We brought this truth back to the front door of the Pentagon where the trail begins. The US Army combat school, located at Fort Benning, GA, trains 900 to 2,000 Latin American soldier a year. Graduates of the Fort Benning school made up more than two thirds of the Salvadoran officers cited by the 1993 United Nations Truth Commission for atrocities during El Salvador's civil war. The SOA's best known graduate, former Panamanian President, Manuel Noreiga, is now serving 40 years in a US federal prison for drug trafficking. SOA defenders maintain that the Army School's training strengthens understanding of democratic values and respect for civil control of the military.
Critics say otherwise.
LCWR represents 78,000 Catholic nuns across the country. Pentagon officials had first agreed to meet with a high-level delegation including the LCWR and other religious leaders, veterans, and heads of national peace organizations. But 24 hours before the April 24 meeting, Army officials canceled without warning. Carol Richardson, a spokesperson for the civilian delegation, was astounded by the response. SOA critics, including those arrested at the Pentagon, have long maintained that the SOA has been actively teaching Latin American soldiers to kill and oppress their own people.