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Loss for Government As Board of Inquiry Rules LtCol Chessani Not Guilty of Misconduct December 14, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – Late last Friday afternoon (Eastern Standard Time), after three hours of deliberation, the military Board of Inquiry ruled LtCol Chessani was not guilty of misconduct and should not be demoted.  Nevertheless, the Board’s ruling produced a mixed result.  It ruled Chessani must now retire because he displayed “substandard performance� by failing to conduct a more detailed investigation of the civilians killed as a result of the house clearing actions of four Marines after they were ambushed in Haditha, Iraq...

Panel faults Marine for response to Iraq killings By ELLIOT SPAGAT (AP) – 2 hours ago SAN DIEGO — A military panel found that a Marine officer displayed substandard performance in his response to the deaths of 24 Iraqis but said he should maintain his rank. *snip* Last year, a military judge dismissed a criminal charge of dereliction of duty against Chessani because of improper conduct involving two other people, the general overseeing the case and an investigator. Chessani was relieved of his command in 2006. *snip* "The only thing we're disappointed in is that we still don't believe, after...

The highest-ranked Marine accused of bungling the military's response to the slayings of two dozen Iraqi civilians after a lethal 2005 roadside bombing displayed substandard performance, but he should not be demoted, a three-member Board of Inquiry ruled Friday. The military board said it will recommend to the secretary of the Navy that Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, with 22 years of service and three tours of duty in Iraq, be allowed to retain his rank and not be demoted to major. "It's been a long four years, but it hasn't been a miserable four years," Chessani told the North County...

e-mail Closing Arguments This Morning In LtCol Chessani Board of Inquiry December 11, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – This morning, at approximately 9:00am Pacific Standard Time, Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will make closing arguments to the Board of Inquiry on behalf of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  This is the final opportunity for Muise, a former Marine Infantry officer himself, to thwart the efforts of the government to destroy the 22-year career of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, one of America’s most effective combat commanders in Iraq. It is expected the Board will render its decision today, as well. One...

e-mail “Grunt Civilian� Gives Account of LtCol. Chessani's many Character Witnesses December 10, 2009 Email post (#2) by H. Hamilton – A report written by a concerned CA citizen attending the Board of Inquiry for LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  IF the Board of Inquiry doesn't find Lt Col. Chessani INNOCENT of all charges, accusations, and wrong doing, it won't be the fault of Thomas More Law Center!  Lead by Col. Shelburne and Robert Muse, this is one of the BEST, nothing gets by, DEFENSE TEAMS this court observer has ever witnessed.    A finding other than "DROP THESE RIDICULOUS CHARGES BECAUSE CHESSANI IS ACTUALLY SUPERMAN!" would...

Lieutenant General Natonski (USMC Forces Command) was there... He said EVERY civilian kill, every time, should be investigated -- pretty funny when the Defense asked him if that went for the 2nd Battle for Fallujah and he had to say "No" -- he added that all civilians had been asked to leave so they were "pretty sure" all kills were insurgents Folks, the dictionary will tell you that doctrine is something that is taught; it is a principle or a body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief. Please take my word for it when I...

LtCol Chessani’s Board of Inquiry Continues ─ “Stand Up� Marine Officers Substantiate LtCol Chessani’s Innocence December 10, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – There was some good news in yesterday’s Board of Inquiry hearing taking place at Camp Pendleton, California.  Despite the obvious bias of their high command, “stand-up� Marine officers, Majors Jeffrey Dinsmore and Luke McConnell, in strong and unequivocal testimony, substantiated LtCol Chessani’s innocence. Today, a long line of “stand up� field grade officers and enlisted men who served with LtCol Chessani are expected to testify as to his outstanding military character. Major Jeffrey Dinsmore was LtCol Chessani’s...

email Direct from the Pendleton Battlefront, A Self Described “Grunt Civilian” gives First Hand Account of Chessani Board Of Inquiry (BOI)... December 09, 2009 Email post by H. Hamilton – The report from a concerned CA citizen attending the Board of Inquiry for LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.   Today (12-08-09) started with LtCol Kevin Gonzalez who was GREAT AND 3-4 HOURS!   Brigadier General Lewis Craparotta (Board member) and the Defense stopped the ongoing, ad nauseum questioning of witnesses since Board already has testimony...   Lieutenant Colonel Brian Christmas (under Colonel Stephen Davis who says Davis is his hero) was great and another Chessani...

