Little Peace Center That Could

[BobCherry@AOL.COM]

Several of you have written me about my efforts to debunk Doug Rokke. Thank you for the encouragement. Below is a letter to the editor I wrote in response to this article:



http://valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:47795







Dear Editor:



I found Andrew Varnon's article about the Traprock Peace Center to be enlightening and well done. As a student at the University of Michigan in the tumultuous sixties and a reluctant draftee into Vietnam war, I have some empathy with the efforts of peace activists such as those at Traprock.



For the most part, Mr. Varnon was careful to keep facts separate from hearsay with two exceptions that I noticed.



I am referring to his words about Doug Rokke. Most of what Rokke says about his experiences during his brief time on active duty in the Army are exaggerations when they not untrue.



Mr. Varnon was careful to point out when it was Rokke who said certain things about himself. However, in two instances Mr. Varnon was not so careful. 



First, Rokke is a self-appointed depleted uranium expert, not a real one. He has neither the education or experience to make him an expert. He is not a member of any professional organization that has such experts as members. He has published no papers on depleted uranium in peer-reviewed journals. He has performed no scientific research on the biological effects of depleted uranium. He is not a board-certified health physicist. He has never served as a radiation safety officer on a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.



Second, Rokke did not lead anybody during the Gulf War, much less a team of experienced civilians from the State-side Army Materiel Command who were the persons assigned to recover armored vehicles struck with friendly fire depleted uranium munitions. Rokke was merely their in-country liaison. 



He was an Army Reserve officer brought to active duty for the Gulf War along with thousands of others. He had few of the professional credentials and almost none of the health physics experience his Regular Army counterparts and the Army civlian health physicists on the team had at the time he was activated.



I hope you and the good people at Traprock find these clarifications useful.



Bob Cherry, Ph.D.

Certified Health Physicist

Colonel, U.S. Army (retired)



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