SF Murder Charges Travesty at Ft Bragg

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I had mentioned in a previous piece that I thought I knew MSG Troy Anderson who along with CPT Dave Staffel, now awaits an answer as to whether he will face a Court Martial for the shooting of a known terrorist in Afghanistan. It turns out I do know him and I spoke with him on the phone today. Thanks to his attorney MAJ Lance Daniels and the folks at Ft. Bragg Trial Defense Services for their help in arranging this. In my previous piece I noted that even though two investigations commissioned by then MG Kearney cleared them, he had murder charges preferred anyhow.

I believe that the charges will be not simply dropped, but dropped like poison. It is awful that two professionals scrupulously following the rules would be subject to this kind of selective, command-influenced, hindsight. It is worse when you think about the chilling effect this will have on anyone out in the field wondering whether to pull the trigger or not. That is the true poison now in play. Can any SOCOM operator believe that when he makes a call based on the training and information given by his command he will be covered? MSG Anderson and CPT Staffel believed and they found out the truth is a flexible thing.

This issue is of vital importance to anyone whose mission involves pointing a weapon at our enemies. I am going to do my level best to force SOCOM and DOD as well to deal with this issue of basic trust. It is beyond unfair to ask someone to risk all based on a set of rules and then judge them later on another standard. So here we go, the horn is sounded and I want all y'all to help if you can. If you know anyone who served in Afghanistan in the last couple of years ask them what they think. If you know any of those involved let me know what you think. I can do any level and type of confidentiality necessary so approach as obliquely as is wise. I'm angry about this, but it's too important to treat that way. This requires solid professionalism to ensure that no others are treated this way.

All right deep breath, here is the tale of how I met Troy. I was in Korea with my partner in crime Little Sammy Thistle doing coordinations for some training we were going to do there. We were at Camp Casey and out on the town in Tong du Chon where we were partying like, well you know. But all good things must end and as we meandered back toward Casey eating the occasional dog-on-a-stick fresh off a hibachi, I kept noticing dumbass Thistle had his ID half out of his pocket. I told him twice and then snatched it from him before he lost it. The MPs there were much less than friendly and no ID, sleep in street, so I was helping him out.  Well somewhere along the way he disappeared, I assumed a siren song, but regardless he was missing. Now the gate was gonna close soon for the night and while he was my brother, I carried him as well as I could. So I went in and gave the MPs my name and where I was staying and said if numbnutz shows up come get me.

I caught my few hours of rack time and headed to the chow hall the next morning and as I walked in I heard a bellow:

"Jimmy, you are never gonna f***ing believe this. This is Troy Anderson my Ranger buddy from Ranger School. Seriously man, I haven't seen him since then and he found me last night man. Yeah he found me curled up under a bush on base totally passed out, and then he took me back to his barracks man."

So the maroon had somehow gotten back on base without his ID. He climbed a fence somewhere as his clothes were razor wire shredded, but he had no earthly clue how he got to his resting spot. Now the odds of his being discovered by perhaps the one person on that base who knew him are astronomical, but it happened.

I added the personal note because it is a hilarious and representative story of a lot of the fun I remember. But also because from Sammy before and quite a few others recently I have heard a simple and unmistakable thing, Troy Anderson is  good MF. That means we all should have his back. Much more to come.

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BLACKFIVE has an update on MSG Troy Anderson and CPT Dave Staffel, the SF sniper and his CO, respectively, who are sitting at Fort Bragg waiting to see if they will face premeditated murder charges for this incident in Afghanistan [Read More]

Comments

[Russ]

Kearney (and half of the suits, as well) seems to have forgotten the first rule: when in doubt, win the war.

[Teresa]

I am just heartsick over this. NO. ONE. No one at all should be sent to war, then put on trial for murder for doing their job.

Next time you get a chance Uncle J - pass along that this soldier's mom is praying for both of them. Don't know if it will help, but I don't think it will hurt.

[Deltabravo]

Well, hell. If we're not supposed to actually shoot at the enemy, it's time to bring everyone home. It's over. They won.

