Military Resistance 10G11: the Miners
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7.12.12
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Military Resistance 10G11
“Miners Used Homemade Rockets And Slingshots Against Police, Barricading A Highway And A Rail Line In The Northern Town Of Cinera On June 19”
“Some 80 Officers Firing Rubber Bullets Were Repelled By Hundreds Of Miners And Forced To Retreat”
“Spanish Coal Miners Converged On Madrid Tuesday For Protest Rallies After Walking Nearly Three Weeks Under A Blazing Sun From The Pits Where They Eke Out A Living”
“People Along The Way Gave Them Food, Water, Shelter And Support”
Miners march along a street after walking for more than 20 days from the northern Asturias and Leon regions, on their way to Puerta del Sol, Madrid's most emblematic square, on the evening of July 10, 2012. Andrea Comas / Reuters
Emilio Morenatti / AP [Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] 7/10/2012 By DANIEL WOOLLS, Associated Press MADRID — Spanish coal miners angered by huge cuts in government subsidies for their industry converged on Madrid Tuesday for protest rallies after walking nearly three weeks under a blazing sun from the pits where they eke out a living. Two columns of miners met up in a Madrid suburb in the evening. They marched downtown at night, trudging along major avenues to the Puerta del Sol, the Spanish capital's most emblematic square, where young demonstrators opposed to austerity cuts prompted by the financial crisis in Spain and Europe camped out last year in defiance of a government ban. The miners, wearing hard hats with lights turned on like they use them to see underground, were joined by thousands of sympathizers in the city. Some lit flares above highway overpasses and erected banners comparing the miners' plight to Spain's increasingly pressured working class — hit by higher taxes, new regulations making it cheaper to fire workers and funding cuts for education and national health care. One group of about 160 miners walked all the way from the northern Asturias and Leon regions, as many as 400 kilometers (250 miles) away from Madrid, and about 40 made an almost equally long trek from the northeastern Aragon region. A much bigger rally of miners and their supporters traveling to Madrid aboard hundreds of chartered buses is scheduled for Wednesday. The miners' complaints include a 63 percent cut in subsidies to coal mining companies struggling to maintain a share of the Spanish energy market against gas-fired electrical
plants and renewable energy sources, while fighting to hold their own against cheaper imported coal. Coal miners make an average of €1,200 euros a month, said Conchi Alonso, a spokeswoman for the UGT union. She described the industry as dwindling to almost nothing. Today there are 8,000-9,000 coal miners in Spain, whereas 20 years ago there were nearly 30,000 in Asturias alone. Besides cuts in subsidies to the coal companies, Spain's conservative government that took power in December has enacted austerity-minded cuts in funding for miners to learn new professions and for school grants for their children in the generally poor mining regions where they live. Alonso said the trek from up north since June 22 — she has been with the miners the whole time — has been unforgettable, thanks to the solidarity of people along the way who gave them food, water, shelter and support. "It has been an utterly unique experience," she said. "To see how people help each other, it has been moving." Before setting out for Madrid, miners clashed with Spanish police in Leon. Miners used homemade rockets and slingshots against police, barricading a highway and a rail line in the northern town of Cinera on June 19. At one point, some 80 officers firing rubber bullets were repelled by hundreds of miners and forced to retreat.
MORE:
“The Cheers Were Deafening”
“The Assembled Crowd Reached Out To Touch Them, Shake Their Hands”
"People Were Waiting For Someone To Stand Up Against The Politicians"
[Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] July 11, 2012 By Tim Friend, Aljazeera [Excerpts] At first it seemed like a throwback to an earlier era: miners trudging along the Spanish highway, protesting the death of their industry. In the age of financial services, the internet and ever-changing technology, the miners have become an almost forgotten species in Europe.
Yet, by the time they reached Madrid at the end of a 400km march from their mines in the north, their plight had captured the public imagination. In Spain, the public also feels under threat from job cuts and further austerity. In the early hours of Wednesday, the miners strode into Madrid's Puerta del Sol, their pit lamps blazing on their safety helmets. The assembled crowd reached out to touch them, shake their hands. The cheers were deafening. The miners did not expect this welcome, but their action was having a liberating effect on Spaniards uncertain how to respond to the economic crisis and its impact on their lives. "People were waiting for someone to stand up against the politicians," said one miner, as the crowd pressed in on him, yelling their support. The miners, men and women, already had their place in Spain's history. They dared to stand up to the last dictator, General Francisco Franco, when the punishment for industrial action could be severe. No wonder, then, that the atmosphere on their arrival was charged with emotion. Will they succeed in hanging on to their subsidies while they attempt to make their industry viable? The politicians will decide, and the real decisions are not being made in Madrid. The European Commission and Central Bank are shouting the orders. And although there are plenty of independent voices saying the mines should be given a chance, it would take a brave Spanish politician to follow such a route in the present economic crisis. A few hours after the elation of the miners' arrival in the capital, the prime minister announced more austerity measures. If the miners lose, their communities will be devastated.
MORE:
“Thousands Of Spanish Miners And Their Supporters Flooded The Streets Of Madrid In A Second Day Of Mass Protests”
“The Crowd Chanted, ‘Miners, Stick It Out, Spain Is Rising Up!’”
The shirt at the right reads: "I'd rather bail out a miner than a banker".
Sympathizers welcome Spanish coal miners during a march through Madrid on July 10, 2012. (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget)
7.11.12 “TV-Novosti”, Thousands of Spanish miners and their supporters flooded the streets of Madrid in a second day of mass protests, just hours after the country’s leader announced a nationwide tax hike. Workers marched up the city’s main avenue, wearing hardhats and carrying walking sticks, to protest outside the Industry Ministry. The crowd chanted, “Miners, stick it out, Spain is rising up!” as they made their way toward Madrid’s central square on Tuesday. "We didn't expect such a big welcome. The fact that people are coming into the street and mobilizing is a good sign,” Roberto Quintas, a miner of 22 years, told AFP. Workers set off fireworks, generating large puffs of smoke along the streets. The miners were joined by relatives and supporters, also angry at cuts made in response to the economic crisis. Spain’s working class has been hit with increased pressure in recent months, faced with higher taxes and new regulations, which make it cheaper to fire employees. The country has also seen recent funding cuts to education and national healthcare.
