Allegations of choking
rock isle Guard unit

A battalion leader is suspended
pending an investigation in Iraq

The Hawaii Army National Guard's 100th Battalion has a new temporary commander after Lt. Col. Alan Ostermiller was suspended for allegedly choking one of his staff officers last week, days after the unit arrived in Iraq on a year-long deployment.

STAR-BULLETIN / OCTOBER 2004 Lt. Col. Alan Ostermiller helps serve food at the 100th Battalion's farewell luau at Schofield Barracks before the unit deploys to the mainland.

Army officials said yesterday that Reserve Maj. Paul Gault is now acting commander while the alleged assault is investigated.

Ostermiller, 41, was named commander of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry -- one of three combat battalions belonging to the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team -- on Aug. 2.

Ostermiller, a 1982 Kamehameha Schools graduate, was suspended last week by Brig. Gen. Joe Chaves, commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade, pending Chaves' review of the incident, which allegedly occurred soon after the 100th Battalion arrived at Logistical Support Area Anaconda near Baghdad during the weekend of Feb. 19.

Chaves does not have the authority to permanently replace Ostermiller, said Brig. Gen. John Ma, commander of the Army Reserve's 9th Regional Support Command. The 100th Battalion was one of the units under Ma's command until it was placed on active duty in August and was assigned to the 29th Brigade and 18th Airborne Corps, whose commanding general could have the final say.

"It is our understanding that he (Chaves) can only recommend what action should be taken," Ma said.

Gault was the liaison officer between the 100th Battalion and the 29th Brigade.

Yesterday, Ma confirmed reports that the Star-Bulletin received from several family members of 100th Battalion soldiers that Ostermiller assaulted his operations officer at the battalion's headquarters during an early-morning meeting, allegedly choking the officer after the two got into an argument.

Ma would not give details, but family members said that Ostermiller was pulled off the officer by members of his staff and wrestled to the ground. He was taken into custody by military police officers who were summoned by 100th Battalion officers, according to the family members.

Ostermiller replaced Lt. Col. Joseph Krakowiak, who had to step down in August because he was being considered for promotion to colonel. Ostermiller was commissioned as an Army officer in 1986 through the University of Hawaii ROTC program. Krakowiak had led the Army Reserve's 100th Battalion since September 2002.

The 100th Battalion, one of three infantry battalions assigned to the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade, is normally commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The 100th has nearly 600 soldiers from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Saipan and the Marianas.

The other two battalions -- the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry, from Hilo and the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry, from California -- also arrived in Iraq last month.

The 100th Battalion has been assigned to security duty at Logistical Support Area Anaconda, a major supply center for the military near Baghdad.

It was placed on active duty as part of the largest call-up of reservists and National Guard soldiers since the Vietnam War. The 2,200 citizens soldiers will be in Iraq for a year.

The 29th Brigade had a rough start during training for the Iraq war. Soldiers and some family members wrote to U.S. Rep. Ed Case in December, complaining that the soldiers had not been issued proper cold-weather gear, adequate amounts of live ammunition for target practice, or training. They said some maintenance units had not received adequate training for maintenance of vehicles and tanks in a desert environment.