What was covered up?

A possible murder!

So a possible murder was covered up with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. Very crafty of them.

Perfect TamaraLH

... I especially like your ending!

Tamara, he pulled the trigger and not someone else. Therefore, he was not "murdered" protecting our freedom. He committed suicide while protecting our freedom.

Well, hell, "American," if you don't have facts, make something up, eh?

Maybe you'd prefer the Taliban. And, by the way, the REAL Taliban don't talk; they stone, behead, shoot, and otherwise find ways to kill those who violate their creed/code.

Your words are an ignorant and vile attack on the military, full of crap and nonsense.

AA, your so full of it. I guess this is what stupid looks like! Why don't you sign up and show them how to act.

AA - did we forget to take our Meds today and the voices in your head are talking to you again??? That is the only way to explain this dribble or you were kicked in the head by an Mule.........

You call yourself American American, but did you ever put on a uniform? I didn't think so.

What these particular soldiers did is inexcusable, but it does not reflect the atmosphere of the entire Army. Soldiers fighting a long, protracted war with no apparent end are under terrible stress, just like the guys in Vietnam, who also came back with a high degree of mental health issues. When someone risks their life to protect a useless one like yours, you don't track them like predators, you celebrate them as heroes. Moron.

Like always: attack the military men returning home with GROSS exaggerations of the worst isolated instances of our boys coming home so damaged that they do bad things (yes, it happens but they MOSTLY only hurt themselves when they return home, very few become what "am-am2390509" is describing and some have gone over there for kicks, but those ppl were nuts before they left....every Military has 'em but 99.99% are our neighbors who have been through something impossible to describe and need our help coming home, not fear or misunderstanding) AND THEN someone like "mel1608035" who suggest that "AmAm" isn't WRONG (s/he IS WRONG, btw) but that s/he should leave the country for Afghanistan if s/he doesn't prefer the thing s/he's complaining about FIRST and only THEN says it's nonsense.

If these opinions are a cross section of American opinions, HOW DID WE GET SO DUMB?

I understand that if you're poor, rich, a go-getter, a follower, religious, atheist, angrily oriented, happily oriented, Liberal or Conservative it MOSTLY has to do with what you were born into (I.E. the rich families will stay rich and never NEED to work to survive and the poor families will always have to bust their hump for every dollar and very few will live the other's reality) but how did we get so f%!&ing STUPID that none of us bother to take the time to try to imagine what our fellow American's lives are really like, day to day?!?!

The first time in 4 decades we've had someone in the White House who comes from OUR NEIGHBORHOODS and we're even CONSIDERING electing another fortunate son of a furtunate son of a rich politician to run this country into the ground again?! 'Cuz we're too effing stupid to imagine what he's gone through in the past four years fighting the rich folks who have owned our political system for 40 years?! We're upset that he did or didn't support Marriage equality, or did or didn't go to church often enough/too often, or wasn't able to create enough jobs with a filibuster of every attempt in Congress (who WE elected, or ALLOWED to be elected through NON-PARTICIPATION) cause we're too dumb to support the good (not perfect) people who are fighting for us, literally AND politically, even the ones who are actually shedding blood on foreign soil and coming home with their families in shambles from absence?!

Our military men are sent there and they have to kill people. It is a WAR, should they lay down and die? ASK the Taliban to surrender?

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, this beheading women for allowing themselves shame (being raped, in other words) and I'm sure if we completely isolate ourselves from trade with all 'Muslim Nations' they'll stop doing 9-11s (in America) and 7-7s (in London) and selling opium and get 'real' jobs and everything will be peaceful" Bu!!$#it, they won't and it won't!

We all have to face a tough reality in these times but we have to face it, and we have to do so with INTELLIGENCE which includes empathy for our Fellow Americans, even the ones who are trained to be proficient liars (ALL politicians) and trained to be proficient killers (ALL Warriors/Military) especially when they're fighting for US!!!!!!!!

Time to grow the fck up, America, or we won't last.

lanej,

Well said.

You obviously do not know what you are taking about. His aunt is not a congresswoman. That was Lews aunt. Another case unrelated. What? You just assume they are all related?

UCMJ Article 118 Murder:

"Any person subject to this chapter who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when he—"

(1) has a premeditated design to kill;

(2) intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm;

(3) is engaged in an act that is inherently dangerous to another and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or

(4) is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, sodomy, rape, robbery, or aggravated arson; is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), he shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct.

Elements they would have to prove for 1 or 2 above.

(1) Premeditated murder.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused;

(c) That the killing was unlawful; and

(d) That, at the time of the killing, the accused had a premeditated design to kill.

(2) Intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm.

(a) That a certain named or described person is dead;

(b) That the death resulted from the act or omission of the accused;

(c) That the killing was unlawful; and

(d) That, at the time of the killing, the accused had the intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm upon a person.

So under those which one do you think they could have proven in a trial and what was covered up?

I guess I don't see how they could be charged wven with negligent homicide because there was not way of foreseeing their actions would lead to a death. I'm not a lawyer, just a layperson so I could be wrong.

Article 134 - (Homicide, negligent)

Elements.

(1) That a certain person is dead;

(2) That this death resulted from the act or failure to act of the accused;

(3) That the killing by the accused was unlawful;

(4) That the act or failure to act of the accused which caused the death amounted to simple negligence; and

(5) That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.

Explanation.

(1) Nature of offense. Negligent homicide is any unlawful homicide which is the result of simple negligence. An intent to kill or injure is not required.

(2) Simple negligence. Simple negligence is the absence of due care, that is, an act or omission of a person who is under a duty to use due care which exhibits a lack of that degree of care of the safety of others which a reasonably careful person would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances. Simple negligence is a lesser degree of carelessness than culpable negligence. See paragraph 44c(2)(a).

