FreeRepublic Exclusive: LTC Allen West personally confirms 'no prosecution advisement' from Iraq.

LTC Allen West from Tikrit | December 10, 2003 | Jeff Head

[Quix]

I AGREE.

[archy]

Thanks for posting that artoicle. it really deserves a thread of its own.

Good info there. Sounds like he will retire in the Spring...and be home sometime soon.

Here you go. JohnHuang2 got it posted.

I don't envy what LTC West had to go through to make it happen, but it looks like he may be home by Christmas, to be able to spend the holidays with his wife and daughters. That's one silver lining in this cloudy story, at least.

-archy-/-

[archy]

Two women interrogators could not get the information from the prisoner. West entered with male NCO's and his own determination and got the info. The interrogators were somewhat shamed in the process.

It may have had nothing to do with it...but West reported himself to his superior who did not act on the issue, and apparently had not intention of acting. It wasn't until weeks later, when another female JAG saw a mention of the incident in another report in passing, that the SHTF and charges were brought by that particular JAG. . ... .

But the role of female soldiers in these particular combat decision making positions is not a good one IMHO in any case.

Sorta makes you wonder what other intelligence information those *professional intelligence officers* overlooked, too, doesn't it. In Tikrit, right?

Sounds like time for some congressional hearings into the effectiveness of these women in these positions...with former Colonel Alan West, no longer subject to Army pressure on his testimony, as a witness.

-archy-/-

[Salgak]

Sounds familiar, that's why **I** Left the USAF.

Story-time.

My bomb-wing was deploying to a remote bare-base for several weeks of a RED FLAG exercise. I was on the Wing Staff, a fairly junior Captain, but the only member of the Headquarters Squadron on the tanker.

Several of the tankers had maintenance delays, but they launched ours, along with 2 others and the Bomber Squadron.

Unfortunately, due to loading limits, the jets with the mess hall and 98% of our rations were on maintenance delay.

Right before we taxied to the runway, I got called up to the Cockpit: the Combat Support Group Commander (i.e. Base Commander) and Wing Commander wanted to talk to me. It seems that since I was the senior member of the Wing Staff who would be on the ground at the bare-base, until the rest of the tankers got there, I was acting Base Commander until relieved by the CSG Commander. I accepted command, and went back to the cargo compartment, strapped in, and went to sleep.

8 hours later, we land, and find that we have a problem.

We have ONE Case of MREs (144 meals) and 250-odd people on the ground. People were hungry. Some had carried some personal food onboard, but most had their personal stashes in. . .the other planes.

SO I called a formation, asked all Airmen Basic to fall out, come forward, grab an MRE, and eat. I then followed through, by rank, lowest to highest, until I ran out of MREs, which was about halfway through the Master Sergeants.

At that point, a Tanker Commander, with the rank of Lt. Colonel, read me the riot act since I didn't feed his aircrew. (which was incorrect: I'd fed his Boom Operator, just none of the Officers in the crew) I reminded him that both the Wing Commander and CSG Commander had given me acting command of the base, and they could take it up with them, but in the meantime, I made a command decision, if he had problems with it, take it up with them when they landed.

Which he did. And I got severely brow-beaten because of it. Until I pointed out that **I** wasn't going to be eating until every last man and woman who had arrived with me had been fed, and that if I wasn't supposed to take care of the troops, then why WAS I appointed acting Base Commander ???

Life was hell, as that Lt. Col. was tight with the Wing Deputy for Operations, who then became Wing Commander. I put my papers in to get out about 6 months after this incident.

One bright side: there wasn't an enlisted man or woman in the Wing who wouldn't do ANYTHING I asked, for those last months. . .

The moral, as Lt. Col. West could also attest to:

No good deed goes unpunished. . .

[trebb]

It sounds very familiar - we lost a lot of good officers for the same BS. I was only a Master Sergeant, but insisted on taking care of my troops. I can't remember all the times I stood in front of Squadron Commanders pleading for leniency for a misdeed by one of my troops (they were exceptional workers and like many go-getters, liked to play when the time came and they managed to piss off a person or two) and the result was that any of them would "crawl through broken glass" for me. I consider the fact that I cared for my troops and the fact that they understood it to be my legacy. My biggest embarrassment is having Klinton's signature on my retirement papers.

[kim_fry]

I was privileged to have LTC West as a mentor at K-State ROTC. I later went on to serve in our Army as an Engineer Officer. LTC West is the most outstanding officer I have ever met. He took the time to teach junior officers integrity, duty, and honor. I would have to say there is no finer officer in the Army than him. The Army is missing out! God Bless LTC Allen West! Go Wildcats. Kim (Bartlow) Fry