thedrifter
02-20-08, 05:34 AM
US Marines Warned of Japan's Anger
AP - Wednesday, February 20
By ERIC TALMADGE,Associated Press Writer AP - Wednesday, February 20
AL-ASAD, Iraq - After nearly seven months rigging convoys for runs through the desert around this remote base in western Iraq, Lance Cpl. Bobby Elsworth was hoping that returning to his home camp in southern Japan would mean an easier life.
But he and several hundred other U.S. Marines preparing to return to Okinawa were warned Tuesday to think again.
With anger rising over the alleged rape of an Okinawan teenager by a 38-year-old Marine staff sergeant, the Marines here were told that they can count on tough measures aimed at keeping them on base and out of trouble.
"You are heroes, and you deserve a hero's welcome," Col. Brent Spawn, commander of the 4th Combat Logistics Battalion, told an assembly of nearly 900 troops who will be returning to Japan over the next month. "Don't do anything to tarnish that."
Spawn said the Marines will likely face tighter curfews, along with programs to "reinforce our core values," as the U.S. military clamps down on crime. He did not elaborate on what the new restrictions might specifically entail.
Hours later, the U.S. military imposed tight restrictions on all servicemen in Okinawa, limiting troops to bases, places of work or off-base housing amid a furor over the rape allegations.
The restrictions, which go beyond a midnight curfew already in place for enlisted Marines on the southern Japanese island, started early Wednesday and were indefinite, U.S. Forces Japan officials said.
"This period of reflection will allow commanders and all service members an opportunity to further review procedures and orders that govern the discipline and conduct of all U.S. service members serving in Okinawa," a U.S. military statement read.
Spawn's Marines are expecting the worst.
"It's really tough, but I'm just ready to go back home and enjoy myself, even if I have to stay on base," said Elsworth, who is 19. "I don't know if it's fair, but it's something we have to deal with."
Protests have been held across Okinawa, home to about 15,000 Marines and a major U.S. outpost in the Pacific, since the arrest last week of Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone Hadnott.
Three other incidents involving other American service members in Okinawa over the weekend have deepened the anger _ allegations of drunk driving, trespassing and theft.
Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka called U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer to complain about the latest incidents.
"We had to protest strongly because it was just ridiculous that these alleged crimes were committed just as we were discussing the very problem," ministry official Ryo Fukabori said.
The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, also accused American servicemen of carousing and showing lax discipline. He suggested Tokyo will raise the issue when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Japan next week.
Hadnott, a Marine from Camp Courtney on Okinawa, has admitted to investigators that he forced the girl down and kissed her but said he did not rape her, according to Japanese police.
Schieffer traveled to Okinawa last week to express his sadness over the alleged attack, and the U.S. military announced a review of its anti-sexual assault guidelines, pledging to tighten discipline among its 50,000 troops throughout Japan.
The rape case has prompted comparisons with the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen. The attack triggered massive protests against the American military, and the three were convicted and sentenced to prison.
It also led to a major streamlining of the U.S. presence on Okinawa, and was a major factor in the decision to move about half of the Marines off Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam over the next several years.
With a midnight curfew and other restraints on young Marines already in place since the 1995 rape, some of the Marines here say serving on Okinawa or in Iraq isn't very different.
"It's pretty much the same," Elsworth said. "Here, you just can't wear civilian clothes."
Ellie
AP - Wednesday, February 20
By ERIC TALMADGE,Associated Press Writer AP - Wednesday, February 20
AL-ASAD, Iraq - After nearly seven months rigging convoys for runs through the desert around this remote base in western Iraq, Lance Cpl. Bobby Elsworth was hoping that returning to his home camp in southern Japan would mean an easier life.
But he and several hundred other U.S. Marines preparing to return to Okinawa were warned Tuesday to think again.
With anger rising over the alleged rape of an Okinawan teenager by a 38-year-old Marine staff sergeant, the Marines here were told that they can count on tough measures aimed at keeping them on base and out of trouble.
"You are heroes, and you deserve a hero's welcome," Col. Brent Spawn, commander of the 4th Combat Logistics Battalion, told an assembly of nearly 900 troops who will be returning to Japan over the next month. "Don't do anything to tarnish that."
Spawn said the Marines will likely face tighter curfews, along with programs to "reinforce our core values," as the U.S. military clamps down on crime. He did not elaborate on what the new restrictions might specifically entail.
Hours later, the U.S. military imposed tight restrictions on all servicemen in Okinawa, limiting troops to bases, places of work or off-base housing amid a furor over the rape allegations.
The restrictions, which go beyond a midnight curfew already in place for enlisted Marines on the southern Japanese island, started early Wednesday and were indefinite, U.S. Forces Japan officials said.
"This period of reflection will allow commanders and all service members an opportunity to further review procedures and orders that govern the discipline and conduct of all U.S. service members serving in Okinawa," a U.S. military statement read.
Spawn's Marines are expecting the worst.
"It's really tough, but I'm just ready to go back home and enjoy myself, even if I have to stay on base," said Elsworth, who is 19. "I don't know if it's fair, but it's something we have to deal with."
Protests have been held across Okinawa, home to about 15,000 Marines and a major U.S. outpost in the Pacific, since the arrest last week of Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone Hadnott.
Three other incidents involving other American service members in Okinawa over the weekend have deepened the anger _ allegations of drunk driving, trespassing and theft.
Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka called U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer to complain about the latest incidents.
"We had to protest strongly because it was just ridiculous that these alleged crimes were committed just as we were discussing the very problem," ministry official Ryo Fukabori said.
The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, also accused American servicemen of carousing and showing lax discipline. He suggested Tokyo will raise the issue when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Japan next week.
Hadnott, a Marine from Camp Courtney on Okinawa, has admitted to investigators that he forced the girl down and kissed her but said he did not rape her, according to Japanese police.
Schieffer traveled to Okinawa last week to express his sadness over the alleged attack, and the U.S. military announced a review of its anti-sexual assault guidelines, pledging to tighten discipline among its 50,000 troops throughout Japan.
The rape case has prompted comparisons with the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen. The attack triggered massive protests against the American military, and the three were convicted and sentenced to prison.
It also led to a major streamlining of the U.S. presence on Okinawa, and was a major factor in the decision to move about half of the Marines off Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam over the next several years.
With a midnight curfew and other restraints on young Marines already in place since the 1995 rape, some of the Marines here say serving on Okinawa or in Iraq isn't very different.
"It's pretty much the same," Elsworth said. "Here, you just can't wear civilian clothes."
Ellie