A Navy intelligence specialist stationed at Fort Bragg is in custody after an investigation revealed he allegedly sold top secret documents to an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign intelligence officer.

Apparently there were two meetings at which approximately four documents were handed over in exchange for a total of $3,000.00.

Politics.co.uk reports:

US military personnel have been disciplined over the death of Linda Norgrove, the British aid worker accidentally killed by US forces in Afghanistan.

Navy Times reports:

When Senior Chief Master-at-Arms (SW) Kevin Curtis reported as the carrier George H.W. Bush’s top cop in September 2008, he wowed the sailors who would serve under him. Within a few months, that initial impression of a super squared-away senior enlisted leader changed dramatically, the sailor Curtis appointed as his leading petty officer for investigations told a military pre-trial hearing here Friday.

Here’s something to consider:

When he [the CMC] subsequently asked sailors who’d served under Curtis why they didn’t come to him, “They said, ‘`We all thought you were in on it’ ” and that [he] would only back Curtis up. “I didn’t have confidence in anyone in the chain of command to properly report it,” Edmonds said, adding that he and his fellow sailors saw Curtis as the executive officer’s right-hand man. “It wouldn’t have been taken seriously.”

A religion watchdog group is asking the Defense Department to investigate whether the Air Force Academy has given a Christian group improper access to the campus to proselytize cadets.

This would not be the first time the AFA has had an issue with support to or enforced support of a specific religion.

In June 2005; An Air Force panel sent to investigate the religious climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs found evidence that officers and faculty members periodically used their positions to promote their Christian beliefs and failed to accommodate the religious needs of non-Christian cadets, its leader said Wednesday.

In May 2005; The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it will appoint a task force to investigate allegations of religious intolerance at the Air Force Academy. Among the items to be reviewed will be Air Force policy and guidance concerning religious respect and tolerance at the academy, said acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Dominguez.

In December 2005;

Four Air Force officers — all graduates of the Air Force Academy class of 2004 — have recently joined a lawsuit that accuses leaders at the academy of overtly pressuring cadets to undertake evangelical religious instruction.

See here for concerns about a recent event at Fort Bragg, and here for Soldiers punished for not attending a religious event at Fort Eustis.

Here is an article from the Air Force Law Review: ARTICLE: RELIGION IN THE MILITARY: NAVIGATING THE CHANNEL BETWEEN THE RELIGION CLAUSES.

In the perpetual debate over legal accountability of, and prosecution if necessary, of private military and security contractors one often sees the arguments reduced to two simplistic arguments. PMSC opponents argue the contractors argue in a legal vacuum and with utter impunity. This is, of course, as anyone who has even done the most cursory reading on the subject knows, is utter nonsense. . . . Well then, in that case let’s take a look at a journal article published this past spring. In an article “Cowboys in the Middle East: Private Security Companies and the Imperfect Reach of the United States Criminal Justice System” in the quarterly journal Connections Christopher M. Kovach, who serves as a Captain in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, notes the limitations of the revised MEJA.

Marine Corps Times reports:

A baritone horn player assigned to Marine Barracks Washington is the subject of an Article 32 investigation in connection with online photos and videos that allegedly show him having sex with other men.

WRAL.com reports:

An 82nd Airborne Division soldier charged in a sexual assault on Fort Bragg last December asked a military judge on Monday to move his trial. Army Spc. Aaron Michael Pernell, 23, is charged with two counts each of rape and burglary and one count each of attempted rape, assault consummated by battery and housebreaking. His court-martial is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 27. Pernell’s military lawyers asked that the trial be moved because of Fayetteville’s relatively close-knit community and the intense media coverage surrounding sex assaults in the area.

Navy Times reports:

The commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship Peleliu was relieved of command Sunday even as his ship helped with the humanitarian mission in flood-stricken Pakistan, after an investigation found he had been “unduly familiar” with crew members, the Navy announced. The relief will not stop Peleliu’s contributions to the flood relief efforts, a spokesman said.

Marine Corps Times reports:

The supervisor of a former Camp Lejeune Marine accused of killing his pregnant colleague testified Friday that ex-Marine Cesar Laurean was one of the best troops of his rank he has ever led. . . . Larsen said he did not know Lauterbach well. But her reputation in the unit was “that she’s not truthful all the time,” Larsen said.

This case got quite a bit of noteriety when it happened.

