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| Soldier Says He’s Being Branded a Coward |
| 2003-11-07 |
| FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) - A Special Forces interrogator whose cowardice charge was reduced to a lesser count said Friday he believes the Army is pursuing the case to pressure him to resign. ``I am getting the vibe that my military career is over,’’ Staff Sgt. Georg-Andreas Pogany said in a telephone interview. ``The sentiment I get is that they have branded me as a coward.’’ Ya think? A military court dismissed the cowardice charge against Pogany on Thursday, and his commander then charged him with dereliction of duty. Pogany, 32, said the charge came after he sought counseling for symptoms of panic attacks he suffered when he saw the mangled body of an Iraqi man who had been cut in half by American gunfire in Iraq. Okay, I have some sympathy here, seeing something like this has to be disturbing as all hell. But you still have to do your job. Since he returned to Fort Carson to face the charge, Pogany said he has been assigned janitorial duties, stripped of his security clearance and barred from carrying a gun. He also said he has endured hostile stares and comments. I’ll bet he has. ``I am absolutely not guilty of dereliction of duty. I am relieved that they dropped the other charge but I am highly disappointed that they came forward with this charge,’’ he said. Army officials have refused to comment on Pogany’s case, saying they want to protect Pogany’s rights during the judicial process. A telephone message left for Fort Carson officials Friday was not immediately returned. Assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group, Pogany was attached to a team of Green Berets on Sept. 26 when he departed for Iraq. He wouldn’t discuss his responsibilities, citing security issues. Three days later, he was standing in a U.S. compound near Samarra north of Baghdad when soldiers brought in the Iraqi man’s bloody body. The soldiers told Pogany the man was killed after he was seen shooting a rocket-propelled grenade. Pogany said he was shaken, couldn’t focus and kept vomiting. He told his commanders he believed he was suffering from panic attacks or a nervous breakdown and requested counseling. I’m sure he was shaken, seeing a dead, mangled body the first time in combat can do that. He was examined by psychologist Capt. Marc Houck, who concluded he had signs consistent with normal combat stress reaction. Houck recommended Pogany be given a brief rest before returning to duty, but he was sent home to Fort Carson in mid-October and charged with ``cowardly conduct as a result of fear.’’ Pogany said he asked three times to be given time to adjust and complete the recommended treatment while in Iraq. Hmmm. Why not give him a day to get his head back on straight and put him back on the job? In a statement released Thursday, Fort Carson officials said the company commander brought the new charge after judicial officers dismissed the cowardice charge. SF company commander? Attorney Frank Spinner, a retired Air Force colonel who handles military cases, said dereliction of duty is a minor offense that, if disposed of without a court-martial, usually is penalized by loss of pay or reduction in rank. With a court-martial, the maximum penalty is six months. Whether a court-martial is held depends on the military judiciary. Either someone really over-reacted or this guy did not than shake a little after seeing a deader. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #13 Spc Murray, holy sh*t. We have two things in common - first, we share the same last name and second, my old man was 101st (LRRPs) early 'Nam as well. Welcome aboard Rantburg bro. Thanx for the input. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-7 3:12:37 PM |
| #12 Agree. There is more to this. |
| Posted by: Sgt.DT 2003-11-7 2:55:57 PM |
| #11 Another report said that he wasn't SpecOps, just attached to the unit. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2003-11-7 2:47:55 PM |
| #10 I agree Jarhead. I did my tour with the 101st and if the company commander files something like that, especially in the Special Forces (the 5th Special Forces group housed next to our barracks) something else is going on. If the guy truely freaked out, he would have been sent to a line unit or dischared under mental conditions. I think we are not getting the whole story here. |
| Posted by: Spc Murray 2003-11-7 2:43:38 PM |
| #9 I would lay odds that Jarhead is rite on here, the kid probably did all he could to avoid daily routine. Most of the stories do go untold when an investigation is taking place. You wouldn't expect the prosecution to show his/her cards before the trial would you. |
| Posted by: R.A. Myers 2003-11-7 2:01:55 PM |
| #8 Sarge, I agree. Plus, you know them spec ops lads - they're tighter then a frog's ass in water bro. Say he cracked up, they still would've tried to help him out to the nth degree - shit, he's one of their own. They don't let that type of stuff outta the units - especially about an interrogator. One of my bud's is a Ranger - top notch mofo. No way he's gonna let one of his teammates who gets a little shaken take a beating by the command - they always try to fix that stuff on the spot before it becomes news like this. No one would've pulled this guy's punk card unless he truly did act like a coward or jeopardized their mission. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-7 2:01:44 PM |
| #7 Ditto Jarhead something is missing from this story. A SpecOps guy that see dead people and goes 'Oh my!' The don't train them at some pansy finishing school. They should have found out that he couldn't 'handle it' before he got his green beenie. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2003-11-7 1:38:03 PM |
| #6 You Lone Ranger now, Kemosabe... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-11-7 1:26:40 PM |
| #5 Damn. I was going to make the reference to the old western, but Shipman beat me to it. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-7 1:13:13 PM |
| #4 There had better be more to this than a commander who thinks asking for help is the same thing as cowardice. General Patton got in quite a bit of trouble in much the same way. |
| Posted by: John Anderson 2003-11-7 12:58:37 PM |
| #3 Heavens! Branded a Coward? Was this about that little fight at Bitter Wadi? Where all but one man died? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-11-7 12:16:04 PM |
| #2 They story must've left something out. Doesn't sound right at all. They probably did give him a day to get his sh*t straight. I bet he refused orders to go back out or became a "sickbay commando", finding ways to shirk patrols. No one court martials anybody for just wanting to see the chaplain or a wizard. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-7 12:08:28 PM |
| #1 In a statement released Thursday, Fort Carson officials said the company commander brought the new charge after judicial officers dismissed the cowardice charge. Something smells rotten here. If Army judicial officers didn't see fit to press charges, what makes the company commander think that pressing on is worth the effort? More details in the article would have been helpful. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-7 11:47:05 AM |