What will happen to the guilty soldiers?

[soundfury]

Under military law what does a reprimand mean?

In other words, will they face jail time?

Or will this just be a slap on the hand and be the end of their military careers?

[fryguy]

1. no jail

the NY Times said that their repremands would effectivly end their miilitary careers (i.e. no hope of promotion), but they would not be discharged or rmeoved from duty because of it. basically a slap on the wrist, because now they can leave the military and join up with the many companies hiring "independent contractors" to provide security in Iraq for many times the salary of soldiers

[soundfury]

9. So, a slap on the wrist then, sickening. N/T

[TahitiNut]

2. The most junior will be fall-guys ...

... for those who deliberately created a culture wherein this behavior was (with "plausible deniability") encouraged, and motivated.

Those most guilty (of a violation of public trust) will receive the least punishment. This is My Lai redux ... where Calley was a fall-guy for a command structure that absolutely encouraged that behavior. Obscene? Ubetcha. And far, far more common than anyone is willing to admit.


On edit: It's almost the opposite of the treatment for other forms of organized crime. Mafia soldiers are often given lenient punishment for turning evidence on their bosses. Sadly, the military soldiers are given greater punishment if they try to implicate their command structure.

[qazplm]

3. my understanding is

that these were separate soldiers who have been reprimanded, not the ones actually charged with abuse and/or torture.

Likely what is meant is that they have been "chaptered" which probably means an Other than Honorable discharge which basically means they lose just about all the benefits that go along with honorable discharge such as GI Bill, VA Home Loan, Veterans Preference, payment for accrued leave, and about roughly 30 other things.

It's no small thing.

[jfxgillis]

4. Either:

Too much or not enough.

[DrWeird]

5. "Shit flows down hill."

It's Leavenworth for the low ranking troops, promotions for the officers. Maybe some day one of them will even be Secretary of State, just like Colin Powell.

[buddy22600]

7. If you are an enlisted soldier

you must have at least 5 years and 1 day in your sentence to go to the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. That is unless you are a parolee (who has had their parole revoked) from a regional confinement facility.

If you are an officer, you go to Ft. Leavenworth regardless of how much time you have.

Eaither way, regional confinement facility or Ft. Leavenworth, it is no laughing matter.

PS. do not get me started on the shit hole that has been condemned by the Army Corps of Engineers for over 20 years.

[Gothmog]

6. Reprimand means no jail

Remember, military justice is to justice what military music is to music.

This is a slap on the wrist. The only who received reprimands so far are the supervisors and the general.

The soldiers who took the pictures may be court martialed and may face some jail time. According to the attorney for one of these defendants, the defense will be that they were falling orders. The CIA and the contractors in charge of the interrogation are alleged to have told these defendants to commit this torture in order to extract information. If this is the case, the individual soldiers may still face jail time but others may be prosecuted.

[Warren Stuart]

8. For one thing they are innocent until proven guilty

Your basic rights do not change when you join the military.

The military has two types of procedures that can be followed, non-judicial and judicial.

The non-judicial type commonly called Article 15, is the military's equivalent of a misdemeanor. This is offered to the servicemember in lieu of a Court Martial, which is a judicial proceeding and is roughly equivalent to a felony.

Non-judicial proceedings do not follow the servicemember when he/she leaves the military. During this proceeding the charges are explained to the servicemember, he/she can then decide whether or not to continue or go on to a Court Martial. If he/she agrees the this person will sign the form, and the Commander will determine punishment. This is not a proceeding that exists in the civilian world, hence the term non-judicial.

For various types of infractions the punishment can vary and can include loss of rank, pay or liberty. The punishment can be suspended, that is not imposed if the servicemember maintains good behavior.



A reprimand is a piece of paper put into your personal record (201 File) and becommes utterly useless when you leave the service.

[tom_paine]

10. Once the cameras turn off: promotion

These people will be getting high positions in the Nationalized Neighborhood Watch during the reign of Emperor Jeb.

Unless we stop them.

[soundfury]

12. Shame the bastards

This administration has been able to stonewall everything, we should not let go of this.

[tom_paine]

13. How do you shame the shameless, conscienceless?

You think people tried to shame the Nazis and Soviets when they were where the Busheviks are now?

I'm guessing it would work as well as trying to "shame" the Imperial Family.

Monsters have no shame, no conscience. Keep that in mind when they come for us.

[BringEmOn]

11. Future talk show hosts.

They'll be "heroes" and darlings of the right wing, like Ollie North...books, movies. Also, lucrative job opportunities with Blackwater and other mercenaries.

[tom_paine]

15. Bingo! We have a winner.

n/t

[DoveTurnedHawk]

14. The Latter

And yes, it's fucking outrageous.

:grr:

DTH