story, may be stranger than fiction, because Shue's vehicle slammed into a tree, his chest was mutilated, a finger was cut off and there was duct tape around his wrists and ankles.
"And yet, Judge White came on to the scene and declared it in a matter of minutes an accident, and the question is, 'Why?', and now she's going to remarkable lengths to avoid for having to answer to that," Davis said.
White's attorneys say this isn't a cover up. If JPs always had to answer to subpoenas and depositions, there would be no end to the second-guessing and harassment of the judges, her attorneys said.
"No, we're not going to let litigants dissatisfied with a judge's ruling, go sue somebody else and use the civil discovery process, to harass and abuse these judges," White's attorney Patrick Ballantyne said.
Mrs. Shue's attorney sees it differently.
"It's a pretty simple case of a witness just refusing to answer," Davis said.
Shue's widow is suing the insurance company USAA, saying the agency failed to cancel life insurance policies that led to death threats against the Mr. Shue.
USAA said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
A Kendall County court-at-law judge ordered White to testify by deposition, but she refused. Last week, the 4th Court of Appeals upheld that decision, but White still refuses. The case is now being appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.
KENS video: Husband's death was murder, not suicide, widow says
----------------------------------------------
HIGH DOLLAR LEGAL “DREAM TEAM“
HIRED BY KENDALL COUNTY TEXAS
Former Kendall County JP Nancy White
Appeals Court Denial for Judicial Immunity in Shue Case
Ron Gordon
Kendall County News.com
What’s next in the Colonel Philip Shue death investigation, seemingly having more twists and turns than a Tom Clancy novel? The mysterious circumstances leading to death of Colonel Philip Shue and the many unanswered questions surrounding the death investigation, continues, almost four years later, with no end in sight.
On January 5, 2007, Tracy Shue filed, for a third time, a Motion to Compel former Kendall County Justice of the Peace Nancy White to answer the basic questions of why and with what evidence she concluded Colonel Philip Shue’s Manner of Death a “Suicide.” Over the past year, the Kendall County Court has repeatedly ruled to deny the former JP’s Motion to Quash and Request for Immunity in answering the why and with what evidence questions, citing the duties and mental processes of a Coroner would not be protected under the “Mental Processes Rule.” But, true to form in the Shue case, the fight is not over and former JP Nancy White, with her legal “Dream Team“, paid for by the taxpayers of Kendall County, have now filed to appeal the decision of Judge Bill Palmer.
Kendall County News has requested the Commissioner’s Court to provide an estimate of the current and projected legal costs pertaining to the actions of the former Kendall County Justice of the Peace. No response has been received to date.
-----------------
Former Kendall County Judge is Order to Answer Questions for The Third Time
Ron Gordon
Kendall County News.com
For those of you familiar or unfamiliar with the Tracy Shue case, here is a breakdown with the timeline of events, and where we stand as of today.
On December 28, 2005 Tracy Shue filed to have Judge Nancy White give a deposition on the cause of death on Colonel Philip Shue.
Judge White filed a motion to Quash on January 13, 2006, for Protective Order to avoid her deposition. She objected to being deposed in part on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Ten days later Judge Palmer overruled Judge White’s “Mental Processes Rule“ objection and ordered her to proceed with the deposition.
Judge White was not satisfied with the Judge’s ruling and yet filed another motion for clarification of the court’s January 23rd Order. Judge White again argued that her deposition be quashed on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Once again on February 23, 2006 the court denied Judge White’s motion for clarification and order that her deposition proceeds.
This brings us to the deposition on November 10, 2006. Judge White refused to answer some questions that her lawyers thought was abusive which violated the court’s order. Her answer to the questions being asked was part on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Judge White abused the discovery process and failed to comply with two previous orders from the court. Given these prior orders, there was no justifiable excuse for Judge White’s failure to answer questions posed to her during her deposition. Such conduct necessitated Tracy Shue’s filed motion to compel and motion for cost.
