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.
bttt
I don't have a problem with the drinking. I don't even have a problem with soldiers making visits to "tittie bars." These soldiers may have been off duty, but weren't they still on base? The females disrespected themselves in front of their fellow soldiers. It's not a threat to national security, but it is in poor taste. I guess I'm just an old stick in the mud on this issue.
And I feel sorry for your husband.
Why didn't this stuff happen while I was in uniform? ;-(
It all depends on the HMFIC but fraternizing down the chain of command Especially those that report directly to you is frowned upon. However, there is alot of winking and nodding going on as well.
There will probably be some serious backlash on this because it got leaked to the media. How ever as long as no one was hurt then this should go away quickly. Oh but if some Missy got her top pulled off and screams sexual harassment then its Katie-Bar-the-door.
It sounds like the few young ladies who left had enough smarts to know when the situation was approaching the danger level.
No harm, no foul and someone will get discipline for the media circus show.
This "blowing off steam" party went too far IMHO.
"Chief, there's a little problem with such and such. I'm not sure the best way to handle that. Oh, well, I've got to go inspect the storeroom and I expect that'll take about an hour."
Doesn't matter. Not all college kids are incapable of controlling themselves. They are just the ones who get all the attention. If they don't abide by the rules they should be put out. We don't have to accept this.
I demand to see all the photos, and not just these puny thumbnails! This could be a set up! We must not pass judgment until all the photos are posted here, so we can fairly determine if these are even US troops. They could be British. We just don't have enough information, Freepers.Or even GI Joes and Barbie dolls. >:)
-Eric
We'll raises up our glasses
Against evil forces
Singing, "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses!"
Baloney. We're not talking about meeting with the Lance Corporals Friday night to go to a strip club. These fine folks are in a COMBAT ZONE. These NCOs should be whereever their subordinates are (minus the latrine, perhaps).
I'm an officer. Been in 19 years, suvived tailhook, had R&R in Thailand, etc. Been in combat, been in the Gulf, Somalia. I've no problem with troops blowing off duty as long as they are in a safe area, under no immediate threat, and able to report for duty without impairment.
1. My main beef is that fellow SOLDIERS were acting like Thai strippers infront of their own unit. Not only that, but that these female soldiers were MP's and in behaving like common B-girls they have lost some street cred. I'm afraid that they are fufilling the negative stereotypes people have about service women (they are either dykes or sluts, right?) Of course biology will trump mother nature, but there are things that we must not permit if the unit is to function. Nothing in the unit and nothing up the chain of command. Period. End of story. THe behavior may not seem so bad at first, but, with some thought, I think most could agree that it was a case of wrong time, wrong place, and wrong people. I've seen troops go nuts in some of the most hardcore fleshpots in SE asia, but it was the "professionals" disrobing, not the soldiers (at least not in public..).
2. NCO's let it get out of hand. I'm not saying they should keep them from partying at all (I'm far from being a prude), but they should have squashed it when it got out of control. Ok for shore leave, perhaps ( although an MP should not behave like that...at least in the middle of coworkers or troops that they are expected to police), but not a combat zone. Poor judgment on many levels.
Well said!
I don't care what country they're in. If they're getting shot at protecting my freedoms, I'm gonna be bending over backwards to protect them in whatever way I can - not be the first one in line with the torch and rope.
No, it was caused - deliberately - by an anti-American/anti-military media.
You and I and most are upset that this was published, not the actions of the folks involved if you really scrutinize the situation. The Libs think they have a "Moral Fork" that they can stick to the military and publish the worst they can find, yet do not publish the same from the terrorists because people would be rightly pissed off. It would not fit their world view.
Should read," I've no problem with troops blowing off STEAM!" Sorry for the typo.
*chuckle*
I know.
I like Arsenic and Old Lace.
There are. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with a few of them, not to mention put them in context.
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