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Fort Bragg -- An Army sergeant convicted of murdering two officers in a grenade attack on his comrades in Kuwait quietly said he was sorry Thursday before a military prosecutor urged the jury to sentence the soldier to death because he was an idealogically driven killer. "I apologize for my actions. ... When I did that, I felt my life was in jeopardy, and I had other problems," Sgt. Hasan Akbar told the 15-person military jury. Akbar spoke for less than a minute, making an unsworn statement that could not be cross-examined. He testified in such a low voice that...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Facing a possible death penalty for his fatal attack on fellow soldiers, Sgt. Hasan Akbar will make an unsworn statement to the jury in his own defense, a lawyer said Wednesday. The statement by Akbar is to come Thursday, the fourth day of the sentencing phase of his court-martial, said the defense lawyer, Maj. David Coombs. Akbar was convicted last week of premeditated murder and attempted murder in the March 2003 attack on the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. Akbar will speak from the witness box, and prosecutors will be able to call...

(FORT BRAGG) - The prosecution has rested its case in the sentencing phase of the court-martial of an Army sergeant convicted of murdering his fellow soldiers. Seven witnesses testified, following the 15 that testified on Monday. Defense attorneys are expected to call their witnesses Wednesday. The defense admits Sergeant Hasan Akbar carried out the attack, but claims he was mentally unstable at the time. The judge in the case says he expects deliberations to begin on Thursday. Meanwhile, jurors have been sent home for the day with copies of Akbar's diary and a mitigation report. Witnesses detail physical, emotional trauma...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The parents of an officer killed by a soldier's grenade and rifle attack on a 101st Airborne Division camp in Kuwait testified Tuesday that their son's death created a hole in their lives that they can't fill. "When you think about all the plans you were going to carry out ... that's not going to happen now," said Richard Stone, father of Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone. "With Greg, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him." Gregory Stone and Army Capt. Christopher Seifert were killed and 14 other service members...

Last Friday I wrote that "Hasan Akbar's jihad has reached its conclusion." That seems to have been premature: it has now come to light that he stabbed an MP last month, and I suspect he will go on looking for opportunities to kill. But Judge Stephen Henley is unmoved; it was, after all, just an "opportunistic stabbing." An "opportunistic stabbing"? What the heck does that mean? What about Akbar's stated motives, priorities, and values? I suppose 9/11 was just a case of "opportunistic building destruction." "Judge won't allow evidence of fight in Akbar sentencing," from AP, with thanks to the...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. | -- In the weeks after her husband's death in Kuwait, Terri Seifert did not have many answers. She was strong nonetheless. As the weeks turned to months and answers began to filter in about Army Airborne Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert's fatal shooting at Camp Pennsylvania, Terri Seifert seemed to get stronger for herself and for her son, Benjamin, Lt. Col. Kenneth Romaine said Monday. But, there was one thing she could not do, Romaine said, because it was a job her husband was expected to do with his first son. "It was somewhere around Benjamin's first...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - A sergeant's attack on his own colleagues in the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait made key planners unavailable just before the invasion of Iraq, a commander testified Monday. ``Everybody knew this would be a big fight,'' Col. Ben Hodges testified Monday at a sentencing hearing for Sgt. Hasan Akbar, convicted in a grenade and rifle attack that killed two soldiers and wounded 14. ``I never dreamed my first casualties would occur inside Camp Pennsylvania and they would be caused by one of my own soldiers.'' Hodges commanded the 101st's 1st Brigade Combat Team and was...

A jury has unanimously found Sergeant Hasan Akbar guilty in the attacks on fellow soldiers just days before the Iraq war. Akbar was charged with two counts of first degree murder and three counts of attempted first degree murder. Two officers died and 14 others were injured. A sentencing hearing will be held to decide his fate. Prosecutors say Akbar told investigators he launched the attack because he was concerned U.S. troops would kill fellow Muslims in the Iraq war.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — A military jury has convicted Sgt. Hasan Akbar on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder stemming from an attack on an Army camp in Kuwait.

