Comments for Heh. I'll go with the judgement of the GCM convening authority...

Heh. I'll go with the judgement of the GCM convening authority...

2007-05-17T13:25:37Z

But it sure strikes me like a courts-martial for dereliction certainly should have been on the table. And possibly was. [In retrospect, and a little more infomation, that might have been an overly-harsh initial reaction on my part. I do concur with the reliefs vice a reprimand, however.]

Consequences of action and inaction matter.

WASHINGTON - Three U.S. soldiers slaughtered in a grisly kidnapping-murder plot south of Baghdad last June had been left alone for up to 36 hours in a poorly planned mission, a military investigation concluded. Two officers have been relieved of their commands.
Neither of the officers faced criminal charges as a result of the litany of mistakes that left the soldiers exposed, a military official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

A report on the investigation said the platoon leader and company commander — whose names were not released — failed to provide proper supervision to the unit or enforce military standards.

Depending on circumstances surrounding this incident - there's a Lieutenant Colonel battalion commander who's probably also seen his terminal promotion, whether justified or no. When lives are at stake, them's the breaks and we all know that going in.

Read the rest of the story here.

Comment from MajMike on 2007-05-17

2007-05-17T17:27:22Z

i wasn't surprised a bit that JD relieved them. i am surprised that he didn't relieve anyone higher up the food chain. JD don't screw around.

Comment from AFSister on 2007-05-17

2007-05-17T17:00:32Z

Every time we get ambushed/kidnapped, it seems to be in an area our military has been charged with a rape/murder charge- this past weekend included. Seems to me that the military is leaving too much to chance in these volatile areas by letting single vehicles out on patrol. Isn't the SOP in Iraq 2 or more vehicles together, at all times? Seems to me that the relief of duty reprimands in the June incident were completely warranted. 24-36 hour guard shifts, with no relief, no protection, and only one vehicle? COME ON. I may be a civilian, but damn... even I know that's just plain dumb.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2007-05-17

2007-05-17T14:30:58Z

The 1SG was not mentioned in the article - which doesn't mean career-ending things didn't happen to him, simply that it wasn't mentioned. If anything did happen to anyone else - as the article suggests - it's probably covered under the Privacy Act and we're not going to know. I think Thurman did the right thing in ordering the reliefs, vice letters of reprimand. Hard conditions or no, they were not up to the rigors of the job. And, re-reading the whole thing in the cold light of day, I was leaning a little harsh on the courts-martial talk, too.

Comment from Oldloadr on 2007-05-17

2007-05-17T14:20:35Z

Since I'm in a "police your own" mood today: What about the 1st Sgt (I know that's AF abreviation, but I forgot the Army one)? Doesn't responsibility for the health, welfare, morale and discipline of the enlisted corps fall squarely on their shoulders?