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2 Ex-GIs Cleared of Iraq Mistreatment
Two army reservists discharged last year over allegations they mistreated Iraqi prisoners have been cleared by an Army review board and can rejoin the military, their attorney said Friday. The Army Discharge Review Board this week reversed the former soldiers' discharges and findings of misconduct, said Gary Myers, an attorney who represented Scott McKenzie, Lisa Girman and a third former soldier who was cleared in the same manner in January. The Army declined comment. "It's been our long-standing practice that we do not comment on nonjudicial and administrative type actions," said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman."When I got the call, first thing I did was, I thanked God," said McKenzie, 40, a deacon at the Clearfield Presbyterian Church and a state prison guard. "I figured that if God leads you to it, God will lead you through it." Girman, 37, a state trooper who lives near Wilkes-Barre, said, "It's not really about winning, it's about setting things right." McKenzie and Girman were among four Army reservists with the Pennsylvania-based 320th Military Police Battalion who were charged with punching and kicking several Iraqis, breaking one man's nose, while escorting a busload of prisoners to a POW processing center near Umm Qasr in May 2003. All four had maintained their innocence and said they used only necessary force to subdue unruly prisoners. Posted by: Fred 2005-08-20 |
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