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News :: Miscellaneous : Peace : Prisons |
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Mississippi National Guard Platoon defies orders in Iraq |
Current rating: 0 |
by Jeremy Hudson/PVFP
Email: vfppcola (nospam) yahoo.com |
15 Oct 2004
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By Jeremy Hudson
jehudson (at) clarionledger.com
A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around
the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide
mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.
The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north
of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or
extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry
O. McCook.
Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16
other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C.,
were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into
tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked
phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.
The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders,
punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five
years confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate
professor of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C.
No military officials were able to confirm or deny the detainment of
the platoon Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said he plans to submit a congressional
inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an
investigation into whether they are being treated improperly.
"I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous
situation ill-equipped," said Thompson, who was contacted by families.
"I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles
that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It
concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to
equip our forces in Iraq.
"President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but
if this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has
been with the country," Thompson said.
The 343rd is a supply unit whose general mission is to deliver fuel
and water. The unit includes three women and 14 men and those with
ranking up to sergeant first class.
"I got a call from an officer in another unit early (Thursday) morning
who told me that my husband and his platoon had been arrested on a
bogus charge because they refused to go on a suicide mission," said
Jackie Butler of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year
reservist. "When my husband refuses to follow an order, it has to be
something major."
The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North
Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan,
Ala., whose daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained.
McClenny, 21, pleaded for help in a message left on her mother's
answering machine early Thursday morning.
"They are holding us against our will," McClenny said. "We are now
prisoners."
McClenny told her mother her unit tried to deliver fuel to another
base in Iraq Wednesday, but was sent back because the fuel had been
contaminated with water. The platoon returned to its base, where it
was told to take the fuel to another base, McClenny told her mother.
The platoon is normally escorted by armed Humvees and helicopters, but
did not have that support Wednesday, McClenny told her mother.
The convoy trucks the platoon was driving had experienced problems in
the past and were not being properly maintained, Hill said her
daughter told her.
The situation mirrors other tales of troops being sent on missions
without proper equipment.
Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous
missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old
missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body
armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment
have been included in recent presidential debates.
Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well
the severity of disobeying orders. But 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," Patricia McCook said.
Hill said the trucks her daughter's unit was driving could not top 40 mph.
"They knew there was a 99 percent chance they were going to get
ambushed or fired at," Hill said her daughter told her. "They would
have had no way to fight back."
Kathy Harris of Vicksburg is the mother of Aaron Gordon, 20, who is
among those being detained. Her primary concern is that she has been
told the soldiers have not been provided access to a judge advocate
general.
Stevens said if the soldiers are being confined, law requires them to
have a hearing before a magistrate within seven days.
Harris said conditions for the platoon have been difficult of late.
Her son e-mailed her earlier this week to ask what the penalty would
be if he became physical with a commanding officer, she said.
But Nadine Stratford of Rock Hill, S.C., said her godson Colin Durham,
20, has been happy with his time in Iraq. She has not heard from him
since the platoon was detained.
"When I talked to him about a month ago, he was fine," Stratford said.
"He said it was like being at home." |
This work is in the public domain |
