Stars and Stripes 4.2.15

Volume 7, No. 16 ŠSS 2015

FRIDAY, A PRIL 3, 2015 For information please contact Waverly Williams 803-774-1237 or waverly@theitem.com

BOWE BERGDAHL DESERTION CHARGES

Did US make a mistake in swapping soldier for Taliban prisoners?

Servicemembers react to charges against soldier

Death penalty rarely imposed in desertion convictions PAGES 2-4

A look at what’s next in the legal process

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Friday, April 3, 2015

MILITARY

Bergdahl decision strikes a nerve Charges stoke criticism from Republicans

Troops: Army made right decision to charge GI

BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The Army charges against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl reignited criticism from Capitol Hill lawmakers of the Taliban prisoner swap that freed him from enemy captivity.

Republicans in Congress said the Obama administration broke the law and made a mistake by trading five highlevel enemy fighters at Guantanamo Bay for the soldier, who wandered away from his unit in Afghanistan in 2009.

The Obama administration said last year it made an “imperfect” wartime decision to go ahead with the swap without notifying Congress of the Guantanamo transfers, as required by law. Prior deals with the Taliban in Afghanistan to get Bergdahl back had fallen through and officials were worried it would not get another chance, according to testimony by former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

“At the heart of this whole situation, there’s still the decision to trade five Taliban detainees for a deserter, when there were in fact other options on the table,” Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a Marine veteran, said in a written statement. “We’re aware of those options and frankly, the White House made a big mistake.”

His spokesman declined to

Stars and Stripes

VOICE O F JIHAD WEBSITE

VIA

AP

VIDEO/AP

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan on July 2, 2014. Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years before being released in a prisoner exchange. discuss the other options, saying they are classified.

In August, the Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department failed to notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the exchange — a clear violation of the law — and used $988,400 of a wartime account to make the transfer.

The GAO said the committees received phone calls from May 31, the day of the transfer, to June 1, with written notification coming June 2.

Lawmakers, especially Republicans, fumed that the administration did not notify them.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-

Maine, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said it was “completely disingenuous” for the administration to suggest that notifying Congress might have compromised the transfer.

“The president’s decision is part of a disturbing pattern where he unilaterally decides that he does not have to comply with provisions of laws with which he disagrees.” Collins said in a statement after the transfer.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby defended the Pentagon’s actions at the time.

“The administration had a fleeting opportunity to protect the life of a U.S. servicemember held captive and in danger

‘ At the heart of this whole situation, there’s still the

decision to trade five Taliban detainees for a deserter, when there were in fact other options on the table. ...

The White House made a big mistake.

’

Rep. Duncan Hunter R-Calif.

for almost five years,” Kirby added. “Under these exceptional circumstances, the administration determined that it was necessary and appropriate to forgo 30 days’ notice of the transfer in order to obtain Sgt. Bergdahl’s safe return.”

Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., who sits on the House Armed Services Committee with Hunter, said last week that the released Taliban prisoners are likely to return to the fight against U.S. troops.

“I find it unconscionable that this administration was willing to release five sworn enemies of this country and potentially place more American lives at risk when these terrorists inevitably resume their war against the United States,” Forbes said in a released statement. “That more American military personnel will likely be in jeopardy because of this prisoner exchange is simply a tragedy.”

Bergdahl has not been convicted of any crime, but the charges announced March 25 carry serious punishments.

SEE PAGE 4

While some servicemembers’ think the Army made the right call when it decided March 25 to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion, others were taking more of a waitand-see approach.

Army Staff Sgt. Miguel Aponte, assigned to a NATO support unit in Naples, Italy, said Bergdahl deserved to be charged.

“That’s what should’ve happened,” he said. “He deserted.”

Aponte, who deployed four times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, said he hadn’t heard much talk among fellow soldiers after the news and that he didn’t expect the same uproar that accompanied news of Bergdahl’s recovery last year.

But he said he believes Bergdahl wanted to aid insurgents when he walked away from his outpost and that he deserves the maximum punishment.

“I don’t have proof, but I think it was with intent to do harm,” Aponte said.

