There's more to it as well. As C.I. and Dee Knight pointed out, this was the court-martialing of a whistle-blower. Burmeister went public with what he observed while serving in Iraq: the kill teams. June 29, 2007, Burmesiter was explaining to Canada's CBC that teams of US soldiers were being ordered to leave US property laying around (property such as cameras) so that an Iraqi would pick it up (maybe just out of curiosity), at which point they could be shot because, as Burmeister explained, "If the Iraqis would go and touch it they [the soldiers] could shoot 'em because if anyone messes with the U.S. government property, they're allowed to fire at 'em." Burmeister would also share the details with Mark Larabee (The Oregonian) who would break the story in the US on July 16, 2007: "But once in Iraq, he was assigned to a 'small kill' team that set traps for insurgents. They'd place a fake camera on a pole with a sign labeling it as US property, giving the team the right to shoot anyone who messed with it."
James Burmeister was on 'leave' (getting medical attention after suffering his third road-side bombing in Iraq) in Germany. August 24th Maria Hinojosa spoke with James Burmeister for NOW on PBS:
BURMEISTER: We were in a five humvee set. Rolling down a--down a main street in Baghdad in our sector. I'm the gunner on top of this humvee... Just a big bomb goes off. And it's so fast, you don't--you don't see the bomb. You're scared. You're checking your body parts to see if you're missing anything. A few days after that, I had actually passed out in my room. Passed out, just hit the floor.
HINOJOSA: James says that was the first sign of his post traumatic stress disorder. He says doctors thought he also may have sustained a traumatic brain injury, so he was sent to Germany on medical leave. Two months later, while still on medication, he was ordered back to Iraq.
BURMEISTER: They were desperate for people to get back there. They just needed people in Baghdad. They just need bodies to man the guns and the equipment.
Instead, Burmeister decided to self-checkout and go to Canada, having decided that he could no longer participate in the illegal war. For half of 2007 and the start of 2008, he attempted to work through the 'process' to receive immigrant status. Then James Burmeister decided to return to the United States and he turned himself in at Fort Knox on March 4th.
His father Erich Burmeister immediately attempted to raise attention for his son's cause. Burmeister suffers from PTSD and, most likely, TBI. [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.] In an audio interview with Courage to Resist, Erich explained his son's reasons for turning against the illegal war:
It was more what he was involved in there. Particularly what really bothered him was the bait and kill thing which now is a pretty infamous subject which has come up in some of the trials of some of the soldiers that have been put on trial for murder. This sniper, you know, putting out pieces of equipment and waiting for someone to touch it and they shoot him. And that really, really bothered him. Plus the fact that when they would go through these neighborhoods and, you know, kick in people's doors and raid their houses and just loot their houses, and the terror that he saw on people's faces. He told me these things had really bothered him. And the devastation he saw around him. It was -- it was really hard for him to deal with that. He told me times that he would see people digging through garbage, women digging through garbage, and he couldn't believe the conditions that the Iraqis were forced to live under and he felt like he was somewhat responsible for this.
You can bet the military was paying attention to every word. The press? One of the few paying attention was Camilla Mortensen (Eugene Weekly) who interviewed Erich Burmeister and reported: "His father fears the Army wants to keep Burmeister quiet about the 'bait-and-kill' teams the he alleges have been used to kill Iraqi civilians. While James Burmeister awaits the Army's decision, his father [Erich Burmeister] is fighting to bring him home. . . . Burmeister was also disturbed by the 'small kill teams' for which he was asked to provide cover. On Sept. 24, 2007, the Washington Post investigated the story of the classified program of using 'bait and kill' tactics in which sniper teams would scatter 'bait' such as ammunition and detonation cords to attract Iraqi insurgents who would then be shot by snipers. But Burmeister, who had deserted from the Army five months before the story broke, had been telling that story to the media for months. In a July 2007 article in The Oregonian, Burmeister said he had participated in a team that placed fake cameras on poles and labeled them U.S. property to give the team the rights to shoot anyone who to tried to move or takes the equipment."
