Soldier punished for exposing sexcapades?

World Net Daily ^ | June 23, 2002 | Jon Dougherty

[Walt Griffith]

 

                  A U.S. Army sergeant stationed in Germany is
                  being punished, instead of the senior enlisted man
                  he caught having an affair with his wife, even
                  though such adulterous behavior is illegal. 

                  Worse, according to sources in Germany, senior
                  officers may even have been ordered by top brass to
                  keep quiet about the incident out of fears that the
                  senior sergeant involved "may have something on
                  them." 

                  Details of the affair involving Sgt. Ken Eiland, his
                  wife Tina, and Eiland's senior non-commissioned
                  officer, SFC Vernon Pollard, were first reported by
                  syndicated columnist David Hackworth on April
                  23. 

                  The affair between Pollard and Mrs. Eiland began
                  last September, after Sgt. Eiland was ordered to
                  Bosnia. Pollard would go to see Tina at her job at a
                  base dental clinic, sources said, then meet with her
                  for sex after hours. 

                  While in Bosnia, Sgt. Eiland learned of the affair
                  through intercepted e-mail traffic. Upon notifying
                  his commanding officer of his situation, Sgt. Eiland
                  was released from duty in Bosnia and allowed to go
                  back to Germany, Hackworth reported. 

                  Upon arrival, Sgt. Eiland was intercepted by Capt.
                  Saul Gonzales, his commanding officer, who
                  ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation
                  before being allowed to meet with his wife – an
                  exam he passed. 

                  When finally allowed to confront his wife, Sgt.
                  Eiland said she admitted to her affair with Pollard.
                  Then, after gaining his composure, Sgt. Eiland went
                  to see Pollard to seek an apology, but the senior
                  non-com repeatedly denied involvement. In
                  exasperation, and after Sgt. Eiland showed Pollard
                  hard evidence of his affair, he asked to see Pollard's
                  wife. 

                  At Pollard's house, Sgt. Eiland told Pollard's wife to
                  open her computer e-mail and read the messages.
                  She complied, Hackworth reported, and began to
                  get angry as she learned of Pollard's dalliances with
                  Tina Eiland and others. 

                  Suddenly, Pollard – who is six-foot-four and "built
                  like a Rams linebacker" – grabbed his wife, pinned
                  her to the floor, and deleted all the messages, then
                  ordered Sgt. Eiland to leave his house. 

                  At that point – still without an apology and upset
                  over Pollard's assault on his wife in his presence –
                  Sgt. Eiland went to his commanders and asked that
                  Pollard be charged with adultery, under the
                  Uniform Code of Military Justice. His commanders,
                  however, ignored his request. 

                  Weeks later, after making some noise, V Corps
                  commander Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace's assistant,
                  Capt. Erin English, was assigned to investigate the
                  incident. Sgt. Eiland told English he had evidence
                  of numerous sexual affairs committed by Pollard
                  with married women, including Military Police Spc.
                  Andrea Johnson – ironically a member of four-star
                  Gen. M.C. Meig's personal security staff. 

                  Even so, Eiland later reported, nothing came of the
                  inquiry. In fact, Sgt. Eiland alleges that English
                  informed Johnson of the inquiry and asked her and
                  others to "keep quiet" about their affairs with
                  Pollard. 

                  Still determined, though, Sgt. Eiland tried one last
                  time to get closure. He went to see his battalion
                  commanding officer, Lt. Col. Robert Shaw. Sgt.
                  Eiland said he told Shaw he believed Johnson was
                  tipped off by Capt. English. 

                  Shaw assured Sgt. Eiland that the incident would
                  be handled. But when Sgt. Eiland went back to
                  Shaw some time later to ask for a copy of the
                  investigation report, Shaw informed Sgt. Eiland:
                  "It's no longer your concern." 

                  Meanwhile, sources told WND that Pollard has yet
                  to be charged with adultery – a career-killing crime
                  in today's military – and remains at his post in a
                  sensitive position. Further, his military career
                  remains intact, though he did receive minor
                  punishment for attacking his wife. 

                  Nevertheless, sources in Germany tell
                  WorldNetDaily that Pollard's punishment was
                  handled in a certain way so that it will remain
                  hidden from future promotion boards. That means,
                  sources said, that Pollard's affairs – for which he
                  has yet to be charged – and his assault will remain
                  "off the books," and hence won't be considered in
                  future promotion decisions. 

