A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.
The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.
Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.
[. . .]
"I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped," said [Rep. Bennie]Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in recent presidential debates.
Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the severity of disobeying orders. But he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip.
[. . .]
From the Mississippi Clarion Ledger via Corrente.
Guys like me who are adrenaline junkies go for the 'suicide mission' stuff. Guys who signed up for the quartermaster corps ain't about that and rightly so. While the Jarheads say 'every Marine a rifleman', the Army ain't like that. You can't expect these guys to go out in machines that are unsafe. This all goes back to the top, the civilians in the Pentagon and the morons in the White House who learned all they know about making war from Hollywood movies. Our kids' lives are being squandered and they don't even have decent equipment. Bush and Co should not only be voted out of office, but tried for war crimes committed against both sides.
And by the way. When a sergeant has to put his foot down and say 'enough', what does that say about the officers?
And while we're on the Iraq clusterfuck:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday ordered a freeze on assets of the militant group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq
He's been bedeviling our people since we went into Iraq and they're just moving to sieze his assets today? And people say Bush is the best one to fight the 'War on Terra' (© DemVet)? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
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