Shakespeare had it right. First kill all the lawyers.

[PDizzle]

When I was in Iraq ('05-'06), the common refrain was "I love my country but I fear my government." You bet your ass that our troopers are being killed because of this bull. You shouldn't need a lawyer to explain the ROE, and you shouldn't need a lawyer after killing the enemy.

[JoeS]

Jimbo,

Go after those backstabbing pukes! Let us know who to write, who to cuss. You are the pit bull!

[OldSoldier54]

"When I was in Iraq ('05-'06), the common refrain was "I love my country but I fear my government." "
Geez. That is sick. This BS needs to stop right now.
I will be praying for the truth to be revealed.

[RCL]

It's important to keep the names of the weasels out front. LTG Kearney should be replaced immediately. He is ultimately responsible. The man most obviously working to defeat our Special Forces though is LCDR Douglas Velvel. After the men were investigated and cleared he wrote his own summary of the events and conned an enlisted man into signing a complaint.

Velvel is a leftist lawyer from a family of leftist lawyers. His motives are beyond suspicious. He is working to undermine the soldiers in battle. The military lawyers need to be purged ASAP. Passing on Mullah Omar, passing on the 300 Taleban funeral and the continual attacks on soldiers for killing the enemy are clear proof there are too many incompetent or seditious officers with law degrees.

RCL

[Soldier's Mom]

Well gang, I went to Martindale-Hubbell (a listing of lawyers) and couldn't find Valvel at all, but one of my attorney friends said that if he was in private practice alone and didn't want to pay the membership fee, he wouldn't show up but he is looking up what he can find for me about him.

Next, since I work for a GO I went to the web site for GOMO (General officer management Office) and got Kearney's official resume -- this is generated by his 201 file and not written by someone. Here it is. I thought it interesting that it took him less than 7 months to go from MG to LTG but what do I know? :-)

SOURCE OF COMMISSIONED SERVICE USMA

MILITARY SCHOOLS ATTENDED
Infantry Officer Basic Course
Armor Officer Advanced Course
United States Army Command and General Staff College
United States Army War College

EDUCATIONAL DEGREES
United States Military Academy – BS – No Major
University of South Carolina – ME – Education Administrative

FOREIGN LANGUAGE(S) French

PROMOTIONS DATES OF APPOINTMENT
2LT 2 Jun 76
1LT 2 Jun 78
CPT 1 Aug 80
MAJ 1 Jul 87
LTC 1 Sep 92
COL 1 Apr 98
BG 1 Oct 03
MG 15 Dec 06
LTG 8 Jul 07

MAJOR DUTY ASSIGNMENTS

FROM TO ASSIGNMENT

Feb 77 Feb 80 Rifle Platoon Leader, A Company, later Scout Platoon Leader, later Executive Officer, Combat Support Company, later Battalion Motor Officer, later Commander, A Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado
Mar 80 Oct 80 Student, Armor Officer Advanced Course, Fort Knox, Kentucky
Oct 80 Jun 82 S-5 (Civil-Military Operations), later S-1 (Personnel), 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington
Jun 82 Apr 84 Commander, A Company, 2d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington and OPERATION URGENT FURY, Grenada
May 84 May 85 Student, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Jun 85 Jul 88 Tactical Officer, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
Jul 88 Jun 89 Student, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Jun 89 Jun 92 Liaison Officer, later S-3 (Operations), later Executive Officer, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia and OPERATION JUST CAUSE, Panama
Jul 92 May 93 Senior Liaison Officer, later Interim Commander, 3d Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Jun 93 Jun 94 Commander, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry (Airborne), 6th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Richardson, Alaska
Jul 94 Jul 96 Commander, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia
Aug 96 Jun 97 Student, United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
Jun 97 Dec 97 Chief, Joint Military Commission, Multi-National Division (North), OPERATION JOINT GUARD, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Mar 98 Mar 00 Commander, Separate Infantry Brigade, United States Army Southern European Task Force (Airborne), Vicenza, Italy
Apr 00 Jun 02 Director of Operations, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan
Jul 02 Sep 03 Deputy Commanding General (Operations), Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq
Oct 03 Feb 05 Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Riley, Kansas to include duty as Special Operations Command Liaison to the Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq/Commander, Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-Former Regime Element, OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq
Mar 05 Jul 07 Commander, Special Operations Command Central, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida to include duty as Commander, Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS Dates Rank

