Biker Freedom Ride

The cause for freedom in the case of Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna is gaining ground.  Lt. Behenna, along with nine other soldiers, sit in military prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.  They are serving sentences ranging from ten to forty years for crimes against terrorists and enemies of the United States . . . on the battlefield . . . during time of war.   They have become known as the Leavenworth Ten.

Caught in a circle of military and government red tape, along with political correctness, these brave soldiers served their country and in return, were sentenced to prison for defending themselves in a combat zone.  Vickie Behenna, Michael’s mother, recently contacted me to give an update on their pursuit to have these men set free:

Allen,

“I wanted to let you know that the government, after 7 months, finally filed their response brief in Michael’s case.  On August 6 Michael’s lawyer filed his reply brief so the case is finally fully briefed and we are waiting for a date for the oral argument before the Army Court of Appeals.

In the meantime, at the request of several of Michael’s supporters we along with his supporters have organized a bike ride and rally to be held in Leavenworth on September 4th, 2010.  The ride and rally was organized to raise awareness of the prosecution and imprisonment of soldiers/marines who have been charged and convicted of combat related incidents, and to let the public know that these soldiers/marines have been given unbelievably long sentences.  As you may know many of these soldiers have purple hearts and bronze stars.

The ride will have riders from all over the country who will ride in support of these soldiers.  After the ride there will be a rally where the families of the imprisoned soldiers and LTC (R) Allen West, a Congressional Candidate from South Florida, will speak on their behalf.

Michael, from the beginning of his incarceration has requested that we, his Dad and I, do something to help these other soldiers/marines.  So instead of having the ride and rally concentrate just on Michael, we expanded the ride to include these other guys.  They are referred to as the Leavenworth Ten.   There were ten soldiers/marines incarcerated at Ft. Leavenworth when Michael arrived there.   One has been paroled and another has had his conviction reversed.”

Thank you,

Vickie Behenna

As many of you know, Lt. Behenna received an unfair trial due to the violation of the Brady Material:

“A Brady motion is a defendant’s request for evidence concerning a material witness which is favorable to the defense and to which the defense may be entitled. Favorable evidence includes not only evidence that tends to exculpate the accused, but also evidence that may impeach the credibility of a government witness.  A Brady violation occurs where the failure to disclose evidence to the defense deprives the defendant of a fair trial.   Instead of presenting the factual evidence that corroborated Lt. Behenna’s self defense claim and thereby show the “revenge execution” premise of their case, Army Captain’s Meghan Poirier, Jason Elbert and Erwin Roberts violated their own ethics code by hiding this evidence from both the defense team and the jury in order to achieve conviction in a politically-motivated prosecution.”

It is because of this violation that the Behenna’s continue to fight for a new, fair trial for their son and ultimately for his release.  The goal of the ride is to raise public awareness about how soldiers are being imprisoned for killing the enemy during combat operations.  For more information on the Biker Freedom Ride for the Leavenworth Ten, contact Steve Gabelsberg at :   freedomride2010@suddenlink.net

Show your support for our American soldiers . . . L10 Freedom Ride in Leavenworth, KS on September 4th, 2010.  To contact Lt. Col. Allen West for an interview about the event, contact Valentina Weis at 561-603-8188.

The Leavenworth Ten

Thanks for your support,

Allen Smith

© 2010, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.

: Allen West, biker freedom ride, Congress, kansas, L10 Freedom Ride, Leavenworth, michael behenna, the Leavenworth Ten

Related posts

• Trucking DAC Report (5)
• Railroad Bill Introduced to Congress (2)
• Military Law and Defending Lt. Michael Behenna (3)
• Many Trucking Veterans also Military Veterans (3)
• Cutting Trucking Fuel Costs and Dependence on Foreign Oil (2)

I enjoyed my days of working in the oilfields of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas back in the late ’70s and early 80’s.   Back when the oil boom was going full force before President Reagan brought it all to an end.   Working both in trucking and other various jobs, one of my favorite was working as a mud logger.  As a mud logger, you would spend 24 hours on and 24 hours off, working on-site at the drilling rig.  My job was to periodically take mud samples and looking through a microscope, draw out a log showing what percentage of what formation was being drilled through at any specific time.  The mud logger would also help determine at what point a section of gas would be found and at what depth . . . as well as testing the drill samples through a gas chromatograph and under a UV light and other various tasks.

