This just makes me so sick. Everytime I hear a story like this, I cannot help but wonder what these killers are in the military for. How does love for your country drive you to cowardly kill a fellow and cover it up.

I just wanted to give a sense of the crime commited.

But for their superior officers, the publication of the article was a problem to be solved. On the morning of Oct. 14, battalion leaders held an emergency meeting in response to the Salon article. The sergeant in charge of 2nd Platoon, Nelson and Suarez's platoon, had a pointed confrontation with at least one of his men in a vain search for the source that leaked the Ramadi video to Salon. Soldiers were told to keep quiet from then on.

continued...

Staff Sgt. Swinton was in charge that night. He told Kremling, Mitchum and a third soldier who had reported for duty that the evening's labor would include the inglorious task of cleaning out a closet. The first priority, Swinton said, was to shred the thousands of pages of documents in two large copy-paper-size boxes. It would be tedious work, but Swinton was adamant. "He says, 'I need that paper shredded. That has to be done tonight,'" remembered Kremling, who volunteered to get started on the job.

At first, the men tried to avoid the monotony of shredding. "We are talking about two Xerox boxes — filled," Kremling told me later. But eventually Kremling told the other two, "I'll go do it."

Kremling stepped into a quiet office with the boxes of documents and the shredder. Kremling lifted handfuls of paper out of the first box and stuffed the material into the machine. It hummed to life, chopping away.

"People go to jail for this kind of s**t"

Hopefully people will!




[edit on 11/20/2008 by schrodingers dog]

Just how many friendly fire deaths are they having, if they feel that they need to cover them all up?

When I read things like this It only makes me wonder how much my own government lies to the people.

If they can lie about the death of our sons and daughters I can only guess what else they hide from us.

That is true, but while people have been losing faith on the government the faith on the fellow American citizens is alive.

This brings me on how much the government goes after whistle blowers but guess what if it wasn't for them we may never know the corruption that plagues Washington.

Originally posted by asmeone2
Just how many friendly fire deaths are they having?

I don't actually know. I can't find the official up to date stats so if someone knows a link for that information it would be helpful.

However most of us understand that "friendly fire" casualties are a part of war. These deaths are tragic enough on their own, the coverups and the lying are not only disgraceful but they are a slap in the face to the families of these fallen soldiers and to all the other soldiers.

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo
This just makes me so sick. Everytime I hear a story like this, I cannot help but wonder what these killers are in the military for. How does love for your country drive you to cowardly kill a fellow and cover it up.

"Killers"? Do you understand the concept of friendly fire (not that it's really "friendly"). Otherwise known as "blue on blue" or "Firing out of safe"?

It's the accidental killing of your own troops. No "cowardly killing" or any other BS you're trying to push. Does that sometimes happen? Yep, but in this case, it seems like the guys were accidently hit by tank fire from their own guys.

The shredding of the files on their investigation is completely wrong, tho.

And for all that think this is something new, try googling something called "Operation Cobra, July 1944".

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo

Pat Tilman anyone?

How about the soldiers murdered on base.
How many soldiers are accidentally shot in the head on base or in the green zone one time? How often does that fit your little scenario?

The point here is murder being covered up as friendly fire.

Have you read the source in the original post? Does it mention murder, or Pat Tilman?? Nope, it doesn't. So, how about actually sticking what the story is talking about? Not too hard, is it?

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo
A small tight grouping in the head at point blank range with no combat fire happening. Hmmm....I didn't think it sounded friendly.

Don't remember anything about "small tight groupings at point blank range" in the story. I'd love to see a TANK do something like that! You're lack of military knowledge is, once again, showing.

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo
Sorry pal but you are actually talking about friendly fire. I am talking about cowards that murder their brothers and then try to get away with it by MAKING IT LOOK LIKE FRIENDLY FIRE.

Try reading more than your own posts some time.

Try reading the freakin' story for once and not go off onto some screwed up tangent that has NOTHING to do with the actual original story!!!

Not too difficult.

The story is about a friendly fire incident and the Army destroying the records.

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo
You will also not find what you said in the OP so we both lose...

That's because I was responding to your derailing of the thread.

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo...but this is a public forum and if my posting an honest human reaction pisses you off, perhaps you would like to do something about my freedom to do so?

Oh, shucks, Mr Internet Tough Guy. I'm quaking in my boots. So just back off on the "wanna do something about it?" comments and just try to pull your head out of your 4th point of contact.

The story is about some guys that were killed by fire from their own tanks, and the Army destroying their records. Try keeping it to just that, M'Kay? Not too difficult.

Guys, please stop with the personal attacks.

Can you help me focus the thread back to the article in the OP?

Please.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
Can you help me focus the thread back to the article in the OP?

I'm trying, dude, I'm trying!!

---

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On topic please. No sniping or bickering.

Thanks.

-Badge01
Forum Moderator

I was on topic. Soldiers were killed by other soldiers and covered up.

Disgusing and cowardly and it makes me sick!

I believe that is what I said before I was derailed by someone claiming my response was somehow incorrect.

I hope this clears things up.

Topic - soldiers covering the death of fellow soldiers for any reason stinks bad.

Originally posted by angel of lightangelo
I believe that is what I said before I was derailed by someone claiming my response was somehow incorrect.

Here's your initial post:

This just makes me so sick. Everytime I hear a story like this, I cannot help but wonder what these killers are in the military for. How does love for your country drive you to cowardly kill a fellow and cover it up.

OK, now, explain the sentence "...wonder what these killers are in the military for."? You mean the "killers" in the tank that accidentally fired on their own troops? How does this make them "killers"? Do you think that they are probably upset over the friendly fire incident? Contrary to what you think with your limited military knowledge, US troops are looking to shoot up their own guys just for fun.

Or are you calling the men that ordered the destruction of the records "killers"? How are they killers? (Well, they probably killed an entire forest of trees with the paper they used!) They are wrong for destroying the records of the investigation, and I do wonder why they went about it. It's not like there has never been a friendly fire incident in US military history. They should understand by now that covering up things like this never work out.

This links to your other sentence "....cowardly kill a fellow and cover it up". OK, once again, the tankers didn't "cowardly" kill these guys. I'll bet any amount of your paycheck that the tank gunner wasn't looking thru his sights and calling the TC and saying, "Hey, boss, I see some of our own guys in that building. Let's fire them up for yucks!!"

OK, any other questions?

Other than the Tillman goat-rope, I really didn't find much on friendly fire coverups.

[edit on 20-11-2008 by jerico65]