SwiftVets.com

[Jerald L. Parsoneault]

Drudge reporting that a platoon of our guys refused to participate in a convoy mission to deliver fuel and water and that they are being detained by authorities. If true, this is a serious breach of discipline and sign of poor morale -- a contributing factor is more than likely Kerry/Edwards pronouncements and heavy press coverage that we are in the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." Repeated statements that the leadership in Iraq has been "inept" are also detrimental. I pray this is something that is being mis-reported.

Nalt

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Just heard a brief news blurb about it - apparently the convoy leader believed that the convoy was unsafe - unsafe equipment. Maybe he didn't want to have a breakdown somewhere in the middle of the Sunni triangle, leaving his unit exposed and trapped with insubstantial protection.

I'm not sure it's actually a matter of refusing to follow orders, because it's ABC news that's reporting it.

We'll have to wait and see what develops, I guess.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[Jerald L. Parsoneault]

Thanks, I probably over-reacted. I'm just a Navy guy. We got fuel from another ship out on the open sea and made our own water. Biggest threat we faced when we wnt along side and oiler or carrier was trading a good movie for a bad one.

Nalt

[Me#1You#10]

Moving to Geedunk

Thanks

[Tacan70UDN]

[Kimmymac]

Well, no one is JUST a Navy guy.

Can be good reason for a platoon leader to disobey an order, no? If his men would be in extreme jeopardy for a relatively routine thing, he can make the call. I dunno about disobeying a DIRECT order. That is court martial time.

But you know what? Screw the news services. I am so sick of their cheap propoganda. I know CENTCOM thought embeds were a good idea, I think it's crap. I understand their rationale, I just disagree.

What if one guy just freaked? So what? Shinola happens. Not everybody is fit for combat, that is just how it is. Or sometimes they have just gotten Who can blame them? I guess what I want to say is: One incident of *apparent* breach of discipline is not axiomatic to morale problems. Although it will be portrayed that way by the OIM.

In any event, those of us at home don't need to know every fricken detail. It is like showing the caskets coming home--what possible outcome can that have, except eroding the morale of those at home? I have a son in Iraq, and a daughter due to leave in a few weeks--how is that suppossed to make me feel?

I hate the &^%$#@*@# eating *&^%%$#@ media. If these weasels were around in 1941 we would all be working for Mitsubishi and speaking German.

[muggedliberal]

Fox is reporting these men/women were never arrested. Just flipped over to Blather and sure enough, it was their lead story.. said it was resolved.. if they didn't act up anymore, the commanding officer was not going to do anything else about it.

The narrator finished with a statement, something to the effect of.. 'is this an indication that the American soldiers are deciding the war in Iraq is not worth the risk?'

Somebody has to freakin do something about these a$$holes.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

mugged

[Skypilot]

'is this an indication that the American soldiers are deciding the war in Iraq is not worth the risk?"

This kind of reporting is just disgusting!
_________________
Please Mr. Kerry Sign Form #180 Now!
Let the truth set you free? NOT!

[Rdtf]

[msindependent]

ABC News
U.S. Probes if GIs Refused Iraq MissionU.S. Military Investigates Whether Supply Unit in Iraq Refused to Undertake Dangerous MissionThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON Oct. 15, 2004 — The Army is investigating reports that several members of a reservist supply unit in Iraq refused to go on a convoy mission, the military said Friday. Relatives of the soldiers said the troops considered the mission too dangerous.

The reservists are from the 343rd Quartermaster Company, which is based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food and water in combat zones.

According to The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Miss., a platoon of 17 soldiers refused to go on a fuel supply mission Wednesday because their vehicles were in poor shape and they did not have a capable armed escort.

The paper cited interviews with family members of some of the soldiers, who said the soldiers had been confined after their refusals. The mission was carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said.

A whole unit refusing to go on a mission in a war zone would be a significant breach of military discipline. A statement from the military's press center in Baghdad called the incident "isolated."

"The investigating team is currently in Tallil taking statements and interviewing those involved. This is an isolated incident and it is far too early in the investigation to speculate as to what happened, why it happened or any action that might be taken," the coalition press information center said in the statement, sent to The Associated Press in Washington.

In the statement, U.S. military officials said the commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command had appointed his deputy commander to investigate the incident.

The statement did not confirm several aspects of the relatives' stories, including the number of soldiers involved and the reason they refused the mission.

The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq north of Baghdad because their vehicles were considered extremely unsafe, Patricia McCook of Jackson, Miss., told The Clarion-Ledger. Her husband, Sgt. Larry O. McCook, was among those detained, she said, saying her husband had telephoned her from Iraq.

The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., who told the newspaper her daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained.

Patricia McCook said her husband told her he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip.

"He told me that three of the vehicles they were to use were 'deadlines' … not safe to go in a hotbed like that," she said, according to the newspaper.



Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.


http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=168712

[GiveMeFreedom]

Let's help our soldiers out and get this bill passed. I got this from http://www.blackfive.net/main/ (great military site, btw). He says nothing has been done on this bill since June.

Call your congressmen/women & urge them to get this bill out of Congress, so that our military can rapidly purchase the items they need (like stuff to reinforce their vehicles, etc.) without going through all the military red tape! Rumsfeld had gone to Congress once before about this, and could not get it done.
I'm notifying my congressman on Monday.

http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5529&sequence=0 has the details and budgetary analysis of the bill.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:HR04323:@@@X is the bill
status link which shows that nothing has been done since June.

This is a powerful group and not afraid of contacting your representatives. Let's stand up & help our soldiers!
_________________
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GiveMeFreedom
http://www.anysoldier.com
http://www.operationac.com
Support our Soldiers!!

[GIaunt]

I believe that the press should not be allowed to publish any 'news' from the war zone for at least 24 hours after it occurs. By then, families would have been notified, details sorted out, etc...

We delay the broadcast of sporting events for gambling purposes, why not delay for national security reasons?

The anguish of the families when they hear of a death with no details, the vilification of these men & women from the news for what may be a non-story, the position of troops, etc... These are sound reasons to delay publication....

We are at war and the press needs to voluntarily do what is right, not what is a scoop......

[Redleg]

I think there will some fallout over the refusal of those troopers who did not show up for the ops meeting and did not go on the mission.
As stated in the news release, the mission was carried out by others in the unit and that may be bad news for those that refused to go.
If several vehicles were regarded as deadlined, were those the same vehicles that did go on the mission?

I would hope this issue will be quietly resolved, however a few troopers may drop a few pay grades.
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FIRE MISSION: Kerry campaign in line of sight.

[GIaunt]

CNN just reported that all are back at their jobs, and no one has been arrested.....

[bk_mo]

LETS ALL THANK JOHN KERRY FOR NOT FUNDING THE TROOPS!!!!!!
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BK