Posted on 09/17/2003 11:23:07 AM PDT by Lurker
507th weapon records gone
Laura Cruz
El Paso Times
The ambush
Killed
# Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, El Paso.
# Chief Warrant Officer 2 Johnny Villareal Mata, Pecos.
# Spc. Jamaal R. Addison, Roswell, Ga.
# Pfc. Howard Johnson II, Mobile, Ala.
# Spc. James Kiehl, Comfort, Texas.
# Pvt. Brandon Sloan, Bedford Heights, Ohio.
# Pfc. Lori Piestewa, Tuba City, Ariz.
# Sgt. Donald R. Walters, Salem, Ore.
# Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, Cleveland.
# Pfc. Edward Anguiano of the 3rd Forward Support Battalion.
# Sgt. George Buggs of the 3rd Forward Support Battalion.
Captured
# Spc. Edgar Hernandez, Alton, Texas.
# Spc. Joseph Hudson, Alamogordo.
# Spc. Shoshana Johnson, El Paso.
# Pfc. Patrick Miller, Walter, Kan.
# Sgt. James Joseph Riley, Pennsauken, N.J.
# Pfc. Jessica Lynch, Palestine, W.Va.
# Piestewa died while a prisoner.
The U.S. Army on Tuesday revealed that all records and documents about the weapons that jammed during the March 23 ambush that led to the death of nine Fort Bliss soldiers were destroyed in the Iraqi attack and that there is no way to trace the weapons' histories.
The Army, responding to an El Paso Times request under the Freedom of Information Act, said any official information about the weapons used by Fort Bliss' 507th Maintenance Company was lost on a supply truck taken into combat.
An official report on the ambush near Nasiriyah said that several weapons, including M-16s, M249 Squad Automatic Weapons and a .50-caliber machine gun, jammed or failed to operate properly during the firefight.
The disclosure that the records were lost shocked, bewildered and further angered relatives of soldiers who were killed in the early morning ambush, which is among the worst losses for the U.S. military during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition to the nine Fort Bliss soldiers killed, two from the 3rd Forward Support Battalion were killed, five soldiers were wounded, and seven soldiers were taken prisoner.
"Capt. Troy King (507th commander) stated that he does not have any historical data on weapons involved in the enemy contact," June Bates, Fort Bliss freedom of information officer, said in a written response. "He lost his motorpool truck and all documentation."
Bates said King's records, which were kept in the motor pool, were stored in his supply truck, which was also "involved in the enemy contact."
The official 507th report, which was released by the Army on July 17, suggests that the "malfunctions may have resulted from inadequate individual maintenance in a desert environment."
Nancili Mata, the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Johnny Villareal Mata, who was killed in the ambush, said she was shocked to learn that no duplicate records were kept on the weapons.
"They should have copies here. It doesn't sound right," she said. "They are blaming the soldiers for not keeping their weapons clean, but my husband knew better than that. He did everything right."
Arlene Walters, mother of Sgt. Donald R. Walters, who died in the attack and would have celebrated his 34th birthday Tuesday, said her son was dedicated to his job and to details. She said she finds it hard to believe that her son's weapon wasn't kept clean.
"He kept his guns as clean as can be," she said. "He even talked to his dad about it."
Because the circumstances surrounding the death of Walters are unclear, his parents continue to ask questions about anything involving their son, including the history of his weapon.
"Nothing surprises me anymore, but what I don't understand is why would you carry that kind of information into a battlefield," Arlene Walters asked. "It seems to me that if those weapons were issued out at Fort Bliss, then the records should have stayed at Fort Bliss."
Ruben Estrella, father of 18-year-old Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, from El Paso, said he no longer believes anything the Army tells him.
"They told me that my son was shot in the head, and now they are saying that he was struck by a tank," he said. "I think the Army or the government is hiding something, but sooner or later the truth will be told."
Fort Bliss responds
The El Paso Times had requested the history of 31 weapons the soldiers carried during the ambush. The request sought information about weapon repairs, the weapons' ages, and the manufacturer and condition of each weapon assigned to the 507th soldiers involved in the attack.
