CA Guards Face Accusations of Iraq Wrongdoing (had told LAT training poor)

[DeepModem Mom]

Los Angeles Times:
California Guards Face Accusations of Wrongdoing in Iraq
By Scott Gold and Rone Tempest, Times Staff Writers


A company of the California Army National Guard has been put on restricted duty and its battalion plunged into disarray amid allegations that soldiers engaged in misconduct in Iraq, including mistreatment of detainees and extortion from shopkeepers, according to military officials and members of the battalion.

Col. David Baldwin, a California state guard spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that investigations are underway into the allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by members of Fullerton-based Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion of the 184th Infantry Regiment....

***

Members of the battalion caused a stir last year when several were quoted in a Times story expressing concerns that their training was poor and inadequate. Some soldiers in the battalion blame its current woes on their allegedly poor training....

***

Among the allegations now under investigation is that at least six soldiers from the battalion took part in a scheme to extort money from Iraqi shopkeepers, apparently in exchange for protection from insurgents.

The payments allegedly exceeded $30,000, two sources said, and were made in U.S. currency, according to one member of the battalion who has been briefed on the investigation. Another soldier said the scheme allegedly was carried out during night patrols in the Baghdad area....


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-guard27jul27,0,3233111.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[TahitiNut]

1. Well, if the mercs get $125,000/year ... what's wrong with

... more "privateering"?? :eyes:

Hell, when Halliburton does it, they get paid $10 billion!

[burrowowl]

2. $5,000 each

I guess they didn't get a re-up bonus.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. " soldiers engaged in misconduct in Iraq" - so?? - ain't that SOP???

.
.
.

Why should they behave any different than in any of the other 100 or so countries they occupy?

Ah, I get it, their "crime" is getting caught . .

Sloppy boys

Oh well, . .

(sigh)

[Judi Lynn]

4. Army Probes Guard Unit:Members of a California battalion in Iraq are under

July 27, 2005

THE NATION
Army Probes Guard Unit
Members of a California battalion in Iraq are under investigation for alleged abuse of detainees and extortion of merchants.

By Scott Gold and Rone Tempest, Times Staff Writers


A company of the California Army National Guard has been put on restricted duty and its battalion plunged into disarray amid allegations that battalion members mistreated detainees in Iraq and extorted shopkeepers, according to military officials and members of the unit.

Col. David Baldwin, a California state Guard spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that investigations are underway into the allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by members of Fullerton-based Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion of the 184th Infantry Regiment.

The company, made up of roughly 130 soldiers, is deployed at Forward Operating Base Falcon outside Baghdad. It has been put on restricted duty while the Army reviews its performance, Baldwin said.
(snip/...)

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-guard27jul27,0,3233111.story?coll=la-home-headlines
(Free registration required)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Would this be a result

of the mindset that allowed the prison abuses in Iraq and Gitmo, do you think?

[Solly Mack]

6. Thanks in no small part to the environment of abuse and torture

that America's government has advocated, instigated, defended and covered-up.

Those few bad apples look more like an orchard.

Yes, those soldiers are responsible for their own actions....but so is their chain of command.

[dbt]

7. Ain't THAT about right!

Since when do enlisted personnel go outside their orders in such numbers as we have seen in Iraq Nam? And ya notice how so FEW commanding officers have been punished for any of these war crimes? It's the lowest levels that have consistently been taking the raps.

What's that smell like fish, oh baby?

[SpiralHawk]

8. The fish rots from the head down, Mr. George AWOL Bush

What kind of leadership are you showing?

[bushisanidiot]

9. Well then.. apparently this is just a case of a few bad apples!

we just have to punish them and then it won't happen again, because as we all know, the united states military does NOT condone torture or abuse of prisioners of any kind.. 'course we can't VERIFY that because inspections are either not allowed or are very controlled to certain areas.

see, what we have here is simply another case of what Boil Ass Limbaugh likes to call "hazing", just like they do in fraternities. so see? once this is over then the detainees will all be members of the u.s. military fraternity!! praise god!

[Rose Siding]

10. This is the battalion that blew the whistle on poor training last year!

snip>
Members of the battalion caused a stir last year when several were quoted in a Times story expressing concerns that their training was poor and inadequate. Some soldiers in the battalion blame its current woes on their allegedly poor training.

"This is a battalion that is just rotting," one said. "There is no trust in each other. There is no confidence in leadership."

Damn. Layers.

[Barrett808]

11. Report: California Guard Unit Investigated (prisoner abuse in Iraq)

LOS ANGELES -- A company of the California Army National Guard was placed on restricted duty after allegations that members of the unit mistreated detainees in Iraq, possibly with a stun gun, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Investigations are under way into the allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by the soldiers, Col. David Baldwin, a California National Guard spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times. Other members of the 1st Battalion of the 184th Infantry Regiment are accused of extorting money from Iraqi shopkeepers.

The battalion's Fullerton-based Alpha Company, comprising about 130 soldiers, is stationed at Forward Operating Base Falcon outside Baghdad and has been put on restricted duty while the Army reviews its performance, said Baldwin.

He wouldn't discuss the allegations in detail or identify the soldiers and officers involved. The "National Guard cannot comment on an ongoing U.S. Army investigation," he said.

U.S. officials in Baghdad had no comment Wednesday. The Combined Press Information Center referred The Associated Press to the detention command, where officials did not respond to messages by phone or e-mail.

(more)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-iraq-detainee-abuse,0,7777429.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines