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.
Those of you who reacted this way should be completely embarassed.
I know of many young ladies who have served honorably in Iraq and represented this country with honor and courage. They would not use their battle stress as an excuse to behave this way.
You are so right.
See I dont' think there is any NEED for an excuse.
This is ALL FINE AND GOOD if you ask me
You are the one looking to make an 'exucse' for them, since you obviously NEED one.
The following article was on the front local section of my newspaper today. This soldier lives in my community and I can tell you it has brought embarrassment and shame to our community. Think what you want - I know how this behavior has impacted my community.
http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050206/NEWS01/50206002/1001
You speak as if debauchery does not exist in the muslim world. You are foolish.
So you are shocked the men and women that need to be prepared daily to KILL PEOPLE would run around in the underwear, or enjoy a drink?
You need to pull your nose from the scripture once in a while and UNDERSTAND what the REAL WORLD is like.
This is ALL FINE AND GOOD if you ask me
But I did not ask you and when I want your opinion I'll give it to you.
Seirously people... I hope half of ya are just trolling or something......... reminds me of the "Footloose" parents sometimes around here.
What you would see is quite a bit of homo-debauchery. If you cared to look, but you can continue in your belief that the islamofacists are pure as driven snow with their morals.
I was in Oman during Iraqi Freedom. When we got there our luggage was brought to the gym tent. The Security Police said they were going to go through a couple of the guys bags and we had one lady with us and they were going through hers also. They didn't give us the names and said we had 10 minutes amnesty to turn in any alcohol or pornographic magazines without repercussions. After that you'd be in trouble. After that you had a ration card and were limited to 3 beers in a 24 hour period. No hard liquor. When we left to go home we spent the first night in the Azores. What do you think we did. We drank some beer and after being without or a rationed amount of alcohol for an extended amount of time the tolerance goes down and it takes less to get drunk. We played cards and had a few. We blew off steam but we also didn't get stupid. Nothing wrong with blowing off the steam. The problem here was when it got beyond a certain level of decency, someone should have stepped forward and put a stop to it. There are several contributing factors here.
1) High stress for extended period of time.
2) Low tolerance for alcohol so a couple of beers probably loosened them up more than normal.
3) Leaving to go home within a couple of days.
IMHO there probably should be letters of counselling, letters of reprimands or Article 15s depending on the level of involvement. I wouldn't go too overboard because they have earned the right to let off some steam. The biggest problem was a lack of sound decision making or judgement. But I would not crucify them.
Great post.
It's rather obvious that you have never served in the military.
This kind of crap is contrary to good order and discipline, especially since it involved fraternization between noncommissioned officers and subordinates.
But it's gotta be the old Black and white version.
It was all that I felt that you were worth.
Are you sure you're aren't a democrat?
Positive.
That usually resort to name-calling when they are unable to defend a position.
I wasn't calling you names, I was giving you specific instructions on what you should do with yourself.
I'm sure you're a fine example to your family. They should be proud that you tell a woman what you told me.
I could care less what my family thinks about me. If you wanted special care taken of your feelings regarding your femininity, you should have made that clear. "mlc9852" isn't exactly a gender-specific handle.
But I don't take offense because obviously your thought process is extremely limited. Probably a product of public schools.
And there it is - you're obviously a silver-spooned, private-schooled brat that never stood in harms way.
Yep, thats fine but I kinda' think they have some other things that might just be a *bit* more important to worry about than who got laid at a 'going away' party.
Oh lordy, lordy............ the horrors!
Possibly some of the very Troops being condemned here are already casualties. Could be.
"Ya Think" ????
Hah - you are way off base, as you probably usually are. Public school system all the way. But my parents did take the time to teach me manners. Sorry yours didn't.
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