Staff Sgt. Maurice Luckett, who works at the U.S. Army Contingency Command Post at Grafenwöhr, Germany, focused on the message that Bergdahl’s alleged actions sent to his fellow troops.

SEE PAGE 3

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MILITARY

Experts: Don’t expect early resolution in Bergdahl case

BY JON H ARPER, M ATT M ILLHAM AND NANCY MONTGOMERY Stars and Stripes

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, promoted twice during absence from his unit in Afghanistan, now faces charges that could bring potential penalties from dishonorable discharge to prison time.

But disposition of the case is likely a long way off, experts

FROM PAGE 2

“As an NCO, your soldiers look up to you. When you desert, when you leave your soldiers like that, it’s like not just leaving one battle buddy but leaving an entire group of battle buddies behind,” Luckett said. “When you have new soldiers in the Army, and if that’s the first thing they see they might assume, ‘Hey, that’s how all of them are going to be.’ ” Air Force Tech. Sgt. Renante Ochinang, 43, was working at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center when Bergdahl was released from Taliban captivity in June 2014.

He didn’t directly treat the solider, but Ochinang said he remembers the conflicted feelings he had at the time. The excitement of hearing that a captive soldier had been rescued was tempered by subsequent news reports that he may have intentionally left his post, he said.

“He wouldn’t be in captivity if he didn’t leave his post,” Ochinang said.

“He’s suffered” to be sure. But “as far as leaving your post because of

misgivings or (being) disgruntled, separating from your unit could put your unit in danger. Is that fair to the other soldiers?”

No, it’s not fair, according to Air Force Maj. Janelle Quick, a health care administrator at Ramstein.

“If he willingly left his place of duty, that’s a problem, because he also put other people at risk, not only himself. Worse things could have happened.”

Quinn said holding Bergdahl accountable also “sends a clear message for everyone serving in uniform of what we need to do. That’s to take care of one another and there will be consequences if you fail to follow the rules and regulations that we are charged with.”

Fort Shafter, Hawaii-based soldiers Spc. Bryce Beauchamp and Sgt. 1st Class Donald Stenger were stronger in their condemnation of Bergdahl.

Sgt. 1st Class Donald Stenger, of the 311th Signal Command at Fort Shafter, said Bergdahl had an obligation to the Army and his fellow troops.

said, and at this stage unpredictable.

The Army announced on March 25 that it would pursue charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy against Bergdahl, who spent five years as a captive of the Taliban after allegedly walking away from his post in Afghanistan.

The U.S. secured Bergdahl’s release in May 2014 in a controversial prisoner swap for five Taliban prisoners who had been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The charges come three months after the Army wrapped up its investigation into the matter and forwarded its findings to Gen. Mark Milley, commanding general of Forces Command, who has general courtsmartial convening authority.

But the preferral of charges against Bergdahl is an early step in the military’s judicial process and gives no hint whether the soldier from Idaho will spend any time in prison.

Next, there will be a hearing to investigate the charges

“He knew what he was getting into when he signed up. Since he deserted, yeah, he should get what’s coming to him,” Stenger said.

He said when news came of Bergdahl’s return from captivity last year there was plenty of discussion about him among the soldiers with whom he works.

“The general consensus seemed to be, ‘Damn traitor jumped ship. Get rid of him.’ ” Beauchamp said he’d come to believe Bergdahl was a deserter because of statements made by men from Bergdahl’s platoon.

“And just the way he’s behaved since he got back,” he said. “He won’t even go see his family. He won’t go meet his parents face to face.”

Asked what he thought would be a fair punishment, Beauchamp said without hesitation, “Death penalty.”

Some were more pragmatic.

Lt. Col. Wayne Mingo, a civil affairs officer with the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade in Germany, said he was withholding judgment on Bergdahl.

against him, known as an Article 32 hearing.

As a Pentagon news release announcing the charges against Bergdahl put it, the hearing is a legal procedure “designed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to merit a court-martial” and is often compared to a civilian grand jury.

One important difference in the military process is that the defendant and defense counsel are present for the hearing and can cross-examine witnesses.

An investigating officer conducts the hearing, looks at evidence and hears from witnesses, then issues a report with recommendations and conclusions to the convening authority.

