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GI Special
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Friday, December 9, 2005 8:30 AM
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| ARCHANGEL REPORTING If he has had issues in the past, then why is he not being investigated when a Soldier comes forward with a legit complaint? If the IG agrees that he is an asshole, then somebody, like perhaps his commanding officer, should be chewing his butt instead of informing him what others say so that he can just go yell and abuse his rank even more. From: ArchAngel1BL@aol.com ArchAngel reporting an update on Angel 10, a Soldier currently in Iraq with a medical profile stating that she is unfit for service. I have been contacted by her father, and was given permission to put a name to Angel 10. Angel 10 is Spc. Jennifer Mack and she is with the 172nd SBCT out of FT. Wainwright, Alaska. Spc. Mack, is not just having problems medically, but she is also having problems with harassment from her 1st Sgt. Her father along with herself, keeps in contact with their State Rep. I too, ArchAngel1BL have emailed the State Rep. for Congressman Oxley a letter to inform her what rights Spc. Mack has as a medically unfit Soldier. In my letter I informed her all that I personally went through in the fight for my husband and won the battle for his return. I noted all the rules and regulations involving medical issues. Though she couldn’t go into Spc. Mack’s case with me, she did note that she read my email. In Mr. Macks’ letter, he explains the situation completely that his daughter is having to go through. The letter reads: Congressman Oxley, I am writing this letter to inform you, congressman Oxley, and Senators DeWine and Voinovich that the last letter sent to you by my daughters command is not all true. First off my daughter Jennifer was forced to break her profile by 1st Sgt ML several times. The first time was in Alaska, when the physical therapist told her not to participate in a combative class (to prevent further injury to her knee). The 1st Sgt. sent a platoon Sgt. to inform her that she “has” to finish the class. To her benefit the class was too far along to participate. The next time was when the company arrived in Kuwait; she was told by the 1st Sgt that she needed to get ice for the rest of the company. She had no problem with that, she then went to talk to anther soldier in the unit to ask if she could borrow her van. She told her that as soon as she got back from her meeting (about 1 hour) she could take the van. She then finds the 1st Sgt and he says that they will walk (about 1/2 mile) to get ice. When she tells him that she can not carry that weight (approximately 40 lbs.) he asked what her lifting limitations were, when she responded 25 lbs, he replies saying “well it only weights 24 1/2 lbs.” in a very sarcastic, mocking tone and laughs. The same thing happened about 2 days later. Another instance when she was forced to break her profile was when 1st Sgt. sent another Sgt. to find her and tell her that she has to take this piece of supply equipment (approximately 35 lbs.) about a 1 mile down the road and be back in 5 min. to make a class. He made her walk when there were trucks sitting all around. I disagree with another statement in the letter. It states that she is receiving the same medical care that she would in Alaska. The correct answer is SHE CAN receive the same care but only did after the congressional. She was sent from one forward operating base to another about 15 miles away (where the physical therapist is). She was told by the Brigade surgeon to see her (Physical therapist) for AT LEAST a month. 1st Sgt went there to see the physical therapist and told her that he needs her back at the other location as soon as possible and asked if she could do the therapy on her own. The physical therapist said that she is going to see her for at least a full month. SOUNDS TO ARCHANGEL THAT HE TRIED TO INTIMIDATE HER: The 1st Sgt is coming back and pulling her out of there exactly one month to the day. It is obvious this command is doing the bare minimum that they think is necessary to avoid further investigation. What is obvious is they are not concerned about her welfare but about themselves. Not only does she know but also Brigade level supply personnel know that she could do her job just as well there (where she is getting the therapy ) and other units who are not there have supply Sgts. there. There are a few more things that I want to make you all aware of. The first is the fact that 1st Sgt ML is creating a HARASSING and unacceptable work environment. She has kept a log of some of the things that he has said and done. I am attaching it to this letter. I’m sure there are a lot of things that I have left out but it will give you a very good idea of the things she deals with on a daily basis. For every situation mentioned the 1st Sgt is yelling or cussing and the tone he uses is very condescending. She has seen a Chaplin, a mental therapy specialist, a physician’s assistant and a psychologist. All of these people have told me that there seems to be NO mental issues with my daughter but legal issues with the 1st Sgt and every one of them told her to go to the inspector general. She contacted the IG and sent him the same log that I am sending to you. His response was that “it seems like he is an asshole but there is no a regulation against being an asshole.” Stated that they would talk to her commander, already been done and proved to be ineffective. So the IG blew off a soldier who was told by many counselors to seek their help. I also think you should know that 1st Sgt’s prior supply sergeant chaptered herself out of the army for the same reasons that I am sending you this letter. I also think you should know that he HAS been under several previous IG investigations and sent away from the company for a whole summer, yet he is still here abusing soldiers because as he likes to say “I am the 1st Sgt, I can do whatever I want.” According to the Geneva Convention the Soldiers are not supposed to insult the Iraqi detainees but it is ok to repeatedly insult a Soldier who volunteered to be there on her own free will? I want to ask you all a question… if a Soldier can be treated this way then why are they there fighting a war to rid the world of such treatment like this? (GOOD QUESTION MR. MACK…) **************************************************************** ArchAngel has a copy of the list of incidents that Spc. Mack has gone through including some witnesses