James' mother was also speaking out. In June, at a rally outside Fort Hood, she explained:
I'm Helen Burmeister and I'm here today to support my son Prviate 1st Class James Burmeister. My son is an Iraq War veteran and I'm very proud of him today. He fought bravely in Iraq. He followed orders. He was wounded in a roadside bomb and he's been diagnosed with PTSD and a possible brain injury. Our request today is that the army release James. We want James to be able to put this traumatic experience behind him so he can begin to heal -- both emotionally and physically. I believe my son has done his part. Now it's time for him to be given the recognition he deserves. Short of that, we are requesting that he be allowed to go home to Oregon. And thank you. Thank you to everyone for all your support today.
Helen Burmeister was not alone at that rally. Another speaker addressed what James was facing.
Carol Rawert Trainer: I am a Vietnam Era veteran and my husband is a retired USAF officer and Vietnam Veteran. We belong to Lousiville Peace Action Community and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, two great organizations that work for peace and justice. I learned of PFC James Burmeister through my involvement with the GI Rights Hotline. We are disgusted at the way the government treats our returning war heroes and we will not sit by and watch it happen. You hear the slogan 'Support Our Troops.' Well that is why we have come here today. I have personally heard too many horror stories of veterans in the Louisville area who return from war and do not receive proper medical care or benefits or counseling for PTSD which is all too prevalent in this war. The Army seems to care more about their retention at any cost to the soldier and family than they do about the care of the soldiers affected by this war. Too many soldiers are battling their physical and emotional problems alone. The suicide rates have risen dramatically. This is obscene. We are here today to demand that the army grant James a discharge in lieu of court-martial. We are watching what the army is doing. James served honorably in Iraq and carried out his duties as commanded. He received head injuries and shrapnel in his face in the 3rd attack on his convoy. He also has PTSD and seizures and is on many medications as a result of his experience. When he was recuperating in the hospital in Germany he realized that what he was commanded to do -- killing innocent people, sometimes in bait-and-switch schemes, was immoral. The army trains these troops from basic to kill, kill, kill and does not differentiate between innocent Iraqis or insurgents. James could not, would not, do it any longer. He had to live with himself and his actions for the rest of his life. The army does not care about the lifelong problems these honorable soldiers face. In fact they were going to send James back to Iraq even though he was on medications for high blood pressure, depression, sleep problems and more. At least James is one of the lucky ones who realized he needed help before it was too late. Going back to Iraq would be dangerous to his life as well as to those who served with him. We are here today to support James and his family in their struggle for justice! James' family has suffered through other family circumstances that dictate that James be home to help them. We hope the army will grant James an immediate discharge not only for his own personal needs but for his families' needs. Even though he would not receive medical benefits which he needs, he would be home in a safe and loving environment. This is what is fair. This is what is just. James was there when the army needed him. Now the army must be there for James and the countless other heroes who need assistance and support as they cope with their war-induced problems.
He turned himself in on March 4th. He was court-martialed one year later, to the day, that Mark Larabee of The Oregonian broke the story of the kill-teams for US audiences. July 4th, Kelsey Sparks, of Louisville's WHAS11, reported (text and video) on James Burmeister and introduced her segment with the following, "23-year-old James Burmeister is being held at Fort Knox for five months now. He is charged with deserting his army unit while on leave from Iraq. Yesterday he got a court-martial date but his friends and family say because he suffers from head injuries Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after surviving a roadside bomb attack in Iraq, they're hoping some of those charges can be dismissed."
That was the hope, but as Chris Kenning (Courier-Journal) reported last Thursday morning (the only reporter to report the court-martial -- AP and everyone else was echoing Kenning's report) that the court-martial found James sentenced to jail (six months), reduced in rank (busted down to private), dishonorably discharged (bad conduct) and he received "a loss of pay" while quoting Burmeister's military attorney, Captain Tyson McDonald, stating of the military, "They're not happy that dirty laundry was getting aired."
That means James' health care will not be paid for by the US government. The US government that sent him to Iraq for an illegal war in which he was wounded is now off the hook for the bill. Everyone should be appalled.
Courage to Resist notes that you can contact the PFC James Burmeister Support campaign via letjamesbefree@gmail.com and that you can write him via snail mail: James Burmeister, Box A, Fort Knox, KY 40121.
