OCHESTER, Nov. 28 (AP) � Capt. Steve McAlpin, a
longtime Army reservist who spent most of last year deployed in
Afghanistan, learned this week that he is facing insubordination charges
that could end his 25-year military career.
His breach of discipline is questioning the legality of a waiver his
battalion was asked to sign that would put his unit back in a combat zone
after only 11 months at home. Under federal law, Captain McAlpin noted,
troops are allowed a 12-month "stabilization period."
Captain McAlpin, 44, was notified in a memorandum on Wednesday that he
was being removed from the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion's battle roster.
He said he could face other punishment, including a court-martial and loss
of rank.
Members of the 401st will be deployed for duty overseas next Wednesday.
The commander, Lt. Col. Phillip Carey, says in his memorandum that Captain
McAlpin had a "negative attitude" and was being "insubordinate towards the
leadership" of the 401st.
Captain McAlpin said he questioned the waiver last Saturday in a
teleconference with Col. Guy Sands, commander of the captain's parent
unit, the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade in Fort Jackson, S.C.
About a dozen other officers refused to sign the waiver, as well as
four enlisted soldiers called to redeploy, Captain McAlpin said.
"Soldiers are proud to serve any time, anywhere. I'd go tomorrow," he
said on Friday from his home in Victor, 20 miles southeast of Rochester.
"But I have four soldiers that don't want to go."
The memorandum orders Captain McAlpin to clear up his affairs at the
unit by Monday, when it bans him from battalion grounds. It also transfers
him to the Individual Ready Reserves, whose soldiers can be called up in
the event of a national emergency.
Instead of signing the reprimand document, Captain McAlpin wrote a note
of protest, stating that his performance evaluations had been excellent
and that his record showed "no pattern of incompetence."
Captain McAlpin served in Bosnia in 1996. Last year, while stationed in
Afghanistan, he was a liaison to local warlords, coordinated relief
supplies and organized an English-language teaching program. He said the
military should "honor soldiers that have gone already" by giving them "a
break from the hazards of combat."
A spokesman for the 401st, Capt. Brian Earley, said Captain McAlpin's
questioning of the waiver was only one reason he was being disciplined,
with others including difficulties on the mission to Afghanistan.
