Non-Judicial Hearing
Found guilty of
Maltreatment; False
Statement; Dereliction
of Duty; 30 days extra
duty and restriction to
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait;
Fine; reduction to E5;
General under Honorable
Conditions Discharge;
Discharge and findings
of Misconduct Overturned
The U.S. Army discharged three Pennsylvania soldiers for abusing prisoners at a detention center
in Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday.
The three soldiers were scheduled to face court martials this month but opted instead to submit to
a nonjudicial hearing, in which their conduct was judged by a commander without a jury, Lt. Col.
Vic Harris said.
Brig. Gen. Ennis Whitehead III, the acting commander of the 143rd Transportation Command,
found the three soldiers had mistreated prisoners at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq on May 12. He
demoted two of the soldiers and ordered that all three forfeit their salaries for two months. All
three were discharged.
Staff Sgt. Scott A. McKenzie, 38, of Clearfield, Pa., was found to have dragged a prisoner by his
shoulders and then to have held his legs apart "and encouraging others to kick him in the groin
while other U.S. soldiers kicked him in the abdomen and head," Harris said.
McKenzie, a reservist, is a State Corrections Officer in civilian employment.
McKenzie was also found to have thrown the detainee face-down to the ground and have
stepped on "his previously injured arm."
The general also found McKenzie made "a false sworn statement to a special agent of the
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division." McKenzie was found guilty of maltreatment,
dereliction of duty, and false official statement.
McKenzie was demoted to sergeant and received a "general, under honorable conditions"
discharge. McKenzie was restricted to Camp Arifjan, however, most soldiers are restricted in
their movement, when assigned to Camp Arifjan.
The findings were handed down at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on Dec. 29. The three soldiers have
now returned to the United States.
Two Army reservists discharged last year over allegations they mistreated Iraqi prisoners ave been
cleared by a review board and can rejoin the military, their attorney said Friday.
The Army Discharge Review Board in late August, 2005 reversed the former soldiers’ discharges
and findings of misconduct, said Gary Myers, an attorney who represented Scott McKenzie, Lisa
Girman and a third former soldier who was cleared in the same manner in January.
The Army declined comment. “It’s been our long-standing practice that we do not comment on
nonjudicial and administrative type actions,” said Lt. Col. Pamela Hart, an Army spokeswoman.
All four had maintained their innocence and said they used only necessary force to subdue unruly
prisoners.
“We were made scapegoats and nothing we were going to say would have changed it,” McKenzie
said Friday.
Although McKenzie and Girman had initially been accused of charges punishable by more than a
decade in prison, they ultimately agreed to an Article 15 review, which allows punishments
without a court proceeding or public record. That paved the way for the Army to discharge them
for misconduct, but they said it also allowed them to challenge their dismissal before a review
board.
