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Bear stated:<BR>
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"Obviously, you got out well before the new, cover your ass policy in <BR>the modern army."<BR>
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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. <BR>
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If that abuse occurs within your unit, you report it to the first sergeant. <BR>
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If that abuse occurs within your platoon, you report it to your platoon sergeant.<BR>
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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.<BR>
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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.<BR>
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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.<BR>
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Enough said.<BR>
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Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.<BR>
<BR>
Tom Hansen<BR>
Moscow, Idaho<BR>
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<P class=EC_EC_MsoPlainText><FONT color=#000000 face="Courier New">"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."</FONT></P>
<P class=EC_EC_MsoPlainText><FONT color=#000000 face="Courier New"> </FONT></P>
<P class=EC_EC_MsoPlainText><FONT color=#000000 face="Courier New">- Roy Zimmerman</FONT></P><BR><BR><BR>
<BR>> From: bear@moscow.com<BR>> To: thansen@moscow.com<BR>> Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:11:10 -0700<BR>> CC: vision2020@moscow.com<BR>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Mom: GI in Iraq made 2 calls telling of abuse<BR>> <BR>> Tom,<BR>> <BR>> My heart not only goes out for Private Wilhelm, but also for his <BR>> family, and the families of the soldiers in that unit. You know they <BR>> weren't just badgering one kid, there were more.<BR>> <BR>> Obviously, you got out well before the new, cover your ass policy in <BR>> the modern army.<BR>> This is no different that trying to figure out WHY the senior NCO's <BR>> and Chaplain were never held<BR>> accountable in what when on at Abu Grab! Yes, I read all the <BR>> testimony about General Karpinski ,<BR>> (who as a reservist was pilloried by the good old boys) not knowing <BR>> what was going on in her Brigade,<BR>> but WHERE were the platoon sergeants, the first sergeants and the <BR>> battalion and brigade Sergeants Major?<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> On Aug 28, 2009, at 3:56 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:<BR>> <BR>> > Courtesy of the Army Times.<BR>> ><BR>> > --------------------------------------------<BR>> ><BR>> > Mom: GI in Iraq made 2 calls telling of abuse<BR>> ><BR>> > By John Seewer - The Associated Press<BR>> > Posted : Friday Aug 28, 2009 15:17:21 EDT<BR>> ><BR>> > WILLARD, Ohio — Before killing himself with a single gunshot, Pvt. <BR>> > Keiffer<BR>> > Wilhelm called his mother twice from Iraq and told her he was being<BR>> > targeted in his new unit and forced to run for miles with rocks in his<BR>> > pockets that smashed against his knees.<BR>> ><BR>> > He told her he hated it, she said in an interview with The Associated<BR>> > Press on Thursday, marking the first time anyone has said Wilhelm <BR>> > spoke to<BR>> > them about the abuse.<BR>> ><BR>> > “He said ‘Mom, I don’t have anybody to turn to here,’” said Kathe <BR>> > Wilhelm,<BR>> > recalling the last conversation she had with her son, a day before he<BR>> > died.<BR>> ><BR>> > The investigation into Wilhelm’s death has led to charges against four<BR>> > soldiers who the military says were mistreating some of the men in <BR>> > their<BR>> > platoon. Allegations include verbal abuse, physical punishment and<BR>> > ridicule toward the soldiers.<BR>> ><BR>> > The military has said there’s no direct evidence, so far, that the <BR>> > alleged<BR>> > misconduct caused Wilhelm’s death.<BR>> ><BR>> > Wilhelm, who grew up in northern Ohio, was in Iraq with his new <BR>> > platoon<BR>> > for just 10 days before he killed himself on Aug. 4.<BR>> ><BR>> > He had volunteered to leave for Iraq before the rest of his unit and <BR>> > join<BR>> > a brigade with the mission of training Iraqi security forces.<BR>> ><BR>> > His family said he wanted to make a career in the military and talked<BR>> > about becoming a military police officer, following in the footsteps <BR>> > of<BR>> > his brother who is in the Air Force.<BR>> ><BR>> > Wilhelm arrived in Iraq on July 25 and called his mother to tell her <BR>> > he<BR>> > had landed safely. She said he was excited to begin a new adventure.