(FORT BRAGG) - The father of the army sergeant accused of murder is speaking out. Sergeant Hasan Akbar's father, John Akbar, issued a statement Wednesday concerning events leading up to his son’s court-martial. Akbar is accused of killing two people, and injuring 14 others during a grenade attack. The prosecution said Akbar is a murderer who deployed to Kuwait with a plan to attack his unit. But in a statement given to News 14 Carolina, John Akbar said that is not the son he knows. John Akbar explained, "He (Akbar) has always been a role model for his younger brothers...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- Weeks before launching a deadly grenade attack on his comrades, Sgt. Hasan Akbar attended a camp screening of the movie "Apocalypse Now" and laughed during a scene in which U.S. troops were hit by a grenade, a soldier testified yesterday. The testimony came as Sgt. Akbar's attorneys opened their defense at his court-martial. Sgt. Akbar, 33, is accused of ambushing fellow troops from the 101st Airborne Division in their tents at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait in March 2003, during the opening days of the Iraq war. An Army captain and an Air Force major were...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Defense lawyers opened their case Monday at the court-martial of a soldier charged with killing two officers, presenting a psychologist who said the defendant was incapable of relating to other people when he was a teenager. The trial of Sgt. Hasan Akbar court-martial entered its second week of testimony Monday, after prosecutors completed their case. Akbar, 33, is accused of ambushing fellow soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in their tents at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait in March 2003, during the opening days of the Iraq war. An Army captain and an Air Force major...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Weeks before launching a deadly grenade attack on his comrades, Sgt. Hasan Akbar attended a camp showing of the movie ``Apocalypse Now'' and laughed at a scene of U.S. troops being hit by a grenade, a soldier testified Monday. The testimony came as Akbar's lawyers opened their defense at his court-martial. Akbar is accused of allegedly ambushing fellow soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in their tents at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait in March 2003, during the opening days of the Iraq war. An Army captain and an Air Force major were killed. Akbar's lawyers...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- When soldiers go on the rifle range, they are told not to fire too far to the left or right, for safety reasons, says Fort Bragg spokesman Maj. Richard T. Patterson. And when journalists come to Fort Bragg, they also must agree to a series of ground rules that spell out the limits of media access, for safety reasons, Patterson says. "We don't have things to hide," Patterson explains. He says the Army wants the American public to see the military's fair and impartial justice system, in which those on trial enjoy more rights at an...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- The government rested its case Thursday in the court-martial of an Army sergeant accused of attacking his fellow troops in Kuwait two years ago. Sgt. Hasan Akbar is charged two counts of murder three counts of attempted murder in connection with the March 2003 grenade and rifle attack on members of the 101st Airborne Division. Two officers were killed and 14 other people were injured in the attack. Government witnesses testified Thursday about crime scene photos and evidence, forensics and Akbar's diary. Akbar has written in a diary for years, but prosecutors are limited to more...

Diary: Soldier Wrote About Killing Buddies By ESTES THOMPSON Associated Press Writer FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- An Army sergeant charged in a deadly grenade attack on his comrades wrote in his diary that his fellow soldiers were mistreating him, and that once he was sent to Iraq, "I am going to try and kill as many of them as possible," a jury was told Thursday. An FBI agent read four passages to the 15-member jury before the prosecution rested its case in the court-martial of Sgt. Hasan Akbar. His lawyers are scheduled to begin calling witnesses in their insanity...

(FORT BRAGG) - A sergeant on trial for a grenade attack at an Army camp in the Kuwait desert days before the Iraq invasion wrote in his diary before he was deployed about killing fellow soldiers. An FBI agent read four passages from Sergeant Hasan Akbar's computer diary Thursday. Akbar wrote about making the choice to kill Iraqis, whom he called his Muslim brothers, or "my battle buddies." He said in one passage that if the Army left him at Fort Campbell and didn't try to humiliate him, he wouldn't do anything. But the passage ended by saying that if...

