Pages

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers want to know why they pay for leadership failures

UPDATE
JBLM ends 100 soldiers’ lockdown in theft probe
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 11, 2012 7:20:45 EST
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — The Army says about 100 soldiers have been released from lockdown at Joint Base Lewis-McChord but criminal investigators continue their probe into the theft of $600,000 worth of weapons accessories.
read more here

POLL: Lockdown at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Affecting Morale, Soldiers Say
The March Forward! group claims the soldiers in the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment are being subjected to abusive treatment by their chain of command.
By Brent Champaco
January 9, 2012

You might have caught KOMO's story that morale for the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is eroding with every minute of the lockdown that passes.

Patch and other media outlets received a statement from a group of veterans and active-duty service members called March Forward!, over the weekend. (I've posted the statement below)

Obviously, the lockdown - which JBLM leadership enacted after hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment reportedly went missing - has implications that could go beyond standard disciplinary issues.

Service Members and Military Families Speak Out Against the Lockdown

The Fort Lewis, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment is again being subjected to abusive treatment by its chain of command. At this moment, Battalion Commander LTC James Dooghan has Charlie Company on lockdown. This means the soldiers who have done no wrong are being held against their will, not allowed to leave the base or even their barracks 24 hours a day.

Battalion Commander LTC Dooghan has also denied soldiers their right to properly prepare themselves to leave the military by ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program—a mandatory series of workshops that are essential to helping soldiers transition from military to civilian life) and forcing them to participate in training exercises.

Enlisted soldiers in 4/9 Infantry are on lockdown because of the negligence of their officers and senior NCOs, who failed to maintain positive control over their sensitive items. Somehow over $630,000 worth of equipment have gone missing from C co.

Who pays for the failures of this unit’s leadership? The soldiers and their families. Incompetent leaders are punishing the entire company with a lockdown to cover their tracks. Why should service members be denied free time or the right to be with their families when we have committed no wrong? Why should officers exercise such reckless control over our lives?
read more here

2 comments:

  1. Good grief -- don't you know that "MarchForward" is an offshoot of the ANSWER coalition of really kooky leftist groups? These guys don't speak for anybody but themselves. And that Baker character was chaptered out for repeatedly popping hot on his urinalysis, not for PTSD or medical. Please learn to use Google and not be so credulous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Please learn to read a blog before you attack it.

    ReplyDelete

If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.