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AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Foreign Occupation “Servicemember” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan: Nationality Not Announced
July 11, 2012 Reuters A foreign servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today.
Tampa Soldier Dies In Afghanistan Attack That Claimed 6
Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo “Ricky” Seija died Sunday in Afghanistan. July 11, 2012 By Marlene Sokol and Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writers TAMPA — It was 6:15 Monday morning and Ignacia Seija was getting ready for her job as an airport custodian. Her two dogs started barking. Her husband saw two men in military uniforms approaching their West Tampa home. "When I saw those two men, I knew it wasn't anything good," Ignacia Seija said in Spanish. "I knew my son had died."
Her son, Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija, 31, was killed Sunday in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. It was the same attack, a family member said, that had killed Army Sgt. Clarence Williams III, 23, of Brooksville and four other Americans. They were riding in an armored vehicle in Wardak province, just south of Kabul, when an improvised explosive device went off. The knock on the door of the West Tampa home was the second visit military officers had made early Monday to deliver grim news. At 5 a.m., officers told the Williams family that their son, a 2008 Hernando High grad who hoped to someday become a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, had died in the attack. Williams and Seija became the 27th and 28th Tampa Bay area service members to have died in Afghanistan. "I don't understand it," Ignacia Seija said Tuesday. "Why? Why? He was my baby." A staff sergeant in the 978th military police company, Seija was the youngest of three sons of Ignacia and her husband, also named Ricardo. The parents emigrated from Colombia, and the sons spent their childhoods in Chicago. As children, the three would wrestle together, Ignacia Seija said. Ricardo became a high school wrestler. The parents brought him to Tampa in the late 1990s, where he enrolled in Leto High School. He was quiet, but well-liked. "The girls used to all chase him," his mother said. He wasn't a great student, she said, but wasn't a bad one, either. "He never got in trouble. He was respectful of everyone. He was very disciplined," Ignacia Seija said. And Ricardo wanted to join the Army as soon as he graduated. "It was his emotion," she said. "It was something he felt in his heart. He loved his country." When he joined, mother and son had the first of many conversations in which she would tell him to be careful. The Army sent him to Korea, Germany and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, he met his first wife, Sgt. Jill Taylor. He made a positive impression on his father-in-law, a tugboat captain from Bay St. Louis, Miss.
"I got the impression that he liked the toughness of his duty," said the father-in-law, Jim Taylor. "He was really enthusiastic about moving up in the ranks." He described Seija as a quiet man who did his job and never complained. Seija married Jill Taylor in 2003 and had a son — Little Ricky, Ignacia Seija calls him. Seija and Taylor divorced in 2006. The 8-year-old boy lives in Missouri with his mother and grandmother, Jim Taylor said. Seija recently remarried, said Ignacia Seija, who is a custodian at Tampa International Airport. He deployed to Afghanistan in March. Taylor reached out to his ex-son-in-law recently and asked him to come home to be with Little Ricky, who had been getting in trouble in school. "He applied for a hardship leave and was supposed to be home in a month," Taylor said. "It's a tragedy all the way around. At the very time when his son needed him the most, he was killed." The staff sergeant and his mother would talk on the phone about once a week. He would ask about his older brothers in Chicago. "He couldn't say anything about his work," she said, and that frustrated her. "It was like having your hands tied by your sides." Be careful, she kept reminding him. Don't trust anybody. Not even little children. Services will be held in Tampa, but details have not been announced. Notice went out to Little Ricky in Missouri as well. "The Army came to the house early Monday morning and told him his dad died," Jim Taylor said. "They said he was a hero and he was no longer here, and that he was up in the sky."
Memorial Held For Marine Killed In Afghanistan
Jul 06, 2012 By Jessica Oh, WLKY BROWNSTOWN, Ind. A Marine was remembered by his community Friday. Lance Cpl. Hunter Hogan, 21, was killed during combat overseas.
Dozens in Brownstown have come out to honor the fallen Marine -- someone who was much-loved in the community and someone who died fighting for his country. Hogan was one of the latest Marines killed in the line of duty, but it was hard for the Brownstown community to believe because many of them remembered Hogan as a bright, young neighborhood kid. "It's just amazing. They grow up with you and all of a sudden, one day, they're gone," said Hogan's friend, Tony Holman. Hogan died June 23. He was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed during a combat operation. Hogan's best friend was on the same mission. To remember the Marine, hundreds watched as a parade was held for Hogan, followed by a memorial service. "Being 21 years old, he had his whole life ahead of him but chose to fight for us. And I mean, how much more respect could you give someone, you know?" said Kaylinn Keirn, who attended the service. The memorial service was held simultaneously with Hogan's funeral in Nebraska, where his father lives. With heavy hearts, the community remembered everything Hogan accomplished. The flag was at half-staff to honor Hogan on Friday. He was a 2009 graduate of Brownstown Central High School, and he left behind a wife, whom he married about a year ago. Hogan was killed during combat Operation Enduring Freedom. He has been laid to rest in St. Joseph's Cemetary in York, Neb.
Pa. Soldier From York County Killed In Afghanistan
July 10, 2012 AP SPRING GROVE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania soldier from York County has been killed in Afghanistan. A family member confirmed Tuesday that Cameron Stambaugh of Spring Grove, an Army private first class and a military police officer, died in a bombing on Sunday.
The soldier's grandfather, Quentin Stambaugh, says his 20-year-old grandson enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school in 2010 and had been in Afghanistan for only about three months. He was wounded by shrapnel only three weeks after he arrived, but his grandfather says he had recovered and was back on duty. NATO officials say six Americans were killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday and a seventh American died that day in a separate attack in southern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Theater: US Forces Suffered 211 Combat Casualties In The Two Weeks Ending July 10 Raising The Total To 35,007.
Jul 10, 2012 www.michaelmunk.com [Excerpts] US military occupation forces in Afghanistan under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered 211 casualties in the two weeks ending July 10, as the official casualty total for the Iraq and AfPak wars rose to 114,475. AFGHANISTAN THEATER: US forces suffered 211 combat casualties in the two weeks ending July 10 raising the total to 35,007. This includes 18,382 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 16,625 dead or medically evacuated (as of May 7) from what it calls "nonhostile" causes. US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting regularly only the total killed (6,519: 4,489 in Iraq, 2030 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (49,008: 32,227 in Iraq, 16,781 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 58,948 (42,752 in Iraq, 16,196 in AfPak as of May 7) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medevac'd out of theater, even though the 6,505 total dead include 1,391 (962 in Iraq, 429 in Afghanistan) who died from those same "non hostile" causes, including 314 suicides (as of May 7) and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.
POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR
Shipments To Troops In Afghanistan Via Pakistan Not Happening:
“Not A Single Fuel Truck Has Left Either Of The Two Main Ports In Karachi”
Jul 11, 2012 By Rebecca Santana - The Associated Press [Excerpts] ISLAMABAD — Bureaucratic delays have largely held up shipments to troops in Afghanistan via its eastern neighbor, Pakistani officials said Wednesday, a week after the country reopened U.S. and NATO supply lines. So far, only a handful of supply trucks have crossed the border, which Pakistan closed to the convoys last November after American airstrikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border troops. Islamabad agreed to reopen the supply routes on July 3, after months of negotiations and a U.S. apology over the incident. Two trucks carrying supplies to U.S. and NATO troops passed through the Chaman border crossing in the southern province of Baluchistan last Thursday, but a Pakistani customs official said that no other trucks have crossed since then. Four trucks from the port city of Karachi arrived at the border Wednesday and are expected to cross on Thursday, the official added. Chaman is one of two border crossings used to transport supplies. Trucks have yet to pass at Torkham, the second crossing, a regional official in northern Pakistan said. Since official resumption of the supply route, not a single fuel truck has left either of the two main ports in Karachi, said Israr Shinwari, president of the All Pakistan Tankers Association. Before the closure, about 150 to 200 trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed the border daily. Security also seemed to play a role in the delay. A representative of a company that has 100 containers waiting for shipment in a warehouse in Karachi, Mansoor Ahmad, said his firm was worried about security given recent anti-U.S. protests in Pakistan. On Monday thousands of people rallied in Islamabad against the government’s decision to reopen the supply lines. Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is high, in part due to the continued use of American drones to strike militant targets in tribal areas.
More protests are scheduled for the coming days.
MILITARY NEWS
Homeland Security Filth Continue Tormenting Troops, Defying Congress And Breaking Law:
Official Liar Denies It, But The Proof Is Clear:
“‘You Are Already In Violation Of The Law,’ Said Cravaack, A Retired Navy Reserve Captain”
“Just Last Week, I Spoke To A Service Member Who Was Asked To Strip Down To Go Through Security, To Remove Boots And His Service Blouse”
Jul 11, 2012 By Rick Maze - Staff writer; Army Times Expedited airport screening for service members and their families was ordered by Congress last year, but it won’t happen at every airport until the end of 2013 because of problems verifying that travelers are really military members. Testifying July 11 before the House Homeland Security Committee, the assistant administrator for security operations for the Transportation Security Administration said there are relaxed procedures at every airport in the U.S. “to reduce exposure to pat downs” and other invasive procedures that apply to other travelers.
These relaxed procedures include waiving the requirement for service members to remove their shoes, jackets or belts and to remove laptops from carry-on bags, said the TSA official, Chris McLaughlin. The plans are not what Congress expected. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., said the Risk-based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act, signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 3, made no mention of the military’s Common Access Card and required, within 180 days of enactment, expedited screening for service members traveling in uniform on orders — which has not yet happened. “The intent of the law has not been implemented, and we took Iraq in less time,” Cravaack said. “Our service members deserve better.” Only Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have expedited screening for service members, where active and reserve military members are allowed to use lines reserved for people who have been pre-screened by TSA. “You are already in violation of the law,” said Cravaack, a retired Navy Reserve captain. “This law is not optional. Just last week, I spoke to a service member who was asked to strip down to go through security, to remove boots and his service blouse, and another service member a few weeks before that.”
“Military Justice Is A Joke”
“I Ask, What Will It Take To Bring Some Kind Of Uniformity To The Punishments Given Under The UCMJ?”
I’d like to comment on the article “Mockery of justice: Soldiers voice outrage over light sentence in bigamy case” [Army Times July 2]. Retired Staff Sgt. John Mackes stated that military justice is a joke. I’d agree. In a letter (“2 officers, 2 punishments”) appearing in the same issue, former Sgt. 1st Class Traviss R. Wood asked, “What will it take to bring some kind of uniformity to the punishments given under the Uniform Code of Military Justice?”
I’m not a lawyer and have no desire to ever become one. However, I served at the Fort Lewis Regional Corrections Facility as a mental health specialist from 2005 to 2007 and had the opportunity to see soldiers on the flip side of UCMJ punishment. While reviewing mental health charts one day, I noticed identical sentences for two different inmates: “12 months’ confinement, dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction in rank to E-1.” From the sentence, you might assume that the confining offenses would be similar. Nothing could be further from the truth. The offenses for the first inmate included three counts of indecent acts and liberties with a child under the age of 12; three counts of carnal knowledge; and multiple counts of possession of child pornography. The offense for the second inmate: desertion. I understand desertion is dishonorable, but there is nothing anyone can say to justify or rationalize the logic behind systems where results like these are possible. Within any piece of writing — especially those applied to law, crime and punishment — there are concepts and frameworks which leave themselves vulnerable to interpretation (that is the problem). However, I will reiterate, military justice is a joke, and I ask, what will it take to bring some kind of uniformity to the punishments given under the UCMJ? 1st Lt. Justin C. Cox Fort Bragg, N.C.
