Home >> United States & Canada >> Foreign Policy & Military  Email  Print The Last Round of Ammunition Sue Vogan - 12/1/2005 Sue Vogan could never have imagined the rioting that would take place in the streets, nor in her wildest dreams could she have foreseen the kidnappings and assaults that happened. And, by no means did Sue ever entertain thoughts that anyone would be humiliated enough to take revenge over Sue’s obligation to help two American soldiers, stationed in a foreign country. But, what was most difficult of all to visualize was at what lengths someone would go to deliver that revenge or how long she would have to live the nightmare.
South Korea, Land of The Morning Sun, was nowhere Sue would ever see, but her husband would. A career soldier and just months away from retirement, orders came down for this last overseas tour. But with his P-3 profile, which kept him on restricted physical activity, he was sure that he would not end up near the DMZ. He assured Sue that he would send trinket gifts, call often and send for her once he was settled. It would only be a year and the promise of doing something he enjoyed, teaching soldiers the AFTADS computer system. They had been apart before and knew that each of those assignments had come to an end quickly enough. This would be no different.
Sue, a Lyme disease victim and looking for better treatment than the U.S. Army could provide, found Texas. This is where she would wait for her husband. A seemingly kind and caring physician assured her that she would be in good hands while her husband-soldier completed his last tour of duty. He was interested in this disease called Lyme, would write the antibiotic prescriptions that kept Sue functioning and even knew of another doctor that was involved in a Lyme disease research project and he should be interested in this case. After a thorough examination of Sue's medical records, the physician would even see that Sue was enrolled in the U.S. Army's Exceptional Family Member Program (E.F.M.P.) so her Lyme disease would be on record.
The Vogans would soon discover that things were never as they seemed.
SGT Vogan arrived at the turtle farm, the military waiting area when a soldier first arrives for duty in South Korea - where assignments are given, transportation is arranged, and the nightmare begins.
The assignment - Area I. Yes, it was against military regulations to send a soldier with a P-3 profile to this area, but he would only be handing out driver's licenses to soldiers. A mind-numbing task, but one that would keep SGT Vogan hidden from any honest brass that may come through. This area was an unaccompanied tour - no families. But, the sight after signing into Camp Hovey was one of numerous American families roaming the area. If this surprised him, his second task would top it. SGT Vogan was put in charge of the safety of some of these families. The title, Battalion Neo Coordinator. Too busy to complain and as hidden as if he were in a foxhole.
The first few months were spent standing at attention in formation with other Non Commissioned Officers. They were being chewed out for everything from a missing barbeque grill to a soldier's drunken attempt at suicide. No matter that one of these verbal attacks took place in the middle of a typhoon or that SGT Vogan, among others, didn't know anything about the whining First Sergeant's grill -- they would later learn that a South Korean national, working on the military installation, stole the grill. SGT Vogan let it all slide off his back, assuring Sue that he had more ass than they had teeth. He was there to do a job and took his lowly assignments seriously. He would be an outstanding driver's license issuer and he would go to any lengths to protect the American families illegally in Area I.
Sue was not fairing as well. The caring, kind physician turned from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. His bright, clean and comfortable waiting room had moved to a dim, filthy and a barely furnished space in another area of town. Dr. Jekyll's staff was no longer the helpful, intelligent and smiling bodies dressed in crisp scrubs. No, they were now loud, self-centered, frowning aliens in wrinkled tops over worn jeans. Expecting Dr. Jekyll, Sue readied the Lyme disease information he had recently asked her to bring in, put her prescription list on top and waited. But Dr. Jekyll didn't come in. Instead, it was Mr. Hyde. The information packet and prescription list were refused. Without ever looking at Sue directly, Mr. Hyde said that the disease was all in her mind and all he could offer her was a referral to a shrink. End of discussion, case closed.
