Army detains Maryland soldier In Afghanistan

A Maryland soldier is in Army custody and classified as a deserter -- unfairly, relatives say -- after he extended a two-week midtour leave to take care of his sick wife and their new baby.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett has lobbied the secretary of the Army to investigate whether the Army mistreated 20-year-old Pfc. Christopher Pfeiffer of Westminster. Fort Detrick officials have also worked to remedy his situation.

Despite their efforts, Pfeiffer spent seven weeks, from Sept. 14 to Nov. 3, at a Kuwait airport, unable to get a military flight to Afghanistan and lacking the necessities of life. Since Nov. 3, he has been kept in an office at the Bagram airport, still hoping to rejoin his unit.

Army officials would not comment on whether he faces charges or has received nonjudicial punishment.

Lisa Wright, spokeswoman for Bartlett, said Pfeiffer's case was brought to the Army secretary's attention Thursday, the highest level for such appeals.

"The Army is working with Congressman Bartlett's office to review this case and try to resolve it," Army spokesman Wayne Hall said Friday.

The Army is investigating all aspects of the case, including complaints of mistreatment by officers and not receiving proper pay, but the time it takes to resolve the case will depend on its complexity, Hall said.

Authorized leave

Pfeiffer deployed in mid-February to Bagram, Afghanistan. He was granted leave time starting May 17. His wife, 18-year-old Alexandria Pfeiffer of Hagerstown, was about to give birth and was suffering serious medical problems.

Miscommunication within the chain of command appears to have started right away.

"The entire brigade was looking for you," wrote Staff Sgt. Heath Stanley, one of Pfeiffer's superiors, in a May 18 e-mail to Pfeiffer. In another e-mail that day, Stanley warned Pfeiffer to bring his leave form back to Afghanistan in case some officers weren't aware his midtour leave was authorized.

Pfeiffer later requested emergency leave; his wife had not yet given birth and continued to have severe health problems. His request was granted by his chain of command in Afghanistan, pushing his return date from June 2 to July 9, records show.

He asked for another extension in early July. His wife had been in and out of the emergency room and could not take care of herself and the new baby. A series of frantic e-mails show he tried to push his request through his chain of command.

Pfeiffer met with Bartlett to request a compassionate reassignment, said Theresa Mwimbwa, his mother-in-law. When that appeared unlikely, e-mails show he tried make travel arrangements to return to Afghanistan.

Neither effort succeeded. On July 9 he was still in Maryland and unable to get back to his unit.

Seeking outside help

Pfeiffer and his family met with Fort Detrick officials July 13 to ask for help and to file a complaint about one of his officers who, Mwimbwa said, made inappropriate comments about Pfeiffer's extended stay in Maryland.

Bartlett wrote to Col. Judith Robinson, garrison commander at Fort Detrick, on Aug. 7 to plead Pfeiffer's case. Pfeiffer's first priority was his family's health, Bartlett wrote, and he should be allowed to work at a nearby Army installation and help his wife recover, returning to his unit when she was well enough.

Fort Detrick agreed Pfeiffer could work for them from Aug. 21 until Aug. 30, records show. He again struggled to contact his commanders to arrange his return to Afghanistan.

Command Sgt. Maj. James Shaheen, the ranking enlisted soldier at Fort Detrick, confirmed he provided Pfeiffer with a ticket to the U.S. Personnel Assistance Point in Atlanta, where he would be processed and flown to Kuwait.

Pfeiffer arrived in Kuwait on Sept. 14 and tried to board a military plane to Bagram, the next step to rejoining his unit, but he was told he had to wait for the next flight out. Mwimbwa said he tried every day to get to Afghanistan, and was told each time he'd been scratched from the list and would have to try later.

This went on for seven weeks, with Pfeiffer unable to shower or wash his uniform, only able to eat whatever food other people bought for him, she said.

On Nov. 3, an Army officer stopped Pfeiffer from boarding a plane to Afghanistan and brought him to the military police office in Kuwait, Mwimbwa said. The officer later brought Pfeiffer to the Bagram airport but not to his unit, and Pfeiffer has been waiting there since.

Fighting for a happy ending

Army spokesmen could not elaborate on what comes next, saying only that, as a result of Bartlett's request, the chain of command would investigate what happened to Pfeiffer. The Army was under no time constraints to reach a final conclusion, they said.

Neal Puckett, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and prominent military criminal defense attorney, said Pfeiffer has the right to complain to an inspector general about being denied rights while he was detained in the airport, as well as being denied his full pay. Pfeiffer's family said he received reduced pay while overseas and at Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he was originally stationed, and that his paychecks have stopped coming.

"I think what we have here is a possible abuse of authority," Puckett said, adding that an investigation could result in administrative actions against Pfeiffer's officers.

Soldiers cannot sue the Army, Puckett said, but Pfeiffer could be entitled to back pay.

Pfeiffer's family hopes for a return to normalcy. Alexandria Pfeiffer and 5-month-old Claudia lost their Army health insurance, and the family has mounting debt because of the pay problems.

Pfeiffer just wants to serve in the Army and eventually become a recruiter, Mwimbwa said.

"All we've ever wanted is to get Chris back to his unit in Afghanistan. It just doesn't seem to be that the military can get one person to one destination."

Alexandria Pfeiffer said she hopes "for my husband not to get a dishonorable discharge, I really don't think he deserves to get one."

"I really do feel it was a communication breakdown," Mwimbwa said, adding she still supports and respects the Army despite the problems with Pfeiffer's officers. But, she said, "the only people that are suffering is my family."

Copyright 2009 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.