Here is an interesting piece relevant to a pending court-martial?
Tim King, The Fragging of American Officers: Historic Problems and Future Planning, Salem-News.com.
What we call fragging the British Navy called "Shot Rolling" after the practice of rolling a cannon ball across the deck for the purpose of injuring an officer. The methods may vary but the results are the same.
A pun too close to call. Article 15 and court-martial could be on the horizon for more Marines.
Smile, you’re on security cameras.
Despite the field overhead of video surveillance at the exchanges aboard Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., Marines are betting the odds they won’t get caught stealing.
Dear Representative Burton,
Thank you for your letter expressing your and your colleagues concern regarding the pending Courts-martial of Petty Officers Huertas, McCabe, and Keefe. I understand your interest in these cases and can assure you that I am committed to protecting the rights of the Sailors who have been accused.
Regrettably it appears that your perception of the incident is based upon incomplete and factually inaccurate press coverage. Despite what has been reported, these allegations are not founded solely on the word of the detainee, but rather, were initially raised by other U.S. service members. Additionally, the alleged injuries did not occur during actions on the objective, as is also being widely reported in the media. A medical examination conducted at the time the detainee was turned over to U.S. forces determined that his alleged injuries were inflicted several hours after the operation had ended, and while in the custody and care of the U.S. at Camp Schweidler’s detainee holding facility.
Here is the QP in Holland v. Florida
Whether “gross negligence” by collateral counsel, which directly results in the late filing of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, can qualify as an exceptional circumstance warranting equitable tolling, or whether, in conflict with other circuits, the Eleventh Circuit was proper in determining that factors beyond “gross negligence” must be established before an extraordinary circumstance can be found that would warrant equitable tolling?
Should military veterans get a break when they are sentenced for crimes?
Asks a piece in the Wall Street Journal. This is interesting in light of some discussion on CAAFLog about sentencing in court-martial and sentence ranges under the UCMJ. Seems some civilian judges are more interested in giving a sentence based on the whole person and individualized rather than a set amount.
“We dump all kinds of money to get soldiers over there and train them to kill, but we don’t do anything to reintegrate them into our society,” says John L. Kane, a federal judge in Denver.
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland has responded to a letter that challenges the handling of a case against three Navy SEALs accused of mishandling a suspected terrorist.
In the Dec. 15 letter, addressed to Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., Cleveland essentially refuses to drop the charges against the three men."While the assault and resulting injury to the detainee were relatively minor, the more disconcerting allegations are those related to the sailor’s attempts to cover-up the incident," said Cleveland, who writes that this appears to be an attempt to influence the testimony of a witness.
Cleveland writes that the "alleged allegations are not founded solely on the word of the detainee, but rather, were initially raised by other U.S. service members."
The family of Evan Vela, an imprisoned former soldier from Parker, is expressing gratitude for a Christmas donation to his wife and children.
The donation came about through efforts by a national organization to support soldiers accused of crimes related to the war on terrorism.
reports Standard Journal.
Airman 1st Class Corey Hernandez pulled the trigger. Nothing was supposed to happen, except the metallic click of the hammer striking the firing pin.
Instead, the pistol fired.
Until Dec. 10, when the 23-year-old Garcia died, the Air Force had not had any reported incidents of airmen playing Trust.
The White House will not weigh in on the case of the three Navy SEALs facing court martial for allegedly mistreating an Iraqi terror suspect believed to have been behind the slaying of four Americans in 2004.
CNSNews.com reports.
We already have too much litigation by media, and by Congress in courts-martials and other UCMJ actions. The politicizing of military justice doesn’t serve military justice.
Some news stories:
"US: SOLDIERS FORCED TO GO AWOL FOR PTSD CARE." Inter Press Service English News Wire. 2009. HighBeam Research. (December 23, 2009). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-174196126.html
With a military health care system over-stretched by two ongoing wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq, more soldiers are deciding to go absent without leave (AWOL) in order to find treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog