Branded

Regardless of what this story says, no matter how the military spins it, this is not good for this officer or her unit:

The company commander of a U.S. Army Reserve unit whose soldiers refused to deliver fuel along a dangerous route in Iraq has been relieved of her duties, the U.S. military said Thursday.

The decision to relieve the commander of the 343rd Quartermaster Company came at her request and is effective immediately, according to a statement from the 13th Corps Support Command. It was authorized by Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers.

“The outgoing commander is not suspected of misconduct and this move has nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of anyone involved,” the statement said.

Company commanders do not - ever - request to be relieved of their command unless there are very, very bad things happening. The fact that she was relieved of command, regardless of who asked for it, means that her military career is over. She will never again get command of troops, she will never be promoted. And that means that she will be forced to resign at some point in the near future.

I think this officer is going to find out what it means to be the fall guy for this administration. What's the real story behind this?