Officials at the Department of Defense referred all questions to Fort Bliss officials.
Jean Offutt, Fort Bliss spokeswoman, said that taking all data regarding a company's weapons into battle is standard practice.
"When we deployed, all our active-duty soldiers had to take their documents with them because we mobilized a lot of reservists who lived in the emptied barracks," Offutt said. "So all of their personnel files as well as files on weapons were taken with them."
Because personnel files were lost in the ambush and no duplicates exist, the 507th is now trying to re-create the information. Also, Offutt said, some of the weapons the 507th used haven't been recovered.
"But shortly before the soldiers deployed, all of the weapons were certified and serviceable," Offutt said. "The weapons were fired on the firing range before they deployed."
I don't agree. From what I read, the actions and performance of the NCOs of this unit were commendable, especially those of 1SG Dowdy. I believe they failed to keep their weapons cleaned properly due to lack of man power. The 1SG led a group that recovered every broken down vehicle in the convoy on its march to each check point. Bringing up the rear, he repeatedly had to direct the CO back on course. He did this while still completing the mission to fully support the air defense unit.
You equate destroying records with telling the media a patient has amnesia to give her time to recover? Your judgment is very lacking.
I said covert action is moral to protect the good. If covert action is used in this case to cover up the irresponsible, then it's not moral. Good vs irresponsible.
By the way, I'm not saying anyone was irresponsible in this case nor that any destruction of documents took place here, I'm simply defending my belief that covert action is moral when protecting the good from the not so good. We got some people here making possible false accusations on little evidence, making assumptions that may not be true. It could be that driving all day on a dusty road will kick up more fine particles than riding in a troop carrier on virgin landscape. Those of us that live in the country know the difference between driving an off-road vehicle on a dirt road that is well traveled and and has a thick layer of ground up dust on it from driving through a field that hasn't been ground down by high traffic. The difference in the amount of dust kicked up is exponential, the dust much more fine. We shouldn't condemn this CO until we know the facts surrounding the particulars of this case.
Did you read what Hackworth said about this in his recent column? He said it was a disgrace, and it would never have happened to a USMC maintenane company, never.
And Hack was Army.
Simple rule , follow it.
Stay Safe !
Who is using it as a smokescreen? Maybe someone is using it as a smokescreen, if they are I haven't seen it and would like to see that information. I only mention the road dust as a possibilty to why so many weapons jammed. If it turns out that there was no more dust encountered by the 507th than was encountered anywhere else than it can be eliminated as a cause to the high failure rate of the weapons. I haven't seen any claims made as to the dust by the person's involved yet. If there has been claims made by the person's involved with the 507th, could you link me to them?
Reply in advance to everyone who is going to post: 'cause she got all that media attention and a book deal she gotta git all da cidizizm tooo... So, by your logic, every time the D.C. Sniper case is ever discussed in the future, someone will have to mention Big Cheif Moose, because he got press and a book deal, every time the 9/11 attacks are discussed, someone will have to mention Lisa Beemer because she got more attention that other widows and a book deal, every time any topic is discussed, if someone involved was involved in a media circus and got a book deal, they have to be brought into the conversation, regardless of the relevance to the current subject. Yeah, that makes sense.
Ruben Estrella, father of 18-year-old Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, from El Paso, said he no longer believes anything the Army tells him.
"They told me that my son was shot in the head, and now they are saying that he was struck by a tank," he said. "I think the Army or the government is hiding something, but sooner or later the truth will be told."
Missing records, changing causes of death, what's next? Really, what? Oh, I know: Maybe Jessica Lynch shot him in the head but her gun was jammed so she had to run him over with a tank. Oh, wait, I forgot, all she did during the episode was:
When I was in (not even that long ago) there was no such thing as a "lost" weapon. Our entire battalion stayed in the feild (Hoensfeld) for an extra three days once looking for a weapon some idiot lost in the mud there.
500 pissed off guys staying deployed to find a single M-16.
The Jesse Lynch thing was disturbing too. A clean weapon was mandatory, if any one of us had one that was inoperable or uncared for we got that thing stuck up our asses.
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