This is unusual. A whole platoon defying orders?!

Link

Platoon defies orders in Iraq


Miss. soldier calls home, cites safety concerns

By Jeremy Hudson
jehudson@clarionledger.com

A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.
The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.

Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.

The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders, punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five years confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate professor of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C.

No military officials were able to confirm or deny the detainment of the platoon Thursday.

But today, Sgt. Salju Thomas of the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad issued a statement saying that an investigation has begun.

"The Commander General of the 13 Corps Support Group has appointed a deputy commander to lead an investigation into allegations that members of the 343 Quartermaster Company refused to participate in their assigned convoy mission on Oct. 13," Thomas' statement said.

The investigation team is currently in Tallil taking statements and interviewing those involved, Thomas said in the statement.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said he plans to submit a congressional inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an investigation into whether they are being treated improperly.

"I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped," said Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq.

"President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but if this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has been with the country," Thompson said.

The 343rd is a supply unit whose general mission is to deliver fuel and water. The unit includes three women and 14 men and those with ranking up to sergeant first class.

"I got a call from an officer in another unit early (Thursday) morning who told me that my husband and his platoon had been arrested on a bogus charge because they refused to go on a suicide mission," said Jackie Butler of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year reservist. "When my husband refuses to follow an order, it has to be something major."

The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., whose daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained.

McClenny, 21, pleaded for help in a message left on her mother's answering machine early Thursday morning.

"They are holding us against our will," McClenny said. "We are now prisoners."

McClenny told her mother her unit tried to deliver fuel to another base in Iraq Wednesday, but was sent back because the fuel had been contaminated with water. The platoon returned to its base, where it was told to take the fuel to another base, McClenny told her mother.

The platoon is normally escorted by armed Humvees and helicopters, but did not have that support Wednesday, McClenny told her mother.

The convoy trucks the platoon was driving had experienced problems in the past and were not being properly maintained, Hill said her daughter told her.

The situation mirrors other tales of troops being sent on missions without proper equipment.

Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in recent presidential debates.

Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the severity of disobeying orders. But 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," Patricia McCook said.

Hill said the trucks her daughter's unit was driving could not top 40 mph.

"They knew there was a 99 percent chance they were going to get ambushed or fired at," Hill said her daughter told her. "They would have had no way to fight back."

Kathy Harris of Vicksburg is the mother of Aaron Gordon, 20, who is among those being detained. Her primary concern is that she has been told the soldiers have not been provided access to a judge advocate general.

Stevens said if the soldiers are being confined, law requires them to have a hearing before a magistrate within seven days.

Harris said conditions for the platoon have been difficult of late. Her son e-mailed her earlier this week to ask what the penalty would be if he became physical with a commanding officer, she said.

But Nadine Stratford of Rock Hill, S.C., said her godson Colin Durham, 20, has been happy with his time in Iraq. She has not heard from him since the platoon was detained.

"When I talked to him about a month ago, he was fine," Stratford said. "He said it was like being at home."

Kudos to them for refusing a mission due to unsafe equipment (if that was legit).

Here's hoping that it is an unbiased investigation.

Right, so the above quote is the problem here.

If the commanding officer judged that the material condition of his equipment was so extremely bad that the risk to his soldiers outweighed the completion of the mission, then fine; it's his call and more power to him.

That said, it's his fault that they weren't mission ready to begin with...

Aerich: with quotes suggesting that Bush is lying to the country, I doubt this report is unbiased.

Right, but The Clarion-Ledger ("Mississippi's News Source!") will not be trying the accused -- a military tribunal will.

Aerich (and I) are hoping that the tribunal will be fair, not the reporting.

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It is debatable that it was a "Whole Platoon" Chewie, it may have been some of the members of the Platoon. I pity the stupid girl who made a phone call discussing mission data over a clear channel. Thats a major rule break no matter what was going on.

As for them refusing to follow Orders, if the Courts Martial (who the hell called it a "tribunal"?) finds that they were not properly equipped and had a justified reason for feeling that it was a "Suicide" mission then their punishments will be reasonably light or non-existant...I will however note..that a different group of people managed to get the supplys through on the alleged "suicide" mission.

Im still waiting for an actual number, serveral reports said it was the "platoon" Other sources said "members of a platoon" and a UPI report direct from Iraq said that "some members of a platoon..." so we have no real good idea of exactly what happned or why...and as I said...the other squad managed to do the job apparently with the same vehicles.

Will be interesting to see the details unfold.
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I called it a tribunal, MagiK, because that's what it will be. Platoons aren't court martialed; individuals are.

It still comes down to someone making a call that this particular order put the group and the mission to undue risk. It was probably the wrong call -- it's a reserve unit from Mississippi :D -- but it will still be looked into from the perspective of the unit commander.

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Aleph, you are correct that platoons are not corts martialed, nor are platoons subject to tribunals. The US Military did away with mass punishments decades ago. Each and every member of the platoon who refused to pull the mission will be evaluated by the unit commander and from there it will be decided whether Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) is warrented or if they should be sent to higher Authority, in any event...each of them will have the right to request a courts martial as per the UCMJ instead of allowing the unit commander to issue NJP.

I thought it was the press calling it a Tribunal and I hate it when the press acts like its all informed and knows what the hell they are talking about, and then go off getting the story wrong.</font>

I doubt they have many land lines in Iraq, so if the call was made from a mobile it's encrypted anyway. And I can see where they're coming from if they're having to deliver a useless cargo in vehicles which apparently aren't bulletproof!

<font color=plum>According to the story on MSN, the platoon actually consists of 120 members. The 19 members that refused to go on the resupply mission
were just one unit of the platoon. They failed to show up for their 7am briefing regarding the resupply mission. It was a deliberate decision made by those originally chosen to go. They were confined for refusing orders (as per normal military regulations) and the mission was eventually carried out by other members of the same platoon.

Military officials said that the allegations of inferior equipment and vehicles would also be investigated - and in fact - that platoon has been placed on a "safety maintenance stand down" until all of the vehicles have been properly inspected.

I respect their courage to say "This is is just TOO dangerous", but I'm aggravated especially by the young woman that called her parents and said "We're being held against our will. Do everything you can. Raise pure hell". I'm sorry, missy, but you are in the military during a time of war. If you REFUSE to obey orders, you WILL be detained by armed guards until the matter can be investigated and a Judge Advocate appointed.

That would be just like any of us saying "I REFUSED to do something my boss told me to, and now he has placed me on suspension for a week." In the military, and especially in a time of war, soldiers are expected to follow the orders they are given.

By NOT delivering the supplies, they put the lives of OTHER soldiers in danger as well.

I'm not faulting them for taking a stand, because it sounds like they have a legitimate complaint (though I agree it is just ridiculous to claim that Bush is personally responsible for that {sigh} :rolleyes: ), but if thy are going to disobey orders, then they also have to be expecting the consequences of that action and be willing to face them.

Here is a link to the MSN story. It contains a few more details than the OP --->Link</font>