Thursday, July 22, 2004
Two Chief Warrants Charged in Death of a Prisoner
Here's the link.
One of them is someone I knew; Chief Welshofer. I must have turned over hundreds of detainees to him, the 3rd ACR, and the 94th MP company at Al Asad. He also led intelligence teams that supported my battalion in several promising raids, or large scale operations where we needed linguist support and professional interrogators on site.
I had the opportunity to watch Chief Welshofer work as an interrogator on several occasions.
I never saw anything illegal. I never saw anything even questionable.
So I'm surprised and distressed that he is suspected of criminal wrongdoing.
That just does not sound like the 3rd ACR crew I knew. The LT in charge of the detention center and the senior warrant--not Chief Welshofer, but another guy, and I were all of like mind in wanting these guys to be humanely treated, within the law, and we talked many times about how best to do that.
I don't know if this happened at Al Asad or elsewhere.
I remember one high value detainee I had turned over on one of my convoys. I always asked them through an interpreter if they were on any medications--I used to work in hospitals, once upon a time, doing psychiatric admissions-- and he said yes, he needed heart medication.
A couple of days later I heard he had died. Of a heart attack.
I have no idea if he was that guy or not. I remember him being a Ba'ath Party Official, but I don't remember him being a general, specifically.
I wish I had kept better notes.
But if this was someone I turned over, and he told me he was on heart medication, it's written on the front sheet of the Coalition Detainee Processing Form, with my signature at the bottom, and on page 2.
Splash, out
Jason
One of them is someone I knew; Chief Welshofer. I must have turned over hundreds of detainees to him, the 3rd ACR, and the 94th MP company at Al Asad. He also led intelligence teams that supported my battalion in several promising raids, or large scale operations where we needed linguist support and professional interrogators on site.
I had the opportunity to watch Chief Welshofer work as an interrogator on several occasions.
I never saw anything illegal. I never saw anything even questionable.
So I'm surprised and distressed that he is suspected of criminal wrongdoing.
That just does not sound like the 3rd ACR crew I knew. The LT in charge of the detention center and the senior warrant--not Chief Welshofer, but another guy, and I were all of like mind in wanting these guys to be humanely treated, within the law, and we talked many times about how best to do that.
I don't know if this happened at Al Asad or elsewhere.
I remember one high value detainee I had turned over on one of my convoys. I always asked them through an interpreter if they were on any medications--I used to work in hospitals, once upon a time, doing psychiatric admissions-- and he said yes, he needed heart medication.
A couple of days later I heard he had died. Of a heart attack.
I have no idea if he was that guy or not. I remember him being a Ba'ath Party Official, but I don't remember him being a general, specifically.
I wish I had kept better notes.
But if this was someone I turned over, and he told me he was on heart medication, it's written on the front sheet of the Coalition Detainee Processing Form, with my signature at the bottom, and on page 2.
Splash, out
Jason
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