As a mud logger, you would basically live out on the drilling rig through its completion, which could be months.  You dealt directly with the “driller,”  “tool pusher” and “company man.”   They would rely on the mud logger to keep them informed of the geological formations being drilled through, how much “gas” was being produced at any given time and most importantly . . . was there anything showing the possibility of a sudden “hit” coming up?    It was fun work . . . but there was danger involved as well . . . it was no game anybody was playing, and we always knew that.

Once, while working on a rig in Western Oklahoma bordering the Texas line, I began noticing more and more sandstone showing up.  According to drilling logs of previous rigs from the area and the depth that we were at . . . there should not be any sandstone.   Shortly after noticing it, the company man called me over the intercom and asked, “What are you showing coming up?”    I went out to meet him on the platform of the drilling rig and showed him and the others what I had . . . still some shale, but ever increasing sandstone.   We all knew what was coming . . .

Things started moving real fast, but a few minutes later the entire rig started shaking and seconds later . . . the earth began moving.   Somewhere in the distance we heard someone shouting, “RUN RUN RUN!”    One of the first things you learn when working on an oil rig, is that when you hear somebody shouting, “RUN” . . . you run.  So . . . we ran.

They had drilled into a large section of sandstone and, of course, gas . . . and it was coming up fast.   The guy who had shouted to run, was the worker over at the BOP (blowout preventer), who could see real quick that the BOP was not going to do its job on this one.  Everyone made it out safe and we were now about a half of a mile away and once things settled down a bit, I was able to take a photo of the experience with my Canon AE-1 and telephoto lens.  The blowout was so great, that it was left to burn itself out and the fire was so intense, that it eventually ended up even melting a large section of the rig and platform.  What happened, was one of the largest blowouts in Oklahoma history.

I still keep this photo hanging up on my wall, as well do several members of my family.  Why?  It’s always a reminder that our dependence on foreign oil is all done on purpose.  It tells me that our leaders of this country are more concerned about appeasing special interests groups than they are for bringing relief to millions of Americans.  It relates to me the fact that many of those who talk about finding ways to bring gas prices down and cutting our dependence on foreign oil, is just talk.   Talk means nothing when there is no action.  Furthermore, it is always a reminder that there are so many talkers out there who have no idea about the real world experiences of petroleum production.

I’m all for keeping our planet clean and doing whatever we can for its protection.   On the other hand, it has been here for 6 billion years and will be here billion of years more, long after mankind is gone.   Technology has come so far, that we can now put up a drilling rig, drill, cap it off, tear it down and remove it and you can barely tell that it has been there.  There are pumping units from the 1930’s out in Texas and Oklahoma that are still producing oil to this day.

So for all of those who have never even seen a drilling rig, except in pictures . . . for those who have never stood on a rig’s deck as the Earth shook because Mother Earth was about to release her fury . . . and for all of those who have never dipped their hands through drilling mud and experienced the sense of raw petroleum from the shale, lime and sandstone . . . you really want to bring gas prices down?   Are you really serious about cutting our dependence on foreign oil?

The answer is so simple and is right here on this page . . . DRILL.

© 2009, AskTheTrucker. All rights reserved.

: blowout, dependence, drill, drilling rig, foreign oil, gas prices, kansas, mud logger, oil rig, oilfield, oklahoma, petroleum production, pumping units, texas, trucking

Related posts

• Trucks Shine at The Great American Trucking Show (0)
• Trucker App Well Received at GATS (1)
• YOU Did It! Jason’s Law is Going to GATS (7)
• Workplace Harassment and American Injustice (0)
• Women in Trucking can Make a Difference (5)