Soldier Fights to Save His Name

The Army has dropped dereliction of duty charges against a soldier it once accused of cowardice after he became distraught at the sight of a dead, badly mangled Iraqi soldier.

The decision was good news for 32-year-old Staff Sgt. Georg-Andreas Pogany of Ft. Carson, but his fate remains murky.

The Army dropped the dereliction of duty charge and threat of a court-martial on Dec. 18, offering Pogany an Article 15 hearing with a commanding officer. If found guilty in such a hearing, he would face lesser penalties, usually a pay cut or decrease in rank rather than a prison term.

Pogany, who says he is innocent, refused the offer, so now the military must decide whether to drop the matter or go ahead with a court-martial on the dereliction of duty charges.

“The military is considering its options; it hasn’t taken the matter any further yet,” said Richard Bridges, spokesman at Ft. Carson, near Colorado Springs. “These things can literally drag on for weeks or months.”

Bridges said charges of cowardice are extremely rare.

“I don’t think they have brought one since Vietnam,” he said. “I think there was one in Vietnam, one in Korea and one in World War II.”

The Army dropped the cowardice charge in November.

Pogany was unavailable for comment.

“He’s in limbo right now,” said Richard Travis, a former military prosecutor who represents Pogany. “There is no court-martial, no Article 15 hearing. It’s up to the command now. My client is grateful that two charges have been dropped against him but anxious about what will happen next.”

The incident occurred in October while Pogany, a five-year veteran, was working as an interrogator attached to the 10th Special Forces Group in Iraq. At one point he saw a dead Iraqi soldier in a body bag with most of his chest torn away by gunfire.

Later that night he vomited, had hallucinations and suffered a severe anxiety attack.

Travis said Pogany, who is not a member of the Special Forces, told his commanders what happened and asked to see a counselor. They took away his gun and put him on a convoy out of the area. He met with a chaplain and a doctor who said he suffered from combat stress.

“When he got back, he got off the plane and they separated him,” Travis said. “They took away his knife and he was charged with cowardice.”

The maximum penalty for cowardice is death.

After dropping that charge, the Army replaced it with dereliction of duty, which can carry a six-month prison term. It then dropped that charge without explanation.

“I don’t think the evidence supported a court-martial,” Travis said.

Travis said the Department of Defense has directives on dealing with stress that include counseling.

He also said the panic attack could have been exacerbated by an antimalaria drug given to Pogany and others leaving for Iraq that he said is known to cause anxiety and hallucinations.

In any case, the charge of cowardice will likely follow Pogany.

“How do you get your integrity back after going through this?” Travis asked. “He is still in the Army, he got his security clearance back and personal weapon returned. But there are people out there who will always think he is a coward.”