Platoon defies orders in Iraq

Almaniac Dragonsgrail writes: "Wanted to make sure this didn't stay lost in smaller newspapers. When you have two Sergeants, one a 24 year reservist, refusing orders because of concerns of not having the equipment needed to provide safety for their men, you have to take notice. Too bad Mr. Bush doesn't have the same ethics in leading his troops as these two do." Thanks for sending it in, DG:

Soldier calls home, cites safety concerns

"A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a 'suicide mission' to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.

"The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered 'deadlined' or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.

"Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.

"The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders, punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five years confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate professor of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C."
Source