Article

2010-03-15 Afghanistan

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by mom 2010-03-15 14:17|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 So they are blaming it on "The Bureaucracy"?

I'm sure these complaints are grounded in something very real, as these kinds of details are not something that someone in their right mind would just make up for fun. It would seem to me that anyone receiving these complaints should at least recognize the urgency and work to get around the problem and then install a fix.

Perhaps there ought to be some "bureaucratic secret-shoppers" to identify pinheads and have a little come-to-Jesus session with them.

Posted by gorb 2010-03-15 14:33|| 2010-03-15 14:33|| Front Page Top

#2 One of the comments in Yon's thread says the LTC who made the original allegations has something of a reputation as a glory hound who likes to be in the limelight. If so, he will shortly be receiving - if he hasn't already - a posterior mastication from that O6 or someone higher in the chain.

Posted by lotp 2010-03-15 15:45|| 2010-03-15 15:45|| Front Page Top

#3 If one has 18 years of service in, law protects you less separation by courts martial from being fired without reaching retirement eligibility. The Career Nuke Option, aka I'm taking you with me, for senior officers is -

Art. 138. Complaints of wrongs

Any member of the armed forces who believes himself wronged by his commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior commissioned officer, who shall forward the complaint to the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction over the officer against whom it is made. The officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction shall examine into the complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, send to the Secretary concerned a true statement of that complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.

Unless one is dealing with nukes or crypto such an investigation would be subject to FOIA.

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-03-15 16:07|| 2010-03-15 16:07|| Front Page Top

#4 Yon Says: "Risking liberties to read between the lines, the letter might translate: âSituation rectified. Moving to tamp down the controversy. Letâs move on.â

Clearly itâs social grease, designed to spackle over rough spots. Spots that could have gotten our troops killed. Iâll ask some of our people in the next week or so if the situation has improved. Youâll be the first to know."

I'm not going to wait. This has sucessfully been swept under the rug, where it will stay.

Posted by Chuckles Thrinetle4746 2010-03-15 16:59|| 2010-03-15 16:59|| Front Page Top

#5 When I was a headstrong and rather angry young troop, I as near as dammit came to filing an Art. 138 against my (geographically removed) squadron commander. I actually did have quite good grounds for doing it and witnesses who would speak for me. Fortunately, the legal officer who was advising me had a better grasp of exactly how nuclear such a charge would be, and he pointed out how a through investigation of the circumstances of my complaint would rebound against officers and NCOs at the base where I was stationed, who had gone well over the line to assist me in ameliorating the situation. So I decided not to go ahead with it, after all. I still would have liked to see that commander's head on a platter, though - but as I got older, I figured that I would settle his hash in another way. Maybe, I'll put him into one of my books, as a craven hypocrite and villain.
The sun never sets on the wrath of Sgt. Mom...

Posted by Sgt. Mom 2010-03-15 18:35|| http://www.celiahayes.com 2010-03-15 18:35|| Front Page Top

#6 First thing, an LTC from the 82nd is not somebody to mess with, and I would take their word for it a lot faster than I would trust a Don, who is backed by a modestly anti-US socialist government.

The Dons are also likely to be very lightly provisioned, so are not thrilled with the idea of sharing much of anything.

That being said, if the LTC has a problem, he also has a chain of command. So only if he is repeatedly frustrated from them would he ever go out of house, and then, only very, very discreetly. Certainly not leaving a paper trail.

Add to that some of his problems he could solve himself. Even very tired soldiers have an acute sense of self preservation, and sandbags are readily available just about anywhere.

While you're at it, rig up some wire boxes to put the dirt through while filling the sand bags, and you'll have a substantial amount of gravel in no time.

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-03-15 18:46|| 2010-03-15 18:46|| Front Page Top

#7 Even very tired soldiers have an acute sense of self preservation

Of course that presumes the officers don't actively prevent them from taking such initiatives.

Posted by Glenmore 2010-03-15 20:21|| 2010-03-15 20:21|| Front Page Top

#8 The 82d cares for its own. If an officer feels troops are being poorly treated he is obligated to report it, no matter the fallout. If the detached troops fall under a seperate command as this looks to be, then he must report it up the 82d chain. Otherwise, the 82d would run him out of Bragg. Now I'm not sure how this email got out, so I won't comment, but if there is a lick of truth here we need to pull them from that base or replace the Spanish leadership. I really could care less how the Spanish treat their own, we have standards, even in combat and if the Spanish leadership can not power through the bureaucracy then they need to step aside and let a trooper, probably a PFC, take control and get it done!

Posted by 49 Pan 2010-03-15 20:50|| 2010-03-15 20:50|| Front Page Top

23:38 Barbara Skolaut
23:34 Skidmark
23:33 Barbara Skolaut
23:29 Barbara Skolaut
23:16 Old Patriot
23:06 twobyfour
23:03 twobyfour
22:22 phil_b
22:20 gorb
22:13 Silentbrick
22:12 Silentbrick
21:44 phil_b
21:37 Free Radical
21:23 AzCat
21:10 49 Pan
20:50 49 Pan
20:49 Bright Pebbles
20:49 twobyfour
20:49 notascrename
20:37 Glenmore
20:30 49 Pan
20:29 AzCat
20:25 Glenmore
20:24 Glenmore