seruriermarshal
06-07-2004, 03:32 AM
Coalition Pays Iraqis for Damages
CAMP COOKE, Iraq - Iraqis in Baghdad with a claim against Coalition forces need look no farther than the Staff Judge Advocate office at Camp Cooke's Castle Gate.
The office's centralized claims center opens daily at 9 a.m. and doesn't close until all claims for the day are complete. The office falls under the control of the 1st Cavalry Division's 39th Brigade Combat Team.
"We've been fully operational since about mid-March," said Chief Warrant Officer Ron Angel, a legal administrative officer with the 39th BCT.
Angel said the office handles cases ranging from destruction of personal property to loss of limbs and accidental deaths. But vehicle damage claims -- about 90 percent of the claims they process -- occupy most of their time. Assuming all paper work is in order, a claim takes about three weeks to pay.
Officials say the biggest obstacle they face is the language barrier. Another obstacle is getting the correct paper work. People who want to file a claim must have the correct documentation, including vehicle registration.
Soldiers' vehicle accident or incident reports are matched up with what the citizen reports. Angel said that when his team can match up reports, the claimants can get "paid that much faster." He said claims do not result in punitive action against a Soldier.
"I think a big reason why Soldiers are leery in talking to us and letting us know when something happened is they believe it will adversely affect them," he said. "We are not here to garnish a Soldier's wages or anything else; we just want to compensate citizens for any damages Coalition forces cause."
From (http://www.cjtf7.com/media-information/june2004/040607a.htm)
CAMP COOKE, Iraq - Iraqis in Baghdad with a claim against Coalition forces need look no farther than the Staff Judge Advocate office at Camp Cooke's Castle Gate.
The office's centralized claims center opens daily at 9 a.m. and doesn't close until all claims for the day are complete. The office falls under the control of the 1st Cavalry Division's 39th Brigade Combat Team.
"We've been fully operational since about mid-March," said Chief Warrant Officer Ron Angel, a legal administrative officer with the 39th BCT.
Angel said the office handles cases ranging from destruction of personal property to loss of limbs and accidental deaths. But vehicle damage claims -- about 90 percent of the claims they process -- occupy most of their time. Assuming all paper work is in order, a claim takes about three weeks to pay.
Officials say the biggest obstacle they face is the language barrier. Another obstacle is getting the correct paper work. People who want to file a claim must have the correct documentation, including vehicle registration.
Soldiers' vehicle accident or incident reports are matched up with what the citizen reports. Angel said that when his team can match up reports, the claimants can get "paid that much faster." He said claims do not result in punitive action against a Soldier.
"I think a big reason why Soldiers are leery in talking to us and letting us know when something happened is they believe it will adversely affect them," he said. "We are not here to garnish a Soldier's wages or anything else; we just want to compensate citizens for any damages Coalition forces cause."
From (http://www.cjtf7.com/media-information/june2004/040607a.htm)