The convening authority can refer the charges to a special or general court-martial, dismiss the charges, or take any other action he or she deems appropriate.

Bergdahl’s Article 32 is expected to take place at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, according to the Pentagon.

SEE PAGE 5

Soldiers who served with Bergdahl blame the Idaho native for the deaths of other soldiers who they say died looking for him. But the military has said little about Bergdahl’s disappearance, and other soldiers’ thoughts on why he walked off a remote outpost in the middle of the night have been largely speculative.

Mingo said he needs “more than hearsay” to form an opinion.

“The facts will come out,” he said.

“If he’s guilty, he’ll get what’s coming to him.”

Petty Officer 2nd Class Peter Bell in Yokosuka, Japan, also wanted more facts before forming an opinion.

“We don’t know what really happened, whether he had one of those moments downrange and lost it,” Bell said.

But if Bergdahl put other people’s lives in danger, the charges are probably appropriate, he said.

Stars and Stripes reporters Wyatt Olson, Erik Slavin, Matthew Millham, Jennifer H. Svan, Steven Beardsley and Michael S. Darnell contributed to this report. news@stripes.com

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Friday, April 3, 2015

MILITARY

Maximum penalty is life in prison

BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

The death penalty is possible punishment for the charges of desertion or misbehavior before the enemy leveled last week against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, but it is rarely imposed — especially in cases of conflicts without a formal declaration of war.

“On the books, it is an option,” said Noel Tipon, an attorney in Hawaii who specializes in defending servicemembers facing Article 32 hearings and courts-martial.

But it would be an “unlikely event” for a case to be referred as capital where a death was not directly involved, he said.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the death penalty may be imposed for either desertion or misbehavior before the enemy — but only during times of declared war. When the Army announced the charges against Bergdahl, it did not address the issue, saying only that his maximum penalty could be life in prison.

The only U.S. servicemember to be executed for a purely military offense — desertion — since the Civil War was Edward D. Slovik, who was executed by firing squad in January 1945 in France.

In a letter to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Slovik pleaded for leniency.

But the American forces were rife with desertions at that time, and Eisenhower wanted to stem the tide by making the private’s execution an example.

Stars and Stripes reporter Erik Slavin contributed to this report. olson.wyatt@stripes.com

VOICE O F JIHAD WEBSITE

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AP

VIDEO/AP

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, shown standing with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan during his captivity, faces desertion charges but his case may take some time to resolve.

FROM PAGE 3

The government has up to 120 days to arraign Bergdahl on the charges, meaning the hearing is likely to happen in the coming few months.

Though the military justice system does have provisions requiring a speedy trial, that doesn’t mean the trial will happen anytime soon. Motions and other procedures can delay the trial for months or years, as was the case in the trial of Fort Hood shooter Nadal Hassan.

Even the Article 32 can be delayed by such means. Rules for courts-martial require “speedy trial” protections, and the government has 120 days to arraign a suspect at court-martial after charges are first filed or preferred. But the defense and the convening authority can extend that.

Bergdahl also could waive the hearing, but that would deprive him and his defense counsel of seeing the evidence the government has against him.

“I don’t see the benefit in waiving the 32 in this case” said Kyle Fischer, a former Army lawyer who now has a defense practice near Fort Benning, Ga. Bergdahl’s lawyer “will certainly want to see what evidence the government has regarding the Article 99 (misbehavior before the enemy) charge.”

The desertion charge is pretty selfexplanatory, Fischer said in a telephone interview March 26. The Uniformed Code of Military Justice defines desertion as intent to leave a unit “permanently.”

Fellow soldiers have accused Bergdahl of deserting his unit at Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Paktika province, and some have said that service-

members died while searching for him.

Walter Huffman, a former judge advocate general of the Army, said the legal threshold for proving intent is extremely high.

Without a confession from Bergdahl, military prosecutors would need to rely on other witnesses, such as soldiers from his unit and Afghan villagers who may have come in contact with him after he left the U.S. base.

However, misbehavior before the enemy is a rare charge, experts said, and it carries a heavier penalty than desertion.

