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Pendleton-8 to be discharged
North County Times reports:
Four members of a Camp Pendleton squad convicted of taking part in the kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian in 2006 have been ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to be removed from the military. Secretary Ray Mabus also directed the Marine Corps to demonstrate why a lieutenant who oversaw the unit and acknowledged abusing detainees should be allowed to stay in the service. The sweeping order requires the administrative separation within 10 days of “Pendleton 8” defendants Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Tyler Jackson, Jerry Shumate and John Jodka III. Mabus, who has the authority to remove enlisted men without a hearing, also ordered the squad’s medical Corpsman Melson Bacos dismissed from the Navy.
The court-martial for each has been over for some time. The position of some of the Marines is that the Navy has bowed to political pressure. That would appear to be true according to this:
Mabus said he initiated his review of the April 26, 2006, incident at the request of some members of Congress, including Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., who represents the area where Hutchins grew up and where his parents still live.