that witnessed what was being said or done. In my opinion, this 1st Sgt. needs a wake up call and a good ass kicking. Abusing rank is not something I would do during a time of war. If he has had issues in the past, then why is he not being investigated when a Soldier comes forward with a legit complaint? If the IG agrees that he is an asshole, then somebody, like perhaps his commanding officer, should be chewing his butt instead of informing him what others say so that he can just go yell and abuse his rank even more. According to Spc. Mack, she has no problem being in Iraq, just as long as she gets the treatment she so deserves while being stationed there, but if that treatment cannot be completed correctly, and if she is forced to go against her medical profile, it will just lead to her pain increasing, causing further damage to her knee, that will only lead to her being medically evacuated, like my husband, from Iraq. I will ask this question and it goes to this so called 1st Sgt. If Spc. Mack is so damn important to you to yell at and force to go against her profile, then if God forbid something was to happen to her, what or who would you abuse next. She is not just a number, 1st Sgt., she is a Soldier just like you, trying to survive in the same war that you are in. Common sense you would treat all your Soldiers with the same respect that you would want of them. In the military you have been deemed an asshole, and yet no one has done anything about it. In the civilian life 1st Sgt, you treat people like you have been treating your Soldiers now, will only lead to someone putting you in your place in the civilian life. What is sad, is that nobody has done it yet. The latest update as of Dec. 1st, is that an investigation is now under way. After the letter (above) was received, a congressional was started in which the 1st Sgt is forcing lower ranks to write a sworn statement to use against Spc. Mack. She has still not been relocated as advised by doctors, but is still making that request. That is all that she asks, but yet her command refuses because of one man. A so called Soldier, leader of Soldiers, a man who thanks he is God because of rank is what keeps a commanding officer from making the right decision. Last I checked, officers outrank enlisted, no matter how long that enlisted has been in service. As soon as more info. comes in ArchAngel will give the update. MORE: ARCHANGEL REPORTING: CLIFF HICKS, THE SOLDIER THAT WAS CALLED A BITCH FOR REQUESTING CO ArchAngel reported about this Soldier a few months ago, and is pleased to announce (and he has given me permission to say his name) that Mr. Hicks is now a free man. After many long months of pulling extra duty, fighting charges of disrespect, willfully damaging government property, etc, he won his case with little consequences. Back on 9-15-05, Hicks emailed me an update: *********************************************************** Hicks: I achieved a pretty fine victory this morning. If you recall, I had been charged with disrespecting a couple of NCO’s, willfully damaging government property, etc. I’ve been fighting this for some time and have collected three sworn statements (two from sergeants) saying that I was not disrespectful and confirming that my 1st Sgt. called me a “bitch” in front of half the troops. This has been going on since June 28th. Today I got called into my CO’s office, he had me close the door and sit down and he made me an offer. He said that he was downgrading my Article 15 from a max out Company grade (14 days extra duty, busted down to E2, etc.) to a summarized, and that he would impose the minimum punishment. The minimum punishment being a “verbal reprimand.” He also informed me that my 1st Sgt. has received a formal verbal reprimand from himself and the Sgt.Maj., for calling me a “bitch”, which even his own sworn statements used against me admitted. I told the Co that on those terms I would accept the Article 15, so long as he assured me that my three sworn statements would be part of the Article 15 record. I could take this to a Court Martial, but I knew that would take forever and the whole time my packet for CO request, would be sitting at brigade on hold because I would still be pending UCMJ. Besides, there is still a slight chance that through foul play the Court Martial would find me guilty and I could get stuck worse off than just this mere reprimand. So I guess I’ll take it. There will still be an article 15 hearing where I will formally submit all evidence etc. on my behalf. As for the conscientious objector packet, he told me that it has in fact been signed by the Brigade commander. It just has to come back down to the troop so they can attach the Article 15 to it, and then send it back up. After which I suppose it will be going to the division and then off to the DA. Looks like I managed to beat them at their own lousy game for once. It’s about time. My only concern now is that this Article 15 might put a bad taste in the mouths of the DA committee, but it really shouldn’t be too damaging considering I have three sworn statements saying that I didn’t do anything wrong at all. I guess I’ll find out. Cliff Hicks ****************************************** Mr. Hicks was stationed in Germany during this, and kept me informed every now and then of his investigation. He contacted me Nov. 5th reporting this: I just found out that my application has been approved, and I’ve been recommended for honorable discharge by the Commanding General. So I’m good to go and I guess I’ll be home soon. Thanks for all who helped me through this, it’s been a really tough period in my life. I nearly fell over like a sack of potatoes when they gave me the news. I could hardly contain myself!!! Clifton Hicks Hicks fought hard for his rights, and he did everything he could think of by contacting anyone and everyone that he could find. He contacted his IG, EO, Trial Defense, his congressman Jim Davis, myself ArchAngel, and I gave him a phone number in Germany that belonged to the GI Rights Hotline. From what I have been informed, they aided a great deal in his fight for CO. After all is said and done, his troop commander actually formally apologized for the 1st Sgt’s actions and for mishandling of his CO application, etc. Now, his CO has been approved, and he was discharged with an honorable discharge. He is now safe and back home with his family. I asked Hicks if there was anything that he would like to day now that he is out, and his reply was, “stay in school, and join the navy instead.” What