Posted on 05/28/2004 3:45:53 PM PDT by demlosers
HEIDELBERG, Germany — Sgt. Samuel Provance said he wasn’t surprised when Lt. Col. James Norwood summoned him to Wiesbaden on Friday, less than a week after the sergeant spoke to ABC News about his experiences at the Abu Ghraib.
Provance is the only military intelligence soldier who served at the prison to publicly speak about prisoner abuses there, despite orders from his command to keep quiet.
Now, Norwood, his battalion commander, has flagged Provance from favorable actions and pulled his top-secret clearance.
On May 16, the 30-year-old Williamsburg, Va., native told ABC News that fellow military intelligence agents casually discussed their part in prisoner abuses. Provance also discussed what he feels are the Army’s subsequent moves to discourage soldiers from speaking out.
Just two days earlier, his company commander, Capt. Scott Hedberg, ordered Provance to keep quiet about Abu Ghraib, according to documents obtained by Stars and Stripes. Provance signed a statement in which he agreed not to talk to the press.
But the following Friday, he was in front of Norwood, who commands the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion. Norwood told Provance that he was being flagged, which means he cannot receive any favorable actions such as promotions or awards, and pulled his security clearance. He then gave Provance a second order not to talk about Abu Ghraib, according to documents Norwood signed.
“I knew it was only a matter of time before they shut me up,” Provance said.
Speaking out
In January, when Provance filled out a questionnaire given by Army investigators to troops at Abu Ghraib, he wrote that he may know about prisoner abuses.
He later told investigators that fellow military intelligence soldiers played a part in prisoner abuses, based on conversations he had or overheard while stationed at Abu Ghraib. His statement was referenced in Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba’s report of his investigation into alleged abuse at Army prisons in Iraq.
Provance provided phoned testimony to an Article 32 hearing for Spc. Megan Ambuhl, one of the MPs charged with dereliction of duty and conspiracy.
In addition, Provance, along with other soldiers who were at Abu Ghraib, were summoned to Darmstadt on May 11 to discuss the prison issue with Maj. Gen. George Fay, a senior intelligence officer assigned by the Pentagon to further investigate any role that military interrogators had in prisoner abuses.
Fay told Provance at that meeting that he “could have busted this thing wide open” if he reported the talk of abuse sooner, Provance said.
Fay implied that Provance could face charges for not speaking up sooner, Provance said.
Stripes’ attempts to reach Fay were directed to Maj. Scott Bleichwehl, press officer for Multi-National Corps Iraq. In an e-mail from Baghdad, Bleichwehl said he could not comment on the case until the investigation in complete, which could take an additional two weeks.
Provance arrived at Abu Ghraib prison in September to replace soldiers killed in a Sept. 20 mortar attack. At the prison, he was in charge of maintaining a secure computer satellite link used by interrogators to swap top-secret information gathered from detainees.
But Provance caught wind of abuses in a low-tech way — troops chatting about how prisoners were handled. He recalled one Army specialist talking to some buddies about prisoner abuses at the mess hall.
“If I reported everything I heard, I’d be reporting people every day,” Provance said. “I did not know what was legal. I’m not an interrogator.”
Because his name was mentioned in Taguba’s report, the media began looking for Provance. From Virginia, his mother told him that ABC News was trying to reach him.
He dropped their editor a line with his contact information, and he mentioned it to his platoon sergeant.
On May 14, he was called to the company first sergeant’s office. Few words were exchanged, but Hedberg and 1st Sgt. William Palenik ordered him not to talk about Abu Ghraib, Provance said.
Hedberg ordered Provance not to use e-mail or Internet chat rooms to discuss the investigation. He was prohibited from speaking or writing to members of the press and fellow troops not part of the investigation, according to documents.
Hedberg’s order stated, “Sgt. Provance will not discuss matters related to the ongoing investigation concerning potential/alleged abuses that took place at Abu Gareb [sic] prison.”
Provance then signed a statement that he wouldn’t talk.
Provance said he signed the statement because he thought it merely meant that he understood what Hedberg had written and acknowledged receipt.
He said he did not agree with it, but now understands that it appears so, by him signing. In fact, the form has a block that Provance checked that states, “I agree.”
Despite the meeting and gag order, Provance decided to talk to ABC News because, “I knew what was reported up until then was not true, that it was all on the MPs,” Provance said.
“My career is over, I thought, ‘Now I can talk’ — almost like it was meant to happen.”
On May 16, he met ABC reporters at a local restaurant in Heidelberg. Before long, he was staring into a video camera, answering questions from a stateside reporter over the phone.
“It was pretty tense,” Provance said. “But when you’re telling the truth, it’s not hard to say what’s on your mind.”
After that, media requests flooded in. Provance told his story again and again, “telling them anything they wanted to know,” he said.
Only a small portion of ABC’s hourlong interview aired May 18, Provance said. It ran late at night on the American Forces Network. While many troops overseas may have missed the telecast, some caught the text on the Internet, Provance said.
“Everybody’s avoiding me like the plague,” Provance said. “They don’t look at me, much less talk to me.”
No regrets
On Friday, when Provance faced Norwood, the commander handed him a letter stating, “I am flagging you pending the outcome of Fay’s investigation into the alleged detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. The basis of the flag is a violation of an order issued to you by your company commander.”
He was given a second order not to talk to the press, but since has done follow-up interviews with ABC, The Washington Post and Stars and Stripes.
Speaking over the phone Tuesday from his Wiesbaden office, Norwood defended his reprimand for Provance, saying, “My actions were in accordance with [Army] regulations.”
“It’s clearly tied to the [Abu Ghraib] investigation,” Norwood said. “I’m not willing to discuss anything related to that.”
Officials at V Corps, the battalion’s higher headquarters, won’t comment on administrative actions against Provance because he has not formally been charged, spokeswoman Hilde Patton said, adding that she also could not comment on any topic related to the Abu Ghraib investigation.
Without a security clearance, Provance is now working in his company’s nuclear, biological and chemical equipment room.
Provance still speaks passionately about his dedication to the Army and condemns the few leaders above him.
“I would never speak out against the Army. That’s not what I’m doing,” Provance said. “The Army is an awesome organization that I respect and honor.”
He stands by his decision to speak publicly.
“I don’t regret one bit of it, because I know I’m going to be vindicated,” Provance said.
“What I said was true. It’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out.”
"Jeez, I didn't realize that when you serve your country you abdicate your constitutional rights."
Most civilians do not recognize this. When you take that oath, you become subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and any offenses that you commit are tried in military courts.
So, yes, this guy voluntarily relinquished his constitutional rights, and moreover, he KNOWS that. He's running to the press because he knows he's at risk of prosecution himself for not notifying his higher command of the problem early on.
This joker NOT the example of what a Non Comissioned Officer is supposed to be!
"When you take that oath, you become subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and any offenses that you commit are tried in military courts."
And you also...in that oath...swear you will obey the orders of those above you....to INCLUDE keeping your yap shut when given a direct order to do so.
This guy didn't and will now have to pay the consequences.
First there are thsoe three knuckle heads who tell ABC that Rummy shoul dbe fired and would tell him so if he was standing before them in Iraq...then ABC finds this box of rocks!
Note to the Public Affairs Chief at the Pentagon..scratch any future requests by ABC for interviews with soldiers. They have an anti-Military agenda.
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