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Blackhawk Down in Iraq - Two Army JAG Personnel Were Killed On The Chopper
Email messages; Message from Army TJAG ^ | 11/10/03 | RetiredArmy

Posted on 11/10/2003 12:49:54 PM PST by RetiredArmy

Members of the JAG Regiment:

It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that I inform you of the deaths of Warrant Officer of the Corps, CW5 Sharon Swartworth and the Sergeant Major of the Corps, SGM Cornell Gilmore. On 7 November 2003, CW5 Swartworth and SGM Gilmore died when the helicopter they were riding in was struck by enemy fire.

CW5 Swartworth and SGM Gilmore were accompanying me on my Article 6 visit to Iraq. They were doing what they loved most -- meeting with the soldiers of our Corps.

Information regarding funeral arrangements will be forthcoming.

Please keep the Swartworth and Gilmore families in your prayers.

Thomas J. Romig Major General, USA The Judge Advocate General


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: blackhawk; cornellgilmore; iraq; jag; sharonswartworth
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To: MediaMole
Were these two who were lost effectively the head Warrant officer and head Sergeant of the JAG?

Yes, they were: See the JAG's page

I'd post their official photos, but they come out awfully big for the modem users.

21 posted on 11/10/2003 1:50:37 PM PST by El Gato (Federal Judges can twist the Constitution into anything.. Or so they think.)
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To: RetiredArmy
May they rest in peace. May God comfort their families and friends.
22 posted on 11/10/2003 1:51:36 PM PST by nicmarlo
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To: RetiredArmy
Thank you very much.
23 posted on 11/10/2003 1:52:06 PM PST by eyespysomething
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To: petitfour
Hi Petitfour.

JAG stands for Judge Advocate General. These are the military's lawyers. Each branch of the service (including the Marines and Coast Guard) have their own JAG Corps. These lawyers are military officers and staff the Legal Service Offices at bases. They provide the military and military dependents with legal advice, representation (as in courts-martial or hearings) etc. They are assisted by enlisted members (known as Legalmen in the Navy), and occassionally by Civil Service lawyers working for the Department of Defense. I'm not real up to speed on the other duties they perform, but believe me, these folks are valuable and necessary for the military to function. Recognizing this, most militaries around the world have a JAG corps or equivalent.
24 posted on 11/10/2003 1:52:40 PM PST by Levante
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To: Levante
Levante: The Army JAG offers defense counsel for soldiers accused of crimes or under some type of administrative procedures, administrative law review of contracts and various similar things, prosecution of courts-martial cases, claims office to handle soldier's baggage claims when their household goods are damaged in moves, acts as the Army insurance company in claims also, like if an Army vehicle hit your car, you'd file the claim for damages with the Army JAG claims office, they give military justice classes to soldiers on the UCMJ, law of war, etc. Basically, if it is a law issue, the military JAGs do it. The judges in courts-martial are JAG lawyers also.
25 posted on 11/10/2003 2:18:23 PM PST by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: RetiredArmy
Prayers and thanks from Ct.
26 posted on 11/10/2003 2:20:50 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: El Gato
Thanks, I went to the JAG page right after posting. This is very sad, but I hope it serves to remind those in charge that they are dealing with Saddam loyalists in their midst.
27 posted on 11/10/2003 2:35:44 PM PST by MediaMole
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To: RetiredArmy
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Mark D. Vasquez, 35, of Port Huron, Mich., was killed on Nov. 8, 2003, in Fallujah, Iraq. Vasquez was in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that was struck by an improvised explosive device . The soldier died of his injuries. Vasquez was assigned to 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan.

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down Nov. 7, 2003, in Tikrit, Iraq. The Black Hawk was shot down by unknown enemy ordnance. Killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer (CW5) Sharon T. Swartworth [female], 43, of Virginia. Swartworth was the regimental warrant officer for the Judge Advocate General Office, based at Headquarters Department of the Army, Pentagon.

Chief Warrant Officer (CW3) Kyran E. Kennedy, 43, of Boston, Mass.

Staff Sgt. Paul M. Neff II, 30, of Fort Mill, S.C.

Sgt. Scott C. Rose, 30, of Fayetteville, N.C.

Kennedy, Neff and Rose were assigned to 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based in Fort Campbell, Ky.

There were six soldiers killed in action aboard the Black Hawk helicopter. Two soldiers' names are still pending next-of-kin notification.

11/10/03

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down on Nov. 7 in Tikrit, Iraq. There were six soldiers killed in action on board the helicopter. The names of four soldiers killed in the incident were previously announced on Nov. 9. Also killed were:

Capt. Benedict J. Smith, 29, of Monroe City, Mo. Smith was assigned to 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Command Sergeant Major Cornell W. Gilmore I, 45, of Baltimore, Md. Gilmore was assigned to the Judge Advocate General Office, Headquarters Department of the Army, Pentagon

These incidents are under investigation.

28 posted on 11/10/2003 2:37:11 PM PST by TexKat
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To: petitfour
What does the JAG do? (I am military ignorant. I could guess, but often I guess wrong.)

No disrespect for the dead here but the JAG court martials officers that save their troops lives like LTC West did when they use unorthodox methods.