I find funny is that this case involved another 1st Sgt. Rank structure is put in the military for a reason. It’s there for leadership, respect and responsibility. Abuse of rank is not one of them, and in my opinion it should be a cause for loss of rank. Back in the training days where you had no rank, you had a squad leader, and if that person did not do his/her job then they were fired and the job was given to another. Soldiers with rank need to think back on this. Abusing rank will only cause lower ranks to question your ability to lead and disrespect because of lack of respect. In a time of war you need everyone there to watch your back. If you are not there for your Soldiers, then who do you think will be there for you. A famous quote: “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” IRAQ WAR REPORTS TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIER KILLED BY IED December 5, 2005 HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE Number: 05-12-08C BAGHDAD, Iraq — A Task Force Baghdad Soldier was killed when a patrol struck an improvised explosive device in east Baghdad Dec. 4. Soldier 12/5/2005 MACON, Ga. (AP) Another Georgia soldier has died in Iraq. Specialist Philip Allan Dodson Junior, a member of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team, died Friday in a vehicle accident. The soldier’s father says the Army told him his son died when the Humvee he was in overturned near Ali Air Base in the southern Dhi Quar province. He says he doesn’t know whether his son was on a combat mission at the time. The 42-year-old Dodson was from Forsyth. He leaves a wife and a 16-year-old daughter. Dodson was responsible for repairing generators, but he had volunteered to be a machine gunner on convoys three days a week, according to his father. Lower Burrell Marine Badly Injured December 5, 2005 By Michael Aubele, VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH A Lower Burrell native was being treated at a military hospital in Germany on Sunday for serious injuries suffered last week while serving with the Marines in Iraq, a family member said. First Lt. Raymond Baronie, a 1998 Burrell High School graduate, had undergone several surgeries at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for injuries he received when his convoy was attacked Thursday outside Baghdad, said Baronie’s aunt Alida Baronie, of New Kensington. Baronie, a Mercyhurst College graduate with aspirations to work for the FBI, turned 26 on Saturday. His aunt said the soldier suffered several leg fractures as well as internal injuries. She said the family did not know many details about the attack. Military officials said Saturday that Baronie was part of a six-vehicle convoy that was attacked by insurgents in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad. Sgt. 1st Class Brent A. Adams, a West View soldier serving with the Pennsylvania National Guard, was killed in the attack. Baronie, a baseball player and wrestler in high school, is single and an only child, his aunt said. Bradley Destroyed By IED In Ramadi A U.S. Bradley fighting vehicle lies in flames in Ramadi, Dec. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein) December 5, 2005 Associated Press U.S. troops and Iraqi troops began an operation Monday in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, to help “neutralize the insurgency” before the Dec. 15 parliamentary election, a U.S. military said. At least one Bradley fighting vehicle was destroyed when it was hit by a roadside bomb, but there were no injuries, Iraqi police Lt. Mohammed Al-Ubaidi said. Armed Iraqis Stone Japanese Military Vehicles 12/05/05 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS A group of Iraqis opposed to Japan’s military presence damaged a Japanese military vehicle in southern Iraq, the Defense Agency said Monday, as Tokyo prepared to announce whether it will extend the humanitarian mission for another year. A mirror on an armored truck was broken Sunday when protesters threw stones outside a building repaired by Japanese troops in the town of Rumaythah near Samawah, an agency spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy. No one was injured, she said, adding that no other details were immediately available. Some 40 armed demonstrators, believed to be members of a Shiite Muslim group backing anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, surrounded the building where a ceremony marking the completion of its repairs was being held and threw stones at a line of Japanese military vehicles parked outside, demanding Japan’s withdrawal, Kyodo News agency reported. The incident occurred a day after Japanese defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga visited the town to inspect Japanese troops and review the area’s safety ahead of an expected decision to extend the mission for another year. After his visit to Samawah, Nukaga issued a statement saying the area was relatively safe and stressing the need to extend Japan’s mission. Nukaga’s weekend visit to Samawah was largely seen as an attempt to gain public support for an extension of the increasingly unpopular mission. Notes 12/05/05 By JEREMY REDMON, Cox News Service TREBIL, Iraq — The desolate highway from this trash-strewn town on the Jordanian border into western Iraq is littered with bomb craters and burned-out skeletons of supply trucks. They are grim reminders of the dangers that lurk along this main supply route for U.S. forces here. Georgia National Guard soldiers regularly travel the highway, protecting trucks loaded with fuel, food and water. They send roughly 100 troops in about 30 heavily armed military vehicles to guard each convoy. Despite the overwhelming military presence, insurgents are aggressively attacking the convoys with rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 11, 37 roadside bombs hit convoys or were detected by soldiers before they detonated. One recent convoy was attacked with eight roadside bombs. “You get hit every damn time you go out,” said Capt. Jeff Schneider , 34, a full-time Georgia National Guard soldier from Atlanta who helps guard the convoys. More than 2 1/2 years after the invasion of Iraq, the ambushes underscore how insurgencies remain robust in many parts of the country, despite U.S. attempts to stamp them out. The soldiers consider these enemies such a threat that they escort each supply convoy. Still, even with the overwhelming military presence, insurgents are aggressively attacking. “You need all this security. It’s a way to guarantee that our supplies get