USAF Colonels Charged for Drawing Weapons on Blackwater Personnel

[nosmokes]

yeah boy, this outsourcing is a great idea. just wonderful.
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original-air force times

Editorial: Who railroaded officers?


On Sept. 16, two Air Force lieutenant colonels and a Blackwater USA employee had a showdown in Afghanistan that ended with one of the officers drawing down on the security contractor with his M4. In the aftermath, the Air Force charged the two lieutenant colonels with a variety of crimes that could send them to jail.

The investigating officer who conducted the Article 32 hearing concluded that crimes may indeed have been committed — but not by the two officers. In her report, Lt. Col. Leslea Pickle concludes forcefully that Lt. Col. Gary W. Brown and Lt. Col. Christopher R. Hall should not be prosecuted.

Pickle uncovered an array of offenses committed by others that include alleged attempts to bribe witnesses, apparent tampering with charge sheets and — most astonishing — a video submitted by the prosecution that purports to be from a security camera that captured the showdown. Pickle could not determine who made the tape but concluded there were discrepancies between the video and what witnesses said happened.

Pickle has called for a criminal investigation into the bribe attempts. She read a witness — an Air Force colonel — her right to remain silent when asked about her role in altering charge sheets. The witness refused to testify.
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complete article here

[MadMaddie]

1. So now we are prosecuting US Military over the crimes

of Blackwater consultants.

I hope they bring Blackwater down and charge all of the Officers of the company with Treason...

[Blue_Tires]

2. mercenary scum

it would have been a real shame if that colonel's gun accidentally discharged in the direction of the blackwater merc...i mean a real shame

[MadMaddie]

3. Indeed it would have been....a real shame that is...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

29. yes, it's a bit sad when mercenary murderers receive their ultimate reward...

As for their boss Dick-head Cheney, he's overdue in Reaper-ville.

K&R

[nosmokes]

4. IMPORTANT UPDATE!

sorry, but for some reason the first time i went to AFtimes it was a archived page. more better story here

gives some details about the incident, and what an asshole the Blackwater guy really was. this whole mercenary thing has gotta stop.
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Charges dismissed against officers in Kabul run-in with contractor

Staff report
Posted : Wednesday Apr 4, 2007 19:51:02 EDT

Air Force officials have dismissed charges against two lieutenant colonels accused of assaulting a contractor last year in Afghanistan, and an investigation has commenced into allegations the evidence used to charge them was manipulated, the service reported March 31.

Charges against Lt. Col. Gary W. Brown and Lt. Col. Christopher R. Hall were dropped “after careful consideration of all the evidence in the case, to include the Article 32 report,” according to a statement. The officers, who faced lengthy jail terms and abrupt ends to their military careers, were accused of assaulting Blackwater USA contractor Jimmy Bergeron on Sept. 19 during an altercation outside the Afghan Defense Ministry in Kabul.

[rasputin1952]

11. hey should never been charged in the first place...Glad to see they

dropped the charges...:D
:patriot:

[Solo_in_MD]

17. Disagree

The fabricated evidence and statements were enough to invoke an Article 32.

[rasputin1952]

18. I can see your point, but a proper investigation would have

exonerated them almost immediately.

Regardless, I'm just glad to see that there were no charges...:D

[Solo_in_MD]

19. In the military system, the Article 32 is the primary investigation for charges on this scale

[w4rma]

36. And someone is going to be procecuted for tampering with evidence, right?

I'm not holding my breath.

[newscott]

5. Lt. Col. Pickle?

[ForrestGump]

24. I wonder if he knows

Colonel Mustard?

[annabanana]

6. I'm surprised there isn't more friction (maybe there IS and we're just not hearing)

The mercenaries getting big salaries has GOT to be galling to the guys getting military pay.

[Joe Chi Minh]

30. I don't think that would have played the least part in this issue. Not the

slightest.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

7. 'kay. Where's that freakin' thread about BW spreading to CA!!!!

All the defenders of private security were on that thread,...said BW wouldn't violate our citizens' rights because that behavior wouldn't be tolerated.

Now, BW is shooting at our military.

Will BW be held accountable? HELL NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LAWLESS CLAUSE IN THEIR CONTRACTS!!!!!