I'm not a lawyer, just a layperson so I could be wrong.

Guess what? So is the Article 32 Investigating Officer. The Investigating Officer does not have to meet the same standards of proof required in a trial for conviction. All he has to do is determine that there is enough evidence to support his recommendation that the accused be tried on the charges. The court martial convening authority can accept or reject that recommendation.

Tom I disagree with the guilty being covered-up by the officers. Most of the time the officers don't even know what's going on...the 1st Sgt is in charge of ALL the enlisted troops and is basically a liaison between them and the Commander and that is the problem. Most of the E-6's and E-&7's don't want to be bothered with the trouble of their troops so they "smoke" them, that's it, make them do a physical punishment. It's become an ugly military.

Air Force Vet and mother of a Combat Soldier

If that were the case and the NCO'S knew about it they should be held accountable as well.

If this guy could not hake it he should have been put in a position to where he could at least pull his weight and not put others in danger.

It is a shame that this young man took his life, but he NCO's and all the way down to the fire team leader are supposed to know thier men, It is called leadership.

The failure of it can cost lives in any situation, As a Marine NCO I have seen it happen to many times.

At the same time, Bassai, I don't see how they (the accused) are culpable of either negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter. The way I read those Articles is that there has to be an act that someone could foresee the action as causing someones death. While the hazing and treatment may be punishable as they are charged, I don't see this being either involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide.

Which is probably why the Investigating Officer made the recommendation that he did.

Steelermama,

...the 1st Sgt is in charge of ALL the enlisted troops and is basically a liaison between them and the Commander

The Air Force has First Sergeants and Superintendents, the Army lumps both jobs into one position, very different animals.

The Army does have just 1st Sgts, they just don't do @!$%#!

Their job is to make sure other people are doing their " @!$%#!"

What officers are you referring to? All but one person here being charged are enlisted.

What the hell are you talking about? The people in this case are enlisted except one lieutenant.

To answer your question about generals, many of them probably did serve on the front line when they were junior officers.

Like these officers? From the CMOH recommendation for Lt Welch who was my battalion commander about 16 years later.

17 Oct 1967:

Practically all the D company radios had been destroyed or damaged by enemy fire. LT Welch ran through the heavy enemy fire to gather radios so they could be cannibalized into working order. 2 L/T Durham, the artillery forward observer was protecting his artillery net radio with his body while operating his radio handset to talk with the stub of his wrist, as his hand had been blown off by enemy fire. He continued to adjust the artillery fire more closely in, still smiling and calling to both 1 L/T Welch and 1st SGT Barrow. A VC perimeter penetration team of two men charged through and penetrated the perimeter, 1 L/T Durham was the first to see them. He shouted and 1st SGT Barrow killed one and 1 L/T Welch killed the other. By this time, 1st LT Welch had taken two additional wounds, an enemy round blowing the bicep off his left arm.

His left arm became unusable and hung limply by his side. He saw an enemy RPG gunner fire a rocket at the Battalion Command Group killing command Sergeant Major Francis Dowling. Welch ran at the enemy soldier and killed him with his .45 pistol. Lt. Welch was now weakening from loss of blood, but he remained active. He ran to LTC Allen, who was still on his radio trying to direct supporting elements to assist what was left of his battalion. He ordered 1 L/T Welch to withdraw his men back along the route they had come, back to the NDP. 1 L/T Welch made an estimate that he had too many badly wounded men to move, particularly since the enemy fire was so intense and accurate. Everything that moved within the perimeter was being hit by enemy sniper fire from the trees. Without commenting he chose to ignore the order. LT Welch helped a company medic distribute the last of the morphine to the most severely wounded, and gave his canteens to the wounded. He fell to the ground and crawled nearer to 1st SGT Barrow. Barrow called to him that two VC soldiers were moving among the American wounded summarily killing them. LT Welch climbed to his feet, observed the enemy soldiers, and killed them both with his .45 pistol.

Welch fell back to the ground crawled to a tree facing 1st SGT Barrow, and put his back against the tree. His entire body was sticky from the blood of five wounds. He drifted off unconscious due to loss of blood. Suddenly he felt jerks against his shoulder harness. He opened to see 1st SGT Barrow swinging his M-60 machine directly pointed and opened fire. It was the last thing LT Welch remembered that day.

BTW Lt Durham was KIA in this battle and posthumously awarded the CMOH. So much for those REMF officers.

If you say prosecute to the fullest extent of the UCMJ, I'd like your opinion on how the accused are culpable under Article 134 (negligent homicide) or Article 119 (manslaughter).

So how many year were you in and where did you serve?

unless you have been there be somewhat reserved in your judgement of those who are there.

Amen.

Maybe you should have this done to you. It's different when you are in the other person's shoes. I was bullied in grammer school and was always taught not to fight. My dad was a boxer-street fighter and tough as nails. He didn't want me to be the same way. BUT, when he got tired of me coming home with black eyes, bloodied noses he one day taught me how to fight. This was in the seventh grade. One guy who pushed me around all the time got on me while a bunch of us were playing basketball, I grabbed him by both of his rather large ears and banged his head against the steal pole that supported the goal. He didn't ever screw with me again. After that day in the seventh grade I pretty much got into just a handful of fights. You see, I found out the other guy didn't like the pain either. It's a tough life, isn't it?

Concerned AMERICAN, L. Velasco

My point exactly. If this kid had grown a set in boot camp and stood up for himself that would have been the end of it.

There is a reason soilders are trained to fight.

Hey Larry. lets just dispand the military all together, those bruts. We can leave the protection of you first ammendment right up to the girl scouts.