The Thomas Affaire

Scott Thomas picked the wrong FOB (Forward Operating Base) as a background for his stories at the New Republic. Camp Falcon is a dangerous place, but it's also had many notable journalist/bloggers go through it.  Michael Yon and JD Johannes (even Le Sommier the editor and my FOBmate from Paris Match) wrote about the situation there extensively. 

The big point to remember about an incident like the Scott Thomas Affaire is that it only gets published because publications like the New Republic truly want to believe his story, even when the story itself doesn't even come close to passing the sniff Test.   

I was at Camp Falcon earlier this month and didn't recognize any of what Scott Thomas described.  So, I e-mailed the public affairs officer Major Luedeke at Camp Falcon:

Per COL Boylan's request, I have prepared the following:

1. There was no mass grave found during the construction of any of our coalition outposts in the Rashid District at any time. Such a discovery would have prompted an investigation and close attention paid at levels higher than ours to making sure that the victims were properly interred and attempts would have been made to determine their identities. It is difficult to fathom that a unit's leadership would condone Soldiers disrespecting the remains of anyone in the fashion described.

2. Due to the threat of IEDs, our combat vehicles are driven professionally and in control at all times. To be driving erratically so as to hit dogs or other things would be to put the entire vehicle's crew at risk and would be gross dereliction of duty by the noncommissioned officer or officer in charge of the vehicle. Drivers aren't allowed to simply free-wheel their vehicles however they see fit, and they are *not* allowed to be moved anywhere with out a vehicle commander present to supervise the movement. Therefore- claims of vehicles leaving the roadways to hit animals are highly dubious, given the very real threat of IEDs and normal standards of conduct.

3. As for the alleged  woman with severe burn scars, we have nobody matching that description here at FOB Falcon. As Soldiers, we practice the value of Respect: "Treat people as you want to be treated." If the blogger and his friends can't live the Army value of respect, I have little doubt that someone around them who does would have made an on-the-spot correction. The Falcon dining facility is not a spacious one. Anyone being rude, loud or raucous calls immediate attention to himself. It is hard to fathom that anyone would be able to get away with such callous behavior without somebody intervening and stopping it from happening.

Comments

[Yak Rider]

Time to put another one in the win column as bloggers dissect and disassemble more MSM bull scat. I wonder if these liars and charlatans will ever be able to put together a believable lie.

Anybody heard from Jessie MacBeth lately?

[Mark Eichenlaub]

Matt,
Thanks for your service and your work writing. Keep it up friend.

[Don Carlson]

My faimily and I send you and the soldiers, troops, airmen, and sailors in Iraq our thanks, our prayers for their well-being,and our respect to you all---at every opportunity.