Deal reached in AWOL case

SEATTLE – A soldier who said she was sexually harassed by her colleagues, prompting her to leave her post and refuse to return to Iraq, has agreed to plead guilty to going AWOL in exchange for a reduced punishment, the Army said Monday.

Army Spc. Suzanne Swift, 22, of Eugene, Ore., had been scheduled for a special court-martial next month for missing movement and being absent without leave.

In a deal reached Dec. 7, Swift agreed to plead guilty to the charges, Fort Lewis officials said Monday. Under the agreement, Swift avoids the possibility of a federal conviction on her record and will remain eligible for an honorable discharge once she completes her five years service.

Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik has released the case back to Swift’s unit, the 54th Military Police Co. of the 42nd Military Police Brigade at the post south of Tacoma.

The unit has two weeks to schedule a summary court-martial, a proceeding in which neither a prosecutor nor defense counsel is present, Fort Lewis spokeswoman Sgt. Maj. Yolanda Choates said Monday.

Swift would be allowed to make a statement, but rather than a military judge and jury, an officer from Fort Lewis will hear her case and impose a lower level punishment.

Her maximum punishment is a reduction in rank, to private, forfeiture of two-thirds salary for one month and 30 days confinement.

The Army investigated Swift’s allegations and substantiated one against a soldier at Fort Lewis.