there,” Schneider said. Schneider is a member of the Savannah-based 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment Task Force, part of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team. The brigade is guarding supply convoys across Iraq, from Tallil in the south to Baghdad in central Iraq to Trebil in the west. The Theater Security Mission, as it is officially known, is important because it ensures soldiers get the supplies they need, everything from beans to bullets. “For every couple of insurgents we detain or kill, there are busloads of them coming across the border to join the cause,” said 1st Lt. Alan Dufresne , 28, a financial adviser who belongs to a Rhode Island-based company of National Guard infantrymen attached to the 118th. Dufresne is constantly trying to fool the insurgents by changing his travel patterns. But that’s a challenging task — there is only one paved highway between the Jordanian border and their supply hub at Al Asad Air Base, near the city of Hit. One 118th officer said that predicament makes soldiers “sitting ducks.” “They are hitting you every time on this mission,” said Sgt. Curtis Wilmont , 45, a truck driver from Pembroke. “They are real consistent because they know your movement. They know you are coming and they know you are leaving.” In recent months, several civilian truck drivers and U.S. soldiers from other units have been killed on supply routes across Iraq. As of Thanksgiving, no 118th soldiers had been killed or seriously injured on their missions in western Iraq. They have managed to keep their supply convoys running despite the attacks. But their vehicles have taken a beating from roadside bombs. During the last week of November, a 118th supply convoy was hit by two roadside bombs, narrowly avoided a third and possibly a fourth. The convoy started early on the morning of Nov. 22 and ended on Thanksgiving Day. The troops started their mission escorting about 100 empty supply trucks to Trebil. On the first leg of the trip, they rolled along a treacherous road called Route Uranium. Pocked with bomb craters, the road passes through a desert landscape. Soldiers wince on the narrow, one-lane route as they drive past suspicious-looking piles of gravel and sand, possible hiding places for bombs. A sign warns of mines off the road. Route Uranium eventually gives way to Route Mobile, a divided highway lined with the blackened carcasses of supply trucks. When the trucks break down, U.S. soldiers move them far off the road and blow them up so they cannot be used as booby traps. More than halfway through their trip, the 118th soldiers encountered some Marines stopping traffic. The Marines were about to detonate a bomb they found planted in the median. It was three mortar rounds connected to a car battery. When the Marines blew it up, the troops heard two explosions, the second possibly coming from another bomb planted nearby. Insurgents sometimes attempt to lure soldiers by placing a bomb, called a “come-along,” in clear view. They conceal a second explosive nearby to kill troops who climb out of their armored vehicles to destroy the first bomb. “I’m glad they found it because it was intended for us,” Dufresne said while briefing his troops later that evening. Dufresne and his men slept that night at Camp Korean Village, a small Marine post 223 miles from Al Asad Air Base. Soldiers say the camp got its name from the Koreans who built the divided highway to Trebil for Saddam Hussein’s regime. The camp is blacked out at night, giving soldiers a striking view of the stars. The National Guard soldiers didn’t start out with this mission. Until October, the 118th Task Force was headquartered at Camp Taji, a sprawling base northwest of Baghdad. The troops patrolled the surrounding area and hunted insurgents. Some 118th soldiers say their new mission is riskier because of the persistent threat of roadside bombs. “I’m on the end of my tour and we went from dangerous to more dangerous,” said Sgt. 1st Class Wayne Oldroyd , 39, a Massachusetts state prison worker who is attached to the 118th Task Force. “You are basically riding down the road waiting to get blown up.” On the second day of their convoy, Oldroyd and the other troops traveled 70 miles to Trebil. As they pulled into the outskirts, they saw two puppies wrestling over a dead rat in a pile of garbage. The soldiers dropped off the empty supply trucks and linked up with 100 others full of fuel, food and water. Before they left, Guard soldiers inspected each truck to ensure it would not break down and make the convoy vulnerable to attacks. Then the soldiers placed pieces of cardboard in the sand, marking spots where they wanted the civilian truck drivers to stand and be frisked. They searched for weapons, drugs and alcohol, anything that could interfere with the mission. Soldiers also scan the U.S. military contract drivers for tattoos that could link them to insurgent groups or militias. They also confiscate the drivers’ cellphones. They don’t want them tipping off insurgents about their travel times and locations. Insurgents have killed drivers in the past, stolen their passports and posed as their victims to gain entry into Iraq, U.S. soldiers said. Most of the drivers come from Jordan, Sudan and the Dominican Republic. “When you see a new face, you have to keep your eyes on them,” said Spc. Luis Rivera, 41, of Jesup, who works at Sea Island Resort in civilian life. On the way back to Camp Korean Village, the convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb. No one was seriously injured, but the blast flattened three of the Humvee’s tires. Insurgents placed the explosive in a storm drain on the side of the road. The drains run perpendicular to the highway, making it easy for insurgents to aim and time their bombs. U.S. troops have stripped the metal guardrails from the highway so they can’t be used to plant explosives. On Thanksgiving, the last day of their three-day convoy, the troops got hit again. Nobody was seriously injured, and the Humvee was not disabled. Soldiers aren’t the only ones at risk on these convoys. Chris Lee , a fuel truck driver for KBR, a major U.S. military contractor, said 12 of his colleagues have been killed on Iraq’s roads in the last four months. Lee, who goes by the nickname “Fuel Dude,” inherited a truck riddled with bullet holes and damaged by a roadside bomb. He said KBR’s rules prohibit him from carrying a sidearm. So he straps three knives to his vest. “It kind of looks like Rambo,” said Lee, 48, a burly truck driver from St. Louis. “I’m