Thursday, April 22, 2010
Jonathan Brostrom
Upset over the military’s unwillingness to punish higher-ranking officers for alleged mistakes, the families of 22 U.S. personnel killed in action in Afghanistan are demanding the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps provide more accountability for the decisions of generals who put the service members in harm’s way. Those killed were involved in three separate “but eerily similar” battles in Afghanistan, according to the Military Times, in which “units were put in indefensible positions or left without sufficient support when attacked by overwhelming forces.”
The military reprimanded lower-level field commanders involved in each battle, but punishments were not leveled on those higher up in the chain of command.
“Where are the generals, and how do you hold them accountable?” asked retired Colonel David Brostrom, whose son, Jonathan Brostrom, was killed along with eight other Americans during a battle in July 2008 in Wanat. The former military officer tried unsuccessfully to get answers by going through defense channels, but eventually gained a sympathetic ally in U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia), a former Marine officer who was moved by Brostrom’s tale.
The military is now conducting a new investigation into Wanat because of demands by Webb.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Families Want Accountability for Afghan Battles (by Michelle Tan, Military Times)
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