Army reservist accused of insubordination after questioning waiver

[thedrifter]

Army reservist accused of insubordination after questioning waiver




ASSOCIATED PRESS
8:53 a.m. November 28, 2003

ROCHESTER, N.Y. ? An Army reserve officer faces insubordination charges after he questioned the legality of a waiver that his battalion was asked to sign allowing their third deployment to a war zone since January 2002.

Capt. Steve McAlpin of 401st Civil Affairs Battalion was notified in a memorandum Wednesday that he was being removed from the unit's battle roster. Members of the 401st will be deployed for duty overseas on Dec. 3.

McAlpin said he could face other punishment, including a court martial and losing rank, over the charges.

In the memorandum, Lt. Col. Phillip Carey, commander of the 401st, charges McAlpin with having a "negative attitude" toward the 401st and with being "insubordinate towards the leadership" of the unit.

McAlpin, 44, said he questioned the waiver last Saturday during a teleconference with Col. Guy Sands, commander of the McAlpin's parent unit, the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade. McAlpin asked whether the battalion may be violating federal law by not allowing combat troops a required 12-month "stabilization period" at home.

A spokesman for the 401st, Capt. Brian Earley, said Friday that McAlpin's questioning of the waiver was one reason why he was being disciplined. Individual members of the 401st are allowed to refuse to sign the waiver, but Earley said McAlpin was "butting in" for other soldiers.

"People who were on the mission, who wanted to go, he was questioning their orders," Earley said. "He was pursuing a non-issue."

Earley said the military was also taking action because of "an accumulation of things," including difficulties in one of his previous missions to Afghanistan.

While declining to elaborate, Earley said "there's a lot of soldiers we're not sending because they have one issue or another. It's important that we put together a solid team. Not all soldiers are ready, even though they think they are, to deploy."

The memorandum commands McAlpin to clear up his affairs at the unit by Dec. 1, when it bans him from battalion grounds. It also transfers him to the Individual Ready Reserves, whose soldiers can be called up in the event of a national emergency.

McAlpin, a 25-year military veteran, told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that instead of signing the reprimand document, he attached a note of protest, stating his performance evaluations have been excellent and that his record shows "no pattern of incompetence." He also plans to meet with a military attorney.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/...eprimanded.html

Sempers,

Roger