not going to end up on TV, getting my head chopped off.” “If it gets more dangerous,” Lee continued, “I will pull the plug and go home.” As Lee prepared to pump his fuel out at a small U.S. military base near Hit, a roadside bomb exploded near the entrance to the camp. The blast seriously injured an Iraqi soldier, who was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital. “Well, good thing we hadn’t left yet,” 2nd Lt. Matt Pitts , 21, of St. Mary’s, said dryly as he waited to escort Lee back to Al Asad Air Base. Lee wears a helmet and body armor on his convoys. The interior of his truck is wrapped in a Kevlar blanket and has ballistic shields that fit behind the doors. Truck drivers for other U.S. military contractors don’t have such protections. Supervisors for the Amman, Jordan-based International Oil Trading Company, said their drivers lack helmets, body armor and Kevlar blankets. Two drivers have been wounded by roadside bombs in recent weeks, said Ahmad Al-Shaer , an International Oil Trading Company supervisor. One was blinded in his right eye and the other was burned. A third driver was kidnapped and beheaded in Trebil recently, Al-Shaer said. “They hate us because we are working with” American soldiers, he said. A fellow supervisor, Cezar Mejina Gonzalez , has been riding on the convoys between Trebil and Al Asad for more than a year. He said he is in Iraq for his wife and two young children back home in the Dominican Republic. “I want to give a better life for them. That is why I take the risk,” said Gonzalez, 31. Gonzalez and Al-Shaer agree the U.S. military escorts are critical for their convoys. None of their drivers, they said, would show up for work if the troops were not there to escort them. How Bad Is It? 12.5.05 Christian Science Monitor High-tech Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams, equipped with signal-jamming radar, robots, and spacesuit-like protective gear, specialize in detecting and detonating roadside bombs in Iraq. But most days there are not enough of the specialists to go around. So, U.S. Marines on patrol tend to gently poke anything suspicious with a knife, and snip the wires of the bombs they discover themselves. NEED SOME TRUTH? CHECK OUT TRAVELING SOLDIER Telling the truth – about the occupation or the criminals running the government in Washington – is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance – whether it’s in the streets of Baghdad, New York, or inside the armed forces. Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces. If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network of active duty organizers. REALLY BAD PLACE TO BE: A U.S. soldier stands beside a destroyed Iraqi police car after an attack by a car bomber in Baquba, November 9, 2005. (Helmiy Al-Azawi/Reuters) AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS Two Copters Shot Down, December 05, 2005 By Steve Gutterman, Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan — Two U.S. helicopters that made emergency landings during a day of violence in volatile southern Afghanistan were hit by fire from insurgents, a U.S. military official said Monday. Five U.S. soldiers and an Afghan army soldier were injured when the helicopters, both involved in the same combat operation, made hard landings on Sunday — one in Kandahar province and one in neighboring Uruzgan province. “Both helicopters received enemy fire,” said Lt. Col. Laurent Fox, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition force. Fox told a news conference that it was apparently the enemy fire that forced the helicopters down. He said the pilots saved lives by landing the helicopters after taking fire. All six soldiers were treated and have returned to duty, Fox said. The helicopter that landed hard in Kandahar province, injuring the five U.S. soldiers, was severely damaged, he said. The other, which landed at a forward operating base in Uruzgan province and injured the Afghan soldier, can probably be repaired. It was unclear what kind of ammunition hit the two CH-47 Chinooks, Fox said. In Zabul on Monday, the explosion of a homemade bomb injured a coalition soldier, coalition spokesman Lt. Mike Cody said, while provincial government spokesman Ali Khail said a mine apparently planted by militants wounded three Afghan soldiers. In other attacks in the south Sunday, three U.S. soldiers were injured when a homemade bomb detonated near their convoy during combat operations in the Zabul province, and a Canadian coalition soldier was slightly injured in a blast set off by an attacker in Kandahar. That blast occurred as a coalition patrol was passing through the former Taliban stronghold. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanekzai said the explosives detonated when the attacker was hit by a motorbike, whose driver was also killed. A coalition soldier was slightly injured and returned to duty following the attack, Cody said. The convoy and the injured soldier were Canadian, Lt. Col. Steve Borland told The Canadian Press. U.S. and Afghan officials said they believed the attacker was a suicide bomber, but a police officer at the scene said the man was apparently throwing a grenade at the convoy when he was hit by the motorbike. TROOP NEWS Troops Tell Congressman They Want To Come Home, “A Sharp Contrast” To 2004 December 2, 2005 By MATTHEW DALY, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER WASHINGTON — Just back from Iraq, Rep. Adam Smith says he is encouraged by the progress U.S. troops are making there. But Smith, one of two House Democrats from Washington state to vote in favor of the war, said Friday if he had to do it over, he would change his vote. Smith met several times with small groups of soldiers from Washington state and elsewhere during his time in Iraq. While morale is good, most troops now say they want to come home, Smith said – a sharp contrast to his last Iraq visit in June 2004. Do you have a friend or relative in the service? Forward this E-MAIL along, or send us the address if you wish and we’ll send it regularly. Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the war, at home and inside the armed services. Send requests to address up top. “My Son Told Us Two Weeks Before He Died That He Felt The War Was Not Worth It” Recalling his last conversation with his son, Mr. Schroeder said, “I asked him, ‘Do you feel like you’re protecting your family and other Americans back here?’ And he said, ‘No. Not at all.’” He said Augie felt that he was not accomplishing anything. “He thought it was a waste.” 