Sins of the General’s Part 5: Political Equivocation at the BOI http://warchronicle.com/DefendOurMarines/Weimann/SinsOfGenerals_PartFive.htm “Moreover, defense attempts to disqualify Brig. Gen. Lewis Craparotta, the President and senior member of the Board, who during pre-hearing questioning expressed a personal view that investigating every civilian death is the right approach because “that’s the way to protect Marines,” also failed. Defense attorney LtCol Shelburne had challenged the fact that he was sitting on the Board of Inquiry with a pre-existing opinion of what to do in a similar situation as LtCol Chessani.” Folks, if the defense wanted to disqualify General Craparotta at LtCol. Chessani’s BOI,...

email LtCol Chessani’s Board of Inquiry Begins ─ Battle-Hardened Marine Veterans View Proceedings With Dismay December 04, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – On Wednesday, December 2nd, in a military courtroom at Camp Pendleton, California, the government began its case against an American warrior. They know this is their last chance to disgrace and destroy the 22 - year career of Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, and it’s evident they are pulling out all the stops. Many of the spectators in the small courtroom were battle-hardened Marine veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Some were veterans of the Korean Chosin...

e-mail ANN ARBOR, MI – Four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre, � a massacre the government now knows never happened, the final chapter in the tragic persecution of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, will begin when he faces a Board of Inquiry (BOI) starting on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 9 AM in a military courtroom located at the Marine base at Camp Pendleton, California.  LtCol Chessani served his nation for over 20 years, including three combat tours in Iraq as well as duty in the first Persian Gulf war.  He is one of America’s finest combat commanders.  His official fitness...

An inquiry board will convene Wednesday morning at Camp Pendleton to decide if a Marine Corps officer should be demoted for his actions after the shooting deaths of 24 Iraqi men, women and children four years ago. At issue is whether Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who commanded the Camp Pendleton unit that carried out the slayings, engaged in misconduct in handling the incident. The inquiry board is the final step in Chessani's case; prosecutors earlier this year dropped two counts of criminal dereliction of duty. If the board finds there was no misconduct, the case will be closed. If it...

A report that three Navy SEALs will face courts-martial for allegedly abusing a long-sought Iraqi terror suspect during or after his capture has produced quite a bit of outrage and controversy. While it is too early in the process to make a judgment as to the commandos' guilt or innocence, there is good reason to suspect that the military has overreacted in pressing criminal charges.  In recent years, the military has been quick to press charges when dealing with servicemembers who, in attempting to do their duty in difficult circumstances, run afoul of overly detailed regulations and rules of...

War On Terror: As Khalid Sheikh Mohammed receives the benefits of U.S. justice, three Navy SEALs face court-martial for allegedly punching a captured terrorist who hanged Americans from a bridge in Fallujah. Apparently our efforts to impress the world about the marvels of our criminal justice system require us to give foreign terrorists such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the man who invented the manned cruise missiles that flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and plowed into a Pennsylvania field on its way to the Capitol Building, the full rights and protections of the American citizens he conspired...

The Marine Corps said Monday that a brigadier general and two colonels will preside over a Board of Inquiry deciding the fate of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing after two dozen Iraqis were slain in the city of Haditha following a 2004 roadside bombing. But a Marine Corps spokesman said the identities of the officers will not be disclosed. "We're treating it like they are part of a jury pool and not releasing their names," said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Roger Galbraith. "We don't want people trying to contact them ahead of time. We don't...