This brings us to January 5, 2007. Shue’s attorney opened up the argument about wasting the court’s time and money going over an issue that was already ruled on by Judge Palmer, twice. Judge White’s attorney followed by stating that she did not have to answer any questions based on her being, at that time, a Judge. Judge Palmer then asked Judge White’s attorney, (paraphrasing) “A Medical Examiner can give testimony on the ruling of death. In Kendall County, the Medical Examiner is also the Justice of the Peace; so in this case, she wears two hats acting as the Justice of the Peace as well as the Medical Examiner. In acting as the Medical Examiner, Judge White does not then qualify for the “Mental Processing Rule“, because in this capacity for this case, Judge White was also the Medical Examiner.” Judge White’s attorney then followed that comment by saying, “Well that’s different!” and in true Judge White fashion, no additional reasoning from Counsel was provided.
Shue’s attorney rebutted and went over how Judge White last year, had a news conference the day before depositions were to be heard. She released confidential information to the Media, which included Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses of Tracy and Col. Philip Shue. Then Judge Palmer asked where the original paperwork was located now and Shue’s attorney answered with, “All I have is copies.” Then Former Judge White, not her attorneys, blurted out stating where the original documents were located. After that, her attorney turned to her and stated quickly, “Do not say another word.”
After hearing about 45 minutes of both Counsels pleading their cases, Judge Palmer ordered that Judge Nancy White’s deposition be reset for 9:00am on January 26, 2007. The case will be heard at the Kendall County Courthouse. It was ordered that Judge White must answer all questions which she did not answer in her depositions urging the Mental Process Objection. Lastly, Judge White is to pay court costs and court reporter costs for continuation of deposition.
To add insult to injury, Judge White’s attorneys advised Judge Palmer that they are appealing his decision to the Circuit Court. Also, Judge White’s attorneys didn’t feel it was fair that she be responsible for the court, court reporter and deposition costs, in which then Judge Palmer summed up the sentiments felt in the court, by stating, “Well if she had answered the questions during the last depositions, we wouldn’t be here today!”
All Tracy Shue asked for was an inquest which has been denied to this day. The question that needs to be answered by Former Judge Nancy White is: How did she find that suicide was the cause of death for Col. Philip Shue???????????
--Submitted by Tracy Shue
The 2003 death of Col. Philip Shue was ruled a suicide by the justice of the peace.
His widow is fighting that ruling all the way to the Texas Supreme Court because she believes her husband was murdered.
Shue, 54, was found dead April 16, 2003, along Interstate 10 near Boerne.
Kendall County Justice of the Peace Nancy White didn't win re-election. She now lives in another city. Her attorneys say she shouldn't have to explain the "thought-processes" behind her ruling.
"Col. Shue's chest had been mutilated. His wrists and ankles were covered in duct tape," said attorney Jason Davis, who represents Mrs. Shue.
"[Mrs. Shue] and many others believe it was a murder, including experts who have analyzed the same evidence," Davis said.
The truth, in this story, may be stranger than fiction, because Shue's vehicle slammed into a tree, his chest was mutilated, a finger was cut off and there was duct tape around his wrists and ankles.
"And yet, Judge White came on to the scene and declared it in a matter of minutes an accident, and the question is, 'Why?', and now she's going to remarkable lengths to avoid for having to answer to that," Davis said.
White's attorneys say this isn't a cover up. If JPs always had to answer to subpoenas and depositions, there would be no end to the second-guessing and harassment of the judges, her attorneys said.
"No, we're not going to let litigants dissatisfied with a judge's ruling, go sue somebody else and use the civil discovery process, to harass and abuse these judges," White's attorney Patrick Ballantyne said.
Mrs. Shue's attorney sees it differently.
"It's a pretty simple case of a witness just refusing to answer," Davis said.
Shue's widow is suing the insurance company USAA, saying the agency failed to cancel life insurance policies that led to death threats against the Mr. Shue.
USAA said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
A Kendall County court-at-law judge ordered White to testify by deposition, but she refused. Last week, the 4th Court of Appeals upheld that decision, but White still refuses. The case is now being appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.
