Scrounging Troops Court-Martialed

[David]

AP


At a time when some U.S. troops in Iraq are complaining they have to scrounge for equipment, six Ohio-based reservists were court-martialed for taking Army vehicles abandoned in Kuwait by other units so they could carry out their own unit's mission to Iraq.

The soldiers say they needed the vehicles, and parts stripped from one, to deliver fuel to Iraq, but their former battalion commander said Sunday the troops should at least have returned the vehicles to their original units.

Members of the 656th Transportation Company based in Springfield, west of Columbus, said they needed the equipment to deliver fuel that was needed by U.S. forces in Iraq for everything from helicopters to tanks.

The reservists took two tractor-trailers and stripped parts from a five-ton truck that had been abandoned in Kuwait by other units that had already moved into Iraq, one of the reservists, Darrell Birt of Columbus, told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Birt, a former chief warrant officer, and the others were charged with theft, destruction of Army property and conspiracy to cover up their crimes. Birt said he and two others pleaded guilty and the other three were convicted. All received six-month sentences.

"Nobody ever reported these trucks stolen. The deal was, when you are moving, if it was going to take more than 30 minutes to fix it, you left it," said Birt, who was released in November. "I'm a Christian man and I can't ignore what we did, but it was justified to get us in the fight and to sustain the fight."

Last week, the military said it would not court-martial any of 23 other Army reservists who refused a mission transporting fuel along a dangerous road in Iraq, complaining that their vehicles in poor condition and did not have armor. And on Wednesday, U.S. soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in Kuwait that they have to scrounge in landfills for scrap metal and discarded bullet-resistant glass to provide armor for their vehicles.

The reservists in the 656th Transportation Company had to move their equipment along with the fuel and likely did not have enough vehicles to do so in one trip, their former battalion commander, Lt. Col. Christopher Wicker, said in a telephone interview Sunday.

"That would have required multiple trips back. They do not have many cargo trucks. They are fuel haulers," he told The Associated Press.

But once the reservists were done with the assignment, they should have sought out the units the vehicles belonged to, he said.

"Instead of taking the trucks back to their rightful owners, the first thing was erasing the identity marks and dumping them off at bases," Wicker said. "They destroyed it. They did the enemy's job. ... Those trucks could be used for other units."

Wicker ordered the investigation of the thefts, which occurred before he assumed the battalion post.

"Taking the trucks in my mind was not the worst thing they did," Wicker said from Fort Hood, Texas, where he is now with the Army's 13th Corps Support Command.

The 656th's former company commander, Maj. Cathy Kaus, told the Chicago Tribune in Sunday's editions that although she knew the equipment had been stolen, she could not determine its owners. The Tribune said the vehicles were never reported stolen, according to court-martial transcripts.

Kaus is serving a six-month sentence. She and Birt have applied for clemency, which could restore their military benefits and change their dishonorable discharges. Birt said Sunday that his clemency had been denied and he is appealing.

[DMZ-LT]

Good thing I didn't remove the unit ID from the Col's jeep I stole in Danang , put a prostitute in a mail bag in the back seat , crashed through a closed MP check point and eventually turned the jeep over while being chased. My LTC came and signed me out the next day and said he was keeping me in the bush and away from towns. The same LTC later wrote my OER and said I was the best platoon leader in the Squadron. I don't think I would last long in todays Army

[David]

I am suprised they have the time over there to pursue this kind of thing. What is even more incomprehensible is that they would in the first place.

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Let every soldier who had to scrounge for supplies and equipment come forth and confess to the military. Let us all converge on the Pentagon at once. Tens of thousands of former military lining up to be prosecuted. At least it will keep them busy and leave the soldiers alone to make do as best they can. Just like every other soldier in every other war they are just going to war with the army they have, not the army they would like to have. I'd say I stole no more than $10,000 worth so I am small potatoes.

[SuperScout]

Some JAG officer has way too much time on his/her hands - this type of action is a morale buster, and recruiting and retention nightmare, and a pathetic waste of taxpayers' expense to prosecute what appears to be a case of exceptional initiative. I'm just glad that the statute of limitations has expired for much of what comprises my spotted military history. We should start a petition to award those individuals with an MSM for properly utilizing discarded parts on the battlefield.

[sn-e3]

I sure hope my nephew Jason with the Marines in fullaja dosen't get busted for miss approperating the head rag he is sending me from one of the fomer mosque dewelers. Jason says he won't need it to keep him warm in Hell because thats where he said he is sure he sent him, in the express line. Please keep Jason in your prayers guys I know he's tough but so were we and we all could have used more prayers.

[DMZ-LT]

Probably the most praying I have done to date , Chris ! My Grandson walked on his own today. We are blessed . Angels over Jason

[Jerry D]

Prayers for Jason and all the sons and nephews serving. I agree on the scronging by GI's, how else can you make do with what you have when you are in the Budget economy class Army insted of the Premier 1st Class Army we should be funding in Congress (see Peace Dividends of the 90's) If they prosecuted every GI that scronged parts there wouldn't be any Soldiers serving in the Field ........