People just have to deny the vile and easy access to abuse,...to comfort themselves into the lions' den, I guess.

[Solo_in_MD]

13. I've been following this since it first hit the USAF grapevine

Been very interesting. Several things are clear at this point
- The BW guy is a raging asshole
- Somebody fixed the tape
- The USAF officers were clean
- The military justice system worked. I repeat...THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM WORKED

Other tidbits that are floating around out there include:
- All sorts of statements about the BW guy's past
- The BW guy was pulled out of the country and he did not testify for fear of being arrested.
- The BW guy has been kicked from BW (the people who run BW are big on integrity)
- The BW guy has been kicked from BW (the people who run BW do not like bad press)
- The BW guy has been kicked from BW (insert your own reason here)
- Senior officers are pissed at being made fools of (charges made based on false evidence)
- There is a lot of pressure to find out who fixed the tape (see above)
- The JAG who screwed up the charge sheet and other legal documents is toast (see above)

Overall its a happy ending. Have to see how some of the open issues turn out. I doubt anything will be made published beyond what has already been done.

[Me.]

38. This One?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x610717

[natrat]

8. military seems so corrupt

[Solo_in_MD]

16. How so...

- The charges were leveled based on false evidence and testimony
- The Article 32 (sort of a preliminary hearing) showed the evidence to be bogus and there was some questionable paperwork on the charge sheets.
- The convening authority dropped the charges and an investigation has been opened into who tampered with the evidence.
- The sloppy legal work became moot with the dropping of the charges, but there may still be repercussions.

It doesn't get any better than that, even on Law & Order.

[Joe Chi Minh]

31. "It doesn't get any better than that, even on Law & Order." Absolutely!

[walldude]

9. What a bizarre story this is... is BW accountable to anyone?

I mean beyond the fact that if I were a soldier I'd be pissed as hell about what the Mercs are getting paid, do the Mercs follow a chain of command? Or are they just out there doing whatever the hell they want? Reminds me of the guy Stewart had on a few nights ago with the "prison" experiment where it only took a few hours for normally decent people to enjoy their position of power over others.

[Blue_Tires]

10. BW is NOT accountable

they even have some kind of congressional immunity since they are a "private" company, iirc

[bananarepublican]

26. Are their deaths in Iraq counted in the overall 'U.S. personnel' tally? n/t

[tkmorris]

27. No, they aren't. nt

[bananarepublican]

28. I'll bet they're included in the 'insurgents killed' category! n/t

[soothsayer]

22. they will eventually start getting fragged

[tsuki]

25. No, they are not. They are outside the chain of command. n/t

[spindrifter]

12. Based on the description,

it looks like Bergeron may have been an undercover operative and not just some run of the mill BW contractor.

[Canuckistanian]

14. The officers should have been awarded medals

for "Bravery and Valour in the face of Assholetry"

[rec_report]

15. Yes - Blackwater's the enemy in any Bush-Cheney Halliburton war. n/t

[Vidar]

20. Good for the Colonels. Too bad they didn't shoot.

[TwilightGardener]

21. Glad to hear the Air Force guys were cleared--Blackwater is getting

to be some scary shit--a "privatized" army, without all the rules, regs and devotion to service that the REAL military enforces. There will be more stories of crooked dealings in the future, I'll bet--'cause it's all about money for them.

[bbgrunt]

23. the fruits of privatization--when blackwater thugs are

turned loose on the u.s. population, who will have the better weapons? blackwater or the local police?

[MagickMuffin]

32. Sheesh, it seems as though the JAG was a Rove Appointment

like his little bud Tim Griffin was a JAG in Iraq before getting his job placement as the U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

I just hope they get to the bottom of this story and it gets reported.

Glad to :kick:& Rec...Off to the Greatest!

[enough]

33. k&r

[Captain Hilts]

34. Well, the US Govt. pays the Blackwater guys a lot more, so they'll side with them. nt

[hvn_nbr_2]

35. If they were sergeants instead of colonels... well, you know. nt

[lala_rawraw]

37. thanks for posting...

i linked
http://www.atlargely.com/2007/04/they_support_bl.html