(FORT BRAGG) - Almost a dozen eyewitness accounts marked the second day of testimony in the court martial of Sergeant Hasan Akbar. Akbar is the army sergeant accused of murdering two fellow soldiers during the opening days of the war in Iraq. Eleven former and present soldiers testified in a Fort Bragg courtroom about what they saw on March 22nd of 2003 at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. One officer said that Akbar admitted to him that he threw grenades into tents where soldiers were preparing for bed. Akbar is accused of killing two people and wounding 14 others. A number...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - An Army sergeant charged with a grenade attack that killed two U.S. officers in Kuwait went on trial Monday, with his lawyer trying to stave off a possible death sentence by arguing that his client was mentally ill. But a military prosecutor said Sgt. Hasan Akbar knew exactly what he was doing, pointing to his detailed diary entries before the March 2003 attack and the fact that he stole the grenades and cut power to his camp just before striking. Premeditation is the central issue in the court-martial of Akbar, 33, who confessed several times and...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- An Army witness to a deadly grenade attack in the Kuwait desert carried out by one of their own testified Tuesday that he saw one of the victims get shot in the back, and urged the man to stay alive for his family. 1st Sgt. Rodlon Stevenson, who had been awakened by explosions in the officers' tents, said he tried to help Army Capt. Christopher Seifert, who was cold with shock, stay awake. ``I said, sir, you've got to fight this,'' Stevenson said. ``You've got a young kid at home. You've got to fight for...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An Army sergeant on trial for an attack that killed two officers in Kuwait suffered from mental illness for years and could not have planned it, defense lawyers told a military jury during opening statements Monday.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- An Army sergeant on trial for an attack that killed two officers in Kuwait suffered from mental illness for years and could not have planned it, defense lawyers told a military jury during opening statements Monday. Defense lawyer Maj. Dan Brookhart acknowledged Sgt. Hasan Akbar committed the March 2003 grenade and firearm attack, but said he was not capable of the premeditation required for his client to be eligible for the death penalty. He said his client's mental illness was triggered by his stepfather's sexual abuse of his sister. A military prosecutor responded by telling...

Opening statements began Monday in Sergeant Hasan Akbar's court martial. This is the first time a soldier has been tried for murdering another soldier in wartime since the Vietnam era. Military police officers kept close watch outside of the Judge Advocate General Building on Fort Bragg. On the inside, the first day of Akbar's murder trial got underway. The prosecution started with opening statements by Captain John Benson. Benson said the evidence will show that Akbar is guilty of the premeditated murder of two fellow soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. Benson said they were killed and 14 others wounded...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A soldier charged in a fatal grenade attack on two officers in Kuwait tried to overpower one of his military guards Wednesday, causing the postponement of a planned pretrial hearing. Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar turned against one of his military police escorts at Fort Bragg's courts building around 7 a.m., two hours before the scheduled start of the hearing, the Army said in a statement. "The MPs quickly regained control of Akbar," the statement said. "During the incident both Akbar and one of the MPs suffered injuries and received medical attention." Further details on the incident...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A motions hearing started Monday in the case of Sgt. Hasan Akbar, who faces an April trial on charges of killing two officers in an attack on his own men during the opening days of the Iraq invasion. A judge ruled late last year that Akbar's statement acknowledging that he rolled grenades into tents at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, will be admissible when his court-martial begins. The trial is scheduled to start April 5. The judge excluded statements Akbar made to two sergeants who guarded him after the attack, saying Akbar had not yet been informed of...

The Army has taken on a new mission: to help mend war-torn marriages. It's an admirable effort, as young service men and women are sent to harm's way for extended periods of time - including some stationed at Fort Huachuca. When they come home, they may have trouble adjusting back to everyday life, especially with children and spouses. As The Associated Press reported this week, 300 couples with the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division, which has had troops serve in Iraq, have attended "marriage enrichment" seminars. And surely there are others who need the help, too. According to the story,...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

HANAU, Germany — A buzz of anticipation rifled through the crowded gymnasium. In a few minutes, a Band of Brothers six-pack would pop in for a brief visit before heading off for a historic reunion in Bastogne, Belgium. Michael Abrams / S&S Col. Tracy Williams, left, commander of the 104th Area Support Group, talks to Earl McClung, center, and Darrell "Shifty" Powers of "Band of Brothers" fame. McClung, Powers and four other members of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division spoke in Hanau, Germany, on Wednesday. Darrell “Shifty” Powers looked not the least bit fazed...

