Court-Martialed Soldier Plans To Return

Court-Martialed Soldier Plans To Return

Associated Press

January 25, 2005



DAYTON, Ohio - A former Ohio Army Reserve commander court-martialed for taking Army vehicles in Kuwait so her unit could carry out its mission in Iraq said Monday she is returning to duty pending her bid for clemency.



Maj. Cathy Kaus, 47, of Dayton, said she plans to report for duty Tuesday at Fort Sill, Okla. Kaus said she is not sure what tasks she will be assigned.



"I'm very anxious to get down there and prove to them that I do have some qualities the Army needs," Kaus said. "I look at it as starting a new job."



Kaus, a 27-year veteran of the reserves, served six months in a Navy brig after being convicted of theft, abandoning military property, conspiring to abandon military property and neglect.



Her attorney, Philip Cave, said that while the court dismissed Kaus from the military - an officer's version of a dishonorable discharge - the dismissal is not final until the clemency and appeals process is complete.



Kaus was among six reservists from the Springfield, Ohio-based 656th Transportation Company who were court-martialed at a time when some U.S. troops in Iraq were complaining they had to scrounge for equipment and armor for their vehicles. Members of the unit said they needed the equipment to deliver fuel to U.S. forces in Iraq.



Messages left at Fort Sill were not immediately returned.





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