11. February 2005 · Comments Off on Army To Investigate Camp Bucca Mud-Wrestling Incident · Categories: Iraq, Military

This from the Kansas City Star:

Lt. Gen. James Helmly, commander of the Army Reserve, ordered the probe after the New York Daily News reported that sergeants at Camp Bucca allegedly lent their rooms to GIs for sex parties and arranged a mud-wrestling bout with scantily clad female military prison guards last year.

The investigation will be conducted under Army Regulation 15-6, the same rules that governed Gen. Antonio Taguba in his probe into the torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, said Maj. Michael Stella, an Army Reserve spokesman.

Helmly’s order removes control of the investigation from Col. Isadore Rommes, commander of the 160th Military Police Battalion, whose soldiers allegedly organized and participated in the scandal.

Although the incident occurred Oct. 30, Rommes did not begin a commander’s inquiry until Jan. 9 – about three months after the 160th MP Battalion had returned to its base in Tallahassee, Fla., and its members were back in civilian life.

This does seem to me like another example of a breakdown in command. Personally, I’ve got no problem with soldiers getting a bitwild when off-duty, but not on base, or anywhere in a country like Iraq where such behaivor is likely to cause general offense.

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