Troops Invited:
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“Two More Pilots Have Reportedly Experienced Oxygen
Problems In The F-22 Raptor, The World’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet”
“So Far The Air Force Has Said There Have Been 36 Episodes”
Air Force Bullshit Excuse About Vest Constriction Turns Out To Be Bullshit:
“The Air Force Ordered Pilots To Fly Without The Vest” Before Latest Oxygen Failures
July 10, 2012 By ELISABETH BUMILLER, New York Times [Excerpts] WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers demanded an explanation from the Air Force on Tuesday for why two more pilots have reportedly experienced oxygen problems in the F22 Raptor, the world’s most expensive fighter jet. “This seems to be a never-ending saga,” Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, told reporters in a joint conference call with Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois. The lawmakers were reacting to two recent episodes, the latest in a series over the last 18 months calling the plane’s safety into question. On July 6 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, an F-22 pilot declared an in-flight emergency because he was experiencing symptoms of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. On June 26 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, another F-22 pilot pulled his emergency oxygen handle during landing because of what the Air Force characterized as “discomfort” from intermittent air flow into his mask during flight. In addition, Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger said they were concerned about what happened on May 31 at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where a pilot hit the
runway without his landing gear down. They said that it was premature to assume that hypoxia was the cause, but that the episode should be investigated. “I have concerns about the Air Force’s ability to get to the bottom of this,” Mr. Warner said. “My patience is running thin.” In a letter on Tuesday to Michael B. Donley, the Air Force secretary, Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger asked for a full accounting of all the occurrences of hypoxia-like symptoms in Raptor pilots since the plane went into service in 2005. So far the Air Force has said there have been 36 episodes, with 21 of those unexplained — over all a far greater number per flight hour than in other types of aircraft in its fleet. (The two most recent occurrences and the episode at Tyndall are not included in the 36.) Air Force officials have been struggling to understand for more than a year why some pilots become dizzy or disoriented during F-22 flights or immediately afterward. Last month they appeared to have made a breakthrough: investigators said they believed that a pressure vest was restricting pilots’ breathing and that narrow oxygen hoses were either leaking or not delivering enough air. The Air Force ordered pilots to fly without the vest. But the two pilots who experienced the recent hypoxia symptoms at Langley and Hickam were not wearing vests. Lt. Col. Pat Ryder, an Air Force spokesman, said on Tuesday that after the Air Force reviews the letter from Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger, “an appropriate and timely response will be provided.”
“The Three-Star General In Charge Of The Missile Defense Agency Would Go Ballistic On Subordinates, Bullying And Harassing Them”
His Threats To Strangle Staff Members Documented:
“It Was ‘Management By Blowtorch And Pliers,’ The Witness Said”
“He Played Up To Those Senior To Him While Abusing His Subordinates”
Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly GETTY IMAGES A senior official used the term “The Beaten Wife Syndrome” to describe the situation wherein O’Reilly would “berate you, make you feel like you’re the dirt beneath his feet,” then pay a compliment to rebuild the employee, and later repeat the cycle. 7.16.12 By Joe Gould, Army Times [Excerpts] The three-star general in charge of the Missile Defense Agency would go ballistic on subordinates, bullying and harassing them, and he mismanaged his office, according to a recent Defense Department report. Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent with standards of senior Army leaders” and a violation of military regulations, according to an investigation and report by the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office. O’Reilly, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, has worked in missile defense for more than a decade, including two years as the agency’s deputy director. Since November 2008, O’Reilly has headed the organization, which received $8.4 billion in fiscal 2012 and is responsible for developing, testing and fielding layered defenses against ballistic missiles. O’Reilly, according to the 21-page report, yelled at subordinates in public and private, demeaned and belittled employees, and behaved so poorly that six employees quit, the report states. Describing one of the many incidents in the report, a senior official testified O’Reilly told him over the phone, “If I could get my hands through the phone right now, I’d choke your f---ing throat.”
The report found that O’Reilly’s leader-ship style was “inconsistent” with Defense Department 5500.7-R, the “Joint Ethics Regulation,” and Army Regulation 600-100, “Army Leadership,” saying he failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect. The report, obtained and first reported by Foreign Policy’s blog “The Cable,” recommends Army Secretary John McHugh consider “appropriate corrective action.” According to Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency, O’Reilly remains the director of the agency, and his status is unchanged. George Wright, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said in an email that McHugh had yet to make a decision in the case. O’Reilly, in the report, attributed the negative perceptions to a series of unpopular decisions he had made. He said closures led much of his staff to move involuntarily or resign. He also said he sought to eliminate 1,300 contractor positions to cut costs, and he canceled several major projects. Investigators interviewed 37 witnesses, the majority of whom testified O’Reilly was brilliant, the report said, and by several accounts performed well in a challenging job. However, his interpersonal skills were by many accounts sharp-edged and caustic. One witness said of him, “As leader, as a director, whatever, he’s the worst.” He was described by a witness as “conde-scending, sarcastic, abusive.” It was “management by blowtorch and piers,” the witness said. Another witness described his personality as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” saying he played up to those senior to him while abusing his subordinates. A senior official used the term “The Beaten Wife Syndrome” to describe the situation wherein O’Reilly would “berate you, make you feel like you’re the dirt beneath his feet,” then pay a compliment to rebuild the employee, and later repeat the cycle. In one incident, O’Reilly berated one of his employees in a hotel corridor for five to 10 minutes because the person had arranged lodging at a hotel which had the word “resort” in its name. O’Reilly believed it would look bad if it became public that members of the agency had stayed at a resort. He demanded the employee admit to the mistake, shouting, “‘You f---ed up, you tell me you f---ed, you admit you f---ed up.” The witness does not use profanity, according to testimony but was forced to state, “I f--ed up.” By the employee’s account, O’Reilly never apologized for the incident but later thanked the employee with a “director’s coin.” Witnesses also described O’Reilly as loudly berating senior staff members in public and private, attacking them on a personal rather than professional level. O’Reilly is said to have berated an Army colonel for a typographical error on a chart.
He “just shredded the fellow in front of this audience of about 200 folks,” said one witness, adding O’Reilly “denigrated employees, saying, ‘You’re doing the country a disservice. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re unethical.’” One senior official noted four instances in 2009 in which O’Reilly’s behavior had been abusive. O’Reilly “proceeded to curse me out and angrily, irrationally tell me how inept I was and that he could ‘f---ing choke me.’” Other times, the witness said O’Reilly called him a “dumb f---” and in separate senior staff meetings, an “ignorant ass” and a “just a moron who he’d gladly choke.”