“It is incredibly rare,” said Zachary Spilman, a former Marine Corps lawyer. “I can’t say when the last prosecution was. It does have a higher maximum. In this case, it’s the bigger offense,” Spilman said in a telephone interview March 26.

Depending on the outcome of the Article 32 hearing, Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, could request that the military simply discharge his client in lieu of a court-martial.

“But given the amount of time spent on this case and the sensitivity of it. I’m not sure the military would agree to do that,” Huffman said. “Part of the reason for seeking a court-martial would be to deter others from this kind of behavior, if he acted as charged.”

In a statement released March 25, Fidell said that there have been no plea negotiations.

Bergdahl, who turned 29 on Saturday, remains on active duty and has been working in an administrative position at Fort Sam Houston since he moved out of medical observation last year.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters last week that Berg-

dahl is not under pretrial confinement.

He said he did not know if Bergdahl is currently free to leave the base where he’s stationed.

If Bergdahl does go to trial, a military panel — similar to a jury — is likely to decide his fate. The panel could be made up of all officers or a mixture of officers and enlisted members. He could also request a trial by judge alone.

Military panels have erred toward leniency in recent desertion cases, including the high-profile court-martial in February of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who was convicted of deserting his unit twice — once in Iraq.

Hassoun was sentenced to two years in prison, a dishonorable discharge, and lost pay and rank.

Because military juries have no minimum sentencing guidelines, were Bergdahl found guilty of the charge, he could be sentenced to no punishment — or to life without parole, Spilman said.

Some officials have suggested that the Army should not bring the hammer down on Bergdahl, arguing that his years spent as a militant prisoner were punishment enough.

Bergdahl said in a letter released March 26 by his defense lawyer that he was tortured in the five years he was held captive by the Taliban, beaten with a copper cable as he spent months blindfolded and chained spread-eagle to a bed. He says he suffered from hunger, thirst and serious infections from sores that developed where his hands and feet were bound to the bed.

Stars and Stripes reporter Martin Kuz contributed to this report. harper.jon@stripes.com millham.matthew@stripes.com montgomery.nancy@stripes.com

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Friday, April 3, 2015

PACIFIC

80 pilots made US morale soar After 73 years, Doolittle Tokyo Raiders to receive Congressional Gold Medal

BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

House and Senate leaders will present a Congressional Gold Medal on April 15 in recognition of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, who carried out a daring and risky bombing raid on Japan’s mainland on April 18, 1942.

Although the effects of the bombing on Tokyo were negligible, the strike was a morale booster for Americans still reeling from Japan’s surprise attack four months earlier on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The raid on Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Nagoya and Kobe also sent a message to Japan that its homeland was not invulnerable to Allied attack.

Taking part in the 3 p.m. ceremony at Emancipation Hall will be House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, DNev.; and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. It will be live streamed at speaker.gov/live.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. A single gold medal has been struck for the presentation.

Only three of the 80 men who flew in the raid are still alive.

One of them, Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, who was the co-pilot on the B25 flown by mission leader Lt. Col. James Doolittle, earlier this month visited a Florida airfield where one

For a video on Lt. Col. Richard Cole, Gen. Doolittle’s co-pilot in the 1942 bombing raid, go to stripes.com/go/doolittle

of the vintage planes was on display.

Cole, 99, told a Bradenton Herald reporter that Doolittle “was the greatest propeller pilot in the world at the time.” He recalled him as polite and respectful, a man who eschewed “double-talk.”

Doolittle had been in the Army Air Corps from 1917 to 1930 and returned to active duty in 1940 when war seemed imminent, according to a history of the raid by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The U.S. Army Air Forces chose the B-25 for the raid because it was the only aircraft available with the required range, bomb capacity and short takeoff distance needed for the job. The aircraft and 24 trained volunteer crews came from the 17th Bombardment Group, Pendleton Field, Ore. The crews practiced at Eglin Field in Florida, learning how to take flight in only 300 feet, the length of the flight deck on the carrier USS Hornet, from which they’d launch. They also practiced low-

Photos courtesy of the U.S. Air Force

Above left: Heavily armed escorts follow the Hornet to protect its lethal cargo of B-25 bombers. Above: Lt. Col. James Doolittle, foreground left, accepts a medal from the skipper of the USS Hornet, Capt. Marc A. Mitscher. The medal, once given to a U.S. Navy officer by the Japanese, was wired to a 500-pound bomb dropped during the raid. Below: A B-25 takes off from the flight deck of the Hornet on April 18, 1942, on its way to the first Allied bombing raid of the Japanese mainland. level cross-country and night flying.

