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Gold9472
07-25-2007, 12:47 PM
Movie creator charged

http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2007/07/25/jprowearrest0722.html

By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer

ONEONTA _ An Oneonta man who helped produce a 9/11 conspiracy documentary that became an Internet hit was arrested Monday for allegedly deserting the Army.

Korey Rowe, 24, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, was picked up by deputies at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said.

Rowe, along with Dylan Avery and Jason Bermas, are members of Louder Than Words, a production company that is working on a third edition of the movie "Loose Change," which contends the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That edition is intended to be a theatrical release.

Rowe and the other members of Louder Than Words have appeared on radio shows including The Alex Jones Show and have been mentioned in Time magazine. Vanity Fair magazine published a feature story on the group last August.

Since 2002, Rowe was interviewed by The Daily Star several times about "Loose Change" and his experiences in the military.

"We developed information that he was at a county Route 47 residence in Oneonta last night," Devlin said Tuesday.

Rowe was arrested on a "military warrant" that Devlin said was brought to the attention of deputies by the Oneonta Police Department, who received information from a source outside of that department.

Rowe was living at the Route 47 home, Devlin said.

City police officials who were able to comment on the case were unavailable Tuesday night.

After deputies received the information from Oneonta police, they reached out to the Army, and officials from Fort Knox faxed a copy of the warrant, deputies said.

Rowe previously told The Daily Star he enlisted in August 2001. He left the Army in June 2005, according to the Louder Than Words website.

He is being held without bail in the Otsego County jail and is waiting to be picked up by U.S. Army officials, Devlin said.

The Associated Press reported last month that deserters are rarely court-martialed by the Army.

Although 3,301 soldiers deserted in the 2006 fiscal year, there were just 174 troops court-martialed.

The AP report said some deserters are returned to their units, while others are discharged in non-criminal proceedings.

Desertion rates have been rising since 2004, but the Army does little to seek out deserters and instead relies on a database that can be cross-checked by local law-enforcement agencies during encounters such as traffic stops, the report states.

The Department of Defense public-affairs office did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.

A woman who answered Rowe’s cell phone Tuesday and identified herself only as Kristy said Rowe was "taken" from a house Monday night.

The Louder Than Words website lists a Kristy Kissner as an administrative assistant for the group.

"All we know is that he has been arrested," the woman said. "We know nothing. We just hope that whatever happened comes out."

Rowe’s parents did not immediately return a message left Tuesday.

In media interviews, Rowe has criticized the Iraq war and the Bush administration.

Desertion is defined under Article 85 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice as being when a soldier leaves his or her unit or place of duty with the intent to remain away from there permanently or quits his or her unit with the intent to avoid hazardous duty. It is considered a felony.

Chana3812
07-25-2007, 07:45 PM
Has Rowe admitted he was a deserter?? Do you know?

Gold9472
07-31-2007, 07:48 AM
Rowe returns to Fort Campbell, Ky.

http://www.thedailystar.com/news/stories/2007/07/31/jprowe07306.html

By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer
7-31-2007

Oneonta film producer Korey Rowe has been returned to his unit, which is gearing up for its third deployment to Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003.

Rowe, who was arrested last week on a charge of desertion, has previously said he served with the 187th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.

In May, the Pentagon announced three of the 101st’s four brigades "" including 3rd Brigade "" would be deploying to Iraq as early as next month.

Rowe, who joined the Army in August 2001, is a member of the Oneonta-based film production company Louder Than Words. The company is working on a third edition of "Loose Change," which contends the U.S. government was complicit in the 9/11 attacks.

"According to our files, he is still on active duty," said Cathy Gramling, a media relations specialist for Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st.

Rowe was listed as absent without leave on June 15, 2005, and was assumed to have deserted in mid-July 2005, Gramling said Monday.

All four brigades of the 101st deployed to Iraq in mid-2005. An Army brigade has an optimum strength of about 4,000 soldiers.

A source close to Rowe’s family has said he was at the end of his active-duty enlistment in the summer of 2005 and was trying to avoid serving a second tour of duty in Iraq under the Army’s stop-loss policy when he went AWOL. He returned to Fort Campbell that summer to clear up the matter but left for good after he was told he would be sent to Iraq, the source said.

Rowe is also a veteran of service in Afghanistan.

Since his arrest, Rowe has said he is a "political prisoner" and a victim of a paperwork glitch.

Gramling said she did not know if there would be a court martial for Rowe or what else is next for the 24-year-old.

"We’re not at that point yet," Gramling said.

Rowe’s colleagues at Louder Than Words said they do not know what will eventually happen but have been in contact with Rowe.

"Every other day (Rowe says) the situation is different," said the group’s administrative assistant Kristy Kissner on Monday.

Army deserters are rarely court-martialed and are usually either returned to their units or discharged from the Army, according to an Associated Press report last month.

"Korey Rowe is a big part of Louder Than Words," Kissner said. "He’s missed. We’re all worried."

Rowe is not being jailed while his case is being decided, Gramling said.

"He’s not in confinement," Gramling said.

The following are U.S. military policies used with retain or recall soldiers for active-duty status:

Stop-loss _ In place since the end of the Vietnam War, this policy authorizes the Army in times of conflict to keep a soldier beyond his or her active-duty commitment. When utilized, it allows the Army to keep units fully-staffed for the length of deployments.

Individual Ready Reserve _ When a soldier enlists, he or she actually signs up for an eight-year period split into two parts. The first part is that soldier’s active-duty commitment, which is typically for three to six years. The remaining time of the eight-year obligation is spent in the Individual Ready Reserve, which has no serviceobligation but leaves a soldier subject to recall to active duty.