Posted on 02/06/2005 6:45:18 AM PST by presidio9
In front of a cheering male audience, two young women wearing only bras and panties throw themselves into a mud-filled plastic kiddie pool and roll around in a wild wrestling match.
At one point a man in the audience raises a water bottle and douses the entwined pair.
At another, a "referee" moves in to break up the scantily clad grapplers.
A young blond lifts her T-shirt to expose her breasts. A brunette turns her back to the camera and exposes her thong undies.
These scenes, taken from 30 photos leaked to the Daily News, could have been snapped at an out-of-control frat party.
But this happened a world away from any American college.
The photos were taken in Camp Bucca, the military prison at Umm Qasr in the hot sands of southern Iraq near the Kuwaiti border.
The women are not coeds but military policewomen who had left their uniforms in a pile not far off.
The men are soldiers, too. Most of them wore T-shirts emblazoned with Army logos, but at least one was still wearing his uniform.
Some were sergeants, including the referee, and some allegedly were drunk.
The photos were taken last Oct. 30, in the same period when enemy detainees were being transferred to Camp Bucca from Abu Ghraib, the prison made notorious by photos of Americans torturing naked Iraqis.
The Camp Bucca pictures document no such abuses.
But they do show what experts called a disconcerting lapse in discipline at a time when Army brass was touting the camp as a model of reform.
"It was basically a goodbye party for those of us who were leaving and a welcome party for those coming in," the alleged referee, Sgt. Emil Ganim of the 160th Military Police Battalion, told The News. "It was a chance for people to blow off some steam before coming home after spending a year in a combat zone."
But one participant described less-benign behavior.
Two sergeants, she said, told her "they had been lending out their room for soldiers to have sex" - a serious infraction of military regulations.
One female soldier, a prison guard with the 160th Military Police Battalion, was photographed baring her breast and showing off her thong panties.
The picture apparently was taken in the room of one of those sergeants, an investigator reported.
The witness told investigators that two high-ranking noncommissioned officers, a first sergeant and a master sergeant, were present. She "noted that these NCOs had been drinking and were noticeably drunk," the report said.
Ganim said American civilians at the camp also participated in the party, and "if anybody had liquor, it was them."
Ganim has since returned to his civilian job as a deputy sheriff in Leon County, Fla.
"It appears that this event was allegedly coordinated by NCOs [sergeants] of the 160th," according to the initial investigation.
One of the soldiers told investigators the mud-wrestling match was underway when she arrived.
"She took off her uniform and joined the other female soldiers that were wrestling," the report says. But "once soldiers started asking for the females to expose themselves [she and two of the other wrestlers] put their uniforms back on and left the area."
But at least one woman was not deterred.
Deanna Allen, a 19-year-old prison guard with the 105th MP Battalion, smiled and lifted her T-shirt. Photos show a man standing close to her and leering at her breasts while another G.I. snaps pictures.
"From what I understand they dared her to do it," said Allen's grandmother, Luci Tomlin, in Black Mountain, N.C. "It was a loose moment. She is a strong-headed young lady. Sometimes she can be a little irrational."
Allen, who is still stationed in Iraq, did not respond to E-mailed questions from The News. She was demoted in rank to private first class.
"A sex party with alcohol that is prohibited would suggest a serious breakdown of military discipline," said Washington-based lawyer Eugene Fidell, a military-justice expert. "Just how it would be handled would be determined by the commander, who has very broad discretion in situations like this.
Fidell said punishments could range from "a good chewing out to loss of rank" for enlisted personnel and "a letter or career-killing transfer" for officers who allowed it to happen.
LOL but they are great movies and I can never see enough of Follow Me Boys.
I'm glad to see that there's one adult here who understands the problem.
Ditto....
I don't see how anyone can defend this sort of behavior by our armed forces. I find their behavior disgusting and think all those involved should be dishonorably discharged immediately.This is the equivalent of "R&R" our soldiers have enjoyed since we've had soldiers. In Iraq, it is of neccesity practiced in areas we control. The only other difference is now we have the 'net and digital cameras.
From what I've heard from friends who served in the Navy, your standards would have required 20-50% of each ship's crew to be dishonorabled out every time they docked at Subic.
This is the United States military, not that of the United Christian Dioceses.
-Eric
Oh, sorry. I was under the impression there were certain rules the service members were required to obey. My mistake. I didn't realize the military condoned Animal House behavior. And I didn't realize the actions of those involved were done to make America proud. I guess I am very out of touch with the real world.
It's not an international crisis, but it's bad PR. As long as they're stationed in Iraq, our soldiers are never truly off duty.
Those offenters would get trooper punishment. It's much more effective if done right.
When I administered Office hours punishment I'd make sure to let them know which of their buddies got them in this condition and would have already set it up with the Gunny to set up an open challenge A&R smoker bout area and I take all the LTs on a terrain walk during the bout.
Violent hazing, homosexual officers abusing their subordinates, etc. It is so bad that some men are committing suicide rather than be drafted.
Morale officer re-run Stripes one time to many?When does PJ Soles emerge from the toybox? >:)
-Eric
Bravo!
Pretty much.
I figure they're blowing off steam.
Unfortunately, much can be made out of it.
Swap out the girls with guys wrestling in the sand and it becomes nothing at all.
If there are to be women in uniform, then why the fuss when something like this happens I wonder?
Nope. It was the rabid hysteria and intolerance of civilians that led to the destruction of many good careers.
No, we have instituted the Diana Special rule, where normal expectations of public responses to public posts no longer apply.
Rape? Assault and battery? Adultery? Conduct unbecoming and Officer or NCO?
Any of these charges can be brought forth under the UCMJ. This is always appropriate when conduct warrants it and is taught to all members of the Armed Services. What's your point? Any illicit behavior can be disciplined at any time in the military, but what has been described in this "blowing off steam" episode doesn't appear to have crossed into that territory.
This cold water comment is as valid as a soldier coming forward and claiming "murder." Throw in any criminal conduct and you've changed the facts of the case. I have not heard of any charges of rape or murder being leveled in this matter, so your point is moot.
Well, that, but also the fact that a woman who wanted to be one of the boys freaked when she was actually treated the way she advertised.
Actually, it was the gutless career officers who caved to the demands of feminists, rather than handling the problem for what is was--a breakdown in military discipline.
Military women are in danger of becoming hosemonsters anywhere.
Bluntly, I don't give a d*mn. I doubt if they were doing it in a neighborhood Muslim bar, and I very much doubt they allowed any Muslims to observe or participate. If not for some heavy breathing liberal "journalist" probably paying someone for the photos, no one would have butted in.
Fortunately for the republic, our fifth column fourth estate will do their best to make these grown men and women pay for their fun. /sarcasm
From an Iowa Town to Marine Corps Legend
By Nathaniel R. Helms
U.S. Marine Corps First Sergeant Brad Kasal is an American hero. His story is a remarkable tale of bravery, sacrifice and savagery that adds another page to the great book of American military lore.
Still holding his 9mm Beretta, a seriously injured First Sgt. Brad Kasal is helped from a Fallujah house on Nov. 13, 2004, after killing several Iraqi insurgents and with his own body shielding a fellow Marine from a grenade blast.
Why do media types never seem to train their cameras and poised pens on their own glass houses?
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