<BR>> ><BR>> > In five days everything had changed, she said.<BR>> ><BR>> > Wilhelm told his mother he was being forced to exercise for hours <BR>> > and that<BR>> > others in his platoon were making fun of him, Kathe Wilhelm said. He <BR>> > also<BR>> > told her his personal items were disappearing.<BR>> ><BR>> > Another call two days later revealed that he was being forced to go on<BR>> > long runs that left his knees bloody, and that he spent hours doing<BR>> > push-ups and sit-ups in a dirt pile, she said.<BR>> ><BR>> > “He sounded bad,” she said. “He was in trouble for everything.”<BR>> ><BR>> > His mother, whose father retired from the military, told him he’d <BR>> > make new<BR>> > friends and things would get better. “He said ‘Mom, No it won’t. I <BR>> > hate it<BR>> > here,’” she said.<BR>> ><BR>> > That was the last time they spoke.<BR>> ><BR>> > “I knew they’d push him,” she said. “Somebody pushed him to the point<BR>> > where he broke.”<BR>> ><BR>> > Her son knew enough to expect some hazing, she said, but it must <BR>> > have been<BR>> > worse than she even imagined. He survived boot camp, after all.<BR>> ><BR>> > The military said last week that four soldiers had been charged with<BR>> > cruelty and maltreatment and reckless endangerment. Three of the <BR>> > four were<BR>> > also charged with making false official statements.<BR>> ><BR>> > The four remain in Iraq, where legal proceedings will take place.<BR>> ><BR>> > The military has identified the four soldiers facing charges as Sgt. <BR>> > Enoch<BR>> > Chatman, Staff Sgt. Bob Clements, Sgt. Jarrett Taylor and Spc. Daniel<BR>> > Weber of B Troop, 2nd Squadron, 13th Calvary Regiment from Fort Bliss,<BR>> > Texas.<BR>> ><BR>> > They face anywhere from eight to 25 years in prison if convicted on <BR>> > all<BR>> > counts.<BR>> ><BR>> > There have been unconfirmed reports that Wilhelm was harassed about <BR>> > his<BR>> > weight. Family members say that doesn’t make sense because he was in <BR>> > such<BR>> > good shape coming out of boot camp.<BR>> ><BR>> > He was always a bit pudgy as a teen and had to lose about 20 pounds <BR>> > before<BR>> > leaving for basic training. But his mother said she was proud of his<BR>> > transformation when she saw him at his boot camp graduation.<BR>> ><BR>> > “Just in the way he carried himself,” she said. “The twinkle in his <BR>> > eye.”<BR>> ><BR>> > No one knows with certainty why he ended his own life.<BR>> ><BR>> > Kathe Wilhelm thinks he did it to save others in his platoon from <BR>> > enduring<BR>> > further abuse.<BR>> ><BR>> > “In order to get somebody’s attention, he had to take a drastic <BR>> > step,” she<BR>> > said. “I would bet my life he thought he was helping protect those <BR>> > boys.”<BR>> ><BR>> > ------------------<BR>> ><BR>> > An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of <BR>> > Pvt.<BR>> > Keiffer P. Wilhelm on Aug. 6 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Wilhelm, <BR>> > 19,<BR>> > died Aug. 4 in Maysan province, Iraq.<BR>> ><BR>> > http://tinyurl.com/KeifferWilhelm<BR>> ><BR>> > --------------------------------------------<BR>> ><BR>> > Question . . .<BR>> ><BR>> > Where the HELL were Private Wilhelm's platoon sergeant and first <BR>> > sergeant<BR>> > during Whilhelm's first ten days in country? Why aren't they being <BR>> > called<BR>> > onto the carpet?<BR>> ><BR>> > Yes. Those four souldiers, currently being charged, should be held to<BR>> > account for their actions. Responsibility for those actions should <BR>> > also<BR>> > fall directly on the shoulders of Private Wilhem's platoon sergeant.<BR>> > There is a special place in hell for such a lame, irresponsible, no- <BR>> > count<BR>> > platoon sergeant. What a piece of garbage.<BR>> ><BR>> > Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.<BR>> ><BR>> > Tom Hansen<BR>> > Moscow, Idaho<BR>> ><BR>> > "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to <BR>> > change<BR>> > and the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR>> ><BR>> > - Unknown<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> > =======================================================<BR>> > List services made available by First Step Internet,<BR>> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<BR>> > http://www.fsr.net<BR>> > mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>> > =======================================================<BR>> <BR>> =======================================================<BR>> List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>> http://www.fsr.net <BR>> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>> =======================================================<BR></body>
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