Completing training by midMarch, they flew to San Francisco to board the carrier, which set sail April 2, 1942.

After the 16 planes dropped their bombs, they had little fuel left and were forced to crash-land or ditch them at sea. Two men died while crashing. Eight others were

captured by the Japanese, who executed two of them, while another died later from the harsh conditions at a POW camp.

Seventy Doolittle Raiders eventually made it back to the U.S., many with the help of the Chinese. olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

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MILITARY

Medal of Honor recipients gather to honor civilians

BY CARLOS BONGIOANNI Stars and Stripes

ARLINGTON, Va. — Some of the nation’s most renowned military heroes gathered last week to recognize and honor others.

To mark National Medal of Honor Day, 28 recipients of the highest military honor made a solemn pilgrimage to Arlington National Cemetery, where they paid tribute to those who selflessly served their country.

For many, it was a time of deep reflection.

“I have some men who were with me … all of them are in one grave there, four of them MIAs for more than 40 years,” said Bruce Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor for actions in Vietnam. “There are all sorts of other medal recipients who have passed away in recent years that are buried in there. My wife is out there.

She’s holding a spot for me.”

After a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the group attended a ceremony for three civilians who earned Citizen Service Before Self awards.

Since 2008, the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation has been presenting the awards for acts of extraordinary courage and service in local communities. The idea to create the awards came after Congress established March 25 as National Medal of Honor Day.

“The recipients immediately took the platform given to them by Congress and decided, ‘Let’s shift the focus to ordinary Americans who perform extraordinary deeds,’ ” said Ronald Rand, president and CEO of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.

The hope, he said, is to pass on the message that “no matter who you are or where you are, you too can earn a medal like this someday.”

You don’t have to be a military member to be a hero, he said.

Two of this year’s civilian awards were for heroism, and one was for service.

Michael G. Reagan, 67, was honored for founding the nonprofit Fallen Heroes Project, which provides hand-drawn portraits to families of servicemembers who have fallen in combat. Reagan, a Vietnam veteran from Edmonds, Wash., has created more than 4,000 free portraits.

“Mike draws two to three portraits a day, seven days a week,” said Medal of Honor recipient Brian Thacker, who read the citation during the March 25 ceremony. “His portraits are a crucial part of healing and remembrance for servicemember families.”

Alton Brieske, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was honored for heroism when he dove into a lake in December to pull a 92year-old man from a sinking vehicle.

“Alton risked his life by div-

‘ Just to be in the presence of these

gentlemen who are the true heroes of our nation (was a tremendous honor).

’

Alton Isaac Brieske Citizen Service Before Self medal recipient

M EREDITH TIBBETTS /Stars and Stripes

Alton Isaac Brieske, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., receives the Citizen Service Before Self medal from Medal of Honor recipient William Swenson on March 25. ing into a lake known to have poisonous snakes and alligators,” Thacker said in reading the citation. “He acted unselfishly in rescuing someone while others stood around and watched.”

Brieske, 21, said it was a good thing a crowd had gathered after he jumped into the water.

“I started shouting that I needed a hammer, and one of the bystanders said he had one in his truck,” he said.

Brieske used it to break out

the car window and pulled out the elderly man, who had suffered a heart attack before crashing into the lake. Once on land, Brieske, a pre-med student at Florida Atlantic University, used CPR to revive the man, who later died.

Jon Meis, 23, of Renton, Wash., risked his life in June when he pepper-sprayed and tackled a shooter at Seattle Pacific University while the gunman was reloading.

“Although one student was killed and three others

injured, the casualties could have been much worse if Meis had not acted to protect others,” Thacker read from the citation.

For Brieske, who said he was surprised that anybody took note of his actions, the ceremony was beyond special.

