Senators demand answers on Wanat reversal
Published: July 27, 2010
Senate leaders are still awaiting a reply from Army Secretary John McHugh on a letter they sent last week asking for the rationale behind not punishing three officers for their mistakes leading up to the deadly July 2008 battle in Wanat. Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in that firefight and 27 more wounded, one of the bloodiest clashes of the Afghanistan war.
An initial investigation into the tragedy found that the company, battalion and brigade commanders were “derelict in the performance of their duties through neglect or culpable inefficiency.” Army officials initially issued letters of reprimand to three officers for their role in poor planing and supervision of the remote outpost, but last month annulled all three letters following further review.
Army leaders told family of those killed and wounded in Wanat that punishing the officers would have a chilling effect on other battlefield commanders. In the letter to the Army, the senators complained that family members expressed concerns over "what they see as the Army’s failure to hold commanders accountable."
"The reckless decisions made at Wanat were not made in battle; they occurred months and weeks before from negligence and neglect," the letter states. "Given the depth of their concerns, however, we consider it necessary for you to address them, to inform us of your views on the principle of command accountability, and to describe how the Army is applying the lessons learned at the Battle of Wanat."
The senators who signed the letter were Jim Webb, D-Va.; Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii; Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Army officials have not said when a response will be delivered.
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