Soldier faces court-martial.Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard A Fort Lewis soldier who went AWOL to avoid a second tour of duty in Iraq and charged that she was sexually harassed by supervisors will be tried in January, after almost two months of pre-trial negotiations. Eugene resident Suzanne Swift Suzanne Swift (July 15 1984 - ) is a Specialist in the United States Army. She is most noted for going AWOL from the Army when she received new orders to deploy to Iraq, after her charges of sexual assault from her first deployment had continued to go unanswered. , a military police specialist, is scheduled for a special court-martial special court-martial n. In the U.S. armed forces, a court-martial consisting of at least three officers for trying intermediate offenses. Noun 1. on Jan. 8, after negotiations that might have led to a lesser punishment or early release from the military broke down, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Swift's mother and her lawyer. Fort Lewis officials announced Oct. 4 that Swift, who is charged with failing to deploy and being absent without leave, would be referred for a special court-martial, but no trial date was set at that time. A special court-martial, with maximum punishment of confinement for a year, is less severe than a general court-martial general court-martial n. A court-martial consisting of at least five officers for trying major offenses. , which handles the most serious offenses, but tougher than a summary court martial COURT MARTIAL. A court authorized by the articles of war, for the trial of all offenders in the army or navy, for military offences. Article 64, directs that general courts martial may consist of any number of commissioned officers, from five to thirteen, inclusively; but they shall not , where maximum punishment is 30 days confinement. What followed the Oct. 4 announcement, said Sara Rich, Swift's mother, and Keith Scherer, her attorney, was communication with prosecutors about ways to avoid the court-martial, which is a public process open to the media. "We had been told, back in October, that the general (Lt. Gen. James Dubi) was very open-minded about how to resolve this case," Scherer said. Scherer said prosecutors invited him to submit a proposal for a resignation in lieu of court-martial, but that the two proposals he submitted were rejected. At one point, Scherer and Rich say, the military proposed a deal stipulating that Swift sign a statement saying she had not been sexually assaulted in Iraq in exchange for a summary court-martial summary court-martial n. In the U.S. armed forces, a court-martial consisting of one officer, convened and held to try relatively minor offenses. . Swift refused, her mother said. Fort Lewis officials declined to comment on any pre-trial negotiations, but they said there has never been a request that Swift sign such a statement, Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said. Swift served with the 66th Military Police Co. and was in Iraq from February 2004 to February 2005. But just days before her new unit, the 54th Military Police Co., was to deploy in January 2006, Swift decided not to go back. She remained in Oregon until she was arrested by Eugene police at her mother's home June 11. Swift has said she was sexually harassed by her platoon leader A platoon leader or platoon commander is the officer in command of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer — a second or first lieutenant, or an equivalent rank. He is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant. in Iraq, coerced into a sexual relationship by her squad leader Squad leader may mean
Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. during her first deployment, and that a third sergeant Third Sergeant is a Specialist rank in the Singapore Armed Forces. Third Sergeants are the most junior of Specialists, ranking above Corporals, who, in the SAF, are not considered Specialists and do not have command authority. made sexually suggestive comments to her after she returned to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . She said she couldn't face the thought of further harassment and went AWOL instead. An investigation into her allegations completed last summer supported the stateside state·side adj. 1. Of or in the continental United States. 2. Alaska Of or in the 48 contiguous states of the United States. adv. Informal 1. incident, noting that it had been properly probed and the sergeant admonished and transferred to a different unit. The investigator failed to find witnesses who could back up Swift's allegations. But the report did find people in her unit who believed Swift, and at least one person who confirmed that some male soldiers continuously made sexually suggestive comments. The investigator wrote that he found Swift's emotional testimony convincing. The Register-Guard obtained a copy of the report through a Freedom of Information Act request. Swift's case, which has been widely reported in the national media, may become an international story as well. On Saturday, a team of broadcast journalists from Al Jazeera spent the day in Eugene with Rich and Swift. The Middle East TV channel based in Doha, Qatar, recently launched an international English-language ver- sion. The journalists declined to be interviewed about their interest in the case, but they told Rich her daughter's story would air on "Everywoman," a news magazine show. Al Jazeera's Web site lists recent topics that have aired on "Everywoman," including a segment on female migrant workers and the lack of labor laws protecting them in the oil-rich Arab nations where many work as maids; and a look at three Yemeni women who ran for president of that country in 2006. No U.S. cable or satellite companies have yet agreed to carry Al Jazeera in this country. |
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