Soldiers Must Wait for Their Iraqi Wives

YahooNews.com ^ | October 20, 2003 | BILL KACZOR, Associated Press Writer

[EsclavoDeCristo]

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Two National Guard soldiers who married Iraqi women against their commander's wishes will have to wait at least eight months to return home with their brides, according to a lawyer for one of the soldiers.

The women's visas will take at least that long to process by mail because the State Department is not issuing visas in Iraq (news - web sites), said Richard Alvoid, an attorney hired by Sgt. Sean Blackwell's family.

The wait could be even longer if the military decides to charge the men with disobeying orders, Alvoid said.

Blackwell, 27, and Cpl. Brett Dagen, 37, were Christians who converted to Islam so they could be married under Iraqi law. Their commanders took the unusual step of ordering the men not to marry.

The soldiers, members of the 3rd Battalion of the Florida Guard's 124th Infantry, are expected to remain in Iraq at least until February. The men had wanted to send their wives, both physicians, to the United States sooner because of threats from anti-American Iraqis.

The men have been restricted to their bases since the double wedding in August, and they have not been allowed to see or speak to their wives since then, the soldiers' mothers said Monday.

Capt. Jason Beck, a spokesman for the 3rd Battalion of the Florida Guard's 124th Infantry, did not return a call seeking comment Monday.

Alvoid said he has received word from the Judge Advocate General's Office that charges have not been filed but the soldiers were under investigation.

Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Florida National Guard in St. Augustine, said earlier this month that the soldiers' battalion commander had been worried the marriages might distract his troops from their mission and compromise their safety.

[CheneyChick]

The wait could be even longer if the military decides to charge the men with disobeying orders,

I hope they are charged.

[SouthernFreebird]

Agreed... marrying the enemy....disgusting.

[Pukin Dog]

Charge them. They were not there for that reason, and where did they find the time to fall in love dire need of sex, anyway?

[af_vet_rr]

Aside from the fact they committed several military no-nos :

Blackwell, 27, and Cpl. Brett Dagen, 37, were Christians who converted to Islam so they could be married under Iraqi law.

Good to see the youth of today take their Christianity so seriously - Throwing Christ out of their lives just to get married. Disturbing.

[af_vet_rr]

Agreed... marrying the enemy....disgusting.

I could easily accept them marrying Iraqis in the appropriate circumstances (not on patrol) - Many GIs married Germans, Japanese, etc.

Throwing Christ out of their lives to do so though, that is the true crime here.

[Godebert]

I wouldn't want to be sleeping in a tent anywhere near these Muslim converts. Do they still issue them grenades?

[SouthernFreebird]

Your right, I can't imagine anyone who knows Jesus putting him out of their lives for anything much less a murderous religion that has waged war on Christians.

[thinktwice]

Throwing Christ out of their lives to do so though, that is the true crime here.

I continually thank God that the United States is a secular nation, a nation without religious strife.

Let's keep it that way.

[Kewlhand`tek]

im a little prejudiced but if the women were christians or converted to christianity, then i would condone this marriage. I bet those 2 guys lived in their mom's basement before being called up, this is the first piece they have had , plus these women wont talk back to them lol

[Kewlhand`tek]

oh yeah........a 37 year old corporal oh gawd he probably has 20 years in the guard and is still an e4 . oh wait im 32 and a e4, but I have 10 years in.I am fighting for my next promotion but I plan on being and e6 or chief by the time I'm 37

[gg188]

Do these dumb-a$$es not know about how foreign women marry American men for entree into the U.S.? There are countless women---including professional women, doctors, lawyers---who'll be on a plane tomorrow to marry a man in the U.S.A. ... Once they're U.S. citizens, they'll dumb these losers and have great careers in the US (unless of course they are sleepers, and then they will also probably have great careers in the US)

[VOA]

The men had wanted to send their wives, both physicians, to the United States
sooner because of threats from anti-American Iraqis.

These two gold-diggin' soldiers are going to be in for a nasty little shock
when they find out their physician-wives aren't going to be bringing home six-figure
salaries for at least a couple of years (after getting certified).

And once they do land a paying M.D. spot, it may just be "so long, soldier-boy!".

[WackyKat]

Agreed... marrying the enemy....disgusting

They didn't marry Saddam Hussein.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

im a little prejudiced but if you weren't such a g.d. idiot i would condone your post.

[WackyKat]

I continually thank God that the United States is a secular nation, a nation without religious strife.

So do I, but some people on this forum are hell-bent(and I mean that literally) on waging a religious war, not only against Muslims, but against their fellow Americans.

[WackyKat]

Charged? CHARGED? Why are these traitors still allowed to use up the air that surrounds God's Earth is beyond me. Can anyone PLEASE track down where these maggots' residence in the USA is? Please?

Careful there. During the Vietnam War, many GI's married Vietnamese women. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are members of this forum. I'm sure they wouldn't take kindly to the "traitor" label.

[2banana]

Gee, cut them a break. Two enlisted soldiers find love while deployed in/near a combat zone. Like this has not ever happened before. As for converting to Islam, I bet they could not even find page one of the Koran.

[StatesEnemy]

Agreed... marrying the enemy....disgusting

I thought The Prez said the Iraqi people were not our enemy.