Joe Subic's actions are indeed 25 years old, and yes, he was young and in a stressful situation. This was the sum of Mr. Subic's comments on page 602-603 of Mark Bowden's book Guests of the Ayatollah. Mr. Subic was interviewed by Bowden's friend, journalist Christina Asquinth in the summer of 2004. Subic said "he was a different man today than he was twenty-five years ago, and acknowledged that under duress he occassionally cooperated with his captors, but not to the extent some of his fellow captives have alleged, and no more, he says that did others."
That said, I believe his actions violated the Army Code of Conduct and the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and he should have been prosecuted by a military court-martial. Mr. Subic was a Military Police officer (MP) at the time and should have been well aware of the both the Code of Conduct and the UCMJ, since he was charged with enforcing them. In addition, it is a yearly requirement of all military personnel to undergo refresher training on the Code of Conduct and expected behaviors when detained, captured or held hostage.
One of the main tenets of the Code of Conduct is to refuse to accept favors from the enemy in return for individual and/or personal gain. If you read Bowden's book, it is readily apparent that Subic was granted special privileges and favors in return for his actions, which included disclosing sensitive information, such as who were the military attaches and who were the Farsi speakers (leading the hostage takers to conclude those fluent in Farsi were CIA operatives). I challenge anyone who feels I am too harsh on Joe Subic to read Bowden's book and decide for yourself if this man deserves to be either a police chief or a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army.
Lest you think I am too harsh, I would be more forgiving of Mr. Subic if he did not appear to be involved in some other questionable activities of more recent origin:
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS/602280365/1206/CAMPUS15
If you would like to email Mr. Subic, his two email addresses are
jsubic@whitespringsfl.us or his military email
joseph.subic@us.army.mil. His most recent phone number is 904-764-0165.
Mr. Subic most recent unit of assignment was with the 351st MP Company, an Army Reserve unit out of Ocala Flordia.
Many people have mentioned Mark Bowden's book. COL Charles Scott spoke at the Army HQ building where I work and mentioned many errors that were present in Bowden's book. His joke was that he told Bowden that he found 7 errors in the book to which Bowden replied "that's not bad," and Scott then told him he was only on page 12. COL Scott spoke of Subic and his actions. Soon after capture, Subic identified Scott as an Army intelligence officer who spoke Farsi. Someone mentioned that no one was hurt by Subic's actions, but in fact COL Scott was tortured and still suffers physically from the affects of it some 30+ years later. It was Subic's blatant collaboration with the terrorists/enemy that resulted in Scott's torture.
I know Joe personally although it’s been serveral years that I’ve had any contact with him, I AM THANKFUL TO HIM TO THIS DAY! I worked with Joe back in the early 1990’s with the Department of Environmental Protection when he was a District LE Captain (and a fine one at that). Joe helped me through a time when I was being abused by a live in boyfriend. My co-workers set it up for Joe to drive me to lunch to meet them all for lunch. It was Joe’s job to convince me to file charges against the abuser. Joe was nothing but professional and a friend in my time of need. He’s wife was also a co-worker at that time but not in my office. I hold a high regard for Joe and for what he helped me through. That time has always been a help to me and still does play a part in my life today to know I don’t have to take anyones abuse. THANKS JOE — I still remember the help you gave me. Micky