Director of Operations, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan Apr 00-Jun 02 Colonel

Deputy Commanding General (Operations), Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq Jul 02-Sep 03 Colonel

Commander, Special Operations Command Central, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida to include duty as Commander, Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq Mar 05-Jul 07 Brigadier General/Major General

Deputy Commander, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida Jul 07-Present Major General


US DECORATIONS AND BADGES
Defense Superior Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Bronze Star Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
Army Achievement Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Expert Infantryman Badge
Master Parachutist Badge (with 2 Bronze Stars)
Ranger Tab

So -- I'm beginning to think it's not what but who you know. But, he does have 2 bronze stars -- don't know what for.

[thebronze]

2 Bronze Stars - Big F*cking Deal!

Without a combat "V" it doesn't mean shit.

It looks as though Kearney served under Gen. Weasel Clark, so maybe that's where he got his yellow stripe...

He served mostly staff jobs and schools, but he did have some good "combat" type assignments (Ranger Regt., etc.) so he has no excuse. He SHOULD know better than this.

He's another Perfumed Prince from all evidence.

Kearney is a scumbag that doesn't deserve to lead the men he leads (manages).

[rfpnc]

How can a sniper be charged for doing his job?

[SPECOPSLADY]

Uncle J, Blackfive and Supporters -

THANK YOU FOR THE WEBSITE and SUPPORT!!
I am personally glad to see that you plan on taking this to the TOP, keep it GOING…… ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!!

These TWO awesome soldiers and the entire SF community need our support!!

I do personally know both of these HONORABLE MEN!! They are both VERY SOLID and SOUND soldiers! I am very proud to have worked with them “ON THE HIGH GROUND” and have the utmost respect for how these two SF soldiers lead and saw that their ODA executed SF operations to the highest level. If people ONLY knew ALL the GREAT “Heart and Mind” operations these two SF soldiers did lead and execute along with the entire ODA while serving our GREAT nation here in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, they would be even more driven to see that “REAL” military justice is executed!

I am utterly disgusted that and individual who obviously lacks the ability to support his “OWN” WAS, IS and REMAINS in such a high ranked GO appointed position in the US Special Operations Command. If you read the comments quoted and printed in articles which covered this ludicrous event and should have NEVER taken place, in my personal opinion, you will most likely ask yourself, ..Is it really possible that a GO have such obvious insecurities and an “EGO” that he makes decisions to CONTINUE to “CHEW UP and SPIT OUT” his VERY own? I truly hope that enough ACTION is taken by us citizens, to see that this GO is “MOVED OUT” and that he, all officers who pushed to see these charges were executed. I hope that many of us work to see that what is honestly deserved is in fact “HANDED” to this officer and all involved who supported such pompous actions and decisions to NOT support his own.

I am very concerned, equally angry and frustrated that a GO, with such a construed mindset, in such a position in the SF community is allowed to REMAIN, and that our highly skilled and trained SF soldiers truly don’t have the support they need from higher!

To ALL the SF soldiers, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! You are doing what is RIGHT, regardless if a select few military officers are SERIOUSLY CONFUSED as to what the mission and purpose WE the US military is here to execute. If it was the intent of these military officers to “COVER UP” or “GREASE THE SKIDS” for their own growth in ranks, I just hope that it works just the opposite!

There was and is NO good to have come from this hearing! It served and serves NO purpose! CPT Staffel and MSG Anderson and their families DID NOT deserve to go thru this HELL!!

I and many others, fellow SF BROTHERS, have them both and their families in our prayers!

God Bless you BOTH, WE HAVE YOUR BACK!!
DE OPRESSO LIBER