Posted on 09/29/2006 3:11:27 PM PDT by RGSpincich
Driver claims he was abandoned during Iraqi insurgents' fire Friday, September 29, 2006
RICHMOND — A Virginia National Guard unit from Martinsville and Rocky Mount came under scrutiny after a video seemed to show troops abandoning a civilian truck convoy during an attack by Iraqi insurgents, resulting in the executions of three unarmed drivers.
However, the military investigated the incident and found the military personnel responded properly. Investigators recommended awards for one soldier and one civilian in the incident.
The video, obtained by ABC News, shows a military personnel carrier racing away after insurgents open fire and disable four Halliburton trucks last September near Balad, Iraq.
“I do not know who the driver was of that Humvee, but he abandoned us,” civilian driver Preston Wheeler of Mena, Ark., who taped the footage, told ABC News.
Wheeler said almost 40 minutes passed before U.S. troops returned.
Military officials said Thursday that there was an immediate investigation, which found that no personnel had abandoned the convoy and they responded properly.
“They fought back bravely while waiting for reinforcements and attending to the casualties,” Lt. Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, a spokeswoman for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, told The Associated Press in an e-mail.
In fact, Martin-Hing said, investigators recommended that one soldier and one civilian be nominated for awards for the actions during the Sept. 20, 2005, incident.
Virginia Guard officials confirmed Thursday that its 1173rd Transportation Company was on active federal status at the time. The hometowns of the 1173rd are Martinsville and Rocky Mount, according to the Guard Web site.
Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Chester Carter III referred all questions to the Tampa, Fla.-based U.S. Central Command, home of key command centers in the U.S. war on terrorism.
Wheeler said that while the troops were absent, he crouched down in his truck and watched two truck drivers being shot at point-blank range.
“They just killed ’em. They just killed him. Oh my God,” Wheeler said in the video.
Wheeler can be heard on the tape pleading for help on his radio: “Please help me ... I’m fixin’ to get killed. I have no gun back here. I am by myself!”
Those killed in the attack were Keven Dagit, 42, of Jefferson, Iowa; Sascha Grenner-Case, age unavailable, of Sierra Vista, Ariz.; and Christopher Lem, 40, of Lyndon Station, Wis., said Cathy Mann, a Halliburton spokeswoman. They were killed while delivering the mail, according to a news release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a dedication of a facility in Iraq.
The military investigation found that “individuals at the front of the convoy reacted as they were taught by pushing forward and getting out of the kill zone of the ambush,” Martin-Hing wrote.
“What is not visible in the video being shown is that they collected the casualties they could reach and laid down suppressive fire with their weapons to help get those vehicles that could move from the front of the convoy out of the kill zone,” she wrote.
The troops then set up security, called for support and medical evacuations and directed the movements of other gun trucks farther back in the convoy, she said.
In a news release, KBR, Halliburton’s engineering and construction subsidiary, did not address the details of the incident but said the military has “command and control” over its convoys in Iraq and is “required to provide security.”
More than a little harsh I'd say.
I saw that video. And from the "whiner's" prespective, the convey DID drive off and (seemingly) leave him.
And it WAS the escorts who made a wrong turn and lead the trucks through a hostile neighborhood into a dead end by the way.
And he WAS shot twice in the shoulder on their way back through that neighborhood where they were ready and waiting.
And he DID see two of the drivers ( possibly friends) dragged from their trucks, murdered before his eyes, stripped and their bodies stoned.
And He DID believe he was next and had only minutes to live.
"Whiner", huh.
I guess you'd have been all calm and collected under the same circumstances.
It's been a full year since the incident. What's his excuse now?
Hmmm. If suppressive fire was laid on then how did the jihadis close on the convoy to kill two drivers at point blank range and then why were the drivers unarmed in a combat zone? I am NOT saying I'm on the side of the 'whiner' but to me it is obvious there are still some questions that should be answered.
That is good information to know, which is why it will never get full play in the MSM. I guess the Geneva Convention protections didn't count for the Halliburton guys. Paging Sen. McCain ...
He's whining and shopping his video at the expense of our military a full year after the event. What happened in his cab on the day of the ambush has no bearing on why I call him a whiner.
Whiner?
For agreeing to work unarmed in a combat zone, I'd call him an idiot.
As for the drivers who were killed, I sent up a prayer for their souls ... but they did agree to work unarmed.
Excuse? You mean "speak immediately or forever hold your peace?"
I have no idea. For all I/we know, he could have been screaming at the top of his lungs all this time.
And what difference does that make anyway?
It happens every day.
>>>>>>"I think its crazy to expect someone to be driving in that situation without a weapon"<<<<<<<
Clinton thought it was OK to deploy troops with weapons, just NO AMMO for his meals on wheels program.
If those drivers couldn't do what we did (stash our own) they are fools.
TT
The Army screws up like that a bunch, don't kid yourself.
So much for the idea that the convoy was carrying essential supplies that couldn't wait until a battle was over.
BTW I saw a number of the drivers on C-SPAN. None of them appeared to be a "whiner".
Stay safe on your trip from the airport to the intl zone!
Just how is he "whining"? Because he's telling what he saw and what was recorded?
"At the expense of our military"......in other words, our military NEVER makes a mistake, is above reproach, and God forbid, if they DO make a mistake, then we'd better keep our blankety blank mouth shut about it. That seems to be the attitude among many on this site.
And don't go thinking I'm some kind of anti-military nutjob. I thank God and pray for them every day. They ensure our freedom and way of life.
My brother (deceased) was a long time employee for Halliburton and your "whining" post set me off.
So the investigation team wasn't hearsay? So they were on the scene?
His story was confirmed by people on the ground there, according to him. Either way, you're choosing to believe one second-hand version of events over another second-hand version of events.
I wouldn't immediately trust a government "investigation" considering these investigations always seem to find no wrongdoing on the military's part.
it must have been a UN vehicle with a french driver
But but an Army investigation decided that the Army wasn't at fault! Does that not make you feel better?
Thank you, I was sickened by that whiner too.
I did hear, on Rush this morning, that all the civilian workers there (ours) are FORBIDDEN to be armed by the Geneva Convention. They cannot even be armed!! Makes me sick to my stomach.
It kinda sucked being one, I assure you...
But they did tell us the Jordanians who were pulling security for us were really good.
Exactly.
That guy got left. They came back eventually, but they still left his ass in the kill-zone.
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