Laurean [the accused] was kicked out of the Marines after fleeing hours before investigators found Lauterbach’s body on Jan. 12, 2008. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Laurean was arrested in western Mexico in April 2008 after an international manhunt. Prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty so Mexico would return Laurean to the U.S. Lauterbach accused Laurean in May 2007 of raping her and fathering her unborn baby. She later told a military prosecutor that Laurean couldn’t be the father based on a medical examination and recalculated conception date. A DNA test showed Laurean was not the father.

The apparent motive for the murder is anger at being falsely accused of rape and the associated stresses of being a rape suspect for many months. So why post, other than Dick McNeil a Code 45 alumnus is the defense counsel.

Kate Wiltrout reports the retrial of Richard Mott at NOB, NorVA.

Almost two years after a Navy judge found Seaman Richard Mott guilty of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him to 12 years in prison, he got a second chance this week to plead his case before a new judge and a military jury. Like last time, Mott’s lawyers argued that he should not be held criminally responsible for attacking a fellow sailor because he was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the attack.

Here is a link to United States v. Mott, NMCCA 200900115 (N-M.C. Ct. Crim. App. 24 November 2009).

Kitsap Sun reports that:

A doctor who is being expelled from the Navy was charged by Kitsap County prosecutors Thursday with failing to register as a sex offender, according to attorneys familiar with the case.

Here is a piece by the Island Packet which follows up on the two MCAS Beaufort Marines pending civilian charges.

Air station officials are awaiting the case’s outcome before proceeding with possible military charges against the Marines, who have been under barracks restriction since the incident.

Seems like the R.C.M. 707 clock is running, and perhaps the Article 13, UCMJ consideration? Remember, Liberty Risk programs do not apply in CONUS, they are an overseas practice only.

Fort Scott Tribune has this reminder about falling asleep on post.

To fall asleep on guard duty in a combat zone could be FATAL for the soldier and or his comrades in arms, especially if the area is known to be SWARMING WITH ENEMY GUERRILLAS!

A little more about the moss growing on Rolling Stone from AP.

The U.S. Army inspector general is investigating whether aides to former Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal were insubordinate when they made a series of derogatory comments about top civilian leaders to a Rolling Stone reporter, McClatchy Newspapers has learned.

I also heard on my drive back from Fort Bragg last night that the reporter has had his 101st ABN embed revoked based on a lack of trust and concern he will not follow pre-established ground rules.

Air Force Times reports that:

The former top enlisted airman at Air Force Materiel Command will defend himself against 19 charges that include adultery and misuse of his government position at a December court-martial.

Here’s another piece (in military.com) on the reinstatement move for MajGen Lavelle:

In an Aug. 4 statement, the Pentagon said that President Obama had posthumously nominated Maj. Gen. John D. Lavelle to the rank of general after the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records found the former commander of the 7th Air Force had rightfully executed his orders and had not participated in falsifying records. “In 2007, newly released and declassified information resulted in evidence that Lavelle was authorized by President Richard Nixon to conduct the bombing missions,” the Pentagon release stated.

When Soldiers Become Killers is a piece in Gulf News.

“I came over here because I wanted to kill people.” -Private First Class Steven Green, US Army; interview given to Washington Post reporter Andrew Tilghman; Iraq, February 2006 “I am truly sorry for what I did in Iraq and I am sorry for the pain my actions, and the actions of my co-defendants, have caused you and your family … I helped to destroy a family and end the lives of four of my fellow human beings …” -Steven Green, ex-US Army; addressing the Al Janabi family in US Court, 2009.

The Hook reports that:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has advised immigration officers that military deserters seeking permanent residence should be treated as “high profile, contentious and sensitive cases,” and kicked upstairs for resolution.

I posted the other day about Fricke, here is some more reporting on his death:

The Virginia Pilot reports that:

Former Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Fricke, 54, was about a month away from being released for the crime when he died Thursday after being beaten with a baseball bat in a fight. The high-profile case went on for about 15 years, starting with the investigation of the murder and wending its way through military and civilian courts.

Who is that phantom Justice Thomas (Ledger-Enquirer)?

On July 20, Taitz posted a motion requesting that she be allowed to verify that it is, in fact, Thomas’ signature on the denial of her application. She’s also sent her request for stay to Justice Samuel Alito, though she said a clerk told her it had been returned because of a small technical issue.

There are some things even a bank won’t do:

As he sits in the Bell County Jail, accused in the Nov. 5 Fort Hood shootings that left 13 dead, Maj. Nidal Hasan continues to receive his monthly U.S. Army paycheck; based on his rank and experience, it is probably more than $6,000. But Hasan, who is charged with 13 counts of murder in the attack, is not a standard defendant. And he’s having a hard time finding a bank to take his money. According to his civilian attorney John Galligan, Bank of America notified Hasan last month that it was closing his account and no area bank has agreed to open an account for the Army psychiatrist.

Experts say Fort Bragg likely violated the First Amendment when it sought to prohibit reporters from identifying accusers at a soldier’s arraignment. The Observer doesn’t publish names of victims of sexual crimes. But Pernell faces charges other than sex crimes.

The FayObserver writes:

Lt. Col. Dave Connolly, an 82nd Airborne Division spokesman, said the rule was meant to protect the victims’ privacy and “to make sure the process itself is just for all involved.”

The paper and Fort Bragg does however print or release the names of accused’s prior to a conviction.

A Fort Bragg soldier accused of rape and break-ins on post, as well as in Cumberland County, is due in court Wednesday for an arraignment hearing. Aaron M. Pernell, 22, of Tulsa, Okla., is charged by the military with two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, one count of assault consummated by battery, two counts of burglary and one count of housebreaking, according to a release from the 82nd Airborne Division. Pernell also is charged with six additional attacks, three each in Hoke County and Fayetteville, that occurred between October 2008 and August 2009.

I saw a military jury convict Hennis on April 8 and sentence him to die Thursday[.] Hennis’ lawyer, Frank Spinner, said at the bottom of the courthouse steps that the jury never got to know his client, who did not testify. The jurors instead were treated to gruesome photos of the murder scene, he said.

That was Hennis’s choice. He was not required to testify. The members would have been instructed that they could not consider the declination to testify as evidence of guilt or hold it against him.

[T]he facts don’t help Hennis. First, he adopted a dog from a woman who was found murdered two days later. His bad luck. Second, a man who had never seen him before says he saw a man fitting Hennis’ description get into a white Chevrolet Chevette near the crime scene that night. The police sketch and Hennis’ mug shot are shockingly similar. Then, Hennis has no solid alibi for his whereabouts both times someone used Katie Eastburn’s stolen ATM card. A witness at the ATM described a tall man climbing out of a small, white car, like the kind of Chevette owned by the 6-foot-4 Hennis. A day after the murders, Hennis happened to take a single garment to be laundered, a Members Only jacket, like the kind a witness said the suspect near the scene had worn. Then, neighbors reported, he just happened to be burning items for hours in a barrel later that day. Beyond all that, there’s the DNA. There was maybe one place in the world where Hennis’ DNA could have been found that would have fatally undermined his version of events, and that’s where it was found – inside Katie Eastburn.

CAAFLog links to an interesting report of Mr. Eastburn’s reaction.

An Army major who allegedly told another soldier that his fellow jury members in an October court-martial acted improperly and with an agenda testified Thursday that he never made such an allegation. Pvt. Justin A. Boyle – a sergeant before having his rank stripped – was convicted in October of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the death of Pfc. Luke Brown. Boyle was one of seven soldiers accused of accidentally killing an intoxicated Brown while trying to subdue him to get him home after a night of drinking at the Ugly Stick Saloon on Raeford Road. Prosecutors said the choke hold Boyle used caused Brown’s death.

DoD PAO reports that:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has directed the Defense Department immediately to implement 26 interim recommendations of an independent panel he appointed to look into the Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, Pentagon officials said today.

Courtesy of CAAFLog here is a “fact sheet” on the SEAL trials.

A military jury has sentenced a soldier to die for killing a North Carolina mother and her two children in 1985.

The jury left the courthouse at Fort Bragg about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening without a decision on a sentence for Hennis: life in prison or the death penalty. A death sentence requires a unanimous vote of all 14 jurors; a life sentence requires agreement from at least 11 of the jurors.

Hennis was convicted of premeditated murder, so it’s one or the other life or death. The paper seems to have picked up on the three-quarters vote needed for a sentence in excess of 10 years. In this case he’s already going to get life, the question is whether all 14 members will vote to terminate it.

Deliberations continue today.

Court recessed at 5:40 p.m. after the jury deliberated for more than two hours and also waited for the answer to three questions, including whether Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis would be eligible for parole if given a life sentence. Judge Col. Patrick Parrish told the jury that “life means life” and reminded jurors of his instructions to impose a sentence they view as fair. Before he answered the jurors’ questions, Parrish heard arguments about whether a life sentence would actually means life. While he agreed with the government that Hennis could receive parole, he also agreed with the defense that the chances of that were “slim and none,” given the 52-year-old Hennis’ age and the nature of the crimes. He agreed that the defense had opened the door to the question with its closing argument that jurors knew Hennis would at least spend life behind bars. He declined to answer the question with any specifics, however, saying the various answers had too many permutations. He did say that he would consider any further arguments when deliberations are scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.

