November 06, 2003


Where have all the cowards gone? Oh, Pennsylvania Avenue.

Another blood-boiler. Here's a young man, who has served in Iraq, and has seen more than any 32-year old or even 96-year old should. He didn't like it, and has now been called a coward by the Army and is being charged with Cowardice (a UCMJ-punishable offense) by the Army. Per usual the journalists have hosed up the story, he's not going on trial yet (if ever), but to an Article 32 hearing which is like a Grand Jury in the civilian world...ham sandwiches not withstanding. Anyhow, here's the story:

Not since the Vietnam War has the Army punished a soldier for being too scared to do his duty.

But on Friday, Sgt. Georg Andreas Pogany will appear in front of military court here to face charges he was a coward.

The Army says he is guilty of "cowardly conduct as a result of fear" and not performing his duties as an interrogator for a squad of Green Berets in Samarra, Iraq.

But Sergeant Pogany says he did not run from the enemy or disobey orders. The only thing he is guilty of, he says, is asking for help for a panic attack.
On his second night in Iraq, one month ago, Sergeant Pogany, 32, saw an Iraqi cut in half by a machine gun. The sight disturbed him so much, he said, he threw up and shook for hours. His head pounded and his chest hurt.

So, what part of this is not a normal reaction. SGT Pogany was not a Green Beret, just attached to them as a translator. He is not a part of the SF macho bullshit (all my SEAL friends would hardly ever mention they were.are SEALs...they are very low key, and very discrete and always VERY Good.) that seems to pervade some branches of the military.

SGT Pogany saw something that was studiously avoided by those who sent hime there...all the Chickenhawks. And now they are prosecuting him...would they have fared any better? Doubtful, but see, we'll never know, they refused to go from the Deserter-in-Chief on down. How would President Dumbass have reacted if he saw someone cut in half in front of him? I'm betting sobriety might have been more of an issue in his worthless existance. But he went to the Champagne Squadron of the Texas Air National Guard, and even ran away from that cushy job.

Where among the senior Civilian ranks does the Moral Authority come from to even question these men? There is none...they barely have any law on their side to prosecute this young man. The last successful prosecution was in 1968 and that soldier actually ran away.

Cowardice cases are very rare. According to the Department of Defense, in 1968 Pvt. Michael Gross was found guilty of running away from his company in Vietnam and sentenced to two years in prison. His case is the last cowardice conviction on the books.
That soldier did not go asking for help, as SGT Pogany did. I guess that they forgot to prosecute one 1st LT GW Bush for Dereliction, Refusal to Obey a Lawful Order and Desertion and Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. Could not have been because Daddy was politically well-connected and he was the grandson of a Senator? Nah.

Maybe those charges need to be re-examined in light of this case.

posted by Jo Fish on 11.06.03 at 12:53 AM





Comments:

WTF? This guy just got a severe case of PTSD and it happened to occur pretty soon after the incident. It would seem obvious to me not to send out a guy who's having panic attacks over seeing a guy get cut in half on raids with the Green Berets. It's not like he ran away from his unit in the heat of battle. He's just trying to deal with his own psychological trauma without compromising the integrity of his unit. And he gets repaid like this?

It's an outrage.

posted by: Kangaroo JAck on 11.06.03 at 01:42 AM [permalink]



Thanks for an update on this story. I covered it on my blog back on Nov. 1st but had yet to see an update on it. Totally outrageous! Is it any wonder that vets who could benefit from treatment don't seek it?

posted by: Marinegirl on 11.06.03 at 03:19 AM [permalink]



This is a sad and troubling story. SGT Pogany has seen the elephant. Many of us have. Some of us were troubled, but not as much as he. I feel bad for him, because sometimes, your visceral reaction - even PTSD - come much later, and is sometimes even insulated by the mind's amazing ability to cushion traumatic experiences.

Jo's right about the snake eaters. All of those I've known are very low-key, and downgrade what they did and what happened.

Until you're bending elbows with your brothers. Then the other guys become 12 feet tall, with teeth t h i s long, and use barbed wire for a jockstrap. But they always seem to trip over their own ammo belts, and you and yer buds end up laughing about it all.

I just hope there are a lot of CIB's on the Court-Martial, if it occurs. Maybe they'll remember, if they haven't sold their souls to the Corportaion.

posted by: Lurch on 11.06.03 at 08:54 AM [permalink]






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