29 posted on 11/10/2003 2:38:22 PM PST by Centurion2000 (Resolve to perform what you ought, perform without fail what you resolve.)
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To: RetiredArmy
One other thing that I have learned today also is that the SGM and Warrant were in one Blackhawk and General Romig and two full bird JAG colonels were in another Blackhawk flying with them. It just happened to be theirs that was struck.
30 posted on 11/10/2003 2:39:37 PM PST by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: Centurion2000
You are wrong. The JAGs do not court-martial anyone. Only the commanders in the chain of command of the accused can court-martial a soldier. The company commander, battalion, brigade, regiment, division, corp, etc. can recommend trial and can have charges drawn up and "preferred" against an accused. Depending on the level of court-martial that is recommended by the chain of command, the "convening authority" for that level of trial, in the case of LTC West, I would suspect only a General Court-Martial, thus his division commander, a general officer, would cause this case to be "referred" to trial. Preferral is only the recommendations of the chain.

ALL JAG does is recommend to the chain of command. They advise the chain of command if there are sufficient evidence to support charges that an accused is accused of.

In this matter, I would suspect that LTC West's higher boss, a full colonel, would have asked his JAG if the evidence supported certain charges. The JAG would review and give an opinion. The convening authority is under no rule or law that requires him to refer any charges sent to him. The convening authority could receive the charges, say no, send them back to the commander who preferred them and tell him to handle it at his level, in this case an Article 15 under UCMJ, which I seriously doubt would happen. Either this case goes to a General Court or no court. It could be just handled under administrative measures, such as relief from his position, reassigned elsewhere, a letter of reprimand, censure, or admonition, etc. Either of those would be career killers. In any event, the publicity of this probably dooms his career.

However, to repeat, again, JAGs do not make the decisions. They only recommend. The chain of command decides what to do. Only they decide. AND, say, the Army Chief of Staff could not call up West's boss and say, I want him court-matialed today. That is command influence. That will get a case tossed on appeal.

31 posted on 11/10/2003 2:48:10 PM PST by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: RetiredArmy
Prayers for their families and God bless them for their service to our country.
32 posted on 11/10/2003 2:52:19 PM PST by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Centurion2000
Amen--Well said
33 posted on 11/10/2003 2:54:18 PM PST by VMI70 (...but two Wrights made an airplane)
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To: RetiredArmy
"Only they decide. AND, say, the Army Chief of Staff could not call up West's boss and say, I want him court-matialed today."

On the other side of the coin, why can't the CoS (should he be equipped with the cajones, and after reviewing the evidence) call up West's boss and tell him that the balance of his career will be spent in Thule, Greenland if he doesn't drop this? From all that I've read, he ought to send him there anyway.
34 posted on 11/10/2003 3:04:04 PM PST by VMI70 (...but two Wrights made an airplane)
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To: RetiredArmy
Present.... ARMS!
35 posted on 11/10/2003 3:06:35 PM PST by Lazamataz (PROUDLY SCARING FELLOW FREEPERS SINCE 1999 !!!!)
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To: VMI70
Administrative measures are not "judicial" measures. Of course you know and understand that the burden of proof for an administrative matter is not the same as court. Military courts-martial are governed by the federal rules of evidence. They have to follow the same guidelines for court as a federal prosecutor would for a trial. Of course, the CofS could call up "Colonel Tentpeg" and say, "hey, I am having LTC Smith transferred to Greenland immediately." He can do that. Then even later, the commander in Greenland could receive say a CID report re the investigation, go to his JAG, have it reviewed and HE could prefer the charges to his higher up for trial. So, just moving from one duty station to another does not stop the legal proceedings. Many times offenses are discovered after people leave and go to a new duty station and a CID or MP report follows them to the new gaining command, who takes action against the soldier.
36 posted on 11/10/2003 3:26:41 PM PST by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: Beelzebubba
Lawyer bashers will do it no matter what. It is a right. They look at the superficial issues and never consider they will need one at midnight for one of their kids.
37 posted on 11/10/2003 3:29:30 PM PST by oldironsides
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To: RetiredArmy
I think you missed my point. I meant for the CoS to send "Col. Tentpeg" and his superiors, to Greenland, unless they drop it.

LTC West ought to be fast tracked to O-6 and given a commendation

From my reading of your previous post, it seems that the JAG people are not the ones with the cards. The way I read it, West's highter ups hold the cards.
38 posted on 11/10/2003 4:08:16 PM PST by VMI70 (...but two Wrights made an airplane)
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To: VMI70
This is true. The JAGs only recommend to LTC West's chain of command. Under the law, what he did probably does violate "some" law since this danged world seems to have billions and billions of laws to violate. So, finding "something" to charge him with will probably be fairly easy. Now, that being said, will the higher ups do that? It really is a question of how much the liberal, socialist, scummy press corp presses for something to be done to LTC West. If the scum bags press, the military will do something to make it go away. West would be the one to pay for it with his career. In my book, the man needs a medal and I would happily pin it on his brave chest. I wish I had had commanders with his balls.
39 posted on 11/11/2003 9:22:32 AM PST by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: RetiredArmy
I met Sharon on 24 August 2003 on the airplane from St. Louis, MO to Honolulu, HI. We sat next to each other on the 8-hour non-stop flight and had a glorious time from before the airplane left the ground until it landed. We were looking forward to knowing each other once she finished her commitment at the Pentagon and moved to Hawaii. She told me about her life, her family, the events leading up to her husband's transfer and the family move to Hawaii, about her husband and how happy she was to have found such a good man, her delight with her extraordinarily bright son (with examples), and so much more. I was stunned to see her picture and name in the paper and have such a sense of loss. This with only knowing her for 8 hours and a few telephone calls after that flight. Truly, this is a deep and tragic loss and my heart goes out to all of her family and friends. To the family and friends of CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth, my deepest condolences, with aloha.
40 posted on 11/19/2003 10:11:23 AM PST by nanihawaii (Bonnie Harwick CPA)
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