Reservist says: 'We are not cowards'

[Rose Siding]

People across the country have been telling stories about Spc. Major Coates and his fellow soldiers all week.

On Wednesday, the Mount Holly reservist decided to speak for himself.

The voices of the Army reservists who disobeyed a direct order last week in Iraq have been noticeably absent from news accounts of the incident. Instead, relatives such as Coates' father, Johnny, and military officials, have spoken for the soldiers.

But Coates telephoned the Observer from Iraq Wednesday, saying he wanted to clear up some misinformation.

In addition to correcting details in an account his father gave the newspaper Tuesday, Coates said he wanted to emphasize a key point: That neither he, nor his fellow soldiers, were too afraid to go on the mission they refused.

"We are not cowards," he said. "The way that things come out, it makes us look like that. ... Our soldiers have run missions all over Iraq; we're never scared to go on a mission."......

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9973491.htm?1c

Coates refutes things his father said but doesn't offer any alternative information. It sounds like he's trying to dispel the image of the unit banding together or conspiring. An expert suggests that this would be a more serious situation and that the Army hasn't been using the word 'mutiny' in this case yet.

[JI7]

1. right, Bush is the coward

[wellst0nev0ter]

4. Yeah, What's The Difference Between Iraq And Vietnam?

A: Bush had a plan for getting out of Vietnam.

*baaa-zing*

[trogdor]

2. They got things done, though.

There was a two-week stand-down for maintenance and other materiel readiness issues, and the commander was just relieved of duty (at her request - shaaa, as if).

[chuckrocks]

3. has max cleland

or any other injured vet weighed in on this yet? or anyone that lost a family member to war? i hope someone with some media attention is helping these brave people. this is not the time to let this slip i think. *co can run with this if its ann the man vs soldier's father in puditland. these people don't know real bravery.

[goddess40]

5. being stupid does not equal brave

being smart does. These reservists did the right and brave thing by refusing to go on a death mission.

[fishnfla]

7. its confusing to me

but this article seems to indicate that the mission was completed without incident.

they were given better vehicles and the mission was done, but 17 still held out. so you, or they, cant say they refused to go on a "death mission"

the whole thing is getting murkier, it seems to me the military is trying to scrub this

[NorthernSpy]

6. nobody thinks them cowardly!

Nobody who counts, anyway. Some of those chickenhawk armchair warrior types might, but those people are beneath notice.


Mary

[vs the introvore]

9. not really heroic, though.

and i am not saying that the platoon did not act honorably. i believe that they can justify their decision within the UCMJ. (see another one of my posts for details)
but we are not hearing from them because their actions are so borderline. they're in court martial purgatory. still impresive i say but if the mutual platoon ass really was immediately on the line, right then and there, line to ass, wouldn't they not shy away then from careening on outta there at full speed and damn the explosions even.
frickin road warrior was able to deliver the gas!

[Zorra]

8. "Caution is preferable to rash bravery." Shakespeare

"Discretion is the better part of valor." Grampa

[stepnw1f]

10. I'm Pissed

On edit. Why do these folks feel they have to defend themselves against this shit?

[MADem]

11. Because armchair warriors and keyboard commandos

...are weighing in with a whole stanking load of woulda, coulda and shoulda. They might try getting their fat asses down to the recruiting office if they feel so strongly...but that's just my opinion!

By EVERY account, this unit was a cut above the average bunch of pre-war on terra reservists. They had high morale, esprit de corps, they felt their mission was important, and they took their jobs seriously. They also watched each other's back. What leader would not want a crew like that? What leader would not LISTEN to INPUT from a crew like that?

I am not one of those who blames a subordinate for a problem. When there is a breakdown in discipline to this scale, that tells me there was something SERIOUSLY WRONG...but it happened UP, not down, the chain of command.

I think those kids were quite brave. They had to know the situation was untenable no matter what they did. They had a choice--shut up and die for nothing, or pick up that whistle and blow, blow, BLOW.

If they were mine, I'd be proud of them.