05 December 2005 By Bob Herbert, The New York Times [Excerpts] The news last week that 10 marines had been killed in Falluja in yet another improvised bomb attack sent a familiar feeling of dread surging through Paul Shroeder. Every morning, when Mr. Shroeder awakens, he feels normal for the first 5 or 10 seconds. And then it dawns on him that his son, Augie – Lance Cpl. Edward August Shroeder II – is no longer around. Then an awful sadness descends, like a black curtain, over the rest of the day. Corporal Shroeder, 23, was one of 14 marines killed last August in a roadside explosion in Haditha, in western Iraq. Just two days earlier, six marines from the same reserve unit – the Ohio-based Third Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment – had been killed in an ambush. “My son told us two weeks before he died that he felt the war was not worth it,” Mr. Shroeder said. “His complaint was about having to go back repeatedly into the same towns, to sweep the same insurgents, or other insurgents, out of these same towns without being able to hold them, secure them. It just was not working, and that’s what he wanted to get across.” He took issue with the public officials who insist that his son died for a “noble cause,” however comforting that might be to believe. On the contrary, he feels that Augie’s life “was wasted.” Recalling his last conversation with his son, Mr. Schroeder said, “I asked him, ‘Do you feel like you’re protecting your family and other Americans back here?’ And he said, ‘No. Not at all.’ “ He said Augie felt that he was not accomplishing anything. “He thought it was a waste.” I asked Mr. Shroeder how life has been for him and his wife since Augie’s death. He paused for a long time, then said: “Life is not the same. The holidays are not good. We both are church people and we sing in the choir, and this is the Christmas season. So normally it’s a time of great music and wonderful singing. But I can’t participate this year because – well, because he’s just not here.” “Active-Duty Soldiers Who’ve Spoken With Human Rights Watch Are Increasingly Angry About The Torture Scandals” “A number of soldiers we’ve talked to have told us they were ordered by military intelligence to torture,” Sifton told Salon. “And not just at Abu Ghraib but at forward operating bases across Iraq.” According to Sifton, several soldiers who tried to report misconduct say their superiors told them to take a hike. Dec. 5, 2005 By Mark Follman, Salon.com [Excerpts] A growing number of military and CIA personnel, according to officers from both realms, admit that the Bush policies, hatched in the fearful weeks and months after 9/11, have deeply corrupted military and intelligence operations over four years of war. Army Capt. Ray Kimball is among the growing number who say that interrogation by torture is anti-American, ineffective and categorically wrong. In an interview with Salon, he said it also causes severe harm to U.S. soldiers themselves. “Torture not only degrades the victim, it also ultimately degrades the torturer,” said Kimball, who served in Iraq and now teaches history at West Point. “We already have enough soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder after legitimate combat experiences. But now you’re talking about adding the burden of willfully inflicting wanton pain on another human being. “You tell a soldier to go out there and ‘waterboard’ someone” — strap a prisoner to a board, bind his face in cloth, and pour water over his face until he fears death by drowning — “or mock-execute someone, but nobody is thinking about what that’s going to do to that soldier months or years later, when it comes to dealing with the rationalizations and internal consequences. We’re talking about serious psychic trauma.” More soldiers are starting to come forward with the support of groups like Human Rights Watch, which conducts leading research on torture in the war on terror. Although unwilling to talk on the record for fear of retribution by the military, a number of active-duty soldiers who’ve spoken with Human Rights Watch are increasingly angry about the torture scandals, according to researcher John Sifton. While some soldiers are wary that media and human rights groups are out to make the military look bad, Sifton says most of them realize that they are taking the sole blame for the abuses. “A number of soldiers we’ve talked to have told us they were ordered by military intelligence to torture,” Sifton told Salon. “And not just at Abu Ghraib but at forward operating bases across Iraq.” According to Sifton, several soldiers who tried to report misconduct say their superiors told them to take a hike. According to the senior Army JAG, who wasn’t authorized to speak to the media and was granted anonymity by Salon, many fellow JAGs and military officers feel that the administration has long since veered into dubious territory. “There are plenty of us who think that the legal opinions put forth by the administration, while maybe passable from a technical standpoint, aren’t serving our long-term interests. The feeling is that there are steep costs to the administration’s views, and that we’re just beginning to pay them.” Dec. 6: [Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.] December 5, 2005 by Maya Schenwar,Commondreams.org When the Solomon Amendment, the law that requires universities to allow military recruiters on campus, first passed in 1995, the bill’s co-sponsor Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) declared an intention to “send a message over the wall of the ivory tower of higher education.” On December 6, the “ivory tower” will send a message back. In court, the oral argument will be presented for FAIR v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court case which will decide the fate of the Solomon Amendment. On the street, thousands of students, teachers and peace activists will participate in the National Day of Counter-Recruitment, holding rallies and educational events in almost every major city. The day of protest, organized by Campus Anti-War Network (CAN) and endorsed by Cindy Sheehan, Howard Zinn and Kathy Kelly, is expected to be the largest student counter-recruitment action organized around the Iraq War to date. “A military that is an unequal employer and that funnels people into an immoral war should not be able to recruit on campus,” said Ian Chinich, a member of Rutgers Anti-War and an organizer of the December 6 protest. “We hope that the public and the anti-war movement realize that counter-recruitment is