A call from SGT Vogan alerted Sue to a travesty underway. After hearing details, Sue immediately took action. It seems that two soldiers had been involved in a tragic accident resulting in the death of two South Korea children. The sham wasn't the accident but the way it was being handled. First, the soldiers were cleared by the Army and South Korean police, and then riots broke out. The U.S. Army gave into the pressure and charged the two soldiers with negligent homicide, carrying the punishment of lost rank, six years in Leavenworth and a dishonorable discharge. When the rioters demanded the soldiers be tried in a South Korean court and were refused, kidnappings and assaults followed. Then, the U.S. Army decided to erect a monument, demand money from soldiers in formation, take up special collections in the military houses of worship and set up monetary donation stations inside the places soldiers frequent, SGT Vogan called his wife again. Rumor had it that the United States had already paid a substantial amount to the two victims' families. And the soldiers were awaiting trial. Wasn’t this enough? Was extortion necessary?
Guy Womack, attorney extraordinaire, entered the picture. But Sue's name was already rolling off lips in South Korea. One group praised her for stepping in to help two innocent soldiers, while another hated her for sticking her nose into a military and South Korean affair. But, Sue wasn't aware that she was doing anything more than offering assistance to Americans who had been unjustly accused of a crime, and to their families, much needed support during this time of stress. Sue’s intentions were just as innocent as were the two soldiers about to stand trial.
Calls from supporters were a welcome break in Sue's day that was otherwise spent writing letters, speaking with the media and arranging a fund raiser to help pay the well-deserved attorney's fee. Emails, written in symbols unfamiliar to Sue, were ignored. They turned out to be death threats, but she wouldn't learn this until after the trial.
Guy flew from his Houston office to South Korea. There, he interviewed Mark Walker, tank commander of the bridge-carrier vehicle that crushed the two teenagers who were on their way to a birthday party that fateful day. The second soldier's military lawyer called to ask Sue if she would be willing to help, should his client decide he wanted the aid. I agreed, but that call never came. Mr. Womack would learn that the U.S. Army not only believed themselves to be experts at concealing themselves from the enemy, they were hoping that no one would uncover their attempt at hiding crucial evidence that without a doubt cleared the soldiers of any wrong doing. When the field exercise was traced back to its planning stages, it was learned that the Captain in charge had failed to perform a significant duty - checking the traffic scheduled for that road during the time his command would be using it. Had he done so, this accident might have been avoided. But, the rioters weren't calling for the Captain's head. No, the rioting South Koreans wanted the two soldiers' heads that could not have known the dangers. It wouldn't be Guy Womack's last trip this beautiful land. The next time, he would be there to face the military court, winning fifteen-year veteran Mark Walker an acquittal. But the story wasn't over. In fact, it was just heating up.
The death threats stopped coming; the well-wishing calls ceased; and the story stopped being headline news. It was just as well because Sue was busy arranging for the town to adopt an orphanage, write letters to soldiers and packing almost one hundred boxes to send around the world. SGT Vogan would receive his Christmas gifts, including the only copy of a tape, featuring their daughter-in-law, who had passed away from cancer that summer. But, Sue was ill and getting worse everyday. Complications from Lyme disease left her weak, which was soon to come with listlessness, uncontrollable vomiting and severe pain. SGT Vogan sensed his wife was ill and, at eight months into his tour, put in for a mid-tour leave. He would come home, see that Sue received life-saving treatment and return for the remaining three months. After that, retirement would be their reward for an unblemished service record and a long history of volunteering. SGT Vogan arrived home. It was January and cold, but the Vogans would see that Texas was not nearly as artic as the U.S. Army was about to become.
The medical difficulties were not easily solved. Tests did not reveal anything, but the physician who had been assigned to Sue's case felt there was something being missed. He asked the department head for another test. No, he fought for another test. It seems that without seeing Sue, the person making test-decisions didn't see where another test would unearth anything more. In fact, Sue was on the verge of being labeled a malingerer. One last test was finally agreed to, but SGT Vogan's leave time was running out.
