Guest Post by Sue Peterson…
President Obama, you are the Commander in Chief. Today we have another American Soldier that was capture, Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl. He is identified as "Missing-Captured" which is the designation that was established on December 18, 2000. The Department of Defense (DOD) issued Directive 1300.18 which eliminated the status of designation Prisoner of War (POW) for captured American Service Personnel. They replaced it with the ambiguous designation Missing/Captured (MIA-C) or “Duty Station Unknown”. The DOD and Pentagon changed from POW/MIA, a term all Americans understand and the term used under the Geneva Convention – shouldn’t he have the right to be classified as the Convention asks to guarantee him all help and protection possible? The lack of action by Congress to correct this misguided step displays a lack of respect for and provides grievous insult to our service personnel, their families and loved ones who suffer this loss.
Now, this soldier joins the other 2 – Missing/Captured –
CPT Scott Speicher (Desert Storm),
SPC Ahmed K. Altaie
(Last year they found the remains of SSG Matt Maupin, who was not called a POW, but he was awarded the POW medal, how ironic is that? And also the remains of PVT Byron W. Fouty and SPC Alex R. Jimenez.)
As a mother of a soldier who served in Iraq (Baghdad) and another son deploying next year, please remember that we have the above 3 soldiers – please do not forget them …UNTIL THEY ALL COME HOME.. …I cannot even imagine being a parent of one of these men….again, please make people aware…we need to help the families of these soldiers.
You will note there is tracking for WWII, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam War, 1991 Gulf War. But, there is no tracking or public dissemination for Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. The change in nomenclature from POW/MIA to Missing Captured & Missing In Action Where About Unknown does not afford principles or their survivors the same statutory legal benefits as granted to service members in prior conflicts. The missing personal will still be promoted at their normal longevity and allotments will still be paid to dependents but that is about as far as it goes. You can ask the family of Matt Maupin about the level of assistance they received (from the DPMO office). As a Blue Star Mom, I need to know the level of support or non-support my sons would be afforded if they were just listed as missing or captured in this current state of conflict. We demand from you and Congress that our current military personnel and their survivors be afforded the same level rights as prior POW/MIAs were granted.
I am proud of New Hampshire and Governor Lynch (D) for signing SB148 on June 11, 2009. This bill establishes that the state of New Hampshire recognizes the designations of Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) as valid descriptions of casualty status and category classification for military personnel. Governor Lynch has made NH the first state in the Union to officially declare that the only term POW/MIA is acceptable!!!
We are asking you, President Obama, to “direct the Department of Defense to recognize and designate as “Prisoner of War” (POW) not Missing/Captured”(MIA-C) any member of the U.S. Armed Forces and any U.S. citizens employed by any U.S. agency, or under U.S. Government contract, who are captured and held against his/her will.”
I am asking you to please write or call The President, your Senator and Representative, radio and papers…Let’s have New Hampshire lead the way in making this change….we can be the rock in the water that causes the ripple to spread across our United States of America.
Thank you,
Susan Peterson
Proud Blue Star Mom (x’s 2)