one of the most effective strategies for fighting against the war and is also a moral imperative.” Counter-recruitment, then, is not simply about getting recruiters out of the schools: it’s about presenting young people with alternatives to enlisting. Many of the Counter-Recruitment Day actions will involve direct protests staged at recruiting stations, in which protestors will distribute information to potential recruits. The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, an endorser of the Dec. 6 protests and a key player in the counter-recruitment movement, councils prospective recruits in the dangers of military involvement, non-military ways to finance college and alternative service learning opportunities. In the past couple of months, the counter-recruitment movement has seen a string of successes. Sixty percent of voters in San Francisco approved a proposition last month to kick recruiters off campuses and fund non-military scholarships. The first national student-organized anti-recruitment day, Not Your Soldier Day of Action, rocked 40 campuses on November 17. As the verdict on FAIR v. Rumsfeld draws closer, activists are crossing their fingers for another victory, hoping that if given the chance, schools will say no to recruiters on campus. “The majority is with us in opposing the war and military recruitment,” Wrigley-Field said. “It’s time to get that majority organized to get recruiters out of our schools.” To find out about National Counter-Recruitment Day events near you, see www.campusantiwar.net. Praising The Troops In Iraq While Offering Up The Politicians Who Sent Them There As Finger Food For The Undead While Dante’s film will no doubt raise hackles, my guess is that most members of the military would get a kick out of this flick that praises the troops in Iraq while offering up the politicians and pundits who sent them there as finger food for the undead. [Thanks to Phil G, who sent this in.] December 05, 2005 by Grady Hendrix, Zmag.org Just when things looked like they couldn’t get any worse for President Bush, here come the zombies to vote him out of office. They arrive courtesy of Joe Dante’s Homecoming, a one-hour movie made for Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” series that airs tonight and tomorrow and will be rebroadcast throughout December. One part satire of soulless Beltway insiders, one part gut-crunching horror flick, Homecoming kicks off when the flag-draped coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq burst open and the reanimated corpses of dead veterans hit the streets, searching for polling places where they can pull the lever for “anyone who will end this evil war.” His characters seem like people we’ve just watched on MSNBC. There’s David Murch, a political consultant for an unnamed Republican president who sounds exactly like President Bush. His new girlfriend, Jane Cleaver, is a bullying pundit cloned from Ann Coulter’s DNA. There’s also a James Carville look-alike and a Jerry Falwell doppelgänger, complete with quivering jowls. Dante delivers the thrill of watching familiar figures spin the issues and dole out doublespeak, yet he doesn’t stint on the satisfaction of seeing them have their brains eaten afterwards. He’s the first horror director to take the bits of media flotsam and jetsam that have been drifting around—the flag-draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base, the talking-head cable shows, the internment camps, the Ohio and Florida recounts, the “Mission Accomplished” banners—and make something electrifying out of them. Horror is cheap and disposable. It has to figure out what scares you and throw it up on the screen (or down on the page) fast—there’s no time to cover its tracks. But why all the zombies? Zombie movies have always been the richest in subtext, whether it’s the cartoonish class warfare of Land of the Dead or the anti-Vietnam- war message of 1974’s Deathdream. Today, zombies are the perfect metaphor for our soldiers in Iraq: They’re shell-shocked, anonymous, and aren’t asked to make very many decisions. Unless you personally know a soldier, the war in Iraq has been a zombie war, fought by an uncomplaining, faceless mass wrapped in desert camo and called “our boys.” We talk about them all the time— supporting them, criticizing them, speaking for them— but we don’t really have a clue as to what’s on their minds. They often seem like disposable units sent to enforce the will of our country. But what if they come back and they’re different? What if they come back and don’t want to follow orders anymore? What’s shocking about Dante’s Homecoming is that he dispenses with the usual horror subtext completely. Pundits go on TV to defend the living dead’s right to vote until they find out they’re not voting Republican. Zombies rise from the grave, wrapped in the American flag. There’s even a Cindy Sheehan stand-in with a zombie son. Nothing is too recent or too raw. Dante has always had an ax to grind — his film Small Soldiers was an anti-violence carnival of killer toys and even the lovable Gremlins had an anti-consumption message. But Homecoming is on another level of guilty pleasures, a junk-food adrenaline rush that debunks the myth of glorious war, presenting every ugly wound in gory latex detail, while having nothing but compassion for the lonely, lurching, living-dead soldiers. While Dante’s film will no doubt raise hackles, my guess is that most members of the military would get a kick out of this flick that praises the troops in Iraq while offering up the politicians and pundits who sent them there as finger food for the undead. Some big brains have tried to make a statement about the war in Iraq, and every single one of them should be standing in line, heads hung low, waiting to get their artistic licenses revoked. Who would’ve thought that where Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11), Sam Mendes (Jarhead), and Steven Bochco (Over There) got it so wrong, the director of Looney Tunes: Back in Action would have gotten it so right? Corps Of Engineers Breaks Law, Fucks Over Returning AF Man: November 28, 2005 By Karen Jowers, Army Times staff writer [Excerpts] The Army Corps of Engineers violated federal law when it refused to rehire an Air Force member after he returned from military service, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has concluded. OSC filed a petition with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board on Nov. 10, asking the board to order the Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville, Fla., District