ACTION REQUEST FROM:
~ Francis Kromkowski
406-459-0188
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1100&Itemid=81
Demand that the Secretary of Defense [sic] protect
...SEND a letter today -- from the following website:
http://www.capwiz.com/whistleblowers/issues/alert/?alertid=15081696&type=ml
.........................................................................
http://www.capwiz.com/whistleblowers/issues/alert/?alertid=15081696&type=ml
The
rights of employees.
The
of the public to learn about whistleblower issues and to take action to help
protect the rights of all employee whistleblowers to speak out without fear.
Our network of concerned citizens plays a vital role in providing support for
whistleblower heroes and holding the government and private sector
accountable, and ensuring that Congress does its job by enacting whistleblower
protection laws Check out their website:
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=71
http://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1100&Itemid=81
Background:
A former prosecutor who blew the whistle on the abuse of our
Constitution in the
losing his 19-year military career. Lieutenant Colonel Darrel Vandeveld was
retaliated against for having the courage to follow orders and speak the truth
about the mockery of due process afforded to detainees in
On June 1, a military promotions board will meet, ironically, not to
honor or promote Lt. Col. Vandeveld, a highly decorated member of the
Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps who served in
and
likely, they will smear his name, preventing him from an honorable retirement
just 4 months away from 20 years of outstanding service to our nation.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld needs your help to defend his honor, as he has stood
up to defend the Constitution.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld resigned from his position at
could not ethically or legally prosecute Mohammed Jawad. The Jawad case
brought to light many of the problems occurring at
abusive interrogations, evidence withheld from the defense, judicial
incompetence, and confessions coerced through torture. Lt. Col. Vandeveld
gave judge-ordered testimony in the Jawad case, and in return for his honesty
under oath and the public outrage that followed, the military issued him his
first negative performance evaluation.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld was then subpoenaed in 2009 to testify before
Congress regarding the Military Commissions Act of 2009, where he again spoke
the truth, stating, "the military commission system is broken beyond repair.
Even good faith efforts at revision...leave in place provisions that are
illegal and unconstitutional." Instead of taking his testimony seriously, the
Army chose to retaliate against Lt. Col. Vandeveld for his courageous stand
and also to resume the commissions at
We cannot allow the reputation of a distinguished soldier to be
destroyed because he had the courage speak honestly when ordered to do so. We
need to defend men and women of conscience who, like Lt. Col. Vandeveld, honor
American values of justice, due process and basic human rights above all else.
Their courage on the battlefield and in the courtroom to step forward and put
an end to abuses of the Constitution they swore to protect and defend should
be rewarded, not punished.
Message Recipients (letter I sent, 5/29/2010 -- Francis Kromkowski):
U.S. House Representative from
Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense
Gordon S. Heddell, Inspector General
Jack Stultz, Commanding General of the Army Reserve,
James R Sholar, Deputy Commanding General of the
Kathryn Stone, Chief of the Army JAG Corps' Professional Responsi,
Gill Beck, Commanding General of the USAR's Legal Command,
Dana Chipman
Subject: Stop Army Retaliation Against
I am writing you as a constituent and concerned citizen. We cannot allow
the reputation of a distinguished soldier --Lieutenant Colonel Darrel
Vandeveld, a
speak honestly when ordered to do so. We cannot allow a good man of
conscience to be punished for lawfully acting in the best interests of the
military and the nation.
In September 2008, Lt. Col. Vandeveld resigned from his position as a
prosecutor in
ethically or legally prosecute the case he was assigned.
Since then, Lt. Col. Vandeveld has faced retaliation for following orders
and speaking the truth about Constitutional violations committed at
It is unacceptable in a nation of laws like ours that Lieutenant Colonel
Darrel Vandeveld is being retaliated against for having the courage to follow
orders and speak the truth about how the due process afforded to detainees in
On June 1, Lt. Col. Vandeveld -- a highly decorated member of the
Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps who served in
and
before a promotions board that likely will smear his name, preventing him from
an honorable retirement just four months away from 20 years of outstanding
service to our nation.
In September 2008, Lt. Col. Vandeveld resigned from his position as a
prosecutor in
ethically or legally prosecute the case he was assigned. Since then, Lt. Col.
Vandeveld has faced retaliation for following orders and speaking the truth
about Constitutional violations committed at
After his resignation, Lt. Col. Vandeveld was ordered by a military
commission judge to testify for the defense in the case of Mohammed Jawad, the
same case he had resigned over.
The Jawad case was widely covered in the press because it brought to light
many of the problems occurring at
interrogations, withholding of evidence from the defense, judicial
incompetence, and confessions coerced through torture.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld testified as he was ordered to, and in return for his
honesty under oath and the public outrage that followed, the military issued
him his first negative performance review.
Lt. Col. Vandeveld was then subpoenaed in 2009 to testify before Congress
regarding the Military Commissions Act of 2009, where he again spoke the
truth, stating, the military commission system is broken beyond repair.
Even good faith efforts at revision leave in place provisions that are illegal
And unconstitutional.
Instead of taking his testimony seriously, the Army chose to retaliate
against Lt. Col. Vandeveld for his courageous stand and also to resume the
commissions at
I urge you to do evrything you possibly can to assure that the Unired
Statesr Amry will not be allowed to destroy the reputation of a distinguished
soldier to be destroyed because he had the courage speak honestly when ordered
to do so.
We need all men of conscience like Lt. Col. Vandeveld, who hold American
values of justice, due process and basic human rights above all else both on
the battlefield and in the courtroom to step forward and put an end to glaring
constitutional abuses.
I urge you to ensure that Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld receives no further
retaliation for his testimony before the military commission and Congress, and
that he be allowed to retire after 20 years of honorable service to our
nation.
~ Francis Kromkowski
..............................................................................
Philip Berrigan: "Change your heart, your life, your community, the system
-- in that order." (Berrigan's answer to my question -- "How do we change the
world?" -- put to him in 1976 when he came to
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