Fuck you George Bush!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top11oct15,1,556750.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Unit Refused Iraq Mission, Military Says
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
Associated Press Writer
October 15, 2004, 10:29 PM CDT
WASHINGTON -- The Army is investigating up
to 19 members of a supply platoon in Iraq
who refused to go on a convoy mission, the
military said Friday. Relatives of the
soldiers said the troops considered the
mission too dangerous, in part because their
vehicles were in such poor shape.
Some of the troops' concerns were being
addressed, military officials said. But a
coalition spokesman in Baghdad noted that "a
small number of the soldiers involved chose
to express their concerns in an
inappropriate manner, causing a temporary
breakdown in discipline."
The reservists are from a fuel platoon that
is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company,
based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers
food, water and fuel on trucks in combat
zones.
Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., who said her
daughter, Amber McClenny, was among in the
platoon, received a phone message from her
early Thursday morning saying they had been
detained by U.S. military authorities.
"This is a real, real, big emergency,"
McClenny said in her message. "I need you to
contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell."
McClenny said in her message that her
platoon had refused to go on a convoy to
Taji, located north of Baghdad. "We had
broken down trucks, non-armored vehicles
and, um, we were carrying contaminated fuel.
They are holding us against our will. We are
now prisoners," she said.
Hill said she was later contacted by Spc.
Tammy Reese in Iraq, who was calling
families of the detainees.
"She told me (Amber) was being held in a
tent with armed guards," said Hill, who
spoke with her daughter Friday afternoon
after her release. Her daughter said they
are facing punishment ranging from a
reprimand to a charge of mutiny.
The incident was first reported Friday by
The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson,
Miss. Family members told the newspaper that
several platoon members had been confined,
but the military did not confirm that.
A commanding general has ordered the unit to
undergo a "safety-maintenance stand down,"
during which it will conduct no further
missions as the unit's vehicles undergo
safety inspections, the military said.
On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did
not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting
in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare
for the fuel convoy's departure a few hours
later, the military statement said.
"An initial report indicated that some of
the 19 soldiers (not all) refused to
participate in the convoy as directed," the
military statement says.
The mission was ultimately carried out by
other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at
least 120 soldiers, the military said.
Convoys in Iraq are frequently subject to
ambushes and roadside bombings.
Staff Sgt. Christopher Stokes, a 37-year-old
chemical engineer from Charlotte, N.C., went
to Iraq with the 343rd but had to come home
because of an injury. He said reservists
were given inferior equipment and tensions
in the company had been building since they
were deployed in February.
"It wasn't really safe," he said. "The
vehicles are not all that up to par anyway.
The armor that they have is homemade. It's
not really armor. It's like little steel
rails."
A whole unit refusing to go on a mission in
a war zone would be a significant breach of
military discipline. The military statement
called the incident "isolated" and called
the 343rd an experienced unit that performed
honorable service in nine months in Iraq.
U.S. military officials said the commanding
general of the 13th Corps Support Command.,
Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, had appointed
his deputy, Col. Darrell Roll, to
investigate. An investigative team under
Roll is in Tallil, questioning soldiers
about the incident, the military said.
"Preliminary findings indicate that there
were several contributing factors that led
to the late convoy incident and alleged
refusal to participate by some soldiers,"
the military said. "It would be
inappropriate to discuss those factors while
the investigation continues."
Separately, the commander of the 300th Area
Support Group, listed on a military Web site
as Col. Pamela Adams, has ordered a criminal
inquiry to determine if any soldiers
committed crimes under the Uniform Code of
Military Justice, and, if so, whether
disciplinary measures are warranted.
Alabama Republicans Sen. Richard Shelby and
Rep. Terry Everett have both requested more
information from the Defense Department,
their offices said.
The platoon has troops from Alabama,
Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and
South Carolina, said Hill.
Patricia McCook, of Jackson, Miss., said her
husband, Staff Sgt. Larry O. McCook, was
also among those detained. She said he told
her in a telephone call that he did not feel
comfortable taking his soldiers on another
trip.
"He told me that three of the vehicles they
were to use were 'deadlines' ... not safe to
go in a hotbed like that," she said, the
newspaper reported.
Tom Barger
StinkMonkey
Lachatte
ShadowMom
to Carla, Tomsong, and to SCHMOO!! you guys 