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
CLASS WAR REPORTS
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7.12.12
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Military Resistance 10G11
“Miners Used Homemade Rockets And Slingshots Against Police, Barricading A Highway And A Rail Line In The Northern Town Of Cinera On June 19”
“Some 80 Officers Firing Rubber Bullets Were Repelled By Hundreds Of Miners And Forced To Retreat”
“Spanish Coal Miners Converged On Madrid Tuesday For Protest Rallies After Walking Nearly Three Weeks Under A Blazing Sun From The Pits Where They Eke Out A Living”
“People Along The Way Gave Them Food, Water, Shelter And Support”
Miners march along a street after walking for more than 20 days from the northern Asturias and Leon regions, on their way to Puerta del Sol, Madrid's most emblematic square, on the evening of July 10, 2012. Andrea Comas / Reuters
Emilio Morenatti / AP [Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] 7/10/2012 By DANIEL WOOLLS, Associated Press MADRID — Spanish coal miners angered by huge cuts in government subsidies for their industry converged on Madrid Tuesday for protest rallies after walking nearly three weeks under a blazing sun from the pits where they eke out a living. Two columns of miners met up in a Madrid suburb in the evening. They marched downtown at night, trudging along major avenues to the Puerta del Sol, the Spanish capital's most emblematic square, where young demonstrators opposed to austerity cuts prompted by the financial crisis in Spain and Europe camped out last year in defiance of a government ban. The miners, wearing hard hats with lights turned on like they use them to see underground, were joined by thousands of sympathizers in the city. Some lit flares above highway overpasses and erected banners comparing the miners' plight to Spain's increasingly pressured working class — hit by higher taxes, new regulations making it cheaper to fire workers and funding cuts for education and national health care. One group of about 160 miners walked all the way from the northern Asturias and Leon regions, as many as 400 kilometers (250 miles) away from Madrid, and about 40 made an almost equally long trek from the northeastern Aragon region. A much bigger rally of miners and their supporters traveling to Madrid aboard hundreds of chartered buses is scheduled for Wednesday. The miners' complaints include a 63 percent cut in subsidies to coal mining companies struggling to maintain a share of the Spanish energy market against gas-fired electrical
plants and renewable energy sources, while fighting to hold their own against cheaper imported coal. Coal miners make an average of €1,200 euros a month, said Conchi Alonso, a spokeswoman for the UGT union. She described the industry as dwindling to almost nothing. Today there are 8,000-9,000 coal miners in Spain, whereas 20 years ago there were nearly 30,000 in Asturias alone. Besides cuts in subsidies to the coal companies, Spain's conservative government that took power in December has enacted austerity-minded cuts in funding for miners to learn new professions and for school grants for their children in the generally poor mining regions where they live. Alonso said the trek from up north since June 22 — she has been with the miners the whole time — has been unforgettable, thanks to the solidarity of people along the way who gave them food, water, shelter and support. "It has been an utterly unique experience," she said. "To see how people help each other, it has been moving." Before setting out for Madrid, miners clashed with Spanish police in Leon. Miners used homemade rockets and slingshots against police, barricading a highway and a rail line in the northern town of Cinera on June 19. At one point, some 80 officers firing rubber bullets were repelled by hundreds of miners and forced to retreat.
MORE:
“The Cheers Were Deafening”
“The Assembled Crowd Reached Out To Touch Them, Shake Their Hands”
"People Were Waiting For Someone To Stand Up Against The Politicians"
[Thanks to Alan Stolzer, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] July 11, 2012 By Tim Friend, Aljazeera [Excerpts] At first it seemed like a throwback to an earlier era: miners trudging along the Spanish highway, protesting the death of their industry. In the age of financial services, the internet and ever-changing technology, the miners have become an almost forgotten species in Europe.
Yet, by the time they reached Madrid at the end of a 400km march from their mines in the north, their plight had captured the public imagination. In Spain, the public also feels under threat from job cuts and further austerity. In the early hours of Wednesday, the miners strode into Madrid's Puerta del Sol, their pit lamps blazing on their safety helmets. The assembled crowd reached out to touch them, shake their hands. The cheers were deafening. The miners did not expect this welcome, but their action was having a liberating effect on Spaniards uncertain how to respond to the economic crisis and its impact on their lives. "People were waiting for someone to stand up against the politicians," said one miner, as the crowd pressed in on him, yelling their support. The miners, men and women, already had their place in Spain's history. They dared to stand up to the last dictator, General Francisco Franco, when the punishment for industrial action could be severe. No wonder, then, that the atmosphere on their arrival was charged with emotion. Will they succeed in hanging on to their subsidies while they attempt to make their industry viable? The politicians will decide, and the real decisions are not being made in Madrid. The European Commission and Central Bank are shouting the orders. And although there are plenty of independent voices saying the mines should be given a chance, it would take a brave Spanish politician to follow such a route in the present economic crisis. A few hours after the elation of the miners' arrival in the capital, the prime minister announced more austerity measures. If the miners lose, their communities will be devastated.
MORE:
“Thousands Of Spanish Miners And Their Supporters Flooded The Streets Of Madrid In A Second Day Of Mass Protests”
“The Crowd Chanted, ‘Miners, Stick It Out, Spain Is Rising Up!’”
The shirt at the right reads: "I'd rather bail out a miner than a banker".
Sympathizers welcome Spanish coal miners during a march through Madrid on July 10, 2012. (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget)
7.11.12 “TV-Novosti”, Thousands of Spanish miners and their supporters flooded the streets of Madrid in a second day of mass protests, just hours after the country’s leader announced a nationwide tax hike. Workers marched up the city’s main avenue, wearing hardhats and carrying walking sticks, to protest outside the Industry Ministry. The crowd chanted, “Miners, stick it out, Spain is rising up!” as they made their way toward Madrid’s central square on Tuesday. "We didn't expect such a big welcome. The fact that people are coming into the street and mobilizing is a good sign,” Roberto Quintas, a miner of 22 years, told AFP. Workers set off fireworks, generating large puffs of smoke along the streets. The miners were joined by relatives and supporters, also angry at cuts made in response to the economic crisis. Spain’s working class has been hit with increased pressure in recent months, faced with higher taxes and new regulations, which make it cheaper to fire employees. The country has also seen recent funding cuts to education and national healthcare.
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AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Foreign Occupation “Servicemember” Killed Somewhere Or Other In Afghanistan: Nationality Not Announced
July 11, 2012 Reuters A foreign servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today.
