Lavena Johnson Update: Hearing on Thursday at 10:00 AM Rm 2154 Rayburn Building

Here is another opportunity for you to get answers from the United States Army in the Lavena Johnson case:

On Thursday, July 31 at 10:00 am, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Oversight Hearing on Sexual Assault in the Military.” The hearing will take place in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and is open to the public. Oversight Committee Website

This is a subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The full committee is chaired by Congressman Waxman. The hearing will be webcast.

Here is a list of the subcommittee members:

Majority
John F. Tierney, Chairman
Carolyn B. Maloney
Stephen F. Lynch
Brian Higgins
John A. Yarmuth
Bruce L. Braley
Betty McCollum
Jim Cooper
Chris Van Hollen
Paul W. Hodes
Peter Welch

Minority
Christopher Shays, Ranking Member
Dan Burton
John M. McHugh
Todd Russell Platts
John J. Duncan
Michael Turner
Kenny Marchant
Lynn A. Westmoreland
Patrick T. McHenry
Virginia Foxx

Although this is a subcommittee hearing, members of the full committee wil be able to attend. CBC members on the committee are Clay, Watson, and Cummings. But don't limit your inquiry to Black members. You don't care who asks the questions. Republican, Democrat, whatever! You just want answers.


My source said that he could not determine whether Lavena Johnson's case would be discussed specifically, but the members of the committee have the ability to ask questions. Here is your opportunity to tell them what questions you want asked. Due to the lateness of the notice a call or FAX was recommended as every member of Congress is not amenable to the digital age ( it is what it is)

For all of you who are upset burn a few anytime minutes or get on efax and tell your elected representatives what you want to know from the Army about Lavena Johnson and others like her.

This is separate from the organized campaign that some other large online advocacy groups are working on rolling out. When they tell me more, I will let y'all know, but I know some of you who are in DC may want to attend. In particular you might want to ask them about the allegations in this article,Tracey Barnett: Women GIs in fear of the enemy in their army. Including the allegation that three servicewomen died of dehydration because they didn't want to drink water. If they drank water, they would have to go to the latrine where they feared they would be sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. CRAZY!

For those not famiar with the Lavena Johnson story, here is some background from Jezebel

When LaVena's father finally brought himself to look at his daughter's corpse in 2005, sent home from Iraq with a report that she'd committed suicide by shooting herself in the left side of her head with an M-16 — which, by the way, is not a handgun but a relatively long rifle, he thought there was something wrong.

Private LaVena Johnson's nose was broken, teeth were loose, one eye was concave and there were abrasions over her body. The supposed M-16 hole to the head was far too small for the revolver-sized exit wound, and was on the wrong side of her skull for a right-handed woman to have pulled the trigger. Her genital area showed evidence of acid, perhaps used to destroy DNA evidence. She had white military gloves glued to her burned hands.

Since then, the Army has continued to insist that the LaVena committed suicide by pointing her rifle with her non-dominant hand at the side of her head and set herself on fire, all after she beat herself up and poured acid on her genitals (since their was no apparent investigation into whatever happened there). Oh, and there was a trail of blood leading away from the tent where her body was found.

Her father has been trying for nearly 3 years to get someone — including Congress — to investigate the death of his daughter.

Comment AFTER you have called.

Comments

[MacDaddy]

I'll put this on the sidebar on my blog. Thanks.

[The Angry Independent]

Thank you for bringing attention to this. I am glad that bloggers from the larger sites are now raising this issue. It looks like things are finally taking off.... Not that the family will get any closer to a resolution...but at least it is getting more coverage.

I have been looking at this case for about 2 years...but I finally reached a point of exhaustion. I figured that no one was listening/reading so I nearly gave up on writing anymore on it. I also started to lose faith in the information about the case.... too many conflicting stories, too many lies, too much confusion (which is what criminals want in a possible cover-up). The more time that passes without the truth, the less likely that the truth will ever come to light. If things were handled properly by the Army to begin with this may not be necessary. The initial misinformation fed to the family and the subsequent secrecy & withholding of documents inevitably led to the mess we have now. It's a case that's probably unsolvable at this point.

Those who want to take up this mantle should focus on structural changes... changes in the way these cases are investigated in the future. We must take these cases (cases with certain special circumstances) out of the hands of Army CID....and into the FBI's jurisdiction. That would probably take an act of Congress to change the laws/rules on Federal jurisdiction on crimes.

And for those who aren't aware...the Durkin case was closed recently. That's the case where a female soldier, Ciara Durkin, was found dead on her base in Afghanistan. If you recall, all early indications (quite obvious) pointed to a homicide. She had even warned her family beforehand that there might be trouble....that they shouldn't fall for a "suicide" if something happened to her....they should investigate.

Can you guess what the outcome of the CID investigation was? If you guessed "suicide" you would be correct.

To learn more about the experiences of women in the military... you can listen to an interesting segment from Democracy Now...

Copy & paste:

http://mirroronamerica.blogspot.com/2007/03/look-at-experiences-of-women-in.html

[Larry Geater]

I am a news junkie but I just heard about this case today through this post and an e-mail that was forwarded to me. How does something as obviously wrong as the Army calling it a suicide when the body was burned not make big news!?

[spiffykt]

Thanks for posting this - I'm going to go and blog from the hearing, my dad is letting me mooch a ride with him into DC tomorrow.

