Good morning everyone!
My family and I are doing well in Warzburg and we are very happy and fortunate to be back together again. Bavaria’s weather is much like Upstate, New York’s with the leaves changing color (though not as bright) and the temps usually in the 30s to 50s F this time of year.
Warzburg is a great city on the river Main, in Northern Bavaria. Germany used to be a collection of 16 provinces or states (or kingdoms), Bavaria being one. It was not until the 1870s that Germany became a federal republic. Warzburg has a neat history and much of the history is preserved although the allies just about leveled the city by bombing raids at the close of WWII (the city was bombed only once in WWII in a raid that although it lasted only 20 minutes devastated 87% of the city!). Warzburg was first used as a fortification by Celts, the city was the site of the martyrdom of Saint Kilian, a Catholic missionary, in 689. There remains a strong but subtle Catholic influence around the town and much of Bavaria.
As of us, Kristen is doing great adjusting to living on an Army post. She has mastered the art of driving a manual transmission vehicle and now her German is as good as her fluent French. Grace is doing great in Kindergarten and is starting to read while Liam is growing very quickly and is keeping pace with his big sister! While they miss home, they are enjoying experiencing Germany and making new friends.
Work continues to go well for me. It is nice being back in a Western country and having greenery and a change of weather. Work has kept me busy with a good case load … I remain in Trial Defense Service and am defending soldiers accused of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Fortunately, this assignment has helped me hone my trial and litigation shills, though it can be very long hours and clients can be really cooperative or not at all.
One case brought me back to Kuwait very recently for a contested trial where I obtained a full acquittal! This officer, a Captain who is a West Point graduate, was accused of having inappropriate and illegal images on his computer. Client was a Company Commander of HHD Signal Company in Qatar and performed duties at Bagram, Afghanistan. An anonymous informant alerted the Bn Chaplain that the anonymous informant found pornography on a computer (which is illegal via a US General Order out of respect for the Muslim host nation). The anonymous informant obtained access remotely and using special permissions which the informant believed were illegal and told the Chaplain this fact. Chaplain told his higher command but would not release the informants name or identity. A search was made on my client’s government issued equipment and his personal computer effects in his quarters. Pornography was found on his computer equipment. At the Court Martial, the Defense obtained testimony that remote access is common, that password and user ids were shared among the BDE and BN, and that the client let many people use his personal computer in his room for e-mail etc since computers and LAN access were scarce in Qatar. We lost a motion to suppress, but obtained a verdict of Not Guilty on all Charges and Specifications.
Another case in Kuwait which wrapped up recently was a vehicle accident where a Kuwaiti national was trying to avoid my client’s convoy and hit his tractor-trailer and was killed. My client was charged with negligent homicide. My client was driving in the lead position on a 24-vehicle convoy traveling south from Iraq to Kuwait. While my client was trying to make a suitable U-turn that could accommodate the convoy, my client radioed back to his Convoy Commander for permission to make the U-turn. After receiving the permission, he checked his mirrors and began to execute the turn. As he traveled for 12-15 seconds and was perpendicular to the southbound lane, my client’s vehicle was struck by a white pickup truck driven by a Kuwaiti national. The Kuwaiti national was killed as the result of several factors: (1) the Kuwaiti was speeding or traveling at a `high rate of speed between 80-90 MPH`; (2) the Kuwaiti was not wearing his seatbelt; (3) the Kuwaiti did not take prudent avoidance maneuvers; (4) the Kuwaiti hit the front-left corner of SGT Rose’s 915 Bobtail, and (5) the Kuwaiti, due to the speed momentum, flipped 4 times and was ejected from the vehicle (due to no seatbelt restraint). For his part, my client never traveled on this road before and determined that the (a) U-turn was suitable for the convoy, (b) it was immediately ahead and could accommodate the convoy, (c) stopped the convoy safely; (d) asked for permission to make the U-turn; (e) knew it was legal to make that turn (under Kuwaiti law); (f) knew making a U-turn was permissible (IAW established Battalion SOPs and Rules of the Road); (g) took all actions that were prudent and required in operating a 915 Bobtail; and (f) followed SOP by not going down an unknown road and taking the first available turn-around. I was able to convince the Article 32 Officer to recommend that the Charges NOT go forward and reasonable grounds did not exist to move this case forward. The Convening Authority chose to have this case go to a Summary Court martial – which will not be a federal conviction and is the lowest level of Courts-Martial (esp. considering the nature of the charges).
http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/germany/wurzburg/wurzburg.html
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/wurzburg.htm
Hope all is well!
Best,
Chris“
