Among other things, he's made false accusations of assault, negligent homicide and conspiracy to commit murder. He's named names, ranks, locations, email addresses etc of personnel in the unit with which he was embedded.Any or all of the above would be a plausible explanation of why Michael Yon's press status was revoked. I can't comment on the facebook stuff as I don't follow Yon on facebook.
That is why he's persona non grata. Might want to fact check your writing before clicking, "post".
However, as far as assault, negligent homicide and conspiracy to commit murder goes, it is only a false accusation if there is no truth behind it. I knew the Company Commander who was in charge of the Cav Troop that contained the "Kill Squad", members of which are on trial at Fort Lewis. He had no idea what was going on in his troop because of the vast distance between platoon outposts that he had to cover.
I know that SF personnel have killed people simply for having a cell phone. I know that sometimes SF will come in, kill a few people, maybe women and children, then call up the land owning unit and say "fix this, bye" and leave. I know that SF night raids are the number one complaint I receive from the
Afghan Security Forces and GiRoA. So, pardon me for not being the Army's big cheerleader, but every single one of those "false accusations" has a high probability of actually having some truth to it, based on my knowledge and experience. Enough to convict? That is a different question.
Fayette'Girl should read the book "Soldier" by LTC Tony Herbert. In it he talks about some of the things he saw that were swept under the rug. This isn't some "Winter Soldier" BS either, this was a highly decorated American Hero who had nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming forward. Remember the pilot who interceded at Mai Lai? Yeah that did GREAT things for his career.
Now, is Yon a bit narcissistic? I don't know, could be. Normal people don't become journalists. Then again normal people don't become Soldiers so I might not be a good one to judge.
16 comments:
Last time everybody called Yon a liar, he was saying that McChrystal was a problem. Which turned out to be true. That's not the first time he's been vindicated, if I recall correctly.
After McChrystal, when Yon says something I don't like hearing, I worry.
I appreciate your candor on this topic. War is hell.
M. L. Callahan
Truth is not a popular commodity amongst those in positions of authority. Especially if it does not conform to their version of events.
A whole post just on my comment? Did I strike a nerve?
"However, as far as assault, negligent homicide and conspiracy to commit murder goes, it is only a false accusation if there is no truth behind it."
Exactly. There. Is. NO. Truth. Behind. It.
But rather than investigate that, you wrote several paragraphs about the actions of other men at other times in other places. Please, do your homework on the current incident.
I am a friend of one of the accused. He has an open and shut case of libel and slander with considerable damages.
You don't read his Facebook? You should; that's where the accusations were made and any dissenting opinions deleted and the writers banned.
You don't research the other side of the story? That is inexcusable, irresponsible and just plain bad blogging.
Here's a little homework to get you started:
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/ps/yonwatch/
And please, do go read his Facebook... make sure to read at least a good week's worth so you can breath in the full richness of the extent of his delusions. The man needs professional help. I'm not being a smartass here. The man is psychologically unbalanced; he needs help. I'm far more concerned about the harm that may come to others as a result of Yon's actions than of any of the men against whom he's made utterly ludicrous, unfounded claims. They aren't even remotely accurate.
And since you wandered off topic with examples from other incidents, I'll do you one in turn. Here's just a sample of his assinine behavior on his Facebook page... some choice words he had for a Dustoff medic who did nothing more than challenge him --quite respectfully- on his smear campaign against medevac policies:
JN: having been a medevac pilot and having signed to the Geneva Conventions upon entering the military, it's just not that simple to arm things with a red cross MY. I've flown assault, attack, recon, and Medevac...also casevac...but rules of law are there to prevent revenge attack (1), and to protect medical personnel (2). Please stop grandstanding on this soldier and continue to move on with your reporting. Or, just move on.
Michael Yon JN -- Am going to have to call you Mr. C. C for Can't. People like you create jobs for people like me. But don't expect a thank you.
The holier than thou diverts from the topic. It also insists that you are holier than those who never served but do things like fly into space. (Also people of action, but stop stroking yourself with the men of action stuff. Who cares? Some of the smartest people I know never would do this stuff.) The holier than thou bread stales quickly. Come on over here without your crews backing you up and roll around alone in these villages. Would be interesting to see how long the Lone Ranger rides. Man of action. Nobody is kissing your feet here; this mere writer smells a puff ball.
Bat. Guano. Loco. If you can't see that, you either aren't looking or don't want to.
An entire post based on my comment? Did I touch a nerve? I wrote a response but it seems to have disappeared into thin air. Perhaps that's because I included links for you to do some additional reading on this topic?
Here's the bottom line:
"However, as far as assault, negligent homicide and conspiracy to commit murder goes, it is only a false accusation if there is no truth behind it."
Exactly. There is no truth behind it. None. Nada. Zippo. I happen to be friends with one of the Soldiers he's falsely accused.
