Aussie troops may face court martial

UPI ^ | 8/26/10

[LibWhacker]

SYDNEY, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A military prosecutor says she may pursue charges against several Australian troops in a raid in Afghanistan last year in which five children died.

Brig. Lyn McDade, the director of military prosecutions, says she is considering the unprecedented step of charging several Defense Force commandos, a move that has infuriated senior officers, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.

Australia's Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Ken Gillespie and other commanders have expressed concern in writing, the newspaper said.

Of about 30 personnel involved in the raid, only a few appear likely to face court martial, including two soldiers who engaged in the attack, one of whom is alleged to have thrown a grenade.

The troops were reportedly on a ''capture or kill'' mission targeting an insurgent leader near the village of Surkh Morghab in Oruzgan province.

A small group of soldiers exchanged fire with an Afghan man who died, and grenades were thrown that resulted in the deaths of a teenager, two younger children and two infants, the Herald said.

A senior member of the Australian Defense Force regiment involved defended those who took part in the mission.

''If the ADF bothers to describe the events in the compound in detail, it will be clear to any person that the troops, faced with a terrible situation, had no choice,'' the soldier said.

[LibWhacker]

God, I despise liberals, no matter what country they are from. They don't have the guts to put on the uniform themselves to defend their freedoms, and they are always there to snipe at and second guess the men who do. Can you imagine?... You throw a grenade into a room during a pitched battle and inadvertently kill a few unseen kids and the damned bastards want to string you up. It's a wonder we can get anyone to put on the uniform.

(Yes, I know this is a military prosecutor, but her very existence in the military, her rank as an officer, and her whole brainwashed mindset stems from liberalism.)

[jazusamo]

This sure looks like McDade is going out of her way to crucify these soldiers being they have the backing of senior officers including the Chief of Army. She certainly does sound like a PC liberal.

Their UCMJ or whatever they call it there must differ from ours to a great extent because it doesn’t sound like any commanding officer is bringing charges.

[Navy Patriot]

I think that all military court officers should be selected from officers that have extensive history and first person duty in combat with an enemy of the United States.

This broad should have been point person on the entry team that cleared buildings in Falujah and similar operations.

If there weren't enough willing to serve, simply drop the prosecutions, kinda like Holder at (in)Justice.

[Lancey Howard]

It goes to show that every country has its share of weak, military-hating scumbags.
The perfumed McDade is one of Australia's. I have little doubt she's a fat cow lesbian, too.

Here's plenty more about this disgusting pig (including a picture):

Australian Army Decisions Under Fire

[Lancey Howard]

I think that all military court officers should be selected from officers that have extensive history and first person duty in combat with an enemy of the United States.

Australian Army Decisions Under Fire

So just who is this Brigadier Lyn McDade?
________________________________________________________

She is a former civilian lawyer who has no previous military experience (and certainly no Australian infantry combat action badge), but who was brought into the new military justice system to aid in efficiency and effectiveness. Has she accomplished this? “There has been widespread discontent with the take-no-prisoners approach of the Director of Military Prosecutions, Brigadier Lyn McDade. Military lawyers have told The Australian they believed minor offences that were previously subject to prejudicial conduct hearings had been endlessly moved into the court.”

It doesn’t bode well when the very chief of the military justice system is taking what would previously have been between a Non Commissioned Officer and his enlisted men – what in the U.S. is called non-judicial punishment – and placing it in formal military courts. It would quite literally bring military justice to a halt in the U.S., cause undermanned units, and bring with it an atmosphere of dishonesty and suspicion.
________________________________________________________

I hope the Ubanga regime doesn't get wind of this - - it sounds like it would fit right into their agenda.

[Lancey Howard]

Military-hating scumbag lawyers are everywhere (( ping )).

[jazusamo]

Thanks for the link.

Why they’d bring a civilian lawyer transplant into a position of authority like that is beyond me. It’s clear to me she has an agenda from what was written in the article.

She may bring the charges against these men but she’s whistling in the wind if she thinks combat soldiers are going to convict them. Of course that’s not much consolation because their careers will probably be ruined by it.

[Little Bill]

I think that a lot of incoming would tighten her asshole up, 'Help, Help, save my ass.

[american_ranger]

I think that it is time veterans took matters into their own hands and started prosecuting lawyers.