Joe Wilson can apologize if he feels he should, but in my opinion, he should do so only after Rep. John Murtha apologizes to the Marines he accused of killing Marines in cold blood and the attempting to cover up the murders. In the middle of a war, where are Marines are trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, John Murtha went on television and was adamant about the guilt of these Marines. More than once he said there was no doubt in his mind. His words were replayed across the Arab world. Since then, all...

“So is this justice? Not really. Having promised a full and open inquiry, the Corps held many hearings in secret session, held the findings secret, and released its decision on the disposition of the case on the Friday afternoon before Memorial Day, the perfect time to bury such news in a long holiday weekend. The Corps wanted this to just go away because of the embarrassment it caused and the doubts it cast on the fledgling Marine Corps Special Operations Command. Now, there are also lingering doubts over whether justice was indeed done, and worse, open questions about the credibility,...

Nearly four years after the so-called "Haditha Massacre," which was cited by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., when he publicly accused U.S. Marines of being cold-blooded killers, and after being cleared by multiple levels of military courts, a Marine officer is facing a new round of allegations stemming from the firefight in Iraq. According to some members of his legal team, the attorneys at the Thomas More Law Center, the original investigation that failed to produce evidence for a conviction took more than 65 investigators and cost millions of dollars. After an lengthy process in which prosecutors lost at every...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,” an investigation conducted by over 65 NCIS agents (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ with the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, and prosecution losses at every stage of the criminal process, the government has decided to give up on the criminal prosecution against Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.  Nonetheless, the battle for this loyal Marine officer continues. On Friday, August 28, 2009,  the new general in charge of LtCol Chessani’s case, Marine LtGen George Flynn, Commanding General of the Marine Corps...

The Marine Corps has decided not to seek to reinstate criminal charges against a former battalion commander at Camp Pendleton for a 2005 incident in which his troops killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Chessani Instead, the Marine Corps will convene a Board of Inquiry to hear testimony and recommend whether Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani should be demoted to major for purposes of retirement. Even if such a recommendation is made and then accepted by the Secretary of the Navy, Chessani's retirement pay would still be based on being a lieutenant colonel. The Marine Corps had sought to try Chessani...

Richard Ianieri, the defense contractor charged today with accepting $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor, was president of a company that gave more money to Rep. John Murtha than any other lawmaker. That company, Coherent Systems International, received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha, and continued giving money to the Pennsylvania Democrat after Ianieri left Coherent and Argon ST bought it. The criminal complaint filed yesterday reportedly did not name the subcontractor, according to Roll Call. In total, the employees of Coherent, and employees and political action committees of Argon and its subsidiaries, have given $81,950 to Murtha's campaign...

Professionals that cannot change themselves from within, cannot respond to the needs of their constituencies while also inspiring the admiration and loyalty of their own members are in trouble.--"Tarnished Brass: Is the US Military Profession in Decline?" by Richard H. Kohn, World Affairs, Spring 2009 When General Conway took over as the Marine Corps Commandant, he went on the speech circuit talking about the “long war”. One speech was made at the Marines’ Memorial Association and World Affairs Council, in San Francisco, California on July 10, 2007. In that speech, General Conway stated, “we have a couple of incidents in...

<p>ANN ARBOR, MI – Nearly four years after the so-called “Haditha Massacre,� an investigation conducted by over 65 NCIS agents (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ with the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, and prosecution losses at every stage of the criminal process, the government is still pursuing legal action against  Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.</p>

The commandant of the Marine Corps has appointed one of his deputies to decide the next step in the case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with dereliction of duty after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005. Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, was named the new convening authority over the Chessani matter last week, a Marine Corps spokesman said Monday. Flynn was given the task by Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps. Conway was handed the Chessani case last month after a military judge...