Tampa Soldier Dies In Afghanistan Attack That Claimed 6
Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo “Ricky” Seija died Sunday in Afghanistan. July 11, 2012 By Marlene Sokol and Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writers TAMPA — It was 6:15 Monday morning and Ignacia Seija was getting ready for her job as an airport custodian. Her two dogs started barking. Her husband saw two men in military uniforms approaching their West Tampa home. "When I saw those two men, I knew it wasn't anything good," Ignacia Seija said in Spanish. "I knew my son had died."
Her son, Army Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija, 31, was killed Sunday in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. It was the same attack, a family member said, that had killed Army Sgt. Clarence Williams III, 23, of Brooksville and four other Americans. They were riding in an armored vehicle in Wardak province, just south of Kabul, when an improvised explosive device went off. The knock on the door of the West Tampa home was the second visit military officers had made early Monday to deliver grim news. At 5 a.m., officers told the Williams family that their son, a 2008 Hernando High grad who hoped to someday become a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, had died in the attack. Williams and Seija became the 27th and 28th Tampa Bay area service members to have died in Afghanistan. "I don't understand it," Ignacia Seija said Tuesday. "Why? Why? He was my baby." A staff sergeant in the 978th military police company, Seija was the youngest of three sons of Ignacia and her husband, also named Ricardo. The parents emigrated from Colombia, and the sons spent their childhoods in Chicago. As children, the three would wrestle together, Ignacia Seija said. Ricardo became a high school wrestler. The parents brought him to Tampa in the late 1990s, where he enrolled in Leto High School. He was quiet, but well-liked. "The girls used to all chase him," his mother said. He wasn't a great student, she said, but wasn't a bad one, either. "He never got in trouble. He was respectful of everyone. He was very disciplined," Ignacia Seija said. And Ricardo wanted to join the Army as soon as he graduated. "It was his emotion," she said. "It was something he felt in his heart. He loved his country." When he joined, mother and son had the first of many conversations in which she would tell him to be careful. The Army sent him to Korea, Germany and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, he met his first wife, Sgt. Jill Taylor. He made a positive impression on his father-in-law, a tugboat captain from Bay St. Louis, Miss.
"I got the impression that he liked the toughness of his duty," said the father-in-law, Jim Taylor. "He was really enthusiastic about moving up in the ranks." He described Seija as a quiet man who did his job and never complained. Seija married Jill Taylor in 2003 and had a son — Little Ricky, Ignacia Seija calls him. Seija and Taylor divorced in 2006. The 8-year-old boy lives in Missouri with his mother and grandmother, Jim Taylor said. Seija recently remarried, said Ignacia Seija, who is a custodian at Tampa International Airport. He deployed to Afghanistan in March. Taylor reached out to his ex-son-in-law recently and asked him to come home to be with Little Ricky, who had been getting in trouble in school. "He applied for a hardship leave and was supposed to be home in a month," Taylor said. "It's a tragedy all the way around. At the very time when his son needed him the most, he was killed." The staff sergeant and his mother would talk on the phone about once a week. He would ask about his older brothers in Chicago. "He couldn't say anything about his work," she said, and that frustrated her. "It was like having your hands tied by your sides." Be careful, she kept reminding him. Don't trust anybody. Not even little children. Services will be held in Tampa, but details have not been announced. Notice went out to Little Ricky in Missouri as well. "The Army came to the house early Monday morning and told him his dad died," Jim Taylor said. "They said he was a hero and he was no longer here, and that he was up in the sky."
Memorial Held For Marine Killed In Afghanistan
Jul 06, 2012 By Jessica Oh, WLKY BROWNSTOWN, Ind. A Marine was remembered by his community Friday. Lance Cpl. Hunter Hogan, 21, was killed during combat overseas.
Dozens in Brownstown have come out to honor the fallen Marine -- someone who was much-loved in the community and someone who died fighting for his country. Hogan was one of the latest Marines killed in the line of duty, but it was hard for the Brownstown community to believe because many of them remembered Hogan as a bright, young neighborhood kid. "It's just amazing. They grow up with you and all of a sudden, one day, they're gone," said Hogan's friend, Tony Holman. Hogan died June 23. He was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed during a combat operation. Hogan's best friend was on the same mission. To remember the Marine, hundreds watched as a parade was held for Hogan, followed by a memorial service. "Being 21 years old, he had his whole life ahead of him but chose to fight for us. And I mean, how much more respect could you give someone, you know?" said Kaylinn Keirn, who attended the service. The memorial service was held simultaneously with Hogan's funeral in Nebraska, where his father lives. With heavy hearts, the community remembered everything Hogan accomplished. The flag was at half-staff to honor Hogan on Friday. He was a 2009 graduate of Brownstown Central High School, and he left behind a wife, whom he married about a year ago. Hogan was killed during combat Operation Enduring Freedom. He has been laid to rest in St. Joseph's Cemetary in York, Neb.
Pa. Soldier From York County Killed In Afghanistan
July 10, 2012 AP SPRING GROVE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania soldier from York County has been killed in Afghanistan. A family member confirmed Tuesday that Cameron Stambaugh of Spring Grove, an Army private first class and a military police officer, died in a bombing on Sunday.
The soldier's grandfather, Quentin Stambaugh, says his 20-year-old grandson enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school in 2010 and had been in Afghanistan for only about three months. He was wounded by shrapnel only three weeks after he arrived, but his grandfather says he had recovered and was back on duty. NATO officials say six Americans were killed in a bombing in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday and a seventh American died that day in a separate attack in southern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Theater: US Forces Suffered 211 Combat Casualties In The Two Weeks Ending July 10 Raising The Total To 35,007.
Jul 10, 2012 www.michaelmunk.com [Excerpts] US military occupation forces in Afghanistan under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered 211 casualties in the two weeks ending July 10, as the official casualty total for the Iraq and AfPak wars rose to 114,475. AFGHANISTAN THEATER: US forces suffered 211 combat casualties in the two weeks ending July 10 raising the total to 35,007. This includes 18,382 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 16,625 dead or medically evacuated (as of May 7) from what it calls "nonhostile" causes. US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by reporting regularly only the total killed (6,519: 4,489 in Iraq, 2030 in Afghanistan) but rarely mentioning those wounded in action (49,008: 32,227 in Iraq, 16,781 in Afghanistan). They ignore the 58,948 (42,752 in Iraq, 16,196 in AfPak as of May 7) military casualties injured and ill seriously enough to be medevac'd out of theater, even though the 6,505 total dead include 1,391 (962 in Iraq, 429 in Afghanistan) who died from those same "non hostile" causes, including 314 suicides (as of May 7) and at least 18 in Iraq from faulty KBR electrical work.
POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR
Shipments To Troops In Afghanistan Via Pakistan Not Happening:
“Not A Single Fuel Truck Has Left Either Of The Two Main Ports In Karachi”
Jul 11, 2012 By Rebecca Santana - The Associated Press [Excerpts] ISLAMABAD — Bureaucratic delays have largely held up shipments to troops in Afghanistan via its eastern neighbor, Pakistani officials said Wednesday, a week after the country reopened U.S. and NATO supply lines. So far, only a handful of supply trucks have crossed the border, which Pakistan closed to the convoys last November after American airstrikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border troops. Islamabad agreed to reopen the supply routes on July 3, after months of negotiations and a U.S. apology over the incident. Two trucks carrying supplies to U.S. and NATO troops passed through the Chaman border crossing in the southern province of Baluchistan last Thursday, but a Pakistani customs official said that no other trucks have crossed since then. Four trucks from the port city of Karachi arrived at the border Wednesday and are expected to cross on Thursday, the official added. Chaman is one of two border crossings used to transport supplies. Trucks have yet to pass at Torkham, the second crossing, a regional official in northern Pakistan said. Since official resumption of the supply route, not a single fuel truck has left either of the two main ports in Karachi, said Israr Shinwari, president of the All Pakistan Tankers Association. Before the closure, about 150 to 200 trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed the border daily. Security also seemed to play a role in the delay. A representative of a company that has 100 containers waiting for shipment in a warehouse in Karachi, Mansoor Ahmad, said his firm was worried about security given recent anti-U.S. protests in Pakistan. On Monday thousands of people rallied in Islamabad against the government’s decision to reopen the supply lines. Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is high, in part due to the continued use of American drones to strike militant targets in tribal areas.
More protests are scheduled for the coming days.
MILITARY NEWS
Homeland Security Filth Continue Tormenting Troops, Defying Congress And Breaking Law:
Official Liar Denies It, But The Proof Is Clear:
“‘You Are Already In Violation Of The Law,’ Said Cravaack, A Retired Navy Reserve Captain”
“Just Last Week, I Spoke To A Service Member Who Was Asked To Strip Down To Go Through Security, To Remove Boots And His Service Blouse”
Jul 11, 2012 By Rick Maze - Staff writer; Army Times Expedited airport screening for service members and their families was ordered by Congress last year, but it won’t happen at every airport until the end of 2013 because of problems verifying that travelers are really military members. Testifying July 11 before the House Homeland Security Committee, the assistant administrator for security operations for the Transportation Security Administration said there are relaxed procedures at every airport in the U.S. “to reduce exposure to pat downs” and other invasive procedures that apply to other travelers.
These relaxed procedures include waiving the requirement for service members to remove their shoes, jackets or belts and to remove laptops from carry-on bags, said the TSA official, Chris McLaughlin. The plans are not what Congress expected. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., said the Risk-based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act, signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 3, made no mention of the military’s Common Access Card and required, within 180 days of enactment, expedited screening for service members traveling in uniform on orders — which has not yet happened. “The intent of the law has not been implemented, and we took Iraq in less time,” Cravaack said. “Our service members deserve better.” Only Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have expedited screening for service members, where active and reserve military members are allowed to use lines reserved for people who have been pre-screened by TSA. “You are already in violation of the law,” said Cravaack, a retired Navy Reserve captain. “This law is not optional. Just last week, I spoke to a service member who was asked to strip down to go through security, to remove boots and his service blouse, and another service member a few weeks before that.”
“Military Justice Is A Joke”
“I Ask, What Will It Take To Bring Some Kind Of Uniformity To The Punishments Given Under The UCMJ?”
I’d like to comment on the article “Mockery of justice: Soldiers voice outrage over light sentence in bigamy case” [Army Times July 2]. Retired Staff Sgt. John Mackes stated that military justice is a joke. I’d agree. In a letter (“2 officers, 2 punishments”) appearing in the same issue, former Sgt. 1st Class Traviss R. Wood asked, “What will it take to bring some kind of uniformity to the punishments given under the Uniform Code of Military Justice?”
I’m not a lawyer and have no desire to ever become one. However, I served at the Fort Lewis Regional Corrections Facility as a mental health specialist from 2005 to 2007 and had the opportunity to see soldiers on the flip side of UCMJ punishment. While reviewing mental health charts one day, I noticed identical sentences for two different inmates: “12 months’ confinement, dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction in rank to E-1.” From the sentence, you might assume that the confining offenses would be similar. Nothing could be further from the truth. The offenses for the first inmate included three counts of indecent acts and liberties with a child under the age of 12; three counts of carnal knowledge; and multiple counts of possession of child pornography. The offense for the second inmate: desertion. I understand desertion is dishonorable, but there is nothing anyone can say to justify or rationalize the logic behind systems where results like these are possible. Within any piece of writing — especially those applied to law, crime and punishment — there are concepts and frameworks which leave themselves vulnerable to interpretation (that is the problem). However, I will reiterate, military justice is a joke, and I ask, what will it take to bring some kind of uniformity to the punishments given under the UCMJ? 1st Lt. Justin C. Cox Fort Bragg, N.C.
Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email [email protected]: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
“Two More Pilots Have Reportedly Experienced Oxygen
Problems In The F-22 Raptor, The World’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet”
“So Far The Air Force Has Said There Have Been 36 Episodes”
Air Force Bullshit Excuse About Vest Constriction Turns Out To Be Bullshit:
“The Air Force Ordered Pilots To Fly Without The Vest” Before Latest Oxygen Failures
July 10, 2012 By ELISABETH BUMILLER, New York Times [Excerpts] WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers demanded an explanation from the Air Force on Tuesday for why two more pilots have reportedly experienced oxygen problems in the F22 Raptor, the world’s most expensive fighter jet. “This seems to be a never-ending saga,” Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, told reporters in a joint conference call with Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois. The lawmakers were reacting to two recent episodes, the latest in a series over the last 18 months calling the plane’s safety into question. On July 6 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, an F-22 pilot declared an in-flight emergency because he was experiencing symptoms of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. On June 26 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, another F-22 pilot pulled his emergency oxygen handle during landing because of what the Air Force characterized as “discomfort” from intermittent air flow into his mask during flight. In addition, Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger said they were concerned about what happened on May 31 at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where a pilot hit the
runway without his landing gear down. They said that it was premature to assume that hypoxia was the cause, but that the episode should be investigated. “I have concerns about the Air Force’s ability to get to the bottom of this,” Mr. Warner said. “My patience is running thin.” In a letter on Tuesday to Michael B. Donley, the Air Force secretary, Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger asked for a full accounting of all the occurrences of hypoxia-like symptoms in Raptor pilots since the plane went into service in 2005. So far the Air Force has said there have been 36 episodes, with 21 of those unexplained — over all a far greater number per flight hour than in other types of aircraft in its fleet. (The two most recent occurrences and the episode at Tyndall are not included in the 36.) Air Force officials have been struggling to understand for more than a year why some pilots become dizzy or disoriented during F-22 flights or immediately afterward. Last month they appeared to have made a breakthrough: investigators said they believed that a pressure vest was restricting pilots’ breathing and that narrow oxygen hoses were either leaking or not delivering enough air. The Air Force ordered pilots to fly without the vest. But the two pilots who experienced the recent hypoxia symptoms at Langley and Hickam were not wearing vests. Lt. Col. Pat Ryder, an Air Force spokesman, said on Tuesday that after the Air Force reviews the letter from Mr. Warner and Mr. Kinzinger, “an appropriate and timely response will be provided.”
“The Three-Star General In Charge Of The Missile Defense Agency Would Go Ballistic On Subordinates, Bullying And Harassing Them”
His Threats To Strangle Staff Members Documented:
“It Was ‘Management By Blowtorch And Pliers,’ The Witness Said”
“He Played Up To Those Senior To Him While Abusing His Subordinates”
Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly GETTY IMAGES A senior official used the term “The Beaten Wife Syndrome” to describe the situation wherein O’Reilly would “berate you, make you feel like you’re the dirt beneath his feet,” then pay a compliment to rebuild the employee, and later repeat the cycle. 7.16.12 By Joe Gould, Army Times [Excerpts] The three-star general in charge of the Missile Defense Agency would go ballistic on subordinates, bullying and harassing them, and he mismanaged his office, according to a recent Defense Department report. Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent with standards of senior Army leaders” and a violation of military regulations, according to an investigation and report by the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office. O’Reilly, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, has worked in missile defense for more than a decade, including two years as the agency’s deputy director. Since November 2008, O’Reilly has headed the organization, which received $8.4 billion in fiscal 2012 and is responsible for developing, testing and fielding layered defenses against ballistic missiles. O’Reilly, according to the 21-page report, yelled at subordinates in public and private, demeaned and belittled employees, and behaved so poorly that six employees quit, the report states. Describing one of the many incidents in the report, a senior official testified O’Reilly told him over the phone, “If I could get my hands through the phone right now, I’d choke your f---ing throat.”
The report found that O’Reilly’s leader-ship style was “inconsistent” with Defense Department 5500.7-R, the “Joint Ethics Regulation,” and Army Regulation 600-100, “Army Leadership,” saying he failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect. The report, obtained and first reported by Foreign Policy’s blog “The Cable,” recommends Army Secretary John McHugh consider “appropriate corrective action.” According to Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency, O’Reilly remains the director of the agency, and his status is unchanged. George Wright, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said in an email that McHugh had yet to make a decision in the case. O’Reilly, in the report, attributed the negative perceptions to a series of unpopular decisions he had made. He said closures led much of his staff to move involuntarily or resign. He also said he sought to eliminate 1,300 contractor positions to cut costs, and he canceled several major projects. Investigators interviewed 37 witnesses, the majority of whom testified O’Reilly was brilliant, the report said, and by several accounts performed well in a challenging job. However, his interpersonal skills were by many accounts sharp-edged and caustic. One witness said of him, “As leader, as a director, whatever, he’s the worst.” He was described by a witness as “conde-scending, sarcastic, abusive.” It was “management by blowtorch and piers,” the witness said. Another witness described his personality as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” saying he played up to those senior to him while abusing his subordinates. A senior official used the term “The Beaten Wife Syndrome” to describe the situation wherein O’Reilly would “berate you, make you feel like you’re the dirt beneath his feet,” then pay a compliment to rebuild the employee, and later repeat the cycle. In one incident, O’Reilly berated one of his employees in a hotel corridor for five to 10 minutes because the person had arranged lodging at a hotel which had the word “resort” in its name. O’Reilly believed it would look bad if it became public that members of the agency had stayed at a resort. He demanded the employee admit to the mistake, shouting, “‘You f---ed up, you tell me you f---ed, you admit you f---ed up.” The witness does not use profanity, according to testimony but was forced to state, “I f--ed up.” By the employee’s account, O’Reilly never apologized for the incident but later thanked the employee with a “director’s coin.” Witnesses also described O’Reilly as loudly berating senior staff members in public and private, attacking them on a personal rather than professional level. O’Reilly is said to have berated an Army colonel for a typographical error on a chart.
He “just shredded the fellow in front of this audience of about 200 folks,” said one witness, adding O’Reilly “denigrated employees, saying, ‘You’re doing the country a disservice. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re unethical.’” One senior official noted four instances in 2009 in which O’Reilly’s behavior had been abusive. O’Reilly “proceeded to curse me out and angrily, irrationally tell me how inept I was and that he could ‘f---ing choke me.’” Other times, the witness said O’Reilly called him a “dumb f---” and in separate senior staff meetings, an “ignorant ass” and a “just a moron who he’d gladly choke.”
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
CLASS WAR REPORTS
Vietnam GI: Reprints Available
Vietnam: They Stopped An Imperial War
Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you can find them here. Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size. Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces. Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5 for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5 pounds to wherever you are. Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project Orders to: Military Resistance Box 126 2576 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the armed forces organizing to resist today’s Imperial wars.
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