The family of a former Fort Bragg soldier convicted of killing a Fayetteville woman and two small children in 1985 on Monday begged a military jury not to sentence him to death for the crimes. The panel of 14 Army officers and enlisted personnel last week found Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis guilty of three counts of premeditated murder and is considering his sentence.

Some interesting video attached to this.

Army Times reports:

Defense attorneys have rested their case in the sentencing of a soldier convicted of murder in the slayings of a North Carolina mother and two of her daughters.

Kokomo Perspective reports that:

Rep. Burton issued the following statement after the Navy dropped several charges against two Navy SEALs who are accused of mistreating terrorist mastermind Ahmed Hashim Abed, the man believed to be responsible for the infamous mutilations of four American contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.

2. Hasan:

Statesman.com reports on the transfer of Major Hasan (with video of press conference of the Sheriff, Dan Smith).

Referring to the pretrial confinement and an expenditure likely to exceed 500K:

“It’s a total waste of money,” Galligan said. Hasan “is not a flight risk.”

That may be correct. But what about his safety from others. Would he not become a target of some hothead if he were released on pretrial restriction to base?

3. Hennis:

Question resolved, as reported by the newsobserver.com (I had wondered how/why they got him into confinement at that stage of the trial):

After the prosecution rested, a military judge ordered that Hennis remain in confinement. His attorneys had argued that the judge should release him because Hennis always followed the court’s orders and reported to Fort Bragg in 2006 after he was called back to the Army to face charges.

As I commented earlier (HERE), confinement after conviction and pending a sentencing hearing is an unusual step. However, it appears that the military judge was convinced that exceptional circumstances warranted immediate confinement. United States v. Tilghman, 44 M.J. 493 (C.A.A.F. 1996), would be the primary case to review on this type of action post-conviction, but pre-sentence.

The former Coast Guard Sector Anchorage Commander was awarded the maximum allowable punishment at an Admiral’s Mast Friday and will retire on July 1 in the grade of lieutenant with a general discharge in lieu of trial by a general court-martial. Capt. Herbert M. Hamilton, III, was relieved of command in May 2009. An investigation conducted by the Coast Guard Investigative Service revealed that Hamilton had inappropriate relationships with several women, including officer and enlisted Coast Guard members, and civilians, over a period of more than 13 years. Hamilton also was charged with misusing government computers and cell phones; making false official statements; and soliciting an enlisted member to destroy evidence. His retirement as a lieutenant in lieu of trial by a general court-martial is the result of a pretrial agreement and Hamilton’s unsatisfactory service in the grades of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander.

Thanks to cgblog.org.

2. Hennis. I’m sure you are now aware that Hennis was convicted of three premeditated murder charges in less than three hours of deliberation. The sentencing part of the trial began today.

Military jurors began sentencing hearings Friday to determine if a soldier convicted of murder in the slayings of a North Carolina mother and her two children will get the death penalty or life in prison.

Here’s another interesting take on the prosecution of Hennis by an editor who believes he’s guilty.

WRAL.com has this “victim impact” information about the Hennis case.

3. Hasan has now arrived at Belton County Jail where he will likely stay until he is sentenced.

Maj. Nidal Hasan was airlifted from a San Antonio military hospital to the Bell County Jail in Belton about 4 a.m. Friday. He had been at the military hospital since shortly after the Nov. 5 shooting spree that left him paralyzed.

4. A fraud through faked service:

A man who falsely claimed a chestful of military medals was sentenced to a year in prison and was ordered to repay $11,098 in veterans benefits he shouldn’t have received. Thomas Barnhart, 59, had 21 years of legitimate Navy and Coast Guard service, including offshore duty in Vietnam. But starting in 1979, he began inflating his experience in claims for promotions and benefits, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Jacobsen told U.S. District Judge James Turk today in Roanoke.

5. You may have been following the issue of DoD wanting to shut down WikiLeaks, and in particular the issue of a recently released video of an Apache helicopter attack. Political Theatrics has this post.

