Holden: Missouri soldiers shouldn't drive civilian contractors

By Terry Ganey
Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau Chief
05/11/2004

JEFFERSON CITY -- Gov. Bob Holden wrote President George W. Bush on Tuesday saying he was concerned about the use of Missouri National Guard soldiers to drive vehicles for civilian contractors in Iraq. Holden said if they are, he strenuously objected to the "wrongful use of U.S. Army personnel in this manner."

Holden's letter said he had been in contact with Missouri Adjutant General Dennis Shull, who said he had received complaints from soldiers' families about the type of duty the soldiers were being assigned in Iraq. Holden's letter said Shull had told him that the guard was supplying drivers for Kellogg, Brown and Root, a civilian contractor.

. . .

"I can understand the necessity to occasionally use units and soldiers to do other non-traditional kinds of missions to accommodate the short-term dictates of the combat zone; but I cannot understand, nor support, the use of soldiers to provide labor for a civilian contractor," Holden's letter to Bush said.

"Clearly, the use of the 1221st Transportation Co. in this manner violates the traditional employment of soldiers in a manner that disregards the risks to the lives of these young Americans," Holden wrote. "I ask you to immediately look into the inappropriate use of this unit and take all actions necessary to insist that our Army forces be used in a manner in which they have been organized and trained."

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Missouri+State+News/AA30228B0255D5AE86256E910066EFA6?OpenDocument&Headline=Holden%3A+Missouri+soldiers+shouldn't+drive+civilian+contracto

In order to stand up to the 'Pug dominated legislature. He has done a great deal in the past three plus years to soften the blows of the 'Puggies, but it is like trying to staunch a break in the dike, you only have so many fingers.

Sad to say, the knife is coming from his own party. Auditor Claire McCaskill is challenging him in the primaries. Another DLC Dem trying to take over sad to say. If she gets the nod, I'm going Green for the govenor's race too.

You'll get Matt Blunt elected Governor of Missouri if you have some pissant objections to Claire McCaskill. Very good, we'll have a rubber stamp in the Gov's office to go with our insane puggy Legislature. Good f*cking job.

Look, I'm not a big fan of Holden, but he has been trying to stem the tide. All that McCaskill has been doing is looking out for her own political career rather than the greater good. Ever since Holden has taken office she has been tearing him down to further her own ends. I'm sorry, but I don't believe in rewarding that kind of behavior.

Besides, it seems as though she is in the back pocket of Anheuser Bush also. Not what we need, another corporate whore Dem shilling for Bush in the govenor's office.

Quite frankly Claire should have been a party loyalist, run for re-election as auditor and back Holden. As it is, she is going to split the state party and allow Blunt to back into office. Not a bright move friend, not bright at all.

if she ends up being the candidate? I daresay most registered Democrats will vote for the Democrat rather than hand the Gov's office to a puppet-boy republican twit.

I doubt very much that Claire would be running if she hadn't detected significant dissatisfaction with Holden. I happen to know a good deal about what she has done as State Auditor, and she can make some very strong claims against Blunt about saving taxpayer dollars and looking after the fiscal interests of the state. Blunt hasn't done shit except turn the Sec State's office into a fascist daycamp (I know, I used to work for that little dipshit). I believe in her case that party loyalty came down to offering herself as a viable candidiate versus bowing to Holden, who may well get his ass handed to him in November if he ends up being the candidate.

Don't get me wrong, Bob has taken some noble stands against the insane repugs and their attempts to dismantle the state's social safety net; but unfortunately, most Missourians don't give a crap about stuff like that.

cut off all communication between soldiers and their families.

They've taken the first step by ending email communication.

They cannot survive if the truth comes out. This is just one more small example of how the truth blows up in their faces.

"Shull said that the transportation unit's soldiers had been trained for long-haul, over-the-road assignments. He said that the soldiers have established procedures on how to react if they come under an attack. However, Shull said that if the soldiers were assigned to work with civilians, the soldiers might be in danger because they would be placed in a situation for which they were not trained."

Maybe the governors should check up on exactly how their national guard units are being used in Iraq. Chauffeuring Haliburton employees really isn't in their job description. Haliburton should pay for that themselves, not Missouri.

we rode gun for Brown and Root all the time in Yugoslavia. We loved those guys.

The problem is, Brown & Root is the one getting you your beans. You want to eat, you need to help them out. The only alternative is for Brown and Root to hire a bunch of unsavory foreign "security help" which is a topic that has caused some consternation on this forum.

You can't have it both ways though. Either we pull gun for B&R or they hire their own security. It's gotta be one or the other.

During Tet, the regular drivers who took supplies from the Saigon docks to Long Bien refused to drive because every night one of their trucks in the convoy would get hit by a RPG. We were forced to drive and ride shotgun on two trips a day when the regular drivers only did one. At least one truck a day was blown up by the enemy when we were driving also.

We had to run a harrowing gauntlet of Croatian hookers every day, most of whom were poster children for the sad state of Eastern European Dentistry. :-)

and last I heard were more than well paid for their $ervice$! In fact *so* well paid it was deemed criminal and they recieved a slap on the wrist too! Shame on Cheneys bunch for taking advantage of the taxpapers who are paying for their war! :grr: