# "Scrounging" to complete a mission in Iraq leads to jail



## Andyd513 (12 Dec 2004)

I find this very sad that those reservists who did not do their mission because of equipment aren't being court martialled but these soldiers will be for doing what we're taught: Finding a way to complete the mission.



[  Article  ]

Six reservists, including two veteran officers who had received Bronze Stars, were court-martialed for what soldiers have been doing as long as there have been wars--scrounging to get what their outfit needed to do its job in Iraq (news - web sites).


Darrell Birt, one of those court-martialed for theft, destruction of Army property and conspiracy to cover up the crimes, had been decorated for his "initiative and courage" for leading his unit's delivery of fuel over the perilous roads of Iraq in the war's first months. 


Now, Birt, 45, who was a chief warrant officer with 656th Transportation Company, based in Springfield, Ohio, and his commanding officer find themselves felons, dishonorably discharged and stripped of all military benefits. 


The 656th played a crucial role in maintaining the gasoline supply that fueled everything from Black Hawk helicopters to Bradley Fighting Vehicles between Balad Airfield and Tikrit. The reservists in the company proudly boast that their fuel was in the vehicles driven by the 4th Infantry Division soldiers who found Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) hiding in a hole last year. 


But when Birt's unit was ordered to head into Iraq in the heat of battle in April 2003 from its base in Kuwait, Birt said the company didn't have enough vehicles to haul the equipment it would need to do the job. 


So, Birt explained, he and other reservists grabbed two tractors and two trailers left in Kuwait by other U.S. units that had already moved into Iraq. 


Several weeks later, Birt and other reservists scrounged a third vehicle, an abandoned 5-ton cargo truck, and stripped it for parts they needed for repair of their trucks. 


"We could have gone with what we had, but we would not have been able to complete our mission," said Birt, who was released from the brig on Oct. 17 and is petitioning for clemency in hope that he can return to the reserves. 


"I admit that what we did was technically against the rules, but it wasn't for our own personal gain. It was so we could do our jobs." 


The thefts mirror countless stories of shifty appropriation that has been memorialized in books and films as a wartime skill. Birt and other reservists in the unit said that what the prosecutors called theft was simply resourcefulness, a quality they say is abundant among soldiers in Iraq. 


While in confinement, Birt had a chat with a military police officer who was puzzled by why Birt was in the brig. The MP, a guard, told Birt that his unit had "acquired" a Humvee in a similar fashion. 


Equipment shortages have become a concern, and soldiers are expressing growing frustration about them. On Monday, the military announced it would not court-martial the 23 reservists who balked at transporting fuel in Iraq because their vehicles were in poor condition and lacked armor, and on Wednesday, soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the lack of armor for vehicles. 


In addition to the six in the 656th who were court-martialed, eight others in the unit were given non-judicial punishment, including fines, pay reduction and loss in rank. 


The commanding officer of the company, Maj. Cathy Kaus, 46, was sentenced to 6 months in jail and fined $5,000 for her part in the thefts. She is scheduled to be released from the Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar in San Diego on Christmas Day after serving most of her sentence. 


Kaus and Birt chose to be tried by a military judge rather than a panel that would have included fellow soldiers, and they waived the formal investigation. 


An Army spokeswoman said Friday that the Army does not comment on specific cases. But she noted that the military's judicial process allows those who are court-martialed to apply for clemency. 


The severity of the punishments was surprising to many members of the company, who regularly saw off-the-books trading and thefts of military property in Iraq by troops in other units. 

   



Surprised by severity 

Even Lt. Col. Christopher Wicker, the former commanding officer of the battalion overseeing the 656th who ordered the investigation of the thefts, said he was shocked by the hefty penalties. 

"Circumstances at [the] time, however, made these acts less serious than if done in a peacetime garrison environment," Wicker said in a letter supporting clemency for Birt. "The sentences . . . are too harsh given the situation during the initial drive north of Baghdad in April 2003, and the limited flow of repair parts that existed April-September 2003." 

Theft of military equipment is legendary among American war veterans, and the act has its own lexicon. In past wars some called it "scrounging," while others called it "midnight requisitions" and "liberating supplies," said writer and Vietnam War veteran Robert Vaughan. 

Military bureaucracy combined with the reality of warfare has long made "scrounging" a necessity for soldiers trying to get a job done, Vaughan said. Stealing is justified, he said, because everything being taken is U.S. government property and is being used toward the war effort. 

He recalled that while his unit was serving in a remote area in Vietnam, headquarters in Saigon repeatedly denied his unit's request for high-power generators because it said there were none in stock. But on previous trips to Saigon, Vaughan had seen dozens of generators stacked in a holding area at headquarters. 

Frustrated, he drove to Saigon one afternoon, posed as a captain from another unit and gave a guard a forged requisition to get the generators. 

"I was the greatest scrounger in the Vietnam War," said Vaughan, who has a war novel to be published in January in which the protagonist is an expert at stealing equipment for his unit. "If you did something that is not for your own personal gain, your higher-ups tended to protect you from getting into any trouble for it." 

The problems for the 656th started days before the company was to move into Iraq. The company had only two cargo trucks to haul six containers filled with tools, spare parts, ammunition, biological-chemical protective wear and other supplies. 

Kaus, the commander of the 656th, said that officers with the 544th Maintenance Battalion, whose command her company fell under, informed her the day before their scheduled push into Iraq that they could not provide her company support in moving the company's six containers. She said she discussed the problem with Birt and her other chief warrant officer, and the two told her they could solve it. 

Just deal with it 

Kaus said in a telephone interview that she told the men "to do what they had to do" to move their supplies, but she did not tell them to steal equipment. 

Birt said he inferred that they had her permission to take the vehicles. The other chief warrant officer, Christopher Parriman, was not charged in the thefts and left Iraq because of a medical disability before the investigation began. Parriman declined to comment. 

Kaus said Birt and Parriman initially told her they had permission to take the vehicles from another unit. She said she learned in late May or early June of 2003 that the vehicles were stolen, but at that point the trucks had become an integral part of the unit's regular fuel convoys. 

"These were vehicles that were not going to be used by the unit that originally owned them, and they had become an important part in allowing us to deliver 40,000 to 50,000 gallons of fuel a day," said Kaus, who was awarded a Bronze Star for effectively leading the unit. 

Kaus also said she could not determine which unit the trucks belonged to, so she could not return them. In fact, the vehicles and trailers in question were never reported stolen, according to transcripts of court-martial proceedings. 

In a meeting with 656th officers and leaders of other companies under his command in June 2003, Wicker, the 544th Maintenance battalion commander, asked the officers if they had any equipment that did not belong to them. Kaus and the other officers said nothing, Wicker said. 

No one mentioned the stolen property, Wicker and others said, until a disgruntled soldier, Sgt. Charles Neely, reported the unit to Wicker as the company was preparing to end its tour and return to Ohio. Neely, who also took part in the theft of one of the trucks, was reduced to private as part of his sentence. Neely lives in Ohio; he declined to comment. 

Wicker, who had heard stories from relatives about scrounging in Vietnam, said he was more bothered that the officers did not admit having the equipment when asked and that they dismantled the 5-ton cargo truck. He said he understood the rationale for stealing the equipment, but he did not agree with it. 

In the first several months of the Iraq war, the supply line moved at a glacial pace. Obtaining even basic parts to repair vehicles took as long as six weeks, said Robert Chalmers, who had been a sergeant with the 656th. He received a court-martial for stripping the cargo truck for spare parts and disposing of its frame. 

Sitting in his kitchen in Greenville, Ohio, Chalmers recalled the rocket attacks, bomb explosions and small-arms fire his company faced on the road between Tikrit and Balad. 

He laughed about his eagerness to head to Iraq. Anticipating that his company was going to be called up, he took two weeks off from work as an electrician to get gear ready before the unit's soldiers received official word that they would be going. 

Other reservists' penalties 

Chalmers said their actions were technically wrong, but he felt the importance of the company's mission justified the thefts. During the company's year in Iraq, members of the 656th drove more than 1.2 million miles and delivered about 33 million gallons of fuel. 

Chalmers was reduced to a specialist as part of his sentence. Of the other two reservists who were court-martialed, one received a jail sentence, and the second was punished but not jailed. 

The situation has left Chalmers in debt and bitter. His wife, Tina, said she had to borrow against her retirement savings to pay his $20,000 in legal fees. 

"We were sent to Iraq without what we needed," said Chalmers, who has spent 15 years on active or reserve duty.. "If they don't make that decision to get the vehicles we needed, we are worse off and can't do our mission. If we don't do our mission, those tanks at the front stand still." 

For Birt and Kaus, the court-martial and confinements are a devastating end to long and successful military careers. Both are holding onto a thin thread of hope that they will be granted clemency by Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, so their benefits will be reinstated and they will have a chance to continue their military careers. 

Birt and Kaus were dishonorably discharged, and unless they receive clemency, they lose all military benefits, including the right to have the U.S. flag draped on their coffins. 

This month, Birt received a certified letter from the trucking company he worked for as a shop foreman, telling him that it could no longer employ him because of his felony conviction. Kaus said her employer, sporting goods manufacturer Huffy Corp., has informed her that it is unlikely she will be allowed to come back to work because of her conviction. 

Kaus said her anger has subsided, and she is trying to move on with her life. 

"My family and friends remind me how fortunate we are that everyone of us [in the 656th] made it out of Iraq in one piece," she said. 

For Birt, the end to his military career has been jolting. 

"I don't have any regrets," Birt said. "I am proud of the work we did serving our country. If I could get back in the reserves, I would go back to Iraq in a second."


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## Infanteer (12 Dec 2004)

Shitty - this is what happens when bureaucrats take over....


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## bubba (12 Dec 2004)

they should put some of those bureaucrats in those vehicles,when there headin out on a supply run.i wonder how long it would take them to scrounge some new bloomers. :fifty:


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## Kirkhill (12 Dec 2004)

Ludicrous.


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## a_majoor (12 Dec 2004)

The worst part is the fact the soldiers who mutinied (a far more serious crime) were not charged.


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## aesop081 (12 Dec 2004)

Bullshit baffles brains !!!


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## foerestedwarrior (12 Dec 2004)

i am speechless. There is a mutiny, and no charge, these guys acquire some abandoned vehicles, and are all charged.


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## Andyd513 (13 Dec 2004)

To me, this kind of story has the biggest chance of affecting morale.

Here we have some industrious, smart thinking logistic RESERVISTS, who are enthusiastic and apparently do their job well. They know they have to get the supplies to the guys on the pointy end!! Not only did they get ripped away from their civi side to go to war, they end up getting charged and dishonorably discharged as a result of showing up and doing the job well.

This kind of story frustrates me so much. Save the harsh discipline for when theres need. Give these guys a fine if you truly need to do something.


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## vangemeren (13 Dec 2004)

I'm interested in what the people pressing charges would have done if they had to break military law to do their jobs. The higher ups have to realise, "hmmm maybe we need to change something if soldiers have to steal things just to do their job day to day." What would have happened if the soldiers didn't steal the parts they needed? Would they get in trouble for not doing their job? If not, would there be possible deaths because of the bureaucracy creating shortages? It sounds like someone is trying to cut corners to save money and the soldiers are the ones in the end that pay.


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## KevinB (13 Dec 2004)

I am a little curious as to why they did not chose trial by court martial board...


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## bossi (13 Dec 2004)

KevinB said:
			
		

> I am a little curious as to why they did not chose trial by court martial board...



Yup - that struck me as odd, too - my first thought was that a board (trial by peers) would have probably let them off - however, maybe they're trying to make a point ...


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## a_majoor (13 Dec 2004)

Just reading the first post again, I was struck by the fact the troops were picking up abandoned vehicles, and there were no repair parts in the system, so they had to cannibalize a truck.

Question: What action is being taken against the officers in the units which abandoned their kit? What action is being taken against the supply chain managers who let the spare parts stocks become so depleted? Positive answers here would indicate there was a desire for justice.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (13 Dec 2004)

I agree with a-majoor about the units that left servicable kit behind...........maybe there is a story behind the story and this is a semi face-saving way to cover it up?

EDIT:Imagine the trucks being used AGAINST the coalition forces?


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## darcy175 (13 Dec 2004)

so were gonna be punished for doing our job....thats fair


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## Tpr.Orange (13 Dec 2004)

geez...whats next you get charged for showing up early


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## Hottie_Cowgirl_ (13 Dec 2004)

a_majoor said:
			
		

> Question: What action is being taken against the officers in the units which abandoned their kit?



I have a couple of reservist friends state-side and from what I've read and heard this was all normal practice.  In the first couple months of the invasion no one could get their hands on parts and therefore instead of towing or staying with 'dead weight' they would abandon it and leave it for the rear guard to deal with.  I don't know if this is normal (I have no military experience) but it seems to make sense to me.  Why would anyone want to deal with 'dead weight' when your main objective is to advance and do it quickly?  However, once those vehicles were abandoned I can't imagine why anyone cared that someone grabbed the parts they needed to complete their mission.  Ridiculous is the word that comes to mind.


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## Matt_Fisher (13 Dec 2004)

Wow,

This is a pretty much a kick in the nuts to those involved.  If these guys were charged for this, there are thousands of others in Iraq that have done pretty much the exact same and therefore should be charged as well.   :

Our unit "appropriated" a huuuuuuuge amount of equipment from abandoned stores or other units that were retrograding that didn't want the hassle of transporting the stuff back to Kuwait.  Generators and air conditioning units were among the most attractive pieces of kit to "acquire".  At one point in time from our scrounging efforts our company had accumulated an LVS (Marine Corps version of the Army HEMMT) an extra 7-ton FMTV, and a John Deere Mil-Gator, which our platoon commander promptly broke driving over a concrete wall at night...never let officers drive   ;D along with a bow-flex gym set, about 5 generators, 2 or 3 air conditioners and an electric water pump and the necessary plumbing hardware so we could build a field shower wherever we were setup long-term.

After 4 or 5 months in country to see our company move permanent positions was like the intro credits of the Beverly Hillbillies with lawn chairs and coleman coolers strapped to the sides of our LAVs.  My vehicle's scout team leader had managed to even scrounge himself a bed (mattress and steel frame) which he would strap in front of trim vane of the LAV.

For the amount of stuff we scrounged, the entire company should probably be in Leavenworth right now along with a bunch of other Sr. NCOs and officers from other units that told us to take the stuff, as they were just going to write it off as a 'combat loss' because they didn't want to be bothered to take it with them back to Kuwait.

I can see how those stealing for your own profit need to get hammered, like the Marine SSgt. who got busted for selling body armor and SAPI plates on ebay, but these guys are just trying to get their units stuff necessary for their own operation.  At the end of the day, the stuff they scrounge still is in the Army inventory, it's just changed hands temporarily.


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## foerestedwarrior (14 Dec 2004)

LOL, i just heard a story of a guy in my unit when he was in Bosnia in '91. His translator one day showed up with water pump. When they asked were he go tit, he just said "I hope you OC doesn't take his APC swimming ^-^". so they used the pump to make the most powerfull shower in the camp.

I think that in this case(Iraq thing) if you find vehicles abandoned at the side of the road, they are just that, abandoned. If you have the initiative to cannibalize the dead trucks for parts to keep yours running good on ya. Things like this have been known to happen for as long as people fought, getting something better than you have, or parts to keep something you have running.  They kill the guys careers that kept the fuel coming. The guys that refuse to transport fuel, because the road is to dangerous, they get a slap on the wrist, welcome to war, something that is usually considered as dangerous.


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## 48Highlander (14 Dec 2004)

Matt_Fisher said:
			
		

> At the end of the day, the stuff they scrounge still is in the Army inventory, it's just changed hands temporarily.



That's why, instead of "scrounging", I've always liked the term "reallocation of resources".

Like everyone's said this is ridiculous.  What I don't understand is why these guys turned down the option to be tried by their peers and instead chose a trial judge.  I'm thinking if they'd gone with the other option, the result of the trial would have been a LOT different.


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## Hottie_Cowgirl_ (14 Dec 2004)

I'm with you Higlander.  I have no idea why they would not have chosen trial by peers.  I know there are some guys from south of the border on this forum, do any of you know why they wouldn't have done that?  Matt??


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## Matt_Fisher (14 Dec 2004)

Hottie,

I cannot even fathom why they chose to have a judge rather than trial by peers in the court-martial board.
 ???


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## Hottie_Cowgirl_ (14 Dec 2004)

The really funny part about it is that I heard an interview with this guy on CBC, yesterday morning I think.  The lady doing the interview asked him why he didn't have a trial by peers and he totally side-stepped the question.  He never did answer the question?  It all seemed a little fishy to me.


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## Marauder (14 Dec 2004)

Huzzah for the lawyers and officers who chose career before mission and men. It's a red letter day for both species of bottom feeder.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (28 Dec 2004)

A footnote,
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/12/27/soldiers.scrounging.ap/index.html
  
Officer released from brig for 'scrounging'
28-year veteran said she would do it again
Tuesday, December 28, 2004 Posted: 0209 GMT (1009 HKT) 


DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- A former Ohio Army Reserve commander who was court-martialed for taking abandoned Army vehicles in Kuwait so her unit could carry out its mission in Iraq returned home Monday after serving a six-month sentence.

Maj. Cathy Kaus defended the actions taken by herself and her fellow soldiers. She said she has applied for clemency.

"What we did, we did at that time because we thought we needed to do that," Kaus said at Dayton International Airport, adding that she would do it "all over again" if put in the same circumstances.

Kaus, released Monday from a Navy brig in San Diego, said she was convicted of theft, willful neglect, abandonment and conspiracy of abandonment.

She was among six Ohio reservists from the Springfield-based 656th Transportation Company who were court-martialed at a time when some U.S. troops in Iraq are complaining they have to scrounge for equipment.

Members of the unit said they needed the equipment to deliver fuel to U.S. forces in Iraq for everything from helicopters to tanks.

According to one of the reservists who was court-martialed, they took two tractor-trailers and stripped parts from a truck that had been abandoned in Kuwait by other units that had already moved into Iraq.

"I think the punishment was a little bit on the unfair side, maybe kind of extreme and kind of harsh," Kaus said.

Sens. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, have asked for clemency for the soldiers.

Clutching a bouquet of red and white carnations, and wearing jeans and a V-neck sweater, Kaus was embraced by friends as she walked past the security checkpoint and into the main part of the airport terminal.

A 28-year military veteran, Kaus said she wants to stay in the service and would go back to Iraq.


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## Slim (28 Dec 2004)

After reading all that I could find about this incident I am of the opinion that we're not getting the whole story...I'm almost posative that there is allot more to this.

Slim


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