“Just to be in the presence of these gentlemen who are the true heroes of our nation” was a tremendous honor, he said. bongioanni.carlos@stripes.com

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Friday, April 3, 2015

MILITARY

Veterans hurt by chemical weapons receive apology

Air Force songbook cited again

BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Sexual assault victim advocates on Tuesday again pointed to an unofficial Air Force songbook with derogatory lyrics about women and gay airmen as a reason for filing a new lawsuit against the Defense Department.

The 130-page book was originally made public by an assault victim in 2012 and is stamped with the playingcards logo of the 77th Fighter Squadron, which is known as the Gamblers and is based at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Despite an Air Force crackdown, advocates claimed too little was done and such songbooks are still being used by officers and commanders.

The lawsuit by sexual assault victims was filed in a Virginia federal court and calls for the DOD to stop using convening authorities to judge whether such cases go to court-martial. As the military struggles with an epidemic of sex assaults, the use of such authorities has brought widespread scrutiny from the public and some on Capitol Hill who say the practice is biased toward perpetrators.

The songbook is part of a continuing culture in the Air Force and military that glorifies sexual violence, said retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for military sex assault victims.

“This is something that is used by Air Force officers today,” Christensen said.

“These are the commanders who sing songs about raping women as fun.”

The book is professionally printed and bound to mimic an official Air Force publication. The bottom of its pages are labeled “For Unofficial Use Only.”

It includes about 70 pornographic songs — many with obscene titles — as well as some drinking toasts. Titles include “Pubic Hair,” “The

Stars and Stripes

JOE GROMELSKI/Stars and Stripes

Jennifer Smith holds a copy of the unofficial Air Force songbook during a press conference on Tuesday in Washington.

Kotex Song,” “Will You Suck Me Tomorrow,” “The Hair on Her Diki-Di-Doo,” and “Bestiality.”

Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Brooke Brzozowske said Tuesday that the service is looking into the issue but could not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Military cadences and songs are a long-established part of its culture and tradition, though such sexist and obscene imagery is not publicly endorsed by the services.

The book caused public outrage when it was released amid a growing debate over sex assault and culture within the service. In 2012, the Air Force began what it calls health and welfare inspections to identify toxic work environments and make reforms to ensure all airmen feel comfortable and respected in the their units, Brzozowske said.

Shaw Air Force Base did not immediately return a request for comment.

The unit songbook was originally brought to the Air Force’s attention by former Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Smith, who again appeared with other victims and advocates during a lawsuit press conference in Washington on Tuesday morning.

Smith said she was sexually assaulted by a fellow airman in Iraq and found copies of the book when she returned to

the U.S. Initially there was no response after she notified Air Force officials but eventually Smith said she was contacted twice by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, who promised action.

“Gen. Welsh said he thought the traditions had died,” she said.

Six officers — all in command or supervisory positions — were given “paper” reprimands but were able to keep their positions, which means they could become convening authorities in sex assault cases, Smith said.

“They will oversee rape and sexual assault claims and file decisions on whether the case will be prosecuted,” she said.

The sex assault lawsuit filed

by Smith and others aims at key reforms also proposed by Congress. But the Defense Department has successfully challenged such lawsuits in the past.

Susan Burke, a Baltimore attorney and lead counsel in the suit, said the Supreme Court has sided with the department and has set a difficult hurdle, which will likely play out over the next six months.

“We are going to try to overcome the likely DOD defense,” Burke said. “If we survive that, we are in very good shape.” tritten.travis@stripes.com Twitter: @Travis_Tritten

The undersecretary of the Army apologized for the military’s treatment of servicemembers exposed to chemical weapons in Iraq, and he announced new steps to provide medical support to those with lingering health effects and to recognize veterans who had been denied awards, according to the The New York Times.

Undersecretary Brad Carson acknowledged March 25 that the military had not followed its own policies for caring for troops exposed to old and abandoned chemical munitions scattered around Iraq, and vowed improvement.

He also said that the Army had reversed a previous decision and approved a Purple Heart for a soldier burned by sulfur mustard agent, and that he expected more medals to be issued after further review.

