Washington State National Guard recruiters repeatedly forged re-enlistment papers in a desperate attempt to hold on to soldiers in the run-up to the Iraq war surge, a local news channel’s investigation has found.
In one case, a soldier found himself fighting against deployment to Iraq after re-enlistment papers with his signature on it appeared — even though he never signed any such papers, reports Chris Ingalls at KING channel 5 news in Seattle.
And in another case, a sergeant who had signed up for a one-year tour of duty was shocked to discover his enlistment papers stated he had signed up for two years.
Former soldier Michael Patrick sounded the alarm when he discovered forged re-enlistment papers with his name on them.
“Sounds crazy,” Michael Patrick told KING 5. “Sounds like something from a movie.”