to rehire Russell Jones in a job with similar pay, status and seniority as the one he previously held. The Merit Systems Protection Board is an independent agency that adjudicates federal employee complaints. The Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to rehire Jones “is a clear violation of USERRA because there was no change in the agency’s circumstances that made it impossible or unreasonable” to re-employ him, OSC officials said in a prepared statement. Just two days before OSC filed its petition, a Pentagon committee gave its seal of approval to the Army Corps of Engineers for its commitment as an employer to supporting Guard and reserve members. The Defense Department’s National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve announced Nov. 8 that the chief of the Army Corps of Engineers signed a “5-Star” statement of support for Guard and reserve employees at a ceremony in Philadelphia. IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP Associated Resistance Action The body of Iraqi employee of Abu-Guraib Prison, Abbas Hussein, who was shot dead in a drive by shooting on a highway as he was driving back home from the prison compound, according to a police official, left, is inspected by a police officer at his car in Baghdad, Dec. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Asaad Muhsin) December 5, 2005 Associated Press & Aljazeera & (KUNA) & Reuters Baghdad — Armed fighters have abducted a French engineer in western Baghdad, Iraqi police said Monday, adding to a wave of recent kidnappings of Westerners. The kidnappers surrounded the Frenchman in three cars as he was driving from a house in the wealthy Mansour district of Baghdad to his work the Risafa Water Plant, in the center of the capital, police Captain Qassim Hussein said. A photo identification card found at the scene was for Bernard Planche, the head of mission for AACCESS NGO, a group that works on U.S.-funded water projects. Traces of blood were also found next to one vehicle. An Iraqi election official, Ammar Kamil Ashur, was killed and his assistant injured Monday in Baqouba, a local police statement said. Amir al-Yahya said three men had just left an event at a hospital aimed at educating people about next week’s parliamentary election and were followed by armed fighters in a black car and shot. A bomb was detonated when an Iraqi bomb team was attempting to defuse the bomb, but the blast seriously injured three experts. Armed fighters kidnapped a relative of a senior official in the Iraqi interior ministry. A police source told KUNA they captured the cousin of director allied operations at the ministry, major-general Wajih Abdullah. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE FORWARD OBSERVATIONS Yes At this point, the administration’s arguments for staying in Iraq have the ring of desperation. “They’re the equivalent of telling a man who picks up a beehive and gets stung by dozens of bees that whatever he does, he must not let go of the hive.” Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, December 4, 2005 “When I heard that our government has secretly paid Iraqi reporters and newspapers to report good news about the war, it only made me wonder how bad the real news must be.” Clarence Page Chicago Tribune, December 4, 2005 What do you think? Comments from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Send to contact@militaryproject.org. Name, I.D., withheld on request. Replies confidential. OCCUPATION REPORT Iraqi VP Says Bush Full Of Shit: 12/05/05 By SALLY BUZBEE, The Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The training of Iraqi security forces has suffered a big “setback” in the last six months, with the army and other forces being increasingly used to settle scores and make other political gains, Iraqi Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer said Monday. Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops. Some of the recently trained Iraqi forces focus on settling scores and other political goals rather than maintaining security, he said. He said the army also dominated by Shiites is conducting raids against villages and towns in Sunni and mixed areas of Iraq, rather than targeting specific insurgents a tactic he said reminded many Sunnis of Saddam Hussein-era raids. “Saddam used to raid villages,” using security forces, he said. “This is not the way to do it.” Al-Yawer said many Sunnis want to vote. But he noted that both intimidation and voter fraud occurred during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, and complaints to the Iraqi Electoral Commission and U.N. voting advisers went nowhere, he said. The Trial Of S. Hussein It makes one wonder when Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and the rest will have their day, as the accused, in court. December 05, 2005 by Baghdad Girl Blogger One thing that struck me about what the witnesses were saying- after the assassination attempt in Dujail, so much of what later unfolded is exactly what is happening now in parts of Iraq. They talked about how a complete orchard was demolished because the Mukhabarat thought people were hiding there and because they thought someone had tried to shoot Saddam from that area. That was like last year when the Americans razed orchards in Diyala because they believed insurgents were hiding there. Then they talked about the mass detentions, men, women and children, and its almost as if they are describing present-day Ramadi or Falloojah. The descriptions of cramped detention spaces, and torture are almost exactly the testimonies of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, etc. It makes one wonder when Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and the rest will have their day, as the accused, in court. OCCUPATION ISN’T LIBERATION GI Special Looks Even Better Printed Out gi-special.iraq-news.de GI Special distributes and posts to our website copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law since it is being distributed without charge or profit for educational purposes to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. GI Special has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of these articles nor is GI Special endorsed or sponsored by the originators. This attributed work is provided a non-profit basis to facilitate understanding, research, education, and the advancement of human rights and social justice Go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml for more information. 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