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.
So this didn't happen?
930+ views
to funny
Put young horny men and women together and sex breaks out!!! Who'd a thunk it????
Just a bunch of bad apples who will be dealt with by the proper authorities. What is it with these MP-types? I though military pilots were the hard partiers? ;)
And just how long were you under iminent threat during Desert Storm?
Some Stress in Saudi before the war?
All four days the war lasted?
These people have been essentially 'in combat' for a year. Not the same stress levels at all.
SO9
I agree completely with you. If they were off duty at the time, I say just chew them out and a very short suspension are more than enough.
Oh Bull Sheit. You put men and women together and act surprised when they gravitate toward some sort of sex. What the hell do you expect?
There are no beer joints and Strip bars in Iraq, no where for men to go for female entertainment and you have these pent up emotions boiling to get out., I am surpriused there isnt more of it than there is. These are young men and women not volunteers for the Seminary.
If you dont want women and men mixing dont mix them. Keep women out of the military.
Exactly! While their stateside counterparts are living a life of leisure in college in co-ed dorms, why the hell is it so bad that these young people act their age OFF DUTY? For crying out loud, remember what it is like to be young and give these young people a break! Take a look at how some of the people 7 and 8 years younger act on the beach during Spring Break. I think I detect some envy here.
I agree. Young people, trained to be aggressive, rampant hormones, the ultimate in stress, both sexes in the same situation - what kind of "choirboy" behavior is expected?
Despite the high tech gear, the superior combat training, and a military culture of esprit de corp, these are people in an arena of death. Expecting them to not pursue their recreation in a fashion as aggressively as they pursue their enemy is as ignorant of human behavior as is possible. Young men "blowing off steam" in fraternal rowdiness has been historical for millennia - NOW we toss our daughters into the mix and we gape in horror at results such as these?
Get a grip. Reality bites, but this is definitely a case of Move-a-long.
Sounds like something you'd see on MTV, and suddenly this is a big deal.
Yes, USAF active duty and ROTC/Army National Guard.
In garrison you have the luxury of officer clubs, NCO clubs and enlisted clubs - sometimes. But there are also quite a few all-rank clubs. Should we punish everyone who has had a drink at those establishments?
Absoluely. The air force installation I was at had an NCO Club - and enlisted folks of all rank were welcome. And no we should not punish those who have a drink.
, If it was not clear, I apologize. Let me clarify. There's a big difference between folks having a drink at an NCO Club and what the news article is reporting.
Needless to say, there's no such luxury in the middle of a sandbox. Find something more important to worry about.
Whatever. And thanks for your concern about what I should worry about. You might take a bit of your own advice.
I'm shocked!!!!
For getting drunk??? Maybe you didn't read the entire article. If you think this behavior is acceptable in the armed forces, then I am glad you are not an officer.
Agreed, while on duty. But off duty, letting off steam is a military tradition, and these kids have earned it more than most. A tempest in a teapot (or in a mudpuddle?).
I read the article and came away with that NCO's were present at some of the flashing, etc.
To quote Tommy Smothers, I would say "Never again!"
There should be some serious Office Hours for the action that fall under bringing discredit to the service and extra duty involved for the offenders. And that includes any brass that knew about it and did nothing to stop it.
I can see am open challenge boxing smoker in a regulation ring, with all the proper gear, but not this.
All I know is I'm sorry I missed it.
The only thing they did wrong was let pictures be taken. I can tell you from personal experience this was nothing. No Cameras on liberty.
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