Soldiers released in Iraq after refusing orders

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The grandfather of an Army Reserve soldier whose platoon refused to deliver supplies in Iraq said his grandson told him yesterday that he and other soldiers had been detained by military authorities but were later released.

Meanwhile, military officials said commanders reassigned five members of the unit.

Some in the platoon had told relatives they refused to deliver tainted helicopter fuel in poorly maintained vehicles by traveling a dangerous supply route without an armed escort.

The Army is investigating up to 19 members of the platoon, which is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. A criminal inquiry was expected.

Harold Casey said his grandson, Justin Rogers, 22, called him yesterday to tell him that he and other soldiers were put under armed guard after refusing to deliver the supplies.

“The fuel was contaminated for the helicopters,” Mr. Casey said his grandson told him. “It would have caused them to crash…. They saved lives.”

Maj. Richard W. Spiegel, spokesman for the 13th Corps Support Command & Logistic Support Area Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, denied that the soldiers were detained. He said the soldiers were simply told to remain in the unit’s area until an investigating officer contacted them.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, said he filed a congressional inquiry Friday and was told by a military liaison that the soldiers were detained but not arrested. The unit has at least two members from Mississippi.

Mr. Casey, in a telephone interview from his Louisville home, said his grandson told him that some of the soldiers already had been reduced in rank.

He said Mr. Rogers’ rank had been reduced from sergeant to specialist and that he and another soldier, Sgt. Larry McCook of Jackson, Miss., were being transferred to the Alabama-based 2101st Transportation Company.

Sgt. McCook’s wife, Patricia McCook, said her husband called Friday and said the soldiers had been released after they were detained. She told the Clarion Ledger of Jackson that her husband said five members were reassigned because “they said these five really instigated the entire process.”

Amber McClenny phoned her mother, Teresa Hill, in Dothan, Ala., on Thursday, saying she had been detained by military authorities. Mrs. Hill said she was called by an Army representative, Spc. Tammy Reese, in Iraq.

“She told me [Amber] was being held in a tent with armed guards,” said Mrs. Hill, who spoke with her daughter yesterday afternoon after her release. Her daughter said they are facing punishment ranging from a reprimand to a charge of mutiny.

A coalition spokesman in Baghdad said “a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline.”

On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy’s departure a few hours later, a military statement said. The mission was carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said.