Sgt Christopher Riley - A Case of Military Injustice

From the documentaries and non-fiction accounts I've read and the attitude of the military higher ups it is widespread.

I've signed the petition and kept up on the posting from fb. I also shared the petition. I have hopes that the publicity will help. I think it is housekeeping time as we should never malign those that serve. What a horrific debacle when they are used as scapegoats.

Thanks, Spikegary for posting this. I hope it generates a lot of traffic.

A less stable or emotionaly resiliant person is going to go postal. Then it will be "news". Hands will be wrung and the crocadial teared laments of how this could have been prevented yada yada.

Most of the time they go awol. Some abuse their spouse. Rarely do they kill themselves, but it does happen. A hostle work environment has all sort of 2nd and 3rd order effects for societies.

From what I have seen and heard from other soldiers, situations like our is what leads soldiers to commit the crazy offenses that you see, you just rarely have someone with the gonads to stand up and speak out about the events that led up to their downfall.

Might I add, if you google Fort Bragg, it is quite famous in recent years for having soldiers lose it.

If my husband was capable of committing the crime that he was accused of, he would have probably lost it too. He is far more stable and of sound mind than they have made him out to be.

It takes a very strong person to stand up for what is right and not succumb to the pressure of the event. Christopher is a hero in my opinion as his strength is a testament to the finest of our military. To be falsely accused is devastating and can take a person down. Christopher shows he's not willing to be taken apart by the offensives of others. What a great example he is for all of us.

I sent you a message yesterday.

However, to clarify...the dates are all corrected, the trial was January 2012 ---this year.

My email is Kichmank7470@student.faytechcc.edu, I don't get on NV much at all, but I wanted to make myself accessible to you.

The website is http://helpsgtchrisriley.weebly.com/

you may use that to view anything you need.

Thank you for posting for me btw.

I haven't had much of a chance to talk one on one with anyone, it's been an extremely busy few weeks.

Chris will be home on Friday, I am leaving Thurs. night to go retrieve him up in Va (his sentence will be done with) but he is still now a convicted felon, and we're working on figuring out how to pay for my medical bills and our home and cars and stuff, I am probably going to be a lot less reachable once he's home because I will have to be the one working for now because no job that Chris can get will pay the bills...

so you can imagine all were juggling right now.

Thank you Spike, and thank you Witty. I didn't check my mail yesterday or I would already know that. Sorry for that Witty but now that I know the timeline, I can see what cages I can rattle and how much of a pain in their asses I can be.

Keep your chin up and let's see what we can do about this bull@!$%# kangaroo court. Be prepared for some blow back from TPTB because they don't take kindly to anyone questioning their authority, as Chris knows all too well.

Good luck to you and your family and tell Chris thanks for his service to this oftentimes ungrateful country, from me and all the others who support you.

I read Jon Krackauer's book about Pat Tillman and have sticky marks all through it. I did watch the movie also along with dozens of documentaries. The cover up approach is hot and heavy in the military (and elsewhere for that matter) and it is so sad that the innocent get caught in this debacle. The more information we get out there the better chance that the guilty will be held accountable.

The cover up and then the back slaps and the medals for stonewalling the Tillman family. NOT RANGER standard, NOT Army "values" and not bringing great credit upon the nation, the Army or 2/75 Ranger.Sick @!$%#.

Hey guys, Witty's momma here, thank you so much for being here. I finally was able to get my e-mail validated, by simply "calling", glad my daughter is a lot smarter then me, lol

We're all happy our daughters are smarter than we are, BeautifulPj, it's their turn after all. Good to see you!

js, so good to be here, and I'm already outta the Greenhouse with 2 leafs, lol......time is a beautiful thang:) Love to you all! I'm so proud of my daughter, and so I clipped this article to my column, and found out, not allowed, self promotion, so I had to delete, I obviously forgot a thing or too, but quickly adhered to my warning. I'll write my version of what I have experienced and what's been happening in the last year and a half. Just glad I'm back and seeing all my very missed friends. And yes, my daughter is way smarter then I, and I am so happy for that!!! She's amazing and Witty and well, just amazing.

Gary, Thank You again for posting this seed, it means a lot to us. I will write my own article about how it has affected their lives and mine. I am not allowed to clip this article as they were quick to tell me I was self promoting, not sure why, but I want no trouble, so I'm complying, as I want to be here so it's not worth the battle, I know which ones are are more important, lose the battles, win the war, as I've heard. But I am here!