A judge ruled that a sergeant's admission that he rolled grenades into his colleagues' tent will be allowed in his court-martial, which has been delayed until April. FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Sgt. Hasan Akbar's statement acknowledging he rolled grenades into the tents of sleeping U.S. soldiers will be admissible when he goes on trial in the attack that killed two officers, a judge ruled Thursday. But the judge excluded statements Akbar made to two sergeants who guarded him after the attack, saying Akbar had not yet been informed of his legal rights. Defense attorneys also succeeded in getting a nearly...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Staff Sgt. Joshua Olson called it his "Alive Day," the one-year anniversary of the day he lost his leg in Iraq. He marked the date by traveling from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington back to the Fort Campbell woods where he once instructed men as a squad leader. Instead of camouflage, he wore jeans and a T-shirt, and used crutches to get around on one leg. He wanted to get back to the comrades ---snip---

ELECTION 2004: Kerry used vets for political gain Sen. John Kerry smeared 2.5 million Vietnam veterans when he spoke to the Senate Foreign Relations committee in 1971. He said that we had "committed war crimes on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command" and "razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan." Kerry's words were calculated to embarrass and manipulate the Nixon administration by spreading vicious lies about brave men who served honorably. His words caused wounds much more painful than any the enemy could inflict. They cast doubt and shame on an...

As soon as this Al-Qaqaa story "broke" I thought of calling my friend (an officer and unit commander attached to the 101st during Operation Iraqi Freedom) to find out what really happened. Well, I just got off the phone with him and after joking that he was directing traffic for all the Iraqi trucks that looted explosives out of Al-Qaqaa, I asked him what this story is really all about. Turns out several of his unit's men were with the 2nd Brigade that first arrived at Al-Qaqaa, secured it, spent the night, then moved out. The day they left, the...

Army unit gives medic’s brother overdue salute By JACK DORSEY , The Virginian-Pilot © August 6, 2004 Last updated: 1:21 AM Retired Chief Warrant Officer Frederic Behrens, left, meets German air force Sgt. Maj. Bruno Speer, more than 30 years after Speer’s brother, U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Fritz Speer (photo below) saved Behrens’ life during the Vietnam War. sTephen M. Katz/the virginian-pilot Robert Fritz Speer HAMPTON — More than 30 years after being saved by an Army medic who was later killed by a Viet Cong sniper, retired Chief Warrant Officer Frederic Behrens finally got a chance to publicly thank...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Lawyers for a paratrooper charged in a deadly grenade attack on fellow 101st Airborne Division soldiers asked a judge today to reconsider all rulings on motions made by a previous judge. Prosecutors objected to reviewing all the rulings, but the new judge -- Col. Stephen Henley -- agreed to reconsider 42 motions previously ruled on by Col. Patrick Parrish, who has transferred to duty in Korea. Sgt. Hasan Akbar, 32, is accused of stealing seven grenades from a Humvee he was guarding at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait and throwing into tents, killing two officers and wounding...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - The stories of 101st Airborne Division paratroopers descending on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day are proudly told to the unit's soldiers even today. So it is with pride that many current 101st soldiers are preparing to re-enact the famed division's historic first jump Saturday in France as part of the 60th anniversary of the World War II battle. They said they want to make 101st veterans proud. "This is the biggest thing," 1st Sgt. Tom Coleman, 37, of Pittsburgh, said at Fort Campbell before leaving for France earlier this week. "I've been in the Army...

check out lots of nice pictures by a female soldier in Iraq in 101st division. She even has a picture with Geraldo! Check out the full website with hundres of pictures at: http://www.pbase.com/sms/101st_airborne

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- During a pretrial hearing May 10, the defense for Sgt. Hasan Akbar, the Soldier accused of a grenade attack which killed two 101st Airborne Division Soldiers and wounded 14 others last year in Kuwait, requested a change of venue to place the court martial outside the Army. Calling the military a “specialized society” and the Army an even more “specialized subset,” defense attorney Capt. David Coombs also asked the court to strike the entire panel for the trial which was scheduled for mid-July at Fort Bragg. Coombs, speaking on behalf of the four-man defense team, said...

Statement by Maj. Dick Winters Former Commander of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division(title edited for length) WASHINGTON, DC - Maj. Dick Winters (U.S. Army Ret.) issued the following statement regarding the President's support of men and women serving in the armed forces: "The President's actions on behalf of our servicemen and women show his deep respect for all who wear the uniforms of our armed forces. President Bush has overseen a 21 percent increase in military pay since taking office and has ensured that our troops in the field have what they need to win the...

