Posted on 03/19/2012 4:15:37 PM PDT by xzins
Karilyn Bales, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused of killing Afghan civilians, released this statement on Monday:
What happened on the night of March 11 in Kandahar Province was a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy.
My family including my and Bob’s extended families are all profoundly sad. We extend our condolences to all the people of the Panjawai District, our hearts go out to all of them, especially to the parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents of the children who perished.
I know that all good people around the world, regardless of nationality, religion or political values, join me in grieving that such a terrible thing could happen.
Our family has little information beyond what we read and see in the media. What has been reported is completely out of character of the man I know and admire. Please respect me when I say I cannot shed any light on what happened that night, so please do not ask.
I too want to know what happened. I want to know how this could be.
I have no indication that my family’s own safety is at risk, but I appreciate the efforts that have been undertaken to protect us. I hope there will soon be no reason for protection of families, whether here or in Kandahar Province, or anywhere, because the pain inevitably inflicted in war should never be an excuse to inflict yet more pain. The cycle must be broken. We must find peace.
I know the media has a right to pursue and report news. As you do your jobs, I plead with you to respect the trauma that I and my extended family are experiencing. Please allow us some peace and time as we try to make sense of something that makes no sense at all.
All I can do now is emphasize my sadness and my condolences to the families in Panjawai for their terrible loss. The victims and their families are all in my prayers, as is my husband who I love very much.
End of Statement
Thanks.
Great report, thanks for posting that.
Pathetic? The Nazis treated their soldiers better than that:
On 23 August, Luftwaffe fighter pilot Erich Hartmann claimed eight victories in three combat missions bringing his score to 290 victories. Hartmann passed the 300 kill mark on 24 August 1944, a day on which he shot down 11 aircraft in two combat missions, bringing the number of aerial victories to an unprecedented 301 victories. He was immediately grounded by Luftwaffe chief of staff Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, who was fearful of the effect on German morale should such a hero be lost. Hartmann, however, later successfully lobbied to be reinstated as a combat pilot.
He became one of only 27 German soldiers in World War II to receive the Diamonds to his Knight's Cross. Hartmann was summoned to the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Adolf Hitler's military headquarters near Rastenburg, to receive the coveted award from Hitler personally. On arrival, he was asked to surrender his side arm — a security measure caused by the aftermaths of the failed assassination attempt on 20 July 1944. Hartmann refused and threatened to decline the Diamonds if he were not trusted to carry his pistol. After consulting Oberst Nicolaus von Below, Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant, Hartmann was allowed to keep his side arm and accepted the Diamonds.
Erich Hartmann flew 1,404 combat missions during World War II, resulting in 825 engagements,[51] and was never shot down. Hartmann was never wounded and never bailed out due to damage inflicted by enemy pilots. His kill tally included some 200 various single-engined Soviet-built fighters, more than 80 US-built P-39s, 15 Il-2 ground attack aircraft, and 10 twin-engined medium bombers. It is often said that he was more proud of the fact that he had never lost a wingman in combat than he was about his rate of kills.
After the war and following imprisonment by the Soviets he returned to West Germany, reentered military service in the Bundeswehr and became an officer in the West German Air Force, from which he retired in 1970.
Erich Hartmann died on 20 September 1993, at the age of 71 in Weil im Schönbuch, Germany.
.....................................
In 2000, a year before he joined the Army, Bales joined a Florida company called Spartina Investments Inc. with former NFL player Marc Edwards, his Norwood, Ohio, high school teammate who went on to win the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots.
"I viewed him as a person with enormous integrity, courage and loyalty," Edwards said.
Why? Because they don’t value human life like we do. To them, a dead infidel is just a mass of meat. A dead believer is in heaven with the virgins. The Koran is far more important to them than any human life.
Interesting, but I still find it all very confusing.
Was Bales still working for the company or not?
Was he just a worker bee so the press gets to attach it to him? (you know, everyone who worked at Enron is guilty as sin)
Still, there’s no clarification as to who exactly levied the $1.5 million judgement or whether it’s even legally binding.
The analysis is correct regarding Bales’ financial history and its effects on his security clearance. He would have probable issues getting a TS clearance, but Secret isn’t a problem. You don’t need TS for a LOOONG time in the Infantry.
Still, if it was a legally binding judgement, where was the enforcement? That wouldn’t be on the military background check; that would be on the levying body and appropriate enforcement officials.
That's what I think.
Bales was small potatoes, he was probably named in the judgement because he made the initial "boiler room" call. I get the impression he was nothing more than a telemarketer reading a script.