Not sure either Gary, but I don't care (and no, it was just clipped from your seed). I will have my own version to write about, as I was present through a lot of it). Too bad a simple gal like me can see the obvious obstruction of justice, but you know already that it's safer in numbers when one is fighting alone, so yes, it's helping a lot for all and any support she gets. Thanks again. I just don't want to ruffle any feathers, just be, and it's not that serious to be slapped on the hand, I have forgotten a lot, but I'm a decent person, so I didn't do anything to be rebellious, just a simple mistake, I'm grown, LOL (sometimes) I have to laugh about everything a little, least I die a bitter woman with cats, hahaha

So glad he's coming home now. Big hugs to your family, BeautifulPj and Witty!

Thanks EllieP, I sent you a FR.....I'm so relieved, he's home:) I cried at work when Witty told me he was walking towards her, so grateful. We have had so much support from all over the country, like here, it's amazing the people you meet in this world, unconditional love, and so much in comman:) Warms my heart and keeps me grouded!

Done!

send?

I am working on the added info you sent me Witty and will send you the revised letter to Sen Levin within a day or two. Send me an email with your proposed outcome/resolution, as I want to be sure to add that to the letter also.

Before I CC your state reps/senators with the letter, have you contacted them yet? If not, I will make sure they also get a copy of the letter. If you have, I will ask Sen Levin to contact them for additional info/insight. The more people that are notified of this bs, the better.

Thank you roadhead, there is safety in numbers, I truly believe that.

Senator Richard Burr and Congressman Larry Kissell are working actively on the case (more Kissell than anyone else)....

Senator Kay Hagan's office has done everything in their power to avoid talking to me at all costs.

Her entire campaign is a joke. ---but that is probably because she isn't running this term, so ig she doesn't care anymore....

Witty, don't you have the letter I wrote already, if you don't, or it's in the packet for the trial, I'll write another one.

Also, I'll send you the letter of "requests" that I gave to Kissell.

Just knowing you "care" means more then anything anyone could ever do:) That is what is getting us through all of this. His innocence is his....no one can change that but the facts, which weren't presented, but the support of friends, loved ones and understanding............has helped more then anyone could ever know......you are a dear!!! You could never know how much I appreciate "that". Most important part of this experince to say the least. Life has a funny way of twisting the fates...in a most incredible way!!!

I think we are finally catching on to those that talk out of both sides of their mouth, Pj. They've left themselves wide open with their bad habits. Election time here we come.

Thanks for the update. I feels so good to hear positive news for Chris & Katie. You deserve this big time.

The General has now been contacted, (finally) and we are feeling pretty good about this:) Katie assured him, we would wait to see if he does anything, meaning soon, or I guess he won't mind the embarrassment it will cause under his Command. I would think, being that Chris's case isn't high profile, it shouldn't take but a few minutes to figure out the injustice that was served......if 1 man can ruin anothers life in a "day", then another can fix it in a "day" as well.

And yes, Gary, of course I'll keep you up-dated, as I'll be screaming from the roof tops when this is over.......no, each step of the way:)

Gary I don't know much, but I do know one thing for certain...........God has a bigger plan for my family, and we will pray for his will and that is the road we will take, always. No one can truly hurt us, but our fears, they have gotten in the way, but I will no longer give these few the power to understand who i is truly in charge of our lives, God!

I wonder if anyone explained that route or not.

That was what I first thought when reading the attached blog entry.

Until I saw that there was a retired LTC involved.

HE should have known better and advised them to get the Red Cross involved. They could have gotten the man out of Iraq and home before any of the things that brought the charges happened.

kazutam - because the Red Cross message was intercepted and Chris was sent away and never got it. He never knew. My daughter is the one that reported him for violating her Hippa rights..and that is when they went after Chris. Not because he took the message, but because he called and said he was Chris and used Chris SS#. They actually stated they would ruin his career, and they did. And.......from there it snowballed. The "only" time Chris was ever notified of a Red Cross message, is when they threw a crumpled up sticky note stating the weight and sex of his newborn child, he kept that with him always. And yes, the Red Cross was notified by the hospital itself, for his return, and it was denied, and like I said, he was never informed.

I'm sad to hear that the Red Cross has slipped so much in taking care of the troops.

They never would of let something like that slide in the past.

When I was in they used to require confirmed responses from the commanding officers also, not just the individual, and they would follow up on things.

It wasn't the Red Cross, they did there part, it was the Capt. that screwed up, and denied Chris. They are not to blame, I support the Red Cross, always have...and always will, they are the Best!