All this meditating on Bergdahl has gotten me included on this panel on WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR station. You should come for veteran correspondent Quil Lawrence and the other panelists: Josh Fattal, Former Iran Hostage Malcolm Nance, Veteran U.S. Intelligence Officer Rachel Van Landingham, Military Law Expert and Professor of Law Read up on all ofContinue reading “if you’re anywhere near Philly on March 15th”
Category Archives: Military justice
Newsflash: New York Times + Buzzfeed sue FORSCOM re Bergdahl, and don’t tell anyone
I’m going back and forth between a legal filing I received this weekend and my newswires, which show no signs that some of the major news organization have filed a request with General Abrams, commander of Fort Bragg — politely demanding the public release of its investigation of Bowe Bergdahl. I’ve written here before aboutContinue reading “Newsflash: New York Times + Buzzfeed sue FORSCOM re Bergdahl, and don’t tell anyone”
Pi Day news: some rational writing to go w/the irrational number
Assorted items, w/good news provided by Father Philip Berrigan, WWII veteran and angelic troublemaker thereafter, and his 21st-century successor Col. Ann Wright.
news: the Monday dozen
I know I haven’t posted one of these in a few days, but that’s not because there wasn’t much to note. Below is a full baker’s dozen, though some are echoes of stories already on our radar. The Toronto Star offers an elegant PTSD history, showing how “soldier’s heart” became “shell shock” became “combat fatigue” becameContinue reading “news: the Monday dozen”
96-year-old outtake: fort leavenworth goes on strike
Long after the Armistice was signed in November 1918, open rebellions continued to startle military authorities, including the conglomeration of deserters, CO’s and malcontents that stuffed the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in 1918.
a 1968 whistleblower, for whom “official channels” didn’t work
Not that often I’m caught out by an obituary. And I can’t believe I never heard of Colonel Anthony B. Herbert: In August 1968, he joined the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in the central highlands of South Vietnam. It was there as commander of the Second Battalion of the 503rd Infantry, he said, that heContinue reading “a 1968 whistleblower, for whom “official channels” didn’t work”
bowe bergdahl, who walked away from Omelas
Despite all the time and spilled pixels, it feels like we know less about Bergdahl than we did when he was still a Taliban prisoner and we had only Michael Hastings’ vivid 2012 Rolling Stone portrait. What we have instead is speculation, and the understandable anger from members of the unit he walked away from, never to return, and measured words from his parents and his attorneys.
Just read. Leon Panetta, there’s an epidemic on and your job to deal with it.
At Common Dreams, Annette Bonsignore asks the questionI hadn’t got around to: ” Will the Media Give Leon Panetta the Same Pass Provided to Robert Gates on the Military’s Rape Epidemic?” She lays out the challenge very well: The media now has an opportunity to confront and question the next Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who wasContinue reading “Just read. Leon Panetta, there’s an epidemic on and your job to deal with it.”
1-800-listen
While we’re on the subject of resources: look at the upgraded site for the GI Rights Hotline! And I remember when Alex Doty, author of Helping Out, first put some information up on the then-brand-new World Wide Web. Back then the number was 800-FYI-95GI, a number later lost in organizational squabbles. Of course, it wasContinue reading “1-800-listen”
As for that list of officers McCain mentioned…..
Some reporters from this outfit looked more closely at the letter McCain was waving around this week before Congress and the TV cameras, saying the letter had proved that many officers supported the policy. But the average age of the signers was 74, most had never served since 1993, and when asked by the journosContinue reading “As for that list of officers McCain mentioned…..”
I Ain't Marching Anymore 