<p>Do you remember that story about the Army Sergeant who fragged his own men just after the invasion of Iraq last year? Let me refresh your memory.</p> <p>Sgt. Hasan Akbar of the 101st Airborne Division lobbed several grenades into the tents of his buddies, killing two and wounding fourteen others. Sgt. Akbar had recently converted to Islam before being assigned overseas prior to the Iraqi invasion and his family members said he was distraught because his fellow platoon members seemingly didn't like him .... so he slipped up to their tent in the night and blew them up.</p>

Just wondered if any other Freepers besides myself were going to France in six weeks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. This has been in the works for me for over a year, and as a general goal for the last twenty years. Ever since Ronald Reagan spoke at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach in 1984, really. Part of the motivation is that this will undoubtedly be the last such gathering of American veterans who actually participated in the assault. As such, it will be the last occasion to honor this extraordinary group of Americans and...

  Reserves Wrap Up at Fort Campbell as Active Forces Return By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 24, 2004 — For soldiers of the Army Reserve's 3397th Garrison Support Unit, the war on terror begins about 150 miles from their unit headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn. — at the front gates of Fort Campbell, Ky. Reservists from the 3397th Garrison Support Unit help ensure safe operations at the Fort Campbell, Ky., railhead as the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) unloads equipment from Iraq. Photo by Donna Miles(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. That's where the unit's...

<p>Spc. Michael Rocha has spit-shined his boots, pressed his uniform and is sporting a fresh haircut for his once-in-a-lifetime lunch meeting with President Bush at Fort Campbell today.</p> <p>"The last two days I've been to rehearsal dinners, and they've just been telling me what I have to do to get ready for it -- only it's times a hundred because it is the president," said Rocha, a .50-caliber gunner with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, who returned from Iraq last month.</p>

<p>A new street sign in honor of the 101st Airborne Division hangs over a major road in Mosul, Iraq. Though it appears that something was lost in the translation, the spirit and intent of the people of Mosul is obvious and sincere.</p>

<p>The U.S. Army intends to court-martial a sergeant accused of tossing grenades into fellow service members' tents while stationed in Kuwait. The attack killed two officers.</p> <p>The court-martial, expected to take place this summer, could result in the death penalty for Sgt. Hasan Akbar (search), 32.</p>

<p>FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The sergeant charged in a grenade attack at a Kuwaiti base that killed two Army officers will be tried this summer in a death penalty case, an Army (search) official said Thursday.</p> <p>Sgt. Hasan Akbar (search), 32, faces two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted murder for the attack on 101st Airborne Division (search) soldiers at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait on March 23, 2003, during the early days of the Iraq war.</p>

One soldier waits in a Fort Knox jail. Two others rest in graves dug just months ago. The Army says the jailed soldier, Sgt. Hasan Akbar, put the other two in the ground. But nearly a year after Maj. Gregory Stone and Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert were killed in a Kuwaiti desert, Akbar still doesn't know if he will face a court-martial in which he could receive the death penalty. His family — and the families of the deceased — are hoping the issue can be resolved. All were members of the 101st Airborne Division. "We've learned a hard lesson,"...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - There were hugs, kisses and shouts of joy as families greeted 101st Airborne Division soldiers freshly home from Iraq. Then there was a dose of reality. Army spouses holding newborn babies and "Welcome Home" banners suddenly got quiet and listened as a chaplain and physician delivered the sobering message: Not everything will be easy in upcoming days. "We just ask that you take it slow, that you communicate with each other. Talk about expectations. There may be things you need to talk about," Chaplain Kerry Greene told them. Anger, resentment and flashbacks are just some of...

<p>Being in the action is a burning desire of a local father and son who share more than their names. John Harmsen Sr. and John Harmsen Jr. also want to be together in their cause -- even if it means meeting in a war zone.</p>

<p>FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. ; Standing in formation with his fellow soldiers who had just arrived from Iraq, Staff Sgt. Ronnie Silverhorn kept his jaw straight and his rifle steady ; but his eyes gave him away.</p> <p>Silverhorn, an Army Ranger, couldn't help the tear that formed, and the broad smile that crept over his face, as he saw his wife, children and parents in the hangar, just before his Alpha Company of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment was dismissed.</p>

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Families of 101st Airborne Division soldiers waved American flags and yelled their thanks as the division's first planeload of troops arrived home from Iraq early Wednesday. "It feels wonderful, just because we've been gone so long, just to get to see friends and family again," Spc. Johnny Ray said after hugging his mother and sister, who had traveled from Texas to meet the plane. The "Screaming Eagles" from the 101st, which is based in Fort Campbell, said they were happy to be on American soil after a little less than a year in Iraq. Fifty-nine...