Posted on 12/12/2004 2:04:43 PM PST by usa_patriot_911
Six reservists, including two veteran officers who had received Bronze Stars, were court-martialed for what soldiers have been doing as long as there have been wars--scrounging to get what their outfit needed to do its job in Iraq (news - web sites).
Darrell Birt, one of those court-martialed for theft, destruction of Army property and conspiracy to cover up the crimes, had been decorated for his "initiative and courage" for leading his unit's delivery of fuel over the perilous roads of Iraq in the war's first months.
Now, Birt, 45, who was a chief warrant officer with 656th Transportation Company, based in Springfield, Ohio, and his commanding officer find themselves felons, dishonorably discharged and stripped of all military benefits.
The 656th played a crucial role in maintaining the gasoline supply that fueled everything from Black Hawk helicopters to Bradley Fighting Vehicles between Balad Airfield and Tikrit. The reservists in the company proudly boast that their fuel was in the vehicles driven by the 4th Infantry Division soldiers who found Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) hiding in a hole last year.
But when Birt's unit was ordered to head into Iraq in the heat of battle in April 2003 from its base in Kuwait, Birt said the company didn't have enough vehicles to haul the equipment it would need to do the job.
So, Birt explained, he and other reservists grabbed two tractors and two trailers left in Kuwait by other U.S. units that had already moved into Iraq.
Several weeks later, Birt and other reservists scrounged a third vehicle, an abandoned 5-ton cargo truck, and stripped it for parts they needed for repair of their trucks.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
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Does anyone else see the sudden pattern of similar stories from the 'main stream' media?
If this is the case, then every soldier in the US Army is headed for an Article 32 hearing. Disgraceful
My goodness. Does this mean the act of "cumshaw" is no longer acceptable?
Absolutely. Every story that can in any way be interpreted as anti-military is being blown completely out of proportion, and usually leaves about half the facts (the inconvenient ones) out of the story. No doubt this is another case, just as the latest Rumsfeld blow-up was.
These guys are trying to "support the troops" by turning them against their chain of command.
Does anyone see the sudden pattern of similar times when these stories appear?
Where is day breaking right now, on the globe? This cr@p only happens when the sun is shining on China and the Middle east. You can see the different gangs come on-line as daylight hits their time zones.
Pfhuii! bunch of losers.
/john
/john
As a taxpayer, I forgive them for borrowing "Our" equipment.
We were givin direct orders from CENTCOM when we invaded Iraq to not scavage dead vehicles. I assume the same orders were still in effect when these guys did this.
I sure am noticing. If you would like you might check the threads I have been posting, something very fishy going on .. oh yeah it is the Main Stream Media ... what was I thinking?
Gleeful bashing??!!?
This is how the Army gets things done in war time. Old as the hills. This goes beyond mere discipline and into absurdity. Did you read the article?
They're screwing over the good guys, trying to get this war over. I support the troops. Who are you looking out for?
It IS the military after all.
Don't f... with the system, after all without a tight reign in control the military will be rendered ineffective.
Why, the next thing you know, the ACLU will be getting involved!
If Darrel wants to make his bed his way, fine however he should expect to lay in it too.
I'm sure that's the case- but after reading the full article I'm disappointed in the sentences these officers received. The "crimes" were committed for the completion of the mission- not as souvenirs or taking loot. This was no different than soldiers have done in every war- and if this is part of the new PC BS in the military it's a bad sign.
The more I think about this story the more it pisses me off.
It's precisely the kind of dishonest, cavalier theft that cost my unit quite a bit of time and some of our haul capability.
Before we even left the port facility in Kuwait we had two HMMWVs and one ammunition trailer stolen.
We recovered one HMMWV later after the jerks that stole it abandoned it because they were too lazy to change the tire when it went flat. They did, however, take the time to scrawl an invitation on the side for anyone who was so inclined to steal anything they wanted from inside. We lost a lot of tools and other equipment the crew needed to maintain their equipment and stay in the fight. By the way, this truck was one of only three we had that were designed as gun platforms -- they were using it because they were too lazy to walk where they needed to go in the port area like everyone else.
On our last day in port, we finally found the other stolen HMMWV. It was our Chaplain's. We found this one in the parking lot near the mess hall. They broke into the gear shipped in that HMMWV, too. They stole one of the bibles the chaplain had shipped to distribute to the troops. I hope the bastard at least reads it.
We never got our ammo trailer back. It would have been invaluable in hauling all the captured enemy ammunition we were tasked to recover -- ammo that is now being used to make IED's.
Guys like the ones in this story cost us a lot of needed equipment. Worse, we spent many man-days scouring the port looking for our equipment -- time that could have been better spent preparing for our movement into Iraq. The perpetrators aren't innocent victims of an overzealous military. Every act of illegal "scrounging" is a theft that costs the losing unit much more than it gains for the theiving unit.
In other news, Corporal Walter J. "Radar" O'Reilly was finally released from Leavenworth Disciplary Barracks, where he has been confined since 1953 for scrounging supplies.
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