KENS video: Husband's death was murder, not suicide, widow says
----------------------------------------------
HIGH DOLLAR LEGAL “DREAM TEAM“
HIRED BY KENDALL COUNTY TEXAS
Former Kendall County JP Nancy White
Appeals Court Denial for Judicial Immunity in Shue Case
Ron Gordon
Kendall County News.com
What’s next in the Colonel Philip Shue death investigation, seemingly having more twists and turns than a Tom Clancy novel? The mysterious circumstances leading to death of Colonel Philip Shue and the many unanswered questions surrounding the death investigation, continues, almost four years later, with no end in sight.
On January 5, 2007, Tracy Shue filed, for a third time, a Motion to Compel former Kendall County Justice of the Peace Nancy White to answer the basic questions of why and with what evidence she concluded Colonel Philip Shue’s Manner of Death a “Suicide.” Over the past year, the Kendall County Court has repeatedly ruled to deny the former JP’s Motion to Quash and Request for Immunity in answering the why and with what evidence questions, citing the duties and mental processes of a Coroner would not be protected under the “Mental Processes Rule.” But, true to form in the Shue case, the fight is not over and former JP Nancy White, with her legal “Dream Team“, paid for by the taxpayers of Kendall County, have now filed to appeal the decision of Judge Bill Palmer.
Kendall County News has requested the Commissioner’s Court to provide an estimate of the current and projected legal costs pertaining to the actions of the former Kendall County Justice of the Peace. No response has been received to date.
-----------------
Former Kendall County Judge is Order to Answer Questions for The Third Time
Ron Gordon
Kendall County News.com
For those of you familiar or unfamiliar with the Tracy Shue case, here is a breakdown with the timeline of events, and where we stand as of today.
On December 28, 2005 Tracy Shue filed to have Judge Nancy White give a deposition on the cause of death on Colonel Philip Shue.
Judge White filed a motion to Quash on January 13, 2006, for Protective Order to avoid her deposition. She objected to being deposed in part on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Ten days later Judge Palmer overruled Judge White’s “Mental Processes Rule“ objection and ordered her to proceed with the deposition.
Judge White was not satisfied with the Judge’s ruling and yet filed another motion for clarification of the court’s January 23rd Order. Judge White again argued that her deposition be quashed on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Once again on February 23, 2006 the court denied Judge White’s motion for clarification and order that her deposition proceeds.
This brings us to the deposition on November 10, 2006. Judge White refused to answer some questions that her lawyers thought was abusive which violated the court’s order. Her answer to the questions being asked was part on the basis of the “Mental Processes Rule”
Judge White abused the discovery process and failed to comply with two previous orders from the court. Given these prior orders, there was no justifiable excuse for Judge White’s failure to answer questions posed to her during her deposition. Such conduct necessitated Tracy Shue’s filed motion to compel and motion for cost.
This brings us to January 5, 2007. Shue’s attorney opened up the argument about wasting the court’s time and money going over an issue that was already ruled on by Judge Palmer, twice. Judge White’s attorney followed by stating that she did not have to answer any questions based on her being, at that time, a Judge. Judge Palmer then asked Judge White’s attorney, (paraphrasing) “A Medical Examiner can give testimony on the ruling of death. In Kendall County, the Medical Examiner is also the Justice of the Peace; so in this case, she wears two hats acting as the Justice of the Peace as well as the Medical Examiner. In acting as the Medical Examiner, Judge White does not then qualify for the “Mental Processing Rule“, because in this capacity for this case, Judge White was also the Medical Examiner.” Judge White’s attorney then followed that comment by saying, “Well that’s different!” and in true Judge White fashion, no additional reasoning from Counsel was provided.
Shue’s attorney rebutted and went over how Judge White last year, had a news conference the day before depositions were to be heard. She released confidential information to the Media, which included Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses of Tracy and Col. Philip Shue. Then Judge Palmer asked where the original paperwork was located now and Shue’s attorney answered with, “All I have is copies.” Then Former Judge White, not her attorneys, blurted out stating where the original documents were located. After that, her attorney turned to her and stated quickly, “Do not say another word.”
After hearing about 45 minutes of both Counsels pleading their cases, Judge Palmer ordered that Judge Nancy White’s deposition be reset for 9:00am on January 26, 2007. The case will be heard at the Kendall County Courthouse. It was ordered that Judge White must answer all questions which she did not answer in her depositions urging the Mental Process Objection. Lastly, Judge White is to pay court costs and court reporter costs for continuation of deposition.
To add insult to injury, Judge White’s attorneys advised Judge Palmer that they are appealing his decision to the Circuit Court. Also, Judge White’s attorneys didn’t feel it was fair that she be responsible for the court, court reporter and deposition costs, in which then Judge Palmer summed up the sentiments felt in the court, by stating, “Well if she had answered the questions during the last depositions, we wouldn’t be here today!”
All Tracy Shue asked for was an inquest which has been denied to this day. The question that needs to be answered by Former Judge Nancy White is: How did she find that suicide was the cause of death for Col. Philip Shue???????????
--Submitted by Tracy Shue
Friday, February 02, 2007
Sen. Akaka Wants Explanation About Events Before Iraq War Veteran's Suicide
Sen. Akaka Wants Explanation About Events Before Iraq War Veteran's Suicide
Thursday , February 01, 2007
A U.S. senator from Hawaii has asked the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to explain what happened before the suicide of an Iraq war veteran who, according to his family, had sought help at two VA hospitals in Minnesota.
In his Jan. 29 letter, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii and chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, asked for an expedited analysis of the events preceding the Marine's death, as well as a description of actions the VA is taking to prevent similar tragedies.
According to previous news reports, Jonathan Schulze, 25, of New Prague, told a staff member at the VA hospital in St. Cloud two weeks ago that he was thinking of killing himself and he asked to be admitted. His father and stepmother, who accompanied him to the hospital, said he was told he couldn't be admitted that day. The next day, a counselor told him by phone that he was No. 26 on a waiting list, his parents said.
Four days later, Schulze committed suicide.
A team of federal investigators was due to arrive at the VA medical centers in Minneapolis and St. Cloud on Thursday to look into the family's claims.
Rep. John Kline , R-Minn., said VA officials in Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Washington told him they dispute that Schulze presented himself to hospital staff as suicidal. Kline said it should be clearer next week, after the investigation ends, just what happened in the exchange between Schulze and VA staff.
"It's just unconscionable that you have a man that's identified by the system, yet he gets to the point where he commits suicide," said Kline, a retired Marine who represents Schulze's district.
Akaka said the issues go beyond just Schulze's case.
"I am concerned that reports of VA's failure to respond to Mr. Schulze's request for help may indicate systemic problems in VA's capacity to identify, monitor, and treat veterans who are suicidal," Akaka wrote in his letter to Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the acting undersecretary for health with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A phone message left Wednesday with Schulze's father and stepmother was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.
Joan Vincent, public affairs officer at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, said she couldn't comment on Akaka's letter, and that privacy laws prevented her from confirming whether Schulze had been at the facility.
She said internal reviews are ongoing and the VA is "very, very good about trying to learn what happened when an adverse event occurs."
"Our biggest concern is this is a really tragic incident and of course we express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of this young man," Vincent said. "We also want to encourage anyone with suicidal thoughts to seek help."
Steve Moynihan, public affairs officer for the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, also could not get into specifics of Schulze's case.
One unresolved question is how full the hospitals were.
Ten of 25 beds in the Minneapolis VA's locked psychiatric unit are occupied this week, Moynihan said Wednesday. He said the unit doesn't have a waiting list.
The St. Cloud VA has no waiting list for its locked psychiatric unit — and never has, Vincent said. However, a separate residential mental health unit with beds had a waiting list of 21 veterans on Monday, she said. That unit is more for ongoing cases involving mental health and substance abuse, she said.
"We've never had a wait list for our beds in the acute psychiatric unit, where we would likely take people if we were thought they were suicidal," Vincent said.
In an earlier media report, Schulze's father, Jim Schulze, and his stepmother, Marianne Schulze, said their son would still be alive if the VA acted on his pleas for admittance. His parents said he unsuccessfully sought help at the facility in Minneapolis before going to St. Cloud.
On Jan. 16, Schulze called family and friends to tell them he was preparing to kill himself. They called the New Prague police, who found him hanging from an electrical cord.
Schulze's family doctor said he was convinced Schulze suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"For a veteran at risk of suicide, contact with VA must trigger a response that will prevent suicide and provide ongoing monitoring and care," wrote Akaka.
He said that in 2004, a series of initiatives were developed to improve VA's ability to prevent suicide, and he believes all those initiatives have not been implemented. He asked the VA for information on efforts to continue to prevent suicide among vets.
Separately, the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday issued a statement also asking for information on prevention efforts, and urging the VA to find out what led to the tragedy.
--Submitted by Patti Woodard
Thursday , February 01, 2007
A U.S. senator from Hawaii has asked the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to explain what happened before the suicide of an Iraq war veteran who, according to his family, had sought help at two VA hospitals in Minnesota.
In his Jan. 29 letter, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii and chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, asked for an expedited analysis of the events preceding the Marine's death, as well as a description of actions the VA is taking to prevent similar tragedies.
According to previous news reports, Jonathan Schulze, 25, of New Prague, told a staff member at the VA hospital in St. Cloud two weeks ago that he was thinking of killing himself and he asked to be admitted. His father and stepmother, who accompanied him to the hospital, said he was told he couldn't be admitted that day. The next day, a counselor told him by phone that he was No. 26 on a waiting list, his parents said.
Four days later, Schulze committed suicide.
A team of federal investigators was due to arrive at the VA medical centers in Minneapolis and St. Cloud on Thursday to look into the family's claims.
Rep. John Kline , R-Minn., said VA officials in Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Washington told him they dispute that Schulze presented himself to hospital staff as suicidal. Kline said it should be clearer next week, after the investigation ends, just what happened in the exchange between Schulze and VA staff.
"It's just unconscionable that you have a man that's identified by the system, yet he gets to the point where he commits suicide," said Kline, a retired Marine who represents Schulze's district.
Akaka said the issues go beyond just Schulze's case.
"I am concerned that reports of VA's failure to respond to Mr. Schulze's request for help may indicate systemic problems in VA's capacity to identify, monitor, and treat veterans who are suicidal," Akaka wrote in his letter to Dr. Michael J. Kussman, the acting undersecretary for health with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A phone message left Wednesday with Schulze's father and stepmother was not immediately returned to The Associated Press.
Joan Vincent, public affairs officer at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center, said she couldn't comment on Akaka's letter, and that privacy laws prevented her from confirming whether Schulze had been at the facility.
She said internal reviews are ongoing and the VA is "very, very good about trying to learn what happened when an adverse event occurs."
"Our biggest concern is this is a really tragic incident and of course we express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of this young man," Vincent said. "We also want to encourage anyone with suicidal thoughts to seek help."
Steve Moynihan, public affairs officer for the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, also could not get into specifics of Schulze's case.
One unresolved question is how full the hospitals were.
Ten of 25 beds in the Minneapolis VA's locked psychiatric unit are occupied this week, Moynihan said Wednesday. He said the unit doesn't have a waiting list.
The St. Cloud VA has no waiting list for its locked psychiatric unit — and never has, Vincent said. However, a separate residential mental health unit with beds had a waiting list of 21 veterans on Monday, she said. That unit is more for ongoing cases involving mental health and substance abuse, she said.
"We've never had a wait list for our beds in the acute psychiatric unit, where we would likely take people if we were thought they were suicidal," Vincent said.
In an earlier media report, Schulze's father, Jim Schulze, and his stepmother, Marianne Schulze, said their son would still be alive if the VA acted on his pleas for admittance. His parents said he unsuccessfully sought help at the facility in Minneapolis before going to St. Cloud.
On Jan. 16, Schulze called family and friends to tell them he was preparing to kill himself. They called the New Prague police, who found him hanging from an electrical cord.
Schulze's family doctor said he was convinced Schulze suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"For a veteran at risk of suicide, contact with VA must trigger a response that will prevent suicide and provide ongoing monitoring and care," wrote Akaka.
He said that in 2004, a series of initiatives were developed to improve VA's ability to prevent suicide, and he believes all those initiatives have not been implemented. He asked the VA for information on efforts to continue to prevent suicide among vets.
Separately, the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday issued a statement also asking for information on prevention efforts, and urging the VA to find out what led to the tragedy.
--Submitted by Patti Woodard
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