And you? Rather than do your own research on the matter, you wandered off and wrote several paragraphs about other men in other places at other times and held them up as evidence that Yon's accusations aren't baseless. Do you not see the problem with that logic, or lack thereof?
I'm rather amused that you're suggestion I go read the book "Soldier" when you yourself are too lazy, or irresponsible to do your own research. Or could it be that you just don't want to find out you made a sloppy mistake?
Here's a reading list for you:
-War on Terror News, Perspectives section, "The Yon Watch". A good overview rich with primary sources. I recommend starting with the 9/26 post, "Yon fears a fobbit."
-Michael Yon's Facebook page. Make sure you read at least a week's worth of both posts and comments so you can breath in the full richness of his psychosis. I'm not being a smart ass; the man is ill and need professional help. Among other things, he fancies himself the "Lone Ranger" out braving the badlands on his own while accusing "puffball" medics of hiding behind their crews. Like I said, read the comments... his behavior is deplorable and dishonorable.
One important thing I forgot to mention:
The victim/target of this "assault" and "conspiracy to commit murder"? Innocent Afghan villagers? No. Michael Yon himself. He got into a pissing contest with a couple NCO's and officers in the unit he was embedded with. When he didn't get his way, he ran crying to his laptop and twisted what amounted to nothing more than a shouting match into, "I was just assaulted in my tent". Rather than man-up and handle it properly, he cried about it on his Facebook page. Seriously? Who does that? 12 year olds?
Conspiracy to commit murder? Again, Yon thinks he's the target. He claims there is a cult being led by yet another senior NCO that is out to get him. Yes. A cult. I'm serious. You can't make this stuff up.
Negligent homicide? The General he blames for his disembed. Because Mike Yon knows more about how Dustoff operations should work than the entire Army.
Whenever he gets disembeded, he blazes a trail of off the charts retribution with no basis other than his own paranoid delusions.
The man is psychologically unstable and making character assassinations against good, honorable men.
But again, please don't take my word for it, go research it for yourself.
Fayette Girl is right. Yon has claimed death threats against a soldier who has never made any such threats. Yon has never published any proof of these threats, because they do not exist; he says it just for the attention and the paypal button.
And remember... Yon was kicked out of the military before he ever served a single day in combat. Something he won't discuss, but is a matter of public record.
Because I am in a generous mood today, and I wouldn't want ANYone to have to strain themselves doing research already thoroughly documented, HERE is the link to a series of columns that prove Yon for what he is - all in one place. :)
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/ps/yonwatch/
Well, "thoroughly debunked" is something for scientists to argue, not "he said/she said" snark fights on the internet.
This is not anonymous, it is posted by ldb853
"Any or all of the above would be a plausible explanation of why Michael Yon's press status was revoked."
Many people commenting on Mr. Yon since this latest uprising by the natives do not know what started this and his demise with the 4-4 Cav, accusations of threats made against him, his disembed from the 4-4 and any other military unit and his leaving from Afghanistan.
It all began with a post Yon made called "Grapes" in which in graphic detail he describes the wounding complete with mutliple limb loss of a 4-4 trooper whom he names, Chazray Clark.
I and many others believed this reporting to be without precedent. Report in graphic details the wounds and death but not the name or, report the name and death but leave out the graphic description of the horrible wounds and the suffering.
His classless and sickening reporting upset a person call CJ whom I do not know who said something about urinating in a orafice in Yon's body he was going to create by removing another body part.
Then, supposedly a CAO made threats and assaulted Mr. Yon which was witnessed by a Sgt. The Sgt. says there was no assault.
Yon used the incident of Clark's death to blog "Red Air" in which he said it took 65 minutes from the time the IED exploded until Clark was medivac'd out. Army records reflect it was 59 minutes (within the golden hour) from the time they received the call and Clark was medivac'd out.
So Yon called the Army liars and brought up other issues that have "rightly so" PO'd many others. The real travesty besides the loss of a brave troopers life is both Yon and the Army are right.
When the IED blew the commander assessed who was wounded, how bad were the wounds, set up a defensive perimeter all of which were by the book and took 6 mintues. The medivac was called and it took off with Chazray 59 mintues later,by the book. 6 plus 59 is 65.
What is lost now is the reason everyone got pissed in the first place, Yon lost his embed, why no one in the 4-4 likes Yon now (there are several volunteers to assist CJ with his p;roposed task) and likely Yon will never have another Army embed and is presently in Thailand.
The most sickening thing to me next to the classless reporting performed in "Grapes" linking the name with the graphic wound description is he claims to have a video of the last hour of Clark's life, complete with suffering he will make public to prove his 65 minute point! Will that video also show the 59 minutes between the call for medivac and the lift-off with Clark aboard.