U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway is deciding what to do with the dereliction of duty case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the Camp Pendleton officer accused of failing to order a full-scale investigation into the slayings of two dozen Iraqi civilians in the city of Haditha in 2005. Conway got the case in late May, after the Marine Corps gave up its appeal of a military judge's ruling that unlawful command influence illegally tainted the case against Chessani. The Marine Corps appealed that ruling on two occasions and was considering a third appeal before deciding to let Conway...

Haditha Marine update: Lt. Col. Chessani wins another round By Michelle Malkin  •  May 6, 2009 08:56 AM John Murtha’s big, fat mouth is still wreaking havoc on the lives of the Haditha Marines he defamed. But the Marines keep winning in court. Yesterday’s good news from the Thomas More Law Center, which has vigorously defended the accused Marines: A government official has informed the Thomas More Law Center that the government will not seek to appeal the recent unanimous decision by the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) in favor of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC.The decision makes permanent...

Last night on Freedom Radio, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Robert Weimann talked about his open letter to Secretary of the Army Pete Geren. Within it, 'Capt Roger Hill Case: Mister Secretary, it's time to end the double standard,' LTC Weimann demonstrates that political considerations have endangered the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and resulted in more than a few unjust prosecutions of our troops. Battlefield evidentiary requirements will be addressed within a revamp of the Military Commission Act (that was nearly hidden within Friday's White House announcement). With due respect to President Obama, those few select Members of Congress with...

The government has decided to give up on an existing case that had subjected a Marine commander to a criminal trial for his supervision of a team of soldiers attacked by insurgents in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005. But it remains possible the case will be re-filed against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, according to lawyers with the Thomas More Law Center, which has been working on his defense. WND reported just days ago when the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals denied without comment the government's motion to reconsider the case against Chessani. The decision followed a ruling from a three-judge...

The Marine Corps may be closer to giving up its troubled prosecution of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani... ~ snip ~...a final decision on whether the case gets dropped rests with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway. And if that happens, Chessani would become the seventh of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with crimes at Haditha to be fully exonerated. ~ snip ~[SSgt Frank] Wuterich's attorneys plan to seek a dismissal of the charges against their client for the same unlawful command influence found in the Chessani case. They haven't been able to file that motion, however, because his case is...

ANN ARBOR, MI – A government official has informed the Thomas More Law Center that the government will not seek to appeal the recent unanimous decision by the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) in favor of LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC.  The decision makes permanent the ruling by the trial court judge, Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing the charges against LtCol Chessani – without prejudice – due to Unlawful Command Influence.  The government could have sought an appeal to the civilian Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF), and then to the U.S. Supreme Court. ...

It becomes more evident with each passing day that the leftist movement to socialistic communism in the United States will stop at nothing to gain total control of our lives. This movement, fathered by billionaire George Soros, the anti-American, Christian-hating, United Nations loving bankroller for Obama, will not stop until ALL American citizens are firmly under his thumb. ~snip~ This story begins back in 2005 over in Iraq where a small unit of U. S. Marines were ambushed by a larger force of insurgent terrorists in Haditha while under the command of Marine Lt. Colonel Jeffery Chessani in one of...

Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. replacing Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland at Camp Pendleton later this yearCAMP PENDLETON ---- A former Camp Pendleton 1st Marine Division officer has been nominated by President Barack Obama to head the base's I Marine Expeditionary Force and also serve as commander of Marine Corps forces throughout the Middle East. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Friday that Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. to replace Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland later this year. The change is among several coming to Camp Pendleton's top leadership this year. Dunford is currently serving as the vice director for...

A military appeals court has thrown another roadblock in front of government prosecutors trying to convict a Marine officer - whose leadership in Iraq has been praised repeatedly by his superiors - on charges stemming from a firefight with insurgents in Haditha. The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals last night denied without comment the government's motion to reconsider the case against Lt. Col. Jeffery Chessani, according to a statement from the Thomas More Law Center. The organization has been defending Chessani against charges prompted by the public statements from Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who accused Marines of being cold-blooded...

ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday evening, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), sitting in Washington DC, denied without comment the government’s motion for Reconsideration.  Government prosecutors had asked that the unanimous ruling in favor of LtCol Jeffery Chessani, USMC, by a 3-judge NMCCA panel be reconsidered by all 9 judges.   A majority of the 9 judges would have had to agree to take the case.  The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been representing LtCol Chessani since January 2007.  He is also represented by detailed military attorneys...

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- A Justice Department attorney said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., should be immune from a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Marine from western Pennsylvania. Murtha Essentially, Murtha's attorney said the lawsuit filed in September by Justin Sharratt, of Canonsburg, should be dismissed for the same reasons that a federal appeals court struck down a similar suit by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, of Meriden, Conn., last week. The court ruled that Murtha couldn't be sued because he was acting within the scope of his employment when he accused Wuterich's squad of killing innocent civilians "in cold blood"...

Persecution of LtCol Chessani Continues; Govt Seeks Reconsideration of Appellate Court’s Ruling April 17, 2009 ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday evening, government prosecutors filed a motion with the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA), asking that the unanimous ruling of a 3-judge panel in favor of LtCol Jeffery Chessani, USMC, be reconsidered by all 9 judges of the court.  A majority of these 9 judges would have to agree to take the case.  On March 17, 2009, the 3-judge panel of NMCCA unanimously vindicated the ruling by Colonel Steven A. Folsom, USMC, dismissing all charges against LtCol Chessani...

PITTSBURGH - U.S. Rep. John Murtha shouldn't be immune from a defamation lawsuit for saying Marines killed Iraqi women and children "in cold blood," because the lawmaker's comments came outside the scope of his official duties, a former Marine's attorney said. The attorney, Noah Geary, on Wednesday filed an amended federal defamation lawsuit on behalf of Justin Sharratt, 24, a former lance corporal from Canonsburg. The new complaint, which adds 13 paragraphs to a lawsuit originally filed in September, was prompted by the dismissal of a similar suit against Murtha by Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court has ruled that a Marine cannot sue Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha for defamation. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., claimed Murtha damaged his reputation by saying he and his comrades killed women and children "in cold blood" in Haditha, Iraq, in November 2005. Murtha argued he has immunity from the lawsuit because he was acting in his official role as a lawmaker...

I missed two award ceremonies this past week and these two ceremonies make interesting contrasts regarding Marines. I must admit that I was not invited to the first ceremony nor is there any earthly reason why I should have been. I read about it in a Bing West article, "Distinguished Disservice: In honoring Murtha, the Navy insults its own". Mr. West, a Marine veteran, is the noted author of several books. His latest is an excellent work about the Iraq War entitled, The Strongest Tribe. The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Donald C. Winter, awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award...

April 06, 2009, 0:30 p.m. Distinguished DisserviceIn honoring Murtha, the Navy insults its own. By Bing West In bestowing the navy’s highest civilian medal, the Distinguished Public Service Award, upon Rep. John P. Murtha (D., Pa.) last month, the secretary of the Navy acted as a supplicant — an accountant happy to be given funds and disinclined to question the source. The secretary (Donald C. Winter, a Bush administration holdover who has since left the job) demonstrated that he did not understand his official role as a leader when the country is at war. Murtha smeared the reputation of...

End politically-motivated prosecutions of Jeffrey Chessani and Frank Wuterich, begin the immediate jailing of John MurthaMarines of 3/1 Kilo Co. reacted as they were instructed. But due to political pressure to end the war, seven Marines and their Commanding Officer were lynched by Time Magazine’s Tim McGirk and members of Congress after a sham trial in the court of public opinion. Jeffrey Chessani’s struggle has dragged on for four years. Despite the prosecutorial suppression of mountains of exculpatory evidence, the charges were ultimately dismissed. The large number of prejudicial statements and leaks by politicians and media mouthpieces irreparably tainted the...