Wikileaks released a 17-minute video on April 5th which depicted an Apache helicopter opening fire on a group of innocent Iraqi’s in New Baghdad in 2007; two of those killed were Reuters Journalists carrying their camera bags over their shoulders – Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22 and Saeed Chmagh, 40. On Monday evening, the Pentagon acknowledged and verified the legitimacy of the video.

Consortiumnews.com has another article on this subject.

Not only did a U.S. military helicopter gunship mow them down amid macho jokes and chuckling – after mistaking a couple of cameras for weapons – but the American attackers then blew away several Iraqis who arrived in a van and tried to take one of the wounded newsmen to a hospital. Two children in the van were badly wounded. “Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle,” one American remarked.

6. Capital Flyer has more dire warnings on the career impact of a DUI.

7. FayObserver has this piece on the Pernell Article 32, UCMJ, hearing ongoing at Fort Bragg.

A Fort Bragg soldier accused of a rape and break-ins on post told an investigator he heard a voice in his head called Jason that told him to do “bad things,” according to testimony at an Article 32 hearing.

Essentially the court finds that even if there were IAC, petitioner has not established prejudice.

Back to CAAF?

As it stands, the case represents a good discussion of defense counsels obligations regarding advice to the client regarding collateral consequences. I find this interesting in light of CAAF’s apparent mandate from United States v. Miller to discuss sex offender registration issues with the client. Except for Miller, I don’t see that the law does not require a defense counsel to discuss collateral consequences with the client. However, if she does then she’s got to get it right.

How can Denedo be squared with Miller?

There is no need to look further than the first prong of the Polk analysis above to determine that Appellant did not receive ineffective assistance of trial defense counsel. Although the requirement of registering as a sex offender is a serious consequence of a conviction, trial defense counsel’s failure to advise Appellant of this consequence does not rise to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel.

United States v. Miller, 63 M.J. 452, 457 (C.A.A.F. 2006).

However, later the court imposes this requirement of defense counsel and the military judge.

In light of the federal statute, DoD Instr. 1325.7, and state statutes requiring sex offender registration, we conclude that a prospective rule is appropriate to address the importance of trial defense counsel explaining the sex offender registration requirement to an accused. For all cases tried later than ninety days after the date of this opinion, trial defense counsel should inform an accused prior to trial as to any charged offense listed on the DoD Instr. 1325.7 Enclosure 27: Listing Of Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Processing. Trial defense counsel should also state on the record of the court-martial that counsel has complied with this advice requirement. While failure to so advise an accused is not per se ineffective assistance of counsel, it will be one circumstance this Court will carefully consider in evaluating allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Miller, 63 M.J. at 459.

I have commented some time ago about the number of foreign nationals enlisted into the military, are not the consequences of a conviction of strong importance to them if it entails the possibility of removal? Will CAAF impose a new requirement in such a case, in same way this was done in Miller? If not, why not?

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano commemorated the milestone of more than 52,000 American military service members becoming U.S. citizens since Sept. 11, 2001.

Homeland Security release, 10 September 2009, Speech of Secretary Gates, Fort Bragg, 23 October 2008,

Distinguished guests, and the families of our new citizens, thank you all for coming. It is a pleasure to be at Fort Bragg. And what an honor to be able to welcome into citizenship 41 men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country even before it officially was their country.

and prior posts here, here, and here.

A 12th juror was seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis at Fort Bragg this morning, but the total was quickly knocked back to 10. Attorneys on both sides exercised their right to peremptorily challenge one juror each.

Marine Capt. Michael A. Webb has died of an apparent suicide in the brig at Quantico while awaiting court martial, a base public affairs officer said Tuesday.

Inisde NoVa reports.

Army investigators have charged a 22-year-old Fort Bragg soldier with two burglaries and a sexual assault on the installation.

Army Times reports.

A senior chief who ran a military working dog kennel in Bahrain and allegedly permitted hazing, hookers and other misconduct will face a retirement board Thursday, Navy officials said. The Navy is forcing Senior Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint, 38, into retirement. The board convening at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., will determine the rank he’ll retire with and the size of the pension he’ll receive.

Navy Times reports.

The U.S. military is sending a soldier accused of making a threatening rap song to Kuwait for a court-martial.

LA Times reports.

One of U.S. Army Europe’s top enlisted soldiers has been charged with raping a young soldier in his command who was too meek and cowed by his rank to deflect his advances, military prosecutors said at an Article 32 hearing this week.

Stars & Stripes reports.

A soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord is accused of holding his 4-year-old daughter’s head under water because she would not recite the alphabet.

Army Times reports.