GI SPECIAL 4B20:
THE
UNIVERSAL CODE OF MILITARY INJUSTICE
[Thanks to Mark Shapiro, who sent this in.]
“My Friends
Are Dying And What The Hell Is Going On?”
Iraq
Veteran Condemns The War At Champaign-Urbana Rally
His
family is very supportive of his activism and his
father, a marine veteran, told him that he is sorry he
voted for George Bush, Adams said.
Adams
described how the VA's treatment was simply by doling
out medications that didn't address the problems, and it
was his work with Iraq Veterans Against the War that
helped him the most.
February 12, 2006 By Steve
Bauer, The News-Gazette, Inc.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS:
An Army veteran who served in
Iraq has a challenge for the Bush administration.
Dave Adams,
25, a student at Southern Illinois University and member of
Iraq Veterans Against the War, told a group of more than 50
people at a rally Saturday at Illinois Disciples Foundation
in Champaign that President George Bush challenged troops to
find weapons of mass destruction and members of al-Qaida.
Adams, who
served as a mechanic and chaplain's assistant from 2000 to
2003, said his challenge to the president is to apologize to
the American soldiers and public, to bring the troops home
now and to properly care for veterans, as promised.
Later, in answer to a question
from the audience, Adams added that Bush should also
apologize to the people of Iraq and properly compensate them
for the destruction caused by this war.
Mohammad Al-Heeti, owner of
the World Harvest store in Champaign born and raised in
Iraq, said soldiers and citizens of the U.S. have to
understand that much of the violence directed at the troops
is "just a reflection" of the violence they have suffered.
A pull-out of American troops
"would not be worse than what's happening now," Al-Heeti
said. "It doesn't have to be all at once. It could be in
phases. They need a good faith showing from the American
government."
Adams said a lot of soldiers
he has known feel, as he does, that Iraq will be involved in
some sort of civil war no matter what the U.S. does.
"We need to get the
international community involved and let the Iraqi people
deal with their own situation," Adams said.
Adams said he grew up in a
family with a strong traditions of military and Republican
involvement. When Bush announced the war, he wanted to
serve, he said.
Finally
sent to Iraq in March 2003, Adams saw where people were
living in the rubble and destruction from the first war. He
also encountered a university president, who helped his unit
by providing housing, but he was upset when that man was
arrested because he was a member of Saddam Hussein's Baath
Party.
"It was, in
my eyes, so self-defeating," Adams said. "The one person
that was there to help us was now in a military prison."
Adams said he and his fellow
soldiers were initially greeted warmly, but that good will
has been lost by broken promises to rebuild schools, bridges
and other infrastructure.
The
hostility of Iraqi citizens "is not falling on George Bush,"
he said. "It's falling on the shoulders of soldiers and
marines."
Even though he wanted out of
that environment, Adams said he continued to defend Bush and
the war effort after he first returned home.
But as his friends continued
to die in the war, his own symptoms of post traumatic stress
disorder began to show, he said.
"This is
the point I realized there were concerns," Adams said. "My
friends are dying and what the hell is going on?"
His family
is very supportive of his activism and his father, a marine
veteran, told him that he is sorry he voted for George Bush,
Adams said.
Adams said
he has a yellow ribbon on his door.
"It says,
'Support the Troops. Bring them home now,'" Adams said.
MORE:
February
19, 2006: A summary of an event co-sponsored by
Champaign-Urbana Chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
via
vvawnet@vvaw.org.] [Excerpts]
From: Jen Tayabji
On Saturday, February 11th,
the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC) hosted
IVAW member Dave Adams in an anti-war speaking event.
Over 50
people came out to hear Adams describe his experiences
serving in Iraq and his adjustments back to civilian life.
Adams joined the military in
December of 1999 and served from 2000 to 2003. He completed
basic training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. Upon
completion of basic training, he was assigned to the 101st
Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He served as a
mechanic for the Military Police and was stop-lossed in
early 2003 shortly before the start of the Iraq War.
He
described how he was assigned to various positions and
tasks that he was never trained for. He also discussed
the lack of armor his unit had when they were in convoys
and the extreme danger the convoys brought to both the
troops and the civilians in the towns they traveled
through.
Upon returning home, he was
diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after
began drinking heavily and acting unlike himself.
He then joined Iraq Veterans
Against the War (www.ivaw.net) and began speaking out.
Adams
described how the VA's treatment was simply by doling out
medications that didn't address the problems, and it was his
work with IVAW that helped him the most.
Currently, Dave is an
undergraduate at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in
Carbondale.
The Progressive
Resource/Action Cooperative is a multi-issue multi-tactical
activist organization located at the University of Illinois
campus in Champaign-Urbana. The PRC has a long history of
anti-war organizing including work around GI and veteran
issues. For more information on the PRC, please visit
http://www.prairienet.org/prc.
www.ivaw.net
Do you
have a friend or relative in the service? Forward this
E-MAIL along, or send us the address if you wish and
we’ll send it regularly.
Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is
extra important for your service friend, too often cut
off from access to encouraging news of growing
resistance to the war, at home and inside the armed
services.
Send requests to address up top.
IRAQ WAR
REPORTS
SOLDIER
KILLED IN IED ATTACK NEAR KARBALA
February 20, 2006 HEADQUARTERS
UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE Number:
06-02-02CM
BAGHDAD,
Iraq: A Coalition Forces Soldier was killed when his
vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb while conducting a
combat patrol southeast of Karbala, Iraq Feb. 20.
Georgia
Soldiers Dies In Ar Rutbah
February 20, 2006 HEADQUARTERS
UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE Number: No.
149-06
Sgt. 1st
Class Amos C. Edwards, Jr., 41, of Savannah, Ga., died in Ar
Rutbah, Iraq, on Feb. 17, from a non-combat related cause.
Edwards was assigned to the Army National
Guard's 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th
Brigade Combat Team, Savannah, Ga.
Remembering Nick Wilson
2/14/2006 News Channel 34
Nick Wilson was killed by an
improvised bomb in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. NewsChannel
34's Peter Quinn was in Newark Valley today and talked with
some of Nick's former teachers.
Nick Wilson joined the Navy
shortly after graduating from Newark Valley High School in
1998. He was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom by
de-fusing bombs. People from Tioga County who knew Nick say
there was just something special about him.
Williams says, “I remember on
a church youth group trip he was the kid, he was a big
junior or senior, and I still remember the one thing he did
was helping this little 8th or 9th grade girl. A lot of
guys, especially guys, they wouldn't really care. Maybe it
was because he had a younger sister. He went over, helped
her with whatever the project was. It was no big deal to
him.”
Keith Williams taught Nick
social studies and also coached him on the track team in his
senior year.
Williams says, “One of the
nicest things about him. He always had this little grin on
his face. He looked like he was up to something. He was the
kind of kid who would speak to all the kids in the school.
He was not a part of a click. He was like a friend to
everyone, just a real nice kid.”
Warren Harrold is now the high
school's assistant principal.
Warren Harrold says, “The
thing I remember most about Nick is his 12th grade social
studies year, which is Participation in Government. We had a
community service aspect to the course and he was very
involved with that.”
Harrold just retired from the
National Guard after 22 years, and had talked with Nick
about the military.
Harrold says, “The one thing I
remember is his smile. He was one of those kids, happy go
lucky, a little ornery. I know he was into BMXing quite a
bit. He was very interested in service and spoke with me on
several occasions about the service.”
Over the past few years Newark
Valley has had a number of graduates serving in Iraq. So,
when a tragedy like this happens it's felt by all.
Keith Williams, Social Studies
Teacher and coach track says, “Super kid, always nice. I
shared with the classes on Monday about his loss because it
hits close to home. So, I talked with the kids how they are
sitting in the same class, the same seats, that Nick and his
classmates sat in. And, nobody anticipates this happening.”
Nick Wilson is survived by his
wife, Linda who he met while in the Navy, his parents who
still live in Newark Valley, two older brothers and a
younger sister.
A funeral service will be held
for Nick Wilson in San Diego, California where Nick was
stationed. His wife also lives out there.
Captain
Killed On Tikrit Base
Feb 20, 2006 The Associated
Press
(FORT CAMPBELL, Ky.) A Fort
Campbell soldier with the 101st Airborne Division died in
Iraq last week, the Army said Monday.
Capt.
Anthony R. Garcia, 48, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Friday as
a result of a gunshot wound in Tikrit, Iraq, the Army said
in a statement.
The
shooting is under investigation because it happened on a
military base, Fort Campbell spokeswoman Cathy Gramling
said. No further details were available, she said.
Garcia was a physician
assistant assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Aviation
Brigade. He joined the Army in August 1989 and was assigned
to Fort Campbell in June 2001.
Garcia is survived by a wife,
Doris, a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Garrick, of
Clarksville, Tenn.; and his parents, Monico and Josephine
Garcia, of Hudson Oaks, Texas.
U.S.
Soldier Wounded In Al Tobaji
Feb 20 (KUNA)
Three
persons, including a US soldier, were injured Monday by a
blast in Baghdad's northern suburb.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency
(KUNA), a police source said the three persons were injured
by a roadside bomb that targeted a US army patrol in
Baghdad's Al-Tobaji area.
Two
Mercenaries Wounded In Baghdad
20 Feb 2006 Reuters
Eleven
people were wounded including two foreign contractors when
two roadside bombs exploded in eastern Baghdad, police said.
The
Occupation Besieged: Ramadi
“You Close
Your Eyes And You Could Be Dead”'
U.S.
Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment huddle between
Humvees to avoid sniper fire while searching a vehicle in
central Ramadi Feb. 6, 2006. Downtown
Ramadi, which includes the Anbar provincial government
headquarters, has been the site of numerous battles between
U.S. troops and insurgents. (AP Photo/Antonio Castaneda)
February 19, 2006 RAMADI, Iraq
(AP)
In a
carpeted office filled with oversized gold embroidered
chairs, the governor of troubled Anbar province talked about
his region's sagging infrastructure, over the rattle of
machine-gun fire and the thud of grenade launchers
reverberating from the roof.
Gov.
Maamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani seemed almost oblivious to the
commotion as U.S. Marines in firing positions lined with
sandbags and bulletproof glass blasted away at an insurgent
trying to plant a roadside bomb nearby.
The
government center is a favorite target in this city at the
center of Iraq's insurgency and dozens of Marines from the
3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment live in one wing to fend off the
frequent attacks.
Marines posted on the roof
have to stay sharp.
When their lieutenant
approaches, they immediately pause and shout out five
things: their name and rank, their gun's lateral limits, the
direction their gun is facing, guidelines to fire, and any
nearby friendly units. The idea is to make sure they are
alert at all times.
''Honestly, sir, it's kind of
a pleasure because it's not something that everybody can say
that they helped build a government,'' Lance Cpl. Brandon
Crusha of Yukon, Okla., told a reporter as he glanced away
from a desolate street.
Marines said the pace of
combat around the building has slowed since the beginning of
their tour last summer, but it can flare up at any moment
and wears on them.
''I'd be happy to go home and
not shoot one more round. You can't go home and talk to
your buddies about shooting people. It's not a subject that
most people talk about,'' said Lance Cpl. Jeff Barrient.
''To see people die, your
friends get hurt over seven months, it can't be explained
unless you've been here,'' Barrient, 21, of Salinas, Calif.,
added, speaking in a cold, tiled room filled with bunkbeds
as the Muslim call to prayer echoed from mosques down the
street. ''The actual price we've paid to help this country
out: it's unexplainable.''
Barrient
spoke just minutes after a Marine radioed that a man had
managed to elude fire and sprint away after dropping off a
black backpack. Later it was found to contain an anti-tank
mine.
An hour
later, another report came in about a man with a
rocket-propelled grenade launcher who had jumped out and
tried to fire at the government center.
''There's a
lot of foot traffic and civilians running around,'' said
Lance Cpl. Ruben Valles, 21, of San Jose, Calif., who
periodically volunteers to work shifts on the roof.
''Sometimes they'll try to be discreet and throw a box down
and move it in place with an attached string.''
The
neighborhood around the government center in central Ramadi
is testament to the combat between U.S. troops and
insurgents.
Virtually
every shop on the adjacent street is closed, alongside
abandoned multistory buildings where insurgent snipers often
lurk. Thousands of bullet holes pepper buildings, and
several nearby structures have the walls of entire floors
blown out, exposing support beams.
The nearby Rashid Hotel, once
a favorite spot for gunmen, was recently destroyed by a U.S.
airstrike.
A health complex to the south,
another common post for insurgents, exhibits heavy damage.
Some
aspects of life for townspeople continue near normal.
Insurgents took note of a school to the west of the
government center and rarely fire there.
A few blocks away, the narrow
streets of the local market are busy with customers.
The adjacent streets have
suffered. A nearby intersection, known as checkpoint 295,
is a common spot where roadside bombs are laid. A police
station abandoned last year by Iraqi officers amid a wave of
insurgent attacks is now manned by Marines.
The U.S.
military has started a program to clean up the neighborhood,
but Iraqi workers who pick up rubble and trash work only in
the gloom of night and still need U.S. guards. Gunmen fired
on them recently but caused no injuries.
''We try to
help the Iraqi people out as much as we can. We wish they'd
help us out a little more,'' Barrient said. [Sorry about
that. They’re helping themselves: they have no interest in
helping George Bush occupy their country and steal their oil
for his buddies. How odd.]
Inside offices once used by
municipal workers, Marines sleep on bunkbeds in dimly lit
rooms. During a reporter's afternoon visit, Marines cleaned
their weapons in a murky hall while listening to Credence
Clearwater Revival songs.
Marines
manning rooftop posts stand shifts that last from four to 12
hours. Some said they have grown to know the Marines they
share roof duty with so well that they can predict their
movements and identify them by their silhouettes.
Other spoke
of night shifts where they fought to stay awake.
“Getting
complacent is the wrong thing to do up there: you close your
eyes and you could be dead,” Barrient said.
THERE IS
ABSOLUTELY NO COMPREHENSIBLE REASON TO BE IN THIS EXTREMELY
HIGH RISK LOCATION AT THIS TIME, EXCEPT THAT A CROOKED
POLITICIAN WHO LIVES IN THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU THERE, SO
HE WILL LOOK GOOD.
That is not
a good enough reason.
A US soldier inspects what's
left of a car bomb that exploded in al-Riad area, west of
the northern city of Kirkuk. (AFP/Marwan Ibrahim
AFGHANISTAN
WAR REPORTS
Pleasanton
Soldier Is Killed By Road Bomb
02/16/2006 Vincent T. Davis,
Express-News Staff Writer
A 26-year-old soldier from
Atascosa County is one of the latest casualties to die in
the Middle East.
Staff Sgt.
Clint Newman was killed Monday in central Afghanistan when a
bomb exploded next to his Humvee, according to the
Associated Press. Three other troops also were killed in
the attack.
His death
is believed to be the first casualty of the war from
Atascosa County.
The
casualties bring the number of personnel killed in the
Afghanistan region to 214 since the U.S. military began
combat operations in 2001.
According to the Pleasanton
Express, Newman was assigned to the 321st Civil Affairs Unit
based at Fort Sam Houston.
He joined the Army after
graduating from high school and was stationed in Bosnia and
Germany.
Newman
joined the reserves after almost four years of service,
according to the paper. This was his second time being
recalled to duty in the last four years. He was activated
in June 2005 to serve in Afghanistan for the second time.
Newman graduated from
Pleasanton High School in 1997. He was active in school
activities, including the National Honor Society, Eagle
Band, and playing on the varsity football team, the paper
said.
He was due to come home in
May.
Turlock
Loses A Son:
“He Said
Then It Was A Lot Harder Than They Expected”
A photograph of Chad Gonsalves
early in his service career is decorated with a wooden
trinket he made when he was 6 years old. His interest in
the military began at a young age, his mother said.
02/15/06 By ROGER W. HOSKINS,
MODESTO BEE STAFF WRITER
TURLOCK: Friends, family and
old classmates brought everything but hope to the rural home
of Larry and Marsha Gonsalves on Tuesday.
The Gonsalveses' oldest son,
Chad, died in Afghanistan on Monday.
He was among four U.S.
soldiers killed when their armored vehicle was hit by a bomb
in a volatile mountainous region, the deadliest loss for the
military in the country in four months, according an account
released by the Pentagon.
Gonsalves' death was confirmed
by family members.
The bombing raised the death
toll of U.S. personnel in the Afghan conflict to 214 since
the United States invaded the country in late 2001.
Gonsalves, a Green Beret
sergeant first class, was 31 years old. The little rebel,
as his father called him, never finished high school. "But
he passed his (general education) test on the first
attempt," said Larry Gonsalves.
In the wake of unspeakable
grief, Marsha Gonsalves sat in her dining room. Friends
kept a vigil with the family in rooms nearby. Grandmother
Irene Gonsalves, 81, sat next to Marsha Gonsalves.
"He was always military, from
the time he was 7," Marsha Gonsalves recalled. "First it
was G.I. Joe, and then 'Rambo' scooped him up."
While she may have been
nervous about her son's vocation, she never fought it. "How
could I? It was what he wanted."
The Gonsalves family last saw
their son at Christmas. Chad Gonsalves, who lives in North
Carolina near Fort Bragg, brought his twin sons with him to
Turlock; Blake and Dylan will be 2 in May. Gonsalves' wife,
Julie, and oldest son, Cody, almost 4, spent Christmas with
her parents in the East.
"We just had so much fun. He
was such a good dad," Marsha Gonsalves said. "He didn't
want to bring them and he complained about how hard they
would be in an airport, but he brought them to make me
happy."