“To me, the scandal is that we had protocols in place and the medical community knew what they were, and yet we failed in some cases to implement this across the theater,” he said. “That was a mistake, and I apologize for that. I apologize for past actions and am going to fix it going forward.”

Carson was appointed last fall by then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to lead the effort to identify those exposed to chemical weapons, and to offer them medical screening and other support. The effort was in response to an investigation in The Times that revealed that the military had secretly recovered thousands of old and often discarded chemical munitions in Iraq.

The report found that insurgents had used some of the weapons in roadside bombs, that most of the episodes had never been publicly acknowledged and that many troops

affected by blister or nerve agents had received substandard medical care and denied military awards.

Carson said the working group’s new instructions, which were distributed to the military services in recent days, would ensure that hundreds of veterans identified by the services, or who had called a hotline set up at Hagel’s order, would be screened and properly treated. The steps would also cover troops exposed to chlorine, which insurgents repeatedly used as a makeshift chemical weapon, Carson said.

In a sign that steps were being taken, Carson told the Times that the Army on March 24 approved a Purple Heart for an explosiveordnance disposal technician burned by sulfur mustard agent while dismantling a roadside bomb in 2007. The veteran, former Spc. Richard Beasley, previously had been denied the medal.

The reversal indicated a shift in how the Pentagon views qualification for one of the military’s most respected awards, according to the Times.

The military had used a standard that a servicemember who had been exposed to a chemical warfare agent qualified for a Purple Heart only if the chemical had been released by an enemy.

That standard did not conceive of the insurgents’ practice in Iraq of occasionally using old chemical shells in roadside bombs — essentially traps in which the chemical agents inside might be released by an unsuspecting soldier tasked with destroying the weapon or handling its broken remains.

Carson said the four services now agree that wounds caused by such makeshift bombs would qualify for the award.

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A nail for all seasons

MILITARY

Obama backs overhaul A of retirement benefits

BY TRAVIS J. TRITTEN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will back sweeping overhauls to the military retirement and health care systems as a way to ensure the costly benefits survive into the future.

Obama said Monday he will provide Congress a list of proposals by the end of April that will be based on the recommendations of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, a panel created by lawmakers to find solutions to ballooning personnel expenses.

The panel has advised the military to modernize its 20-year pensions by reducing payouts and adding a 401(k)style option and replace Tricare health coverage with a wide variety of private insurance plans. Those and a list of 15 changes to military compensation — including a consolidation of commissaries and exchanges — could save almost $5 billion next year and up to $10.4 billion per year by 2020, the panel claims.

“I believe the recommendations are an important step forward in protecting the long-term viability of the all-volunteer force, improving quality-of-life for service members and their families, and ensuring the fiscal sustainability of the military compensation and retirement systems,”

Friday, April 3, 2015

Obama wrote in the letter to Congress.

Obama wrote that he will complete the legislative proposals and submit them to Congress by April 30, when he will request they be passed without delay.

During a troop talk about building “the force of the future,” Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the Pentagon is exploring different retirement system options.

“I’m looking very hard right now at blended retirement plans that would be similar to the 401(k) mechanism that is widespread in civil society,” he told soldiers at Fort Drum, N.Y., on Monday.

Carter noted that about 80 percent of those who serve don’t receive any retirement pay because they leave the military before completing 20 years of service. The Pentagon chief sees that as problematic for recruitment and retention. “[The vast majority of troops] leave with nothing,” he said.

“So we want to look at that and see if we can create a choice that opens up opportunity and allows us to be more similar to other institutions, and therefore [more] competitive with them in getting people to join us and stick with us.”

Carter did not discuss how the Defense Department would find the money to fund a 401(k)type of retirement system.

The panel recommendations

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher Terry Leonard, Editor Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Content Amanda L. Trypanis, U.S. Edition Editor Michael Davidson, Revenue Director CONTACT US 529 14th Street NW, Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20045-1301 Email: stripesweekly@stripes.com Editorial: (202) 761-0908 Advertising: (202) 761-0910 Michael Davidson, Weekly Partnership Director: davidson.michael@stripes.com Additional contact information: stripes.com

have gotten widespread support on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are struggling with tight budgets and sequestration caps on spending. Panel members have testified at hearings aimed at creating reform legislation.

But the overhauls have drawn a mixed response from service and veterans groups, with some advocating to fix the current systems and others saying they might support big changes.

The blue-ribbon reform panel spent nearly two years interviewing servicemembers and studying compensation before issuing its January report.

It found the lifelong pensions guaranteed to those who put in 20 years of service have racked up big expenses and the military could save money by contributing smaller amounts to military thrift savings plans over the course of servicemembers’ careers.

The panel has offering 80 percent of the current defined military pensions paid after 20 years. In return, every servicemember would be automatically enrolled in the Thrift Savings Plan and the military would match contributions, similar to 401(k) accounts. Troops could keep whatever money has accumulated whenever they separate and collect it after they turn 59 years old.

Stars and Stripes reporter Jon Harper contributed to this report. tritten.travis@stripes.com Twitter: @Travis_Tritten

This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military community. The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Defense Department or the military services. The U.S. Edition of Stars and Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper.

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© Stars and Stripes, 2015

shaft of light came return again and again, folthrough our living lowing their well-worn paths room window on to our door.

Change is a constant. a sunny summer Each year is full of new and day, and a misplaced glint of unpredictable experiences, sunshine caught my eye. I yet each year takes place in a did a double take, wondering framework we recognize. The why a blank section of wall same four seasons find us no gave back this one little spark. matter where we venture. We Closer inspection revealed a recognize them as old friends, small, shiny nail protruding even if springtime in Arizona from the wall. wears a far different garb than Its presence puzzled me springtime in Japan. briefly. Then, I remembered My shiny nail in the wall is why it was there. It was a a glimmer of familiarity amid leftover from the previous the flux, a reminder that the Christmas, which had been seasons return as surely as our first in this house. At the they go. Now it’s spring, a time beginning of Advent that year, for moving and transition for I hammered the nail in place plenty of military families. As — above the shelf where our we wait for flowers to open and nativity scene was displayed for green leaves to appear, we — to suspend the angel above hope and plan for the future. the stable and its inhabitants.

We also have to wait for events Weeks later when the decorato unfold — perhaps for orders tions were put away, the nail to arrive — to find out the path was left behind. It remained we’ll walk.

SPOUSE CALLS It’s a time of there hiding in plain sight, unnoticed until its reflection uncertainty, gave it away. but hope is I considered whether to look there too. for a tool to pry out the little Hope is an silver nail, but decided against elemental it. In the midst of a hot, muggy part of summer with nothing in spring and all its obserparticular to celebrate, the vances. nail was a keepsake of more Sunset tofestive days and a reminder Terri Barnes night ushers that they would return. So I in Passover, left it. When Join the conversation with Terri at a Jewish rite the season for stripes.com/go/spousecalls that originatangels came ed not as a around again, celebration, the nail was but as a meal eaten in haste put back into service. Now, it’s and in hope for promised empty again. freedom. Christians call today By the time hot, muggy “Good Friday,” not “good” weather returns this summer, not for the death it marks, but our military family will be in for the resurrection it promthe midst of many transitions ises. Between promise and — high school and college fulfillment there is always the graduations for two of our chiluncertainty, leaving room for dren, a wedding for another, a hope. move for all of us, a new home In every season, I need — and all changes implied by a place to hang my hopes all of the above. This particuand the reassurance that lar house won’t see our angel even a life of change has its again, but until we move, the constants. Spring is here; nail will remain in place, holdsummer, fall and winter will ing an invisible promise. follow. Every season brings In times like these when the more reasons to hope, more landscape of my life seems to hopes to be fulfilled. be shifting under my feet, it’s Come this winter, we’ll comforting to remember the pound a new nail into a new seasons that return in unfailwall in a new home. We’ll use ing sequence. Our children it at Christmas and maybe grow, we move from one for other decorations at other home to another. Time goes times of the year. Sometimes by, measured and poured out an angel will be displayed in moments we can only hold there, sometimes only an as memories. Those days won’t come back, but spring, empty nail, perhaps catching summer, fall and winter will and reflecting a ray of hope.

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