So here is what is happening in my law office today, Veteran’s Day, 2011: Kevin Stanger is giving a deposition in Bixby v. KBR, the case in U.S. District Court here in Oregon where veterans dare to call corporate giant KBR to account.
Mr. Stanger is one of the vets sickened by exposure to sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant. The Vets dare to demand an accounting and justice from KBR.
In 2003, Mr. Stanger was in the command unit of the Oregon Army National Guard. He was one of the many soldiers who relied on KBR to be straight about the dangers at Qarmat Ali. KBR failed to do its job, and now Mr. Stanger and many of his brothers in arms are sick.
The vets’ depositions are grueling. Each vet sits in our conference room for a day. answering KBR lawyers’ questions under oath. I’ve had to apologize to the guys–it’s a lousy process.
Even so, there is some beauty and irony in Mr. Stanger’s deposition today. Our soldiers swear to defend and protect the United State Constitution when they take their enlistment oaths. When they enlisted, I doubt any of the Qarmat Ali vets thought for a moment that they might be the ones who needed their constitutional rights to trial by jury. Thankfully, that right endures because of each veteran’s commitment to the constitution.
While Mr. Stanger is giving his deposition, I am head-down working on our opposition to KBR’s latest motion to have the case thrown out of court. The Vets’ legal team’s hard work on this Veterans’ Day is all that we can give toward repayment of the vast debt owed to our veterans. It is not enough, of course, but I hope that it is a modest start.
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