                  At the same time, Sgt. Eiland has been "punished"
                  for the incident, say insiders, because he's been
                  ordered to pack his bags and report for duty at
                  another post in Germany – the 32nd Signal
                  Battalion at Darmstadt Military Community, about
                  50 miles north of Heidelberg, where V Corps is
                  headquartered. It is a duty station commonly
                  considered by U.S. personnel in Germany to be the
                  worst of all. 

                  Sources said soldiers familiar with the incident and
                  unhappy with its outcome have "wallpapered"
                  several key areas of the base with copies of
                  Hackworth's initial column. 

                  One source, speaking on condition of anonymity,
                  said he believes Capt. Gonzales – and perhaps
                  others – have been ordered by top brass to keep
                  quiet about the incident. 

                  The source said he e-mailed Gonzales the
                  Hackworth article with the phrase, "Shameful
                  reflection," in the subject line. Gonzales answered
                  back: "Tell me about it; I cannot talk about it but I
                  am not happy about it." The reply was forwarded
                  anonymously to WND. 

                  The newssite attempted to contact Gonzales, but he
                  did not respond to interview requests. V Corps
                  public relations officials also did not respond to
                  requests for an interview. 

                  However, several soldiers stationed in Heidelberg
                  have expressed frustration over the incident – many
                  who have frequent or daily contact with Pollard. 

                  "This is ridiculous," said one specialist. "Pollard is a
                  criminal, and he is administrating over the unit's
                  training schedule and all the related inspections." 

                  "What a dirty rotten thing to do to another
                  noncommissioned officer while he is away in
                  Bosnia, and even in the same unit," said a private. 

                  A major called the incident a "joke" and an
                  "embarrassment" to the Army, while another
                  officer, a captain, observed: "There is still a small
                  percentage of soldiers in uniform, even in
                  leadership positions, who should never be trusted,
                  like Pollard." 

                  "Same old story," said another specialist. "Make
                  waves and you are gone." 

[Walt Griffith]

A few years ago, a woman was hammered for having an affair with another woman's husband while they all served in the AirForce. She was punished because of all the public rancor. It needs to happen again in this case.

Or have people on FR become so sedentary that they no longer fight for right?

[savedbygrace]

Good to see you posting again, Walt. It's been a while since I've heard from you.

The case of the unpunished adulterer is maddening. Is there anything we can do about it?

[Walt Griffith]

Time for congressional contact. It is an election year. Could we start a list of Senators, Reps. and others with their response? If we are willing to do that we should also tell others about FR. I would like to see the spirit of FR rebound.

[bushfamfan]

Why not go to the Bush administration officials and get them to do something about it?

[PoppingSmoke]

"David Hackworth"

I really HATE doing this, but. This guy pisses me off. I give Hack is due, he served his Country. However this is the last guy who should be critical of others. Especially since Hack had to go to Austrialia to beat the statute of limitations with regards to a fraud case. You do remember that don't you Hack? There are those who served with him who question who exactly wrote some of the commendations for his awards. While Hack bravo's himself for reporrting on one CNO who wore an award that was suspect. Who BTW reportedly commited suicide over it.

Hackworth has not done a dang thing for the benefit of soldiers except report crap. When was the last time Hack appeared on Capitol Hill fighting for the rights of Vets? One wonders if he does this because he was passed over for flag rank. !

Remeber Hack perfume princes do not have to be those who have not been in combat.

Remeber Hack you are not the only so-called Hero in the US Military.

[meenie]

If you can't knock the message, go after the messenger. Works in liberal circles, I don't know whether it works here.

[Grut]

I hate blank verse!

[RedlegCPT]

Hack has some credibility with the military, but he has lost a lot too because of his comments. Not so long ago he wrote an article that basicly said that all the company grade officers that were staying in and not getting out were the cappy officers and the best and brightest were the ones getting out. Alot of us have tuned him out and what he says because of this.

While the above probally is happening we have to remember that there are two sides to every story, but if it smell like it then it probally is. I think that there is more to this story than is being said, and this young SGT should make some call to his congresman.

