This is COMPLETE BULLSHIT! - GoFuckYourself.com

erehwon · 12-21-2004, 04:42 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/15/politics/15armor.html

Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio has asked the Army to grant clemency to two officers who were convicted of theft and destroying government property in Kuwait and Iraq after they commandeered several Army trucks they believed to have been abandoned to make up for what they said was a shortage in their own units.

The two officers, Maj. Cathy Kaus and Chief Warrant Officer Darrell Birt, are among six Army reservists who were found guilty in court-martial proceedings earlier this year. Both were sentenced to six-month prison terms and given dishonorable discharges. The others were given lesser sentences.

The main facts in the case are undisputed. Soldiers from the 656th Transportation Company arrived in Kuwait in March 2003, were quickly ordered to Iraq and found themselves without enough trucks to carry their equipment. They took two Army trucks and two trailers they believed to have been abandoned by units that had already moved into Iraq, loaded them with equipment and drove them to their base near the Iraqi town of Tikrit.

Several weeks later, they found what appeared to be an abandoned Army truck along an Iraqi highway, towed it to their base and stripped it for spare parts.

Mr. Birt said in a telephone interview that without those parts, his unit, which had 60 fuel-hauling trucks, would have been unable to complete its mission of delivering fuel to American bases throughout central Iraq.

"The choice was either to find parts where we could, or do the mission halfway and expose our people to danger, or refuse to go," he said. "We felt we needed this stuff for mission sustainment."

Another soldier in the unit, Specialist Robert Chalmers, said that its repeated efforts to obtain spare parts, both before it was deployed to Iraq and afterward, were unsuccessful.

"We ordered parts, but they never came," Specialist Chalmers said. "Once we were in Iraq and had a truck designated for parts, we stripped it to the frame. Hoses, engines, transmissions, wheels, door handles, anything salvageable or usable, we took it and recycled it."

Mr. Birt, 45, who served in the Marine Corps for 11 years before joining the Army Reserve, said the trucking company where he used to work in Ohio had dismissed him.

"They said it was because I was convicted of theft and dishonorably discharged," he said. "I know we broke rules, but I never thought the Army would do this to me or others in my unit."

pornguy · 12-21-2004, 04:47 PM

They deserve a meadl for good thinking. They were doing their job, and that was to supply the foreward units.

FUCK THE US government.

fusionx · 12-21-2004, 07:25 PM

This is unreal...

Allmost every good WWII movie celebrates this kind of resourcefulness. Every unit had a "King Rat" who would scrounge up all the necessary materials for the unit to do their jobs.

Prosecuting and convicting these guys for this is disgusting.

I'm glad the Senator is asking for clemency, but, he should be asking for dismissal of all charges and restoration of rank and privledge, plus a hefty sum for the trouble.

lb_vee · 12-21-2004, 07:32 PM

That blows. These guys did whatever they could to complete their mission and they get shit for it? WTF is that?

12-21-2004, 04:42 PM	#1
erehwon Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: A secure undisclosed location... Posts: 3,759	This is COMPLETE BULLSHIT! http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/15/politics/15armor.html Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio has asked the Army to grant clemency to two officers who were convicted of theft and destroying government property in Kuwait and Iraq after they commandeered several Army trucks they believed to have been abandoned to make up for what they said was a shortage in their own units. The two officers, Maj. Cathy Kaus and Chief Warrant Officer Darrell Birt, are among six Army reservists who were found guilty in court-martial proceedings earlier this year. Both were sentenced to six-month prison terms and given dishonorable discharges. The others were given lesser sentences. The main facts in the case are undisputed. Soldiers from the 656th Transportation Company arrived in Kuwait in March 2003, were quickly ordered to Iraq and found themselves without enough trucks to carry their equipment. They took two Army trucks and two trailers they believed to have been abandoned by units that had already moved into Iraq, loaded them with equipment and drove them to their base near the Iraqi town of Tikrit. Several weeks later, they found what appeared to be an abandoned Army truck along an Iraqi highway, towed it to their base and stripped it for spare parts. Mr. Birt said in a telephone interview that without those parts, his unit, which had 60 fuel-hauling trucks, would have been unable to complete its mission of delivering fuel to American bases throughout central Iraq. "The choice was either to find parts where we could, or do the mission halfway and expose our people to danger, or refuse to go," he said. "We felt we needed this stuff for mission sustainment." Another soldier in the unit, Specialist Robert Chalmers, said that its repeated efforts to obtain spare parts, both before it was deployed to Iraq and afterward, were unsuccessful. "We ordered parts, but they never came," Specialist Chalmers said. "Once we were in Iraq and had a truck designated for parts, we stripped it to the frame. Hoses, engines, transmissions, wheels, door handles, anything salvageable or usable, we took it and recycled it." Mr. Birt, 45, who served in the Marine Corps for 11 years before joining the Army Reserve, said the trucking company where he used to work in Ohio had dismissed him. "They said it was because I was convicted of theft and dishonorably discharged," he said. "I know we broke rules, but I never thought the Army would do this to me or others in my unit." __________________ Money NEVER $leep$...

12-21-2004, 04:47 PM	#2
pornguy Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Homeless Posts: 62,911	They deserve a meadl for good thinking. They were doing their job, and that was to supply the foreward units. FUCK THE US government. __________________ PornGuy skype me pornguy_epic AmateurDough The Hottes Shemales online! TChicks.com \| Angeles Cid \| Mariana Cordoba \| MAILERS WELCOME!

12-21-2004, 07:25 PM	#3
fusionx Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Olongapo City, Philippines Posts: 4,618	This is unreal... Allmost every good WWII movie celebrates this kind of resourcefulness. Every unit had a "King Rat" who would scrounge up all the necessary materials for the unit to do their jobs. Prosecuting and convicting these guys for this is disgusting. I'm glad the Senator is asking for clemency, but, he should be asking for dismissal of all charges and restoration of rank and privledge, plus a hefty sum for the trouble.

12-21-2004, 07:32 PM	#4
lb_vee Confirmed User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 886	That blows. These guys did whatever they could to complete their mission and they get shit for it? WTF is that?