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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (12195)	10/14/2003 3:33:59 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 794388

Smash looks like he's giving us the straight scoop on this letter writing issue. _______________________________________ ABCNEWS HAS THE SCOOP: the “form letter” from Kirkuk was written by the commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Dominic Caraccilo (hat tip: Glenn Reynolds). lt-smash.us Caraccilo said he circulated the form letter to his soldiers to give them "an opportunity to let their respective hometowns know what they are accomplishing here in Kirkuk. As you might expect, they are working at an extremely fast pace and getting the good news back home is not always easy. We thought it would be a good idea to encapsulate what we as a battalion have accomplished since arriving Iraq and share that pride with people back home." Caraccilo wrote that his staff drafted the letter, he edited it and reviewed it and then offered it to the soldiers. "Every soldier who signed that letter did so after a careful read," he said. "Some, who could find the time, decided to send their own versions, while others chose not to take part in the initiative." It’s not uncommon for commanders to send letters home on behalf of the troops. My own CO sent a letter to my wife, and another to my boss that was very similar in tone and content to the one penned by Caraccilo. The key differences, in this case, are that my CO signed his own name, and didn’t send it to my local newspaper. Did Caraccilo do anything wrong? One could argue that it was disingenous to write letters on behalf of his troops, although he appears to have asked their consent. As I noted yesterday, however, he also didn’t break any military regulations by sending letters to newspaper editors. The one area where Caraccilo COULD be in some trouble, however, is if there is any truth to reports that some of his subordinates felt pressured to sign the letter against their will. One soldier, who asked not to be identified, said he was reluctant to sign the letter because he did not agree with the comments in the letter but said he was ordered by a superior officer to sign. It’s not against regulations for military members to express their OWN opinions, as long as they don’t make disparaging comments against their superiors (including most elected officials). It IS, however, considered improper for a commander to put any form of pressure (perceived or real) on his subordinates to echo his own opinions. Whether this is what happened in this instance is a question for Colonel Caraccilo’s superiors to decide.