Accused soldier's dad blames leadership

(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-10 20:01

The first U.S. soldier to face a court martial in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison grew up in a military family and "knows how to follow instructions," his father says.

Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, 24, was trained as a truck mechanic, not a prison guard, and would have gotten in trouble had he not followed orders to photograph the abused prisoners, father Daniel Sivits told The Associated Press in an interview late last month.

"Apparently, he was told to take a picture and he did what he was told," Daniel Sivits said. "He was just following instructions."

Sivits, a member of the 372nd Military Police Company, will face court martial May 19 in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Sunday.

Sivits' family would not comment on the court martial announcement when reached by telephone Sunday morning.

But Daniel Sivits, in an interview from April 30, said he thought the abuse scandal stemmed from a lack of leadership.

"All it is lack of leadership, lack of instruction and lack of standard operating procedure and everyone at the top is covering their butts," Daniel Sivits said. "My only question is this: Where was the leadership?"

Jeremy Sivits was charged with conspiracy to maltreat subordinates and detainees, dereliction of duty for negligently failing to protect detainees from abuse and cruelty and maltreatment of detainees, Kimmitt said.

If convicted of all charges, he could face one year in prison, reduction in rank to private, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for a year, a fine or a bad conduct discharge, military officials said.

Daniel Sivits said he spent 22 1/2 years in the military and his son grew up in the military. "He knows how to follow instructions," he said.

Sivits' hometown of Hyndman has about 1,000 people and is some 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It's only about 30 miles from the field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, as passengers fought with hijackers.

It's also close to the Quecreek Mine, where nine miners were trapped hundreds of feet below ground for three days in July 2002.

Residents don't believe Sivits was the instigator of abuse.

"He wasn't that kind of a boy. I feel there was somebody else behind it," said Thomas V. Cunningham, a neighbor and the former mayor of Hyndman.

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