"The handle of a sledgehammer, about this big . . . to assault the detainees with."

Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake Tribune Home Page: "08/01/2005 01:13:57 PM | By Matthew D. LaPlante | The Salt Lake Tribune"

Utah GI exposed abuses at prison ... His reports were brushed off until fellow Utahn stepped in

The Army captain appeared confused. "You're using 'sledgehammer' figuratively?" he asked the enlisted soldier sitting before him.

"No sir," the soldier replied, lifting his hands about 15 inches apart. "The handle of a sledgehammer, about this big . . . to assault the detainees with."

For Sgt. 1st Class Michael Pratt it would have been far easier to look away. If war is hell, after all, there are going to be some demons. And since hooking up with the Colorado-based 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq in early 2003, the Utah National Guard soldier had learned it was simpler to ignore questionable actions than report them.

But the guardsman couldn't look past what he had seen in the Al Qiem Detention Facility. Not after the death of an inmate whom he believed had been abused by a senior officer. Not even as the Army announced that the prisoner had died "of natural causes."