[smoothsailing]

Well, if I were an Aussie soldier I might say to her; “May all you chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down.”

( This is an Aussie’s way of saying, “I hope that something really unpleasant happens to you.” A dunny is an outhouse.)

[jazusamo]

“May all you chooks turn into emus and kick McDade down the dunny.”

I like mine better. :-)

[Little Bill]

I think that it is sad that we, who offered up our lives are lower than ghetto scum. I guess that life sucks or the country.

[naturalman1975]

She is a former civilian lawyer who has no previous military experience (and certainly no Australian infantry combat action badge), but who was brought into the new military justice system to aid in efficiency and effectiveness.

This is garbage.

While she has no combat experience, Lyn McDade served in the Australian Army Reserve and Regular Army for over 20 years earning her way to Lieutenant Colonel before being appointed Director of Military Prosecutions. The creation of the position in which she serves can be criticised, and this particular decision may be worthy of criticism, but to describe her as a civilian lawyer with no military experience is just garbage. She's been in uniform for a long time. Reservists do serve too.

[dfwgator]

Breaker Morant Part II.

[naturalman1975]

Why they’d bring a civilian lawyer transplant into a position of authority like that is beyond me. It’s clear to me she has an agenda from what was written in the article.

Don't believe everything you read - Brigadier McDade had 23 years experience in the Reserves and Regulars, and was a Lieutenant Colonel, when she was promoted and appointed Director of Military Prosecutions.

I'm not saying I support this decision - I've been asking around about the case and the general opinion of officers in the know is that this case is very borderline - and I think you should only lay charges in a case like this, if it's very clear - but Brigadier McDade doesn't deserve to have her genuine long term service to her country ignored and denied even if she's made a bad decision.

[naturalman1975]

Breaker Morant was guilty.

His co-accused Handcock and Witton might have got a raw deal, but he was guilty, an excellent movie notwithstanding.

[jazusamo]

Don't believe everything you read

I can appreciate that and thanks for your info. We only had two stories to go by and they both seemed to support the fact that senior officers didn't agree with her.

Can you confirm that Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Ken Gillespie and other commanders have expressed concern in writing over the possible bringing of charges against these soldiers?

[Navy Patriot]

I hope the Ubanga regime doesn't get wind of this - - it sounds like it would fit right into their agenda.

I think Zer0 is already pushing this, but he definitely can't move the military nearly as quickly as the asocial appointments he has put in Justice.

Most of the US military are MILITARY first, they understand the reasons and objectives for military discipline. As a result, Zer0 and the leftist's attempt to prosecute reasonable in combat behavior as crimes or Constitutional rights violations have met with mostly prosecutorial failures and resultant acquittals.

There are (and always have been) officers that will try to politically leapfrog up the chain of command by being PC tools of a liberal POTUS, but there aren't enough of 'em to get it done, yet.

Long periods of leftist government may see too many of the old guard honorable officers attrition away without replacement.

[naturalman1975]

I certainly can’t say about any specific senior officers expressing concern (I don’t know who has or hasn’t specifically) but, yes, the fact that some senior officers have done so seems pretty well understood.

I’m not in a position to say whether or not these potential charges are justified - while my instinct is always to assume the best of our troops unless there’s other evidence, the fact is, sometimes people do do the wrong thing. But Brigadier McDade is the Director of Military Prosecutions and that means it’s her duty to bring a prosecution if she believes the evidence is there - it’s other people’s job to defend these men if they can. And while, like anybody, her decisions can be wrong, I won’t assume that it is, just because I don’t like what it implies.

[jazusamo]

It may be her job to bring charges against soldiers who have committed crimes but as you said earlier, it had better be with very good cause.

To have a rear echelon officer without combat experience charging combat troops in the heat of battle with crimes while senior officers are questioning her actions gives me great pause.

There are a number of us here who have followed the Haditha case for four years which I’m sure you’re familiar with.

Six have had all charges dismissed and one was found not guilty of all charges, the final ones courts-martial is about to begin.

Military careers have ended, a marriage destroyed and untold thousands lost in defending against those charges because of political motives, media bias and over zealous prosecutors so forgive me if I don’t give Brig. McDade the benefit of the doubt, the benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to the accused.