With the threat of the video going public I am done with Mr. Yon. After his original "Grapes" blog I asked him several different ways and times to edit his article removing either the name or wound description or to apologize and remove the post. He chose to do neither, continued his posting to include medivac incompentence, then charges to the SF community and here we are.
I have asked Yon to consider getting a neutral party to review his video and time claims. Not because I don't believe him but because Clark's last hour and the sadness and frustration of his comrades at that time in the field needs to be left private. It should not and does not need to be plastered all over the internet for the family, the war porn community and others to see like the "Grapes" blog!
AmericanMercenary, you said:
I simply can't do that, because I am a Soldier, and I know that Soldiers aren't plaster saints. I know that Soldiers get in fights, sometimes Soldiers rape each other. Sometimes Soldiers murder each other. I've been part of sending two soldiers to prison for kiddie porn. The Navy has relieved over 18 skippers this year for misconduct. Senior officers. How many Army Officers have been relieved? There have been multiple in my AO. So I can't dismiss what sounds reasonable based on my experience.
I am assuming as a military man, you have heard military epithets, curses, colloquialisms, etc?
So if someone wrote, "I want to rip off his head and piss down his neck," would you immediately jump to the reasonable conclusion that you have received a legitimate and viable death threat from an unstable and deadly adversary?
THAT is what the whole "death threat" kerfluffle was about in regards to MSG CJ Grisham.
Not asking you to give a rat's @ss about anything on either side, just asking you if the reaction of Yon to reading those words when typed up in response to a lurid description of a soldier's death (which may and most likely will be found online by his family someday)is the sign of someone who reacts reasonably to things or someone who is twisting and distorting words to his own gain.
If a Special Forces Master Sergeant was pissed off enough to tell me to my face that he wanted to rip off my head and piss down my neck I'm pretty sure it would get my attention.
Would I "feel" threatened? Probably, because that sort of statement from a young punk on the street would simply be the yipping of an overgrown puppy. When a wolf growls the same message there is prudence in keeping your distance.
So it isn't that just "any" soldier said it, it is that one of the "Quiet Professionals" lost his damn temper and said something that he shouldn't have.
If you want to be elite you have to hold a higher standard. It has always been thus.
bwaaaahahaha, actually, it was a 5' 6" MI guy in Afghanistan, not in any physically close vicinity (unless you call the same country as close) and is detailed here. It was not said TO Michael Yon, it was said in response to someone else, on a completely different facebook page, about MY.
All of that resulted in FB postings about death threats, how a man is going to go off and kill somebody, when is MSG Grisham gonna snap and commit murder, blah, blah, hysterical*drama*queen*reaction, blah. For a former Special Forces guy, he sure is....sensitive. But what matters most, is that thousands, literally close to 50K people read those commit murder/death threat things and considered MSG Grisham a real threat and contacted the FBI, the Secret Service, and their Congressmen (according to their own comments). How would you feel if it were YOU on the receiving end of the inevitable ass-chewing from higher ups after all of that?
What else would you expect from a reporter? Hell, I still haven't seen another email come down from the ISAF PAO office explaining the "why" of Yon's revocation, so can't comment with any sort of authority as to why it was revoked. All I know is that the man stirred up a shit storm.
As far as MI goes, well I wouldn't take a threat from an MI geek seriously if I knew he was an MI geek. Then again, some of the most ruthless people I know are MI, but mainly to their fellow Soldiers...
What else would you expect from a reporter?
Ummmm, fact checking of some sort? Maybe I'm persnickity like that, holding someone accountable for his words.
As far as MI goes, well I wouldn't take a threat from an MI geek seriously if I knew he was an MI geek.
Michael Yon was well aware that CJ was MI because he either solicited or a fan offered up information dug up through AKO on CJ's unit and publicly posted it and told his fans that CJ was crazy, here's his unit, and oh, by the way, he's going to Afghanistan soon. How's that for caring about the troops? And no, CJ has never, EVER mentioned he was MI until Yon outted him. I've sat in bars with CJ and never knew exactly what he did. He would dodge and say, "I can't talk about that." So yeah, I have issues with the whole "reporter" persona that Yon wears like a perceived invincible cloak against criticism.
I expect reporters to take a grain of truth and put it forward through a slanted lens of opinion in an attempt to undermine the moral of the American people.
I don't expect any reporter to be "on our side" or to have any reason whatsoever to not sensationalize on any incident, comment, or person who happens to cross their path.
Reporters are in the business of selling stories, same as fiction authors. "Plane Lands Safely" doesn't make headlines.
Rule of thumb, if it bleeds it leads, if it is heartwarming it follows, if it scares it's a special alert. I may have sucked as a stand in PAO, but I've been around enough to know that you NEVER relax around a reporter and you are ALWAYS on the record. I think McCrystal is a good case in point of that rule.
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