Posted on 05/29/2007 6:02:58 PM PDT by RedRover
Hearing fact sheet
Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani was the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the time of the Haditha incident and is the highest-ranking officer to have charges filed against him.
Chessani, who grew up in northwest Colorado, was relieved of his command in April 2006 along with the Kilo Company's commander, Capt. Lucas McConnell. At the time, a Marine Corps spokesman told reporters that the two men had been relieved of duty, "due to lack of confidence in their leadership abilities stemming from their performance during a recent deployment to Iraq."
Before being relieved of duty, Chessani appeared to be on a solid career path. He was reportedly involved in helping to plan the 2004 assault on Fallujah. He also served in the first Iraqi war in 1991.
He received his first command position at an Albany, New York, recruiting station and later attended the Command and Staff College in Quantico, Va., where he earned a master's degree in military studies.
He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2004 and assigned to the post of operations officer for the 1st Marines in Iraq. His first combat command came in May 2005, when he took over the base's 3rd Battalion. The Denver Post has reported that during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, he captured several of former President Manuel Noriega's top officers.
Lt. Col. Chessani is facing three years in prison and a dismissal from the service if convicted on all three counts.
Preferred Charges and Specifications:
Charge: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 92
Specification 1 (Violation of a lawful order): wrongfully failed to accurately report and thoroughly investigate a possible, suspected, or alleged violation of the law of war by Marines under his command. (Maximum punishment: dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 2 years)
Specification 2 (Dereliction): willfully failed to ensure that this possible, suspected, or alleged violation of the law of war was accurately reported to higher headquarters. (Maximum punishment: Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months)
Specification 3 (Dereliction): willfully failed to direct a thorough investigation into this possible, suspected, or alleged violation of the law of war. (Maximum punishment: Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months)
Investigating officer: Col. Christopher Conlin
Convening authority: Lt. Gen. James Mattis, commanding general for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Central Commander for Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa.
In Lt. Col. Chessani's defense: Civilian attorney, Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law Center says, "The testimony we will elicit will show just how ridiculous and politically motivated these charges are."
For the official USMC advisory, click at the link.
Source: Various articles in the North County Times.
Very good, boats.
Nauseating, at the least.
North County Times, June 4, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON -- Testimony continued Monday in a hearing for a Marine lieutenant colonel charged with dereliction of duty for failing to order an investigation into the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005.
The hearing for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani entered its fifth day with testimony from two 1st lieutenants who served under Chessani in Haditha.
The two lieutenants, Adam Mathes and William Kallop, each testified that they did not believe the slayings represented a violation of the laws of armed conflict.
Chessani commanded Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the time of the killings. He is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty for failing to order an investigation. Three enlisted men face murder charges.
The hearing for Chessani is expected to conclude Friday or Saturday. Chessani is expected to make a statement at the conclusion of the defense case.
Col. Christopher Conlin, the hearing officer, will then write a report to Lt. Gen. James Mattis stating whether he believes the testimony warrants the 43-year-old Chessani being referred for court-martial or some other action be taken.
See Tuesday's North County Times for a full report on Monday's proceedings.
More good testimony ping.
Then one of the terrorists dressed in black went into explaining in details the plan they put to kidnap the soldiers, presumably this guy is explaining the plan before the kidnap operation.
I doubt very much that they have this plan ready before the kidnapping operation, the terrorist just got lucky, then for typical propaganda purposes they recored this staged "operation planning" after the kidnapping took place.
Yes, Gen. Huck is stuck in the Pentagon planning department until this is over. I imagine he could still be charged (remote though that possibility is).
Funny thing, though. Only the San Diego Union Tribune mentioned this. The DoD guy (Parks) testified that while Chessani had a obligation to report the Haditha deaths to his superiors, he was not responsible for investigating the incident. This means if Chessani told Huck what happened, Huck ought to be in the dock.
E-mail or Freepmail at you.
Thanks.
Thanks a bunch for your summary, jveritas.
I don’t have any guesses, but yours are good.
It’s nice to know our goverment has the time and money to persecute our Marines while they find ways to get the real killers in GITMO off.
As a former Marine it just makes me want to puke!
Haditha - A Case of Liberal Hypocrisy
http://americanpatriot.townhall.com/g/28287e40-0c38-4d3f-84b8-e262b1076c3b
Thank you.
There was a scene where a vehicle was burning in the dark and whoever was talking appeared to be crying. There was also some footage that appeared to be shot by an imbedded videographer.
Again, thank you very much.
Day Four Dispatch from LtCol Chessani Hearing
Yesterday, Lieutenant Mathes, the Kilo Company Executive officer finished testifying. Lt Mathes concluded his testimony by stating that he did not believe that there was ever a possible Law of War violation. He further added that he still stands by that opinion. Brian Rooney, attorney for LtCol Chessani stated, "It is nice to hear that one of the few officers that had all of the information about the battle has the personal courage to maintain his opinion in the face of the government’s politically motivated charges against a loyal and patriotic Marine officer."
Lieutenant Kallop began his testimony today. Lieutenant Kallop was the platoon leader of the squad that was attacked by insurgents on November 19, 2005. We must never forget that it was the Marines that were attacked that day by a ruthless enemy--Marines responded to that attack the way they were trained to.
Lt Kallop was the first officer on the scene. He testified that when the events were most fresh in his mind, that when he arrived on the scene, there was enemy fire all around him. He swore that he saw where the source of fire was coming from and ordered the squad leader and his men to "clear the house." Lt Kallop could not remember this level of detail today, but he said that the statement he made over a year ago to investigators was most accurate.
Lt Kallop further added that when he toured the houses from which the Marines had taken fire, he found civilian casualties. Although he believed civilian casualties were unfortunate, he knew this to be a sad result of the terrorist tactic--to use women and children as shields and cover. In fact, the previous testimony of Major Carrasco indicated that the last terrorist they found that day went into a house and grabbed a child in order to pretend he was a civilian family member. The only reason the terrorist’s ruse was discovered was that blood was coming from his ears.
One fact of Lt Kallop’s testimony the media did not report is that he found two children alive and made sure they were evacuated for treatment.
Lt Kallop also testified that although he found no insurgents or evidence of their presence, he did see the insurgents in the house initially. He also testified that it was a known terrorist tactic to remove dead terrorist bodies, weapons, and even shell casings from where they attacked to cause confusion amongst the Americans.
Lt Kallop debunked the myth that the Marines went on some wild rampage. He testified that the Marines reacted in a confident, professional manner--in the way they were trained to react.
Today, Lt Kallop is expected to conclude his testimony. Captain Dreger, one of the Battalion intelligence officers will testify in the morning. Lieutenant Mark Towers, the Battalion adjutant and legal officer will testify. Finally, Major Carol Connelly, the regimental SJA (lawyer) will testify as to his role in the reporting and advice given by commanders.
The hearing is expected to conclude on Saturday, but may last into the following week. Rob Muise and Brian Rooney intend to use the remainder of this week to show that LtCol Chessani reported and investigated the acts of his Marines on November 19, 2005 properly. They also will show the intelligence reports that led up to the attack, that the Marines expected the attack, and that the follow-on intelligence after the attack comported with what they believed had occurred.
Marine testifies he asked: 'Where are the bad guys?'
CAMP PENDLETON: Smoke from a Marine attack still hung in the air when 2nd