During a March 22, 2009, Freedom Radio interview, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Robert Weimann discussed the improper command influence that occured throughout much of the Haditha investigation. The 'Sins of the Generals' were many and began even before Tim McGirk's insurgent talking-points driven Time magazine article. The top brass violated both the spirit and intent of the 1986 'Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reform Act'. The combat commander was the convening authority yet politicians, those outside the chain-of-command, and others improperly interjected themselves, let media buzz and enemy propaganda into their decision cycles, and forced further investigation even after Army Colonel...

Tonight, beginning at 8 PM Eastern, Honest Conservative welcomes retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Bob Weimann, Army Captain Roger Hill, and Army Sergeant Tommy Scott to NiteCap on Freedom Radio. LTC Weimann is a contributor to the Defend Our Marines series on WarChronicle.com. He recently authored a three-part riveting report entitled 'Sins of the Generals' about the Haditha investigation; Honest will ask him about improper command influence in the case. 'More Than Brothers', Captain Hill and Sergeant Scott will join us for the second hour of the broadcast: "Our purpose is to increase awareness over the rigid and antiquated policies...

Please please spread the word folks! The stood up for you, now you stand up for them! Sunday on Freedom Radio, you will hear LIVE and available for phone calls, Captain Roger Hill and Sgt. Tommy Scott. at 8 pm est. Listen LIve at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedom, call in and lend them your support! http://www.washingtonpost..com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121203291.html We will also be featuring Bob Weimann, author of the Sins of The Generals series. His support the troops work has been invaluable. JOIN US!

A non-profit legal group representing Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani against government allegations related to a firefight in Haditha, Iraq, is crediting radio talk show host Michael Savage and his audience with helping bring about victory. "Michael Savage has given a national forum to the law center so that we could show the government's persecution of one of our bravest combat leaders," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center. "The government took its best shot and lost. They have wasted millions of taxpayers' dollars. It's time for the Pentagon to say 'enough is enough.'...

Blogger Walt Fitzpatrick, known as The Jaghunter, was visited by SECRET SERVICE for levying a threat against President Barak Obama based on his most recent column found here: http://jaghunters.blogspot.com/

View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition To:  Secretary of the Navy On March 5, 2009 Congressman John Murtha was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award by the Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter. From the press release: It is the highest form of public service recognition bestowed by the Department of the Navy for a non-employee. According to the Department, nominations for this award will be limited to those extraordinary cases where individuals have demonstrated exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or as Department...

<p>The proposal that had been considered as part of the president's budget would require private insurance companies to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs in such cases. But the idea was unanimously opposed by the DAV and other leaders of the veterans community who were invited to the White House Monday to discuss the plan directly with President Obama. Veterans were again united in opposing the plan in a follow-up meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Wednesday.</p>

ANN ARBOR, MI – Late this morning, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals sitting in Washington DC, released their unanimous decision upholding the dismissal of charges against Marine Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani on the grounds of apparent Unlawful Command Influence.  But the case may not be over yet.For the last four years, LtCol Chessani has been investigated and prosecuted for his involvement in the so called “Haditha Massacre� – a massacre that never happened.  A 22-year veteran, Chessani has served three tours of duty in Iraq.  He served in the First Persian Gulf War and in Panama.  At...

WASHINGTON — B.J. Penn, assistant secretary of the Navy for installations and environment, will serve as acting Navy secretary until a successor to Donald Winter is named. Winter, who stepped down Friday, had agreed to stay on in the Obama administration until March 13, or until a replacement was found. Penn began his career as a Naval aviator, according to the Navy Web site. He amassed more than 6,500 flight hours in 16 types of aircraft. He was EA-6B Pilot of the Year in 1972, according to the site. Thus far, the White House has not hinted who the nominee...