SGT Vogan sent in paperwork for a compassionate reassignment. Civilian and military doctors wrote statements to support the request and documents were tucked into the file. A 14-day extension of leave was granted, but a compassionate reassignment was denied. The test found a blockage and the surgery, a two-hour procedure, left Sue in the hospital with more complications. Now, she was having trouble breathing while awake, unable to breathe properly during sleep, and was weaker than she had ever been. The treating physician suggested another request for a compassionate reassignment - another compassionate reassignment denied. Why couldn’t the military see that there was no one else to take care of Sue? Or, did they?
Military regulations state that eight months is considered a completed tour. The same amount of time SGT Vogan had already served in South Korea. Other compassionate reassignments were being granted - for childcare problems and a lease running out. But, for someone near death, the U.S. Army didn't have enough compassion to spare.
Contacting the attending physician was now out of the question - he was quickly moved out of the loop. Seeking assistance from the local command was not a viable plan - they were too busy complaining about a fallen American soldier's funeral that was causing them inconvenience and his divorced parents situation was the joke of the day. Communication with the Pentagon seemed the next step.
One female CSM at the Pentagon was appalled, as some Senators and Congressmen appeared to be. The CSM would contact the liaison and fix it. That was more than all the Senators and Congressmen had offered and the Vogans breathed a sigh of relief. It would be their last. With almost three weeks of leave ordered by the Pentagon left, another order from the American command in South Korea listing SGT Vogan AWOL was issued.
The liaison could do nothing, but suggested getting legal advice. Sue worked the chain of command to The White House, to no avail. The military lawyer sent the Vogans to the Inspector General's office, who held them against their wills, asking why a wife would contact the President. An M.P., with a good head on his shoulders, came to our rescue. He arranged for SGT Vogan to have a temporary assignment until the bigwig green-suiters saw the light and made the only decision that made any sense - allowing this soldier to stay in the states, serving his country and taking care of his ill wife.
After five requests, and denials, for a compassionate reassignment, the Vogan's were now without a paycheck, medical benefits, and options were running out as quickly as the grains of sand in the leave clock. They were being evicted, reduced to eating whatever was on the clearance isle, and stretching medications out so they would last. It appeared that someone wanted Sue to die. If not, they had certainly gone out of their way to deny substantiated requests for a reassignment and being allowed to illegally issue an AWOL order. SGT Vogan made the only choice he could make, to stand and fight for justice, as the military had trained him to do.
The AWOL charges were never dropped, but there have been no notification of SGT Vogan being dropped from roll (DFR), which would mean a warrant for an arrest on desertion charges. The requests for the return of SGT Vogan's belongings to the next of kin, his wife, have fallen on the deaf green suiters, allowing them to hold the possessions hostage. Communication with the Pentagon and Secretary of the Army has dried up since their last promise to move this case up to priority fell though. Pleas to right this wrong, letters to every arm of the government and calls to anyone that would listen have gotten the Vogans no further than when this nightmare started. There was only one thing left to do, dig a foxhole and write a book. It would take almost two years, but Sue feels like she became that Army of One and did just that. NCO: No Compassion Observed gives details that the military would probably not appreciate being told. But, with no intentions of further humiliating the U.S. Army or being silent any longer, Sue hopes that this will bring enough attention to this situation so that the Pentagon will reinstate SGT Vogan's good name, issue his back pay, DD214 and retirement benefits, and send her husband's belongings home. When all these items are completed, the chapter can be closed and the Vogans can once again be among the normal.
Sue's mother recently passed away. She didn't get to hold the book that Sue wrote, where her daughter acknowledges Mom for the sense of humor and determination she learned at her knee. She didn’t see her oldest daughter cured of Lyme disease or an end to this Twilight Zone episode that has been Sue’s life for over two years now. No, she went to her grave, fearing that Sue would never make it out of this situation alive. Her fears aren’t completely unfounded. Sue has been mysteriously listed as deceased and when asking for her driving record, it could not be located. How much further will the act of revenge go? How long must the Vogan’s endure this agony because Sue helped two American soldiers? It’s anyone’s guess, but NCO: No Compassion Observed is the last round of ammunition from Sue’s foxhole.
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