[PoppingSmoke]

"If you can't knock the message, go after the messenger. Works in liberal circles, I don't know whether it works here."

I will knock the messenger because I am sick and tired of the pot calling the kettle black. I earned that right. I am sick of Hackworths message. I am also appalled that Hackworth goes on the Fox News Channel and allows them to introduce him as the most important military soldier since Mac Arthur. That is total hogwash. Hackworth served his Country and served it well. But when he starts calling active duty Generals "perfume princes" when they are in the middle of combat, because Hackworth personally disagrees with his strategy, I have a huge problem with that. Hackworth is no Patton I can tell you this. I have very little respect for guy's like David Hackworth.

Unless you have been there, feed the liberal crap to someone else.

[Stingray51]

Either the story is true or not. Get to the bottom of it and if it is false, then dump on Hackworth. Otherwise, praise him for publicizing an injustice.

[Pushi]

I e-mailed a copy of the article to President Bush and said that this is something that the Commander-in-Chief needs to look into and take care of.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Birds do it,Bees do it,Even SFCs do it....

but not with their buddy's wife while their buddy is off to patrol.

[PoppingSmoke]

"Either the story is true or not. Get to the bottom of it and if it is false, then dump on Hackworth. Otherwise, praise him for publicizing an injustice."

Not Hackworths type of injustices.......It's easy to point the fingers at someone else. Hack has never come full circle.

[meenie]

I've been there buddy, and I have seen plenty of mistakes. I don't favor the perfumed princes as Hackworth calls them but I do favor the dogface. The driving range at the officers club golf course never did appeal to me. It's the man at the platoon level that has my concern, the man at the division level can take care of himself.

As far as the liberal tag, you go right back to slandering the messenger. This must be a habit. You are no George Patton either, so give Hackworth a break. We've had a lot of good combat generals and we have had some lousy ones. It seems you are rather touchy concerning the higher ranks. That is your problem, it isn't mne.

[ValerieUSA]

"Perfumed Prince" is not nearly a harsh enough term for William Cohen, but Hackworth showed restraint. Too many high-ranking officers went along with Cohen's abuse of the U.S. military without standing up for the enlisted ranks at risk and the American people who funded his nonsense. I thank God that Hackworth spoke up, and I am ashamed that little was done to condemn Cohen once the truth was out.

[Walt Griffith]

You need to take a reading course. While the original expose was written by Hackworth, this article was researched and written by others. So, if you want to discredit this story you have to discredit others.

[PoppingSmoke]

"Perfumed Prince" is not nearly a harsh enough term for William Cohen, but Hackworth showed restraint. Too many high-ranking officers went along with Cohen's abuse of the U.S. military without standing up for the enlisted ranks at risk and the American people who funded his nonsense. I thank God that Hackworth spoke up, and I am ashamed that little was done to condemn Cohen once the truth was out."

Hackworth was not talking about Cohen. He was talking about Major General Buster Hagenbeck, the Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division, while the Division was in operations in Afghanistan. Hackworth seems to think he knows more than Hagenbeck and Hackworth hasn't fired a shot since 1972. Talk about demoralizing a Commander on National TV while he and his troops are in the heat of battle.

This was totally uncalled for.

[PoppingSmoke]

Well my friend so have I, been there done that. Try, CCS - Kien Giang Province (1969 - 1971). I have always supported the grunt that includes fighting on Capitol Hill. Last time Hackworth was on Capitol Hill doing battle for Vets Viietnam hadn't ended yet. However that does not mean that Hackworth nor anyone else has the right to monday morning quaterback any Commanding General especially MG Buster Hagenbeck of the 10th Mountain Division on National TV while the General and his Troops are in the heat of battle. You I and many others went through enough of this crap. Talk about demoralizing! Who the heck does Hackworth think he is?

[PoppingSmoke]

"You need to take a reading course. While the original expose was written by Hackworth, this article was researched and written by others. So, if you want to discredit this story you have to discredit others."

I am not discrediting the story. I am just tired of Hackworth.

[O6ret]

While the above probally is happening we have to remember that there are two sides to every story, but if it smell like it then it probally is. I think that there is more to this story than is being said, and this young SGT should make some call to his congresman.

Hack might be on to something.....