“Scott Thomas” Revealed?
The New Republic is running a statement from "Scott Thomas" identifying himself a private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division. And the Army has launched an investigation into the events Beauchamp wrote about. There is no corroboration given in any case, Beauchamp offers only this:
My pieces were always intended to provide my discreet view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier's view of events in Iraq.
It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.
I'd let the investigation run its course, Beauchamp is going to have some explaining to do about all this. I'd only point out that his rank, that of private, indicates he has either not been in uniform very long at all or that he has lost rank at some point. My son was an E-4, or specialist, in no time at all.
UPDATE: Guess what? Beauchamp appears to have a blog. At least the details appear correct. A post dated September *, 2006 gives the address of:
PFC Scott Beauchamp
A Co. 1 18 Infantry, 2nd BCT, 1st ID
Note the difference in rank involved? What's the story there?
UPDATE: Others: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, QandO, Blackfive, Outside the Wire,
Other Links to this Post
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The Florida Masochist — July 26, 2007 @ 8:34 am
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“Scott Thomas”, come on down! « Volunteer Opinion Journal — July 26, 2007 @ 8:48 am
By Anthony (Los Angeles), July 26, 2007 @ 7:23 am
He’s also more than a little disingenuous:
It’s been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq.
A lot of the very serious questions about Mr. Beauchamp’s accounts have been raised by veterans who have served in Iraq, who have driven Bradleys, and who have been stationed at FOB Falcon for months at a time. I’m glad he’s identified himself, and the Army should investigate his charges, but, until he can produce hard facts answering those hard questions, I remain very skeptical.
By old_dawg, July 26, 2007 @ 8:17 am
If these things happened and he did notreport these to his chain of command, he is wrong on several levels.
Let the investigation run its course.
By Michael Sheehan, July 29, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
The following was found at Op-For:
‘I’m active Army & an Iraq vet.
I just pulled up “Scott Thomas Beauchamp†on the secure “Army Knowledge Online†website. It lists his current rank as “PV2″. (That data is kept accurate via pay records on that website.)
In his Sep 06 blog post he listed his rank as “Private First Classâ€. That indicates that without a doubt he was busted at least one rank as part of Article 15 proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he likely has a strong ax to grind with his chain of command.’
URL: http://op-for.com/2007/07/scott_thomas_exposed.html
(That Beauchamp currently identifies himself as ‘Private’, vice ‘Private First Class’ or ‘PFC’ would seem to support the above statement found at Op-For.)