Three Accused Soldiers Had Records of Unruliness That Went Unpunished

WASHINGTON, May 26 — In the six months leading up to the investigation of prison abuses at Abu Ghraib, three of the seven soldiers now charged with abuse repeatedly committed infractions and disobeyed orders but received only the mildest of punishments.

(snip)

Specialist Charles A. Graner Jr., whom investigators call a ringleader in the abuse by members of the 372nd Military Police company, was disciplined at least twice, in November 2003 and in early January, two weeks before the investigation of detainee abuse began.

In the second incident, he refused at least seven times to follow a platoon sergeant's order to leave a building, then told the officer as he finally left, "You can kiss my ." He was told to take responsibility for his actions and was advised, but not ordered, to seek anger management counseling.

Pfc. Lynndie R. England was reprimanded three times, twice in July and then in November, for disobeying direct orders not to sleep with Specialist Graner.

The first time, she told an officer that she was "too busy" to report to the platoon sergeant about the violation. She received corrective training but was not seriously disciplined until January, when she was docked $357 in pay and demoted from specialist to private first class.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/05/27/politics/27PUNI.html

Compared to what their actions would merit in civilian life, under the criminal code.

:grr:

No discipline, defying officers sleeping around with each other and it was a "whistle blower" who copied the abuse photos off Graner's computer and slipped them with a note under an investigators door!

England and Graner were disgusting and warned and warned and basically were saying "Fuck You" to officers.

This ain't the Military we are used to. Sounds like MTV's Spring Break but worse!

keep a sense of proportion here. The were disobeying direct orders, disrespectful to superiors, insubordinate, and they committed war crimes. Its not like they did something serious, like call their "commander-in-chief" a moron.

would put up with this shit? How many times did they have to be ordered to do or not to do the same things? Absolutely outrageous
that it took this long to get courtmartialed, and that they will only get a year.

I've never been in the military, and really don't know, but I would have thought that telling a higher-up to 'kiss my ...' would not be tolerated even once. I mean, a high school student certainly would not get away with such behavior, and I can't believe a soldier would, either.

The puppet kind, the kind that fail to do their jobs, these aren't NCO's, they're sergeants.

And for those who don't know the difference, an NCO is a leader, a sergeant is the excrement of a sea creature that is considered lower then whale shit.

So there are a lot of sergeants in the Army, and damned few NCO's.

As for getting only a year, Graner, Davis, and Frederick are facing General Courts Martials. The maximum sentence is more then a year.

What kind of people do we allow in the Reserves? We know what kind of people are in intel.

...with Graner, was Graner also reprimanded for sleeping with England? Or was he merely reprimanded for disobeying an order to leave her building.

...she was going over to his quarters and bunking down for the night. So, she'd get the reprimand, not him.

And right gentlemanly of him, isn't it, to let her go on getting the reprimands? He could've at least sneaked over to her cot every other night so that he would get his share of official reprimands.

...their little bundle of joy comes into the world. It will surely cause peace on Earth and goodwill to all men.

They're being scapegoated by the higher ups, but they ain't no innocent bystanders, either.

It sounds like they're all pretty pieces of work.

:scared:

Who knew?

From the last paragraph:

Nine days later, on Jan. 13, another soldier placed a disc and an anonymous letter under the door of an investigative unit at the prison. On the disc were photographs documenting naked and abused detainees that he had copied from Specialist Graner's computer.

That was a curious part of the article. First I'd heard that a "whistle blower" couldn't stand the abuse going on and reported it. Wonder what happened to that soldier. I hope he was put in a "protection program."

...Rumsfeld told his name on the day he was testifying to the SAC.

After that, I haven't heard, but it can't have been pleasant for him.

Al Gore did use his name in the speech he gave the other day--he commended him.

"Walking through Camp Cropper, a detention center, with Brig. Gen. Janis L. Karpinski, the brigade's commander, General Miller encountered two military police soldiers sitting at their desks with their feet up, not so much as budging as the two-star general walked by."

or, should I say, complete lack of discipline. I would have smoked these guys so fast they wouldn't have noticed the rank falling off their collars.

They were exactly who they wanted in their "interrogations".

1. ITS ONLY A COUPLE OF BAD EGGS

2. OUR TROOPS ARE WINNING THE WAR

3. LYNNDIE IS A SLEAZE

4. THE REST OF THE PICTURES OF RAPE ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR RELEASE.

5. OUR PRESIDENT IS A BRAVE MAN.

6. GO BACK TO SLEEP

today's soldiers? They sound like rebelling (sociopathic)teenagers...