The Judge has decisions pending on a suppression motion and a motion to dismiss an attempted rape charge for failure to state an offense.

As FayObserver ‘observes:’

Spc. Aaron M. Pernell, 23, of Tulsa, Okla., is charged by military authorities with attempted rape, two counts of rape, assault, two counts of burglary and on count of housebreaking. He’s also charged with 26 crimes by civilian law enforcement in Cumberland and Hoke counties.

A U.S. soldier in Iraqis accused of fatally shooting two other American service members and injuring a third after an argument in Iraq’s Anbar province last week, the military said.

WRAL.com reports:

A military judge on Monday set a Dec. 8 trial date for an 82nd Airborne Division soldier charged in a sexual assault on Fort Bragg. 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.

NOLA.com reports:

An Army officer will stand trial in the murder of his wife, who was shot in their residence at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse in May. Maj. Detric Kelly, 37, has been formally charged with premeditated murder and possessing an unregistered firearm in the May 15 death of Kimberly Kelly, said Jim Beinkemper, a spokesman forFort Polk where Kelly will stand trial. . . . Army prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty[.]

See also NOLA.com here, and also here.

Washington Post on the Ramrod Five.

A U.S. Army staff sergeant dreamed up a plan for fellow soldiers to kill three Afghan civilians this year because he was motivated by “pure hatred,” another soldier accused in the slayings has told investigators

Here’s a News Tribune piece on “The Stryker Brigade” or “Ramrod Five.”

The charges stacked up against five soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord sound as if they rank among the worst war crimes in the past nine years of combat in the Middle East: killing Afghan civilians and keeping gruesome souvenirs from the attacks.

There are some comparisons with previous cases.

FayObserver reports:

A man accused of multiple rapes in the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg community is scheduled to face a court-martial Dec. 8, a military judge announced Monday. Spc. Aaron M. Pernell of Tulsa, Okla., is charged by military authorities with attempted rape, two counts of rape, assault, two counts of burglary and one count of housebreaking on Fort Bragg. The charges stem from two home break-ins on Fort Bragg and the assault on one woman.

Military.com reports a potential court-martial case under the UCMJ:

The director of the Pentagon office overseeing the treatment of troops suffering from brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder is under investigation for allegedly making unwanted sexual advances and creating a hostile work environment, The Associated Press has learned.

Military.com reports:

Hawaii State Rep. Rida Cabanilla Arakawa, an Army Reservist who beat a Democratic opponent in Saturday’s primary election, may have violated Pentagon policy on campaigning in uniform. Violations of the policy have occurred across the country, but an Army Reserve lawyer here said little can be done to political candidates who are part-time soldiers.

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.

Air Force Times reports that:

Air Force officials are investigating the Wisconsin National Guard’s top commander. Air Force press officials didn’t immediately respond Monday to requests for information on what prompted the Air Force Inspector General’s inquiry into Brig. Gen. Donald Dunbar or what it entails.

WRAL.com reports that:

The trial of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier charged with a sexual assault on Fort Bragg last December has been postponed until September, officials said Tuesday. 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 had been scheduled to begin the week of Aug. 23, but it has been pushed back to the week of Sept. 27. He is being held in confinement at Camp Lejeune until his trial.

LA Times reports that:

A Marine colonel at the center of a court-martial case about leaking secret intelligence information to civilian law enforcement agencies has died, the Marine Corps announced Tuesday. Larry Richards, a Marine reservist and a retired detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, died Saturday of natural causes. He had been scheduled for an Article 32 hearing, akin to a preliminary hearing.

Air Force Times reports that:

An airman was sentenced Tuesday to five years of confinement and faces a dishonorable discharge after pleading guilty to fatally shooting a buddy during a game of “Trust.”

San Diego Union-Tribune reports that:

The highest-ranking officer among eight Camp Pendleton Marines implicated in the killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005 has been forced into retirement, his lawyers said Monday.

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.

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.