[Shadow_Group] (Reuters) U.S. Army to Punish Soldiers Who Refused Iraq Convoy

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6831637 

U.S. Army to Punish Soldiers Who Refused Iraq Convoy
Tue Nov 16, 2004 02:14 PM ET 
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army investigators
recommended disciplinary action against about two
dozen reservists who refused orders to deliver fuel
along a dangerous convoy route in Iraq, officials said
on Tuesday.

Four or five members of the 343rd Quartermaster
Company could face courts-martial on unspecified
criminal charges, said Army officials who asked not to
be identified. The rest were expected to get
administrative punishment, which could include
demotion, loss of pay or a reprimand, the officials
said.

Members of the unit disobeyed orders to take their
unarmored fuel tankers on a supply run from Tallil in
southeastern Iraq to the Baghdad area on Oct. 13. They
raised concerns about the safety and the condition of
their vehicles and whether the convoy was getting
adequate protection.

Maj. Richard Spiegel, an Army spokesman in Iraq, said
in a statement that a U.S. commander "has reviewed the
initial findings of the investigation into allegations
that members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company
refused to participate in their assigned mission on
Oct. 13."

"Certain administrative actions have been initiated as
a result of this review and more actions, including
criminal charges, are possible in the future," added
Spiegel, who did not provide details.

Investigators recommended disciplinary action against
the 18 soldiers who refused to go on the fuel convoy,
and about a half dozen other members of the unit,
based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, officials said.

Some relatives have said the soldiers believed they
were delivering contaminated helicopter fuel and that
the convoy was not properly protected.

The U.S. military runs about 250 convoys daily
involving up to 3,000 vehicles to supply and equip its
troops in Iraq. They often are targets of attacks by
insurgents.

The commander of the company was relieved of her
duties after the incident. Other soldiers carried out
the Oct. 13 supply mission, the military said.

The 343rd Quartermaster Company returned to full duty
on Nov. 11, Spiegel said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright Reuters 2004. All rights reserved. 






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