[Vision2020] Mom: GI in Iraq made 2 calls telling of abuse

Fri Aug 28 17:01:45 PDT 2009

Bear stated:

"Obviously, you got out well before the new, cover your ass policy in 
the modern army."

It is not a matter of CYA, Bear.  It is simply soldiers looking out for soldiers.  If you are aware of abuse among soldiers, you report it.  

If that abuse occurs within your unit, you report it to the first sergeant.  

If that abuse occurs within your platoon, you report it to your platoon sergeant.

If that abuse occurs within your platoon and you ARE the platoon sergeant, you put an end to that abuse and you ensure, with absolute certainty, that it never happens again.

FYI, Bear.  CYA is as old as the Army.  It is not new.  At times as a platoon sergeant, I found it necessary to cover my own rear-end, but NEVER at the cost of another soldier.  I would have NEVER placed a soldier in jeopardy for my own personal gain.  I have placed my stripes on the Company Commander's desk (while I was a squad leader) and on the Battalion Commander's desk (while I was a platoon sergeant) so often that the Battalion CSM set his calendar by it ("Hey, it's the 15th, where is Sergeant Hansen?").  I never lost a stripe and the only soldier I lost in my platoon was my gunner who was specifically requested by the Battalion Commander to be his gunner.

I retired on July 15th 1989, less than 18 months before Desert Storm.  So, the Army I left wasn't any different than the one that went to Kuwait.

Enough said.

Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

"For a lapsed Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go to work."

- Roy Zimmerman

> From: bear at moscow.com
> To: thansen at moscow.com
> Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:11:10 -0700
> CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Mom: GI in Iraq made 2 calls telling of abuse
> 
> Tom,
> 
> My heart not only goes out for Private Wilhelm, but also for his 
> family, and the families of the soldiers in that unit. You know they 
> weren't just badgering one kid, there were more.
> 
> Obviously, you got out well before the new, cover your ass policy in 
> the modern army.
> This is no different that trying to figure out WHY the senior NCO's 
> and Chaplain were never held
> accountable in what when on at Abu Grab! Yes, I read all the 
> testimony about General Karpinski ,
> (who as a reservist was pilloried by the good old boys) not knowing 
> what was going on in her Brigade,
> but WHERE were the platoon sergeants, the first sergeants and the 
> battalion and brigade Sergeants Major?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Aug 28, 2009, at 3:56 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> 
> > Courtesy of the Army Times.
> >
> > --------------------------------------------
> >
> > Mom: GI in Iraq made 2 calls telling of abuse
> >
> > By John Seewer - The Associated Press
> > Posted : Friday Aug 28, 2009 15:17:21 EDT
> >
> > WILLARD, Ohio — Before killing himself with a single gunshot, Pvt. 
> > Keiffer
> > Wilhelm called his mother twice from Iraq and told her he was being
> > targeted in his new unit and forced to run for miles with rocks in his
> > pockets that smashed against his knees.
> >
> > He told her he hated it, she said in an interview with The Associated
> > Press on Thursday, marking the first time anyone has said Wilhelm 
> > spoke to
> > them about the abuse.
> >
> > “He said ‘Mom, I don’t have anybody to turn to here,’” said Kathe 
> > Wilhelm,
> > recalling the last conversation she had with her son, a day before he
> > died.
> >
> > The investigation into Wilhelm’s death has led to charges against four
> > soldiers who the military says were mistreating some of the men in 
> > their
> > platoon. Allegations include verbal abuse, physical punishment and
> > ridicule toward the soldiers.
> >
> > The military has said there’s no direct evidence, so far, that the 
> > alleged
> > misconduct caused Wilhelm’s death.
> >
> > Wilhelm, who grew up in northern Ohio, was in Iraq with his new 
> > platoon
> > for just 10 days before he killed himself on Aug. 4.
> >
> > He had volunteered to leave for Iraq before the rest of his unit and 
> > join
> > a brigade with the mission of training Iraqi security forces.
> >
> > His family said he wanted to make a career in the military and talked
> > about becoming a military police officer, following in the footsteps 
> > of
> > his brother who is in the Air Force.
> >
> > Wilhelm arrived in Iraq on July 25 and called his mother to tell her 
> > he
> > had landed safely. She said he was excited to begin a new adventure.
> >
> > In five days everything had changed, she said.
> >
> > Wilhelm told his mother he was being forced to exercise for hours 
> > and that
> > others in his platoon were making fun of him, Kathe Wilhelm said. He 
> > also
> > told her his personal items were disappearing.
> >
> > Another call two days later revealed that he was being forced to go on
> > long runs that left his knees bloody, and that he spent hours doing
> > push-ups and sit-ups in a dirt pile, she said.
> >
> > “He sounded bad,” she said. “He was in trouble for everything.”
> >
> > His mother, whose father retired from the military, told him he’d 
> > make new
> > friends and things would get better. “He said ‘Mom, No it won’t. I 
> > hate it
> > here,’” she said.
> >
> > That was the last time they spoke.
> >
> > “I knew they’d push him,” she said. “Somebody pushed him to the point
> > where he broke.”
> >
> > Her son knew enough to expect some hazing, she said, but it must 
> > have been
> > worse than she even imagined. He survived boot camp, after all.
> >
> > The military said last week that four soldiers had been charged with
> > cruelty and maltreatment and reckless endangerment. Three of the 
> > four were
> > also charged with making false official statements.
> >
> > The four remain in Iraq, where legal proceedings will take place.
> >
> > The military has identified the four soldiers facing charges as Sgt. 
> > Enoch
> > Chatman, Staff Sgt. Bob Clements, Sgt. Jarrett Taylor and Spc. Daniel
> > Weber of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 13th Calvary Regiment from Fort Bliss,
> > Texas.
> >
> > They face anywhere from eight to 25 years in prison if convicted on 
> > all
> > counts.
> >
> > There have been unconfirmed reports that Wilhelm was harassed about 
> > his
> > weight. Family members say that doesn’t make sense because he was in 
> > such
> > good shape coming out of boot camp.
> >
> > He was always a bit pudgy as a teen and had to lose about 20 pounds 
> > before
> > leaving for basic training. But his mother said she was proud of his
> > transformation when she saw him at his boot camp graduation.
> >
> > “Just in the way he carried himself,” she said. “The twinkle in his 
> > eye.”
> >
> > No one knows with certainty why he ended his own life.
> >
> > Kathe Wilhelm thinks he did it to save others in his platoon from 
> > enduring
> > further abuse.
> >
> > “In order to get somebody’s attention, he had to take a drastic 
> > step,” she
> > said. “I would bet my life he thought he was helping protect those 
> > boys.”
> >
> > ------------------
> >
> > An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of 
> > Pvt.
> > Keiffer P. Wilhelm on Aug. 6 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Wilhelm, 
> > 19,
> > died Aug. 4 in Maysan province, Iraq.
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/KeifferWilhelm
> >
> > --------------------------------------------
> >
> > Question . . .
> >
> > Where the HELL were Private Wilhelm's platoon sergeant and first 
> > sergeant
> > during Whilhelm's first ten days in country? Why aren't they being 
> > called
> > onto the carpet?
> >
> > Yes. Those four souldiers, currently being charged, should be held to
> > account for their actions. Responsibility for those actions should 
> > also
> > fall directly on the shoulders of Private Wilhem's platoon sergeant.
> > There is a special place in hell for such a lame, irresponsible, no- 
> > count
> > platoon sergeant. What a piece of garbage.
> >
> > Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.
> >
> > Tom Hansen
> > Moscow, Idaho
> >
> > "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to 
> > change
> > and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> >
> > - Unknown
> >
> >
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