Colonel tim collins cleared of war crimes

Daily mail

[beckett]

BTW, what does the UCMJ have to say about "false reports"

Good question. The Army already busted him in rank, but I hope and expect that Army investigators are still investigating to see if a court martial is appropriate.

[TomB]

Really? Pls explain your comment.

There were some on the other thread accusing Col. Collins of many things, essentially blaming him for the incident. I believe this exonerates him.

[muawiyah]

This guy Collins was not exonerated - it was a preliminary report by his own buddies.

There are a bunch of brown-nose ex-officers on the thread who ALWAYS suck-up to the higher rank. Can't think of a single enlisted man posting here who was supportive of either one of these prima donnas.

And, BTW, just because someone was enlisted doesn't mean they hate the military when they are critical of the officer class.

If half of what was said about either one of these guys was true, they should both have been kicked out ~ with none of this stuff about being busted in rank, etc., etc. Nobody in the ranks wants them.

[may18]

well with respect, if a british part time soldier had been insubordinate to a us officer, or an aussie officer, or a polish officer he would have been dealt wih severely.


And your views do not reflect the views of the "men within the ranks" in the uk, a number of whom i have spoken to.

[TomB]

This guy Collins was not exonerated - it was a preliminary report by his own buddies.

Huh? Read the FIRST sentence again:

COLONEL Tim Collins has been cleared of war crimes in a preliminary report by the army’s special investigations branch.

"Cleared" is another word for "exonerated". And if you are aware of collusion between Col. Collins and "buddies" he has in the special investigations branch, please enlighten us.

If half of what was said about either one of these guys was true, they should both have been kicked out ~ with none of this stuff about being busted in rank, etc., etc. Nobody in the ranks wants them.

Nobody? Apparently there's at least one Marine Major disagrees with you:

Major Coerr in his statement: "This is an absolute travesty. It is obvious to everyone in theatre that it is a vendetta by a weak officer against a hero. I have worked with very few officers of the calibre of Col Collins. He blended tactical knowledge with an abiding concern for the people of Iraq and it was his concern for the children of Rumaila which caused him to confront Major Biastre."

[muawiyah]

You could bring in a thousand Marine officers and it wouldn't mean beans as long as that Marine had less time in grade than the Colonel, or was of a lower rank.

It's in the nature of officers to ALWAYS kow tow to the guy of higher rank. That's why their testimony about each other probably should not be allowed in court.

[muawiyah]

OK, UKian soldiers are different than everybody else on Earth. They welcome the company of busted officers.

I am afraid you missed the point of my post. So, let me make it a little bit more clear. This is a dust-up between officers in circumstances which are a bit unclear. A "preliminary report" is also not a "final report" or a "court martial decision". All the officers and ex-officers are responding to the story the same way officers and ex-officers always do, and that sort of behavior is considered both unnatural and highly offensive to enlisted personnel.

[TomB]

You could bring in a thousand Marine officers and it wouldn't mean beans as long as that Marine had less time in grade than the Colonel, or was of a lower rank.

When in doubt, accuse him of lying.

If Maj. Coerr had seen the Col. do something that warranted the charge of war crimes, he would have said so. If he had seen something and wanted to keep it quiet, he wouldn't have been so stupid as to issue such a glowing statement. Why would he call him a "hero", when he could have just said "he's a good officer".

But all of this is beside the point. The special investigations branch of the British Army cleared him, and the case is closed.

[VOA]

Major Re Biastre

A name to remember...

[katze]

I see. IMO, he was exonerated before this article came out.

[TomB]

If I recall correctly Smedley, you are a jarh......er Marine.

What do you think of this?

[TomB]

I see. IMO, he was exonerated before this article came out.

Unfortunately, as you can see from some of the posts here, the Col. will NEVER be exonerated.

[katze]

I'm a civilian, but until proven differently, I see most Special Forces (US or UK) as those who have a job to do, and don't appreciate trivial obstacles like the weenie major. About those "enlisted", most SF troops are cohesive and have the mission in mind, not whining about their officers; those same enlisted would fight to the death for their officers.

[meenie]

I wasn't off a damned bit. I said that the good American major should be busted to E-2 and thrown out of the army.

[TomB]

I wasn't off a damned bit. I said that the good American major should be busted to E-2 and thrown out of the army.

No, you were WAY off.

He should have been shot.

;-)

Seriously, you nailed it.

[MinuteGal]

Thanks for posting Col. Collin's speech to his troops.

I agree with you, it was very inspiring.....a noble combination of warrior exhortations and words from a very human heart.

Leni

[beckett]

There are a bunch of brown-nose ex-officers on the thread who ALWAYS suck-up to the higher rank. Can't think of a single enlisted man posting here who was supportive of either one of these prima donnas.

...critical of the officer class

The virtuous enlisted man disdainful of the "officer class."

Gag me with a spoon.

That stuff may fly with 18 year old kids, but where adult political discourse is concerned, it just sounds like the whining of loser. Nobody cares what your rank was in the military. The only thing that matters is your ability to analyze a situation based upon the known facts. In this case, an American soldier in a theatre of war accused another soldier on the same side of war crimes. He didn't see these "war crimes" himself. A little birdy told him about them. The so-called crimes, which could have landed the accused in prison if true, were unsubstantiated according to a military board of inquiry.

And oh, the accuser had a petty gripe against the soldier he accused. Apparently the poor man had been chewed out.

Now is that too tough for an enlisted man to figure out? Or should I go through it again, slowly this time.

[DB]

What angered me was British reporting. It went far beyond one American. It was hit on all American soldiers.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/917669/posts?page=22#22

[DB]

Let's try the link again...

America should look to its own before firing off at our colonels

[gcruse]

Maybe so. But the facts of the incident triggered some pathetic America-first-and-only jingoism that was sickening to read on the forum.