Posted on 11/30/2003 8:25:54 PM PST by joesnuffy
Reported rape stuns Stryker unit
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
CAMP UDAIRI, Kuwait - A female Stryker brigade soldier reported she was raped, brigade officials said Saturday.
The sexual assault apparently occurred late Friday or early Saturday outside a women's shower trailer in one of the tent cities where brigade soldiers are living before they move up to Iraq.
Detectives from the Army's Criminal Investigation Division on Saturday taped off an area around a cargo container next to the shower trailer. The CID agents from Camp Arifjan, another Army post near Kuwait City, are handling the investigation.
The brigade's public affairs officer, Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, issued a two-paragraph statement:
"A 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division female soldier has allegedly been sexually assaulted at Camp Udairi. The soldier is being provided with medical care and emotional support," it said.
"The incident is under investigation. No other details will be released at this time to protect the soldier's identity, and to safeguard the investigation process."
Soldiers reacted with dismay and anger as word of the incident spread quickly through the camp. Some said whoever is responsible will be better off if the MPs catch him before the troops do.
"I guarantee you, if they find out who did it, they'll drag that guy out over the berm and that'll be it," one soldier said.
Meanwhile, female soldiers said they were exercising extra caution in the camp after dark. There are about 310 women in the brigade from Fort Lewis.
"It's sad," said Staff Sgt. Theresa Spicer, a supply sergeant with the brigade headquarters. "You can't trust your own people."
The assault follows a number of thefts and other breaches in discipline that have occurred at Camp Udairi over the last several days, much to the consternation of commanders and troops alike.
Earlier in the week, there were reports of ongoing pilfering in the motor pool, with hand microphones, antennas and other items disappearing.
The brigade commander, Col. Mike Rounds, warned he would put half the brigade's 5,000 soldiers on overnight watch if the thefts didn't cease; the message apparently had the desired effect.
On Wednesday, a Stryker brigade soldier lost an M-16 while making a call at the telephone center at the post's morale, welfare and recreation tents.
Commanders ordered the post locked down after the weapon was reported missing. It turned out that a soldier from another unit in the brigade had found the rifle but failed to report the recovery until after the whole brigade started looking for it.
In addition, all the soldiers at Camp Udairi had their personal belongings searched on Thursday after a break-in at the post exchange in which thousands of dollars in goods were stolen.
There are some 7,000 troops living at Udairi, including about 2,000 or so who are not part of the Stryker brigade and are stationed here permanently to maintain the camp. There are also several hundred civilian contract employees.
As of Saturday there were no reports that Stryker brigade soldiers had been implicated in the PX burglary or the pilferage in the motor pool.
But it's all wearing on the patience of the brigade's leaders, officers and enlisted, as they try to prepare for a long, hard year ahead in Iraq.
Members of the brigade's leadership team declined to comment on the case, citing their likely responsibility for overseeing any criminal or disciplinary proceedings that might result against any soldier or soldiers charged in the assault.
But one said privately he is saddened that he will have to report to the victim's family that he was unable to keep her safe within her own brigade.
Col. Rounds before Saturday had told his staff the incidents tarnish the brigade's good work in preparing for its mission in Iraq, which Army commanders have praised as setting a standard for all the other U.S. forces that will follow.
"The brigade's overall focus is getting ready for Iraq," said Piek, the brigade spokesman. "That does not diminish the seriousness of the alleged crime, and we're investigating it as seriously as we can.
"But it's not the kind of thing we need to be dealing with just a short time before we're to go north."
Staff writer Michael Gilbert is an embedded journalist with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the Army's first Stryker brigade. Reach him at: mjgilbert41@yahoo.com.
(Published 12:01AM, November 30th, 2003)
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Commanders fear unintentional discharges. Troops are so poorly trained that UD are an extreme likelyhood. Commanders have so little understanding of firearms that they have troops do stupid things in thae name of firearms safety.
Let this old retired maintenance warrant officer spout off on the topic of women in the military one more time. Females in the military do more to undermine the morale then they do to boost it! Call me a male chauvinist pig or whatever. I had a mission and having X number of females replace X number of males meant that the remainder of the males had to pick up the load and carry the females. That is just a plain old ordinary fact of life!
As an NCO I had females selling oral sexual favors to males on breaks. When I put an end to that the males all complained and even some of the women as they were making a few extra bucks on breaks. I had a female soldier offer me sexual favors if I would show her favors in assigning duties. As a warrant officer I had basically the same problems and a PC chain of command that was afraid of offending them. I tried to support the NCO's who felt the same way that I did, but was told to chill and not interfere.
Now we read of a female on ship who had a baby! Talk about exposing her fellow sailors/Marines to risk. This gives the ship's Captain one more concern to plan for when sailing into harm's way.
In no way will I ever infer that a female in a unit is asking for or deserves to be raped. I believe that rape should remain a capitol offense. I just do not want the leaders of our military to have to spend the extra resources needed to prevent it when not exposing women to those conditions would go a long way in preventing it.
Added to this thread:
Does she not carry her beretta with her everywhere even if she leaves her rifle in her bunk? Where is her combat knife? I have a hard time believing someone goes out raping amongst that many armed people.
By MTOE her personnel firearm might be an M9 but more than likely was an M16. This ain't like WWII movies where everyone and their brother packed a M1911A1, an M1 Garand and maybe a BAR, or so Hollywood would have us believe.
There is more going on in this brigade than one rape.
Wonder what their blotter reports looked like at Fort Lewis?
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