The other guys named, the owners and principals of the firms, those guys had the deep pockets.
**HOWEVER** — being an insensitive jerk is not a crime.
If these reporters and photographers did what they were doing from the street or sidewalk, they had every legal right to stand there and take all the photos they wanted. Conservatives protesting abortion clinics, for example, were entirely correct to demand their right to protest on public property.
You're right, but the impression I was getting was that they literally swarmed into the house - or at least onto the property - when they realized it was open and unoccupied... And that IS illegal.
No smoking gun pic here, but some timeline info you may find of interest:
The Army provided basic information about Staff Sgt. Robert Bales (No middle initial)
Date of Rank: April 1, 2008
MOS: 11B (Infantry)
Duty Status: Active
Basic Active Service Date (Enlistment Date): Nov. 8, 2001
Assignment History:
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Sept 11, 2002 -- Present)
Military Education/Year Completed:
Combat Life Savers Course 2002
Warrior Leaders Course 2008
Sniper 2008
Visual Tracker 2008
Combatives Level 1 2010
Combatives Level 2 2010
U.S. Air Force Airlift Planner 2010
Advance Leaders Course (ALC) 2010
Civilian Education/Year Completed
Associate Degree (2 Yr College) 1992
Home of Record: Jensen Beach, Fla.
Deployment History/Time Frame:
Operation Iraqi Freedom (12 Months) / Nov. 1, 2003 - Oct. 1, 2004
Operation Iraqi Freedom (15 Months) / June 19, 2006 - Sept. 22, 2007
Operation Iraqi Freedom (10 Months) / Aug. 8, 2009 - June 4, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom / Dec. 1, 2011 - March 2012
Awards and Decorations:
Army Good Conduct Medal (Three awarded)
Iraq Campaign Medal Campaign Star (Two awarded)
National Defense Service Medal
Overseas Service Ribbon
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Combat Infantry Badge
Expert Infantry Badge
Army Commendation Medal (Six awarded)
Army Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Two awarded)
Army Superior Unit Award
Source: Army Times
I wish I had a dollar for every mass murderer or multiple shooter whose friends and neighbors claim he was “a nice guy”, “couldn’t be the same person”, “quiet and nice”, couldn’t meet a better guy”.
From working in the industry I can tell you it would be very difficult to work at a “pump and dump” operation and not know it. He moved and worked with these same principals at different firms.
Having taken slews of financial exams over 35+ years, I can tell you the basic one is a Series 7 which Bales took. It is HEAVY on ethics.
But, maybe he didn’t study that part. But i can tell you that pleading ignorance of the law is no defense.
And I think his blowing off the arbitration hearing speaks volumes. It was his chance to exonerate himself and clear his name!
I wish I had a dollar for every person who sucked up the crap this failing society fed them all their lives to the point they think they are thinking for themselves but are just repeating the party line.
To answer a question. Bales should be given all the medals the military has to offer. Especially those aviator ones. ACE 3X + 1. Given an honorable discharge with the pension benefits of a five star general. And released to get on with his life.
Talk about “judge, jury and executioner”!
I realize you you’re his biggest fan, but he does have warning signs in his past. Yes, he has some wonderful commendations which will be weighed against the negatives to assess his character.
If he drank, sneaked out at 3PM, killed a bunch of civilians, he is no hero, but a scoundrel and a unpatriotic criminal.
May justice be served in any case. That is the most we can hope for.
Stop hoping. Start thinking.
I see warning signs in your past.
You KNOW the laws of the jungle?
Whatever.
Go take another test.
Not everyone at Enron was guilty. I'm sure you already know that. In this case Bales was registered as a Series 7 employee without which he would have been unable to even speak about stock issues.
Series 7 is intensive ethics training with basics about stock settlement, margins violations, etc. When something like this happens, the Series 7 people can be considered liable. Going higher [and I am also a Series 24 General Securities principal] the culpability becomes more intense. Even more so for a Financial Securities Principal and a Compliance Officer.
I have never heard of a non-registered employee [like Enron peeps] ever being held accountable in these instances.
Still, there’s no clarification as to who exactly levied the $1.5 million judgement or whether it’s even legally binding.
The arbitrator levied the judgement. It should be legally binding.
Thanks for posting, that is quite an impressive record!
Yes, of course I know that. It was simply illustrating the point behind my question.
The arbitrator levied the judgement. It should be legally binding.
So this is where I get really confused. Bales is supposed to be on the hook for all this money, but the couple say they never saw a dime. Where were the complaints to the arbitrator (which is typically who/what?) and the inevitable follow-up of legal action against Bales?
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