[g-e-m2001]

spiffykt,

Keep us posted. If you use coverit live or Twitter, let me know and i will add a widget to WAOD.

There will also be a webcast

[spiffykt]

I'm not sure if I'll have internet access while I'm there, having never gone to one of these things before... I'll post a link either when I get there or just copy all my notes and post it tonight, one way or another.

[spiffykt]

Update! I won't actually have my computer with me, so I'll write a post and send along a link after the hearing. Sorry!

[Luke Easter]

LaVena Johnson (In Memorial) Where Is The Justice?

Just when you think you’ve heard it all,
Another name is slammed into a brick wall,
LaVena Johnson an Army Private First Class,
Is she the first? Certainly this PFC isn’t the last.

Is it any wonder Osama Bin Laden can’t be found?
With a criminal loose in our camp running around,
Destroying evidence, burning bodies, again & again,
Calling themselves soldiers, claiming they are men.

What a shame when the real enemy is on the same side,
Behind the color of camaraderie these cowards hide,
Punched in the face, loose teeth, she was only 5 feet 1,
The Army claims its suicide, that’s all, over and done.

How many before shooting themselves bust their own lip,
Severe enough to the point it needs more than one stitch,
Surprisingly they didn’t say she tried to saw herself in half,
Which lie would be easier to swallow? You do the math.

So, how did that chemical burn get on her private parts?
Oh yeah, maybe a tattoo, some kind of new wave art,
Why would someone waste time getting rid of DNA?
Just maybe without detection they’re free to get away.

Being right handed, she shot herself in the left side of the head,
Moved her body from 1 place to another “after” she was dead,
From the size of the exit wound when the trigger was released,
There was no breath left because she was immediately deceased.

The U.S. Army actually tried lying, hooray for her dad,
He gave that crap the smell test and oh did it smell bad,
7/19/05 her dead body found in a contractor’s tent, HBR,
Broken nose, black eye, shot in the head and body scars.

Military personnel or civilians aren’t we on the same side?
Who is the American Government protecting, why that lie?
Had to be someone with pull to get her alone, you’d think,
I don’t have to be standing next to skunk to know it stinks.

Where’s Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the infamous NAACP?
She could not have been more violated, do you not agree?
A 19-year-old honor student should be shown more respect,
But, this is how she’s being treated. Hey! What the heck?

Can’t call it racial because all women are treated the same,
Even academies and bases in the states there is this claim,
We are truly near the end of days soon God will work it out,
Vengeance will certainly be more than a punch in the mouth.

The Uniform Code Of Military Justice aka the U.C.M.J.,
But, where is this promise for LaVena, her assailant got away,
Judging by the condition of her remains, she put up a fight,
Now John and Linda Johnson are paving the road to right.

Funny thing though, seems they have a roadblock in Iraq,
It’s from the U.S. Army, who supposedly has their back,
The saying, “with friends like these who needs enemies?”
Guess the Army thinks first the perpetrator said, “please?”

Here's a little something to me that is simply down right scary,
The hole in her head was from a pistol, which she did not carry,
Oh yeah, if you think that's something how does this fact sound?
The fatal bullet that went through her head was never even found.

If there ever was this kind of incompetence in World War II,
Adolph Hitler or his off spring would be telling us what to do,
Oops, I don't mean us because there'd be no Blacks or Jews,
And only if the Furor liked Mexican food maybe a Hispanic or 2.

Whomever, wherever, whatever, an injustice did occur,
We can’t make it right for others without justice for her,
Hey, White House, the most powerful office in the world,
Do you have the gonads to speak out for this Johnson girl?

A petition was signed that is over twelve thousand strong,
The Army closed the case anyway saying nothing’s wrong,
Nothing like U.S. Intelligence, it’s the reason for the attack,
If they hadn’t been storing WMD’s we wouldn’t be in Iraq.

I saw something on the Internet much sadder than sad,
Her mom distraught, shedding tears, clutching her dad,
Soldiers carrying LaVena’s body almost made me mad,
Draped over her lifeless casket was an American flag.

Apparently the stars and stripes blows in two directions,
There is one for neglect, another for promised protection,
As it laid over her body on that particular sun filled day,
Was it 1 of protection or 1 allowing the perp to get away?

Beware this incident is not about colors, Black or White,
Remember it’s a statement in the arena of wrong vs. right,
I wonder if her recruiter bothered to make LaVena aware,
The same injustice suffered here is also allowed over there.

And here’s a timeless saying, which is entering my mind,
There’s even a movie with the title, “Behind Enemy Lines,”
Now that the light is shining on a lie that 3 years rang true,
Who will step in & accomplish what the enemy refused to do?

For every ranking Army official who signed off on this case,
Nothing less than a court martial is what each 1 should face,
Upon their conviction exactly where should they have to go?
What about life in a cell behind barb wire fences at Gitmo.

BTW, this isn’t the end of this kind story, not in the least,
The sad tale of a 21 year old from Texas, PFC Tina Priest,
After her “suicide” another soldier through his own neglect,
Guilty! Being in the quarters of a member of the opposite sex.

Like those who joined the church to freely molest little boys,
Sexual predators join the armed forces for their perverted joys,
The biggest question still remains will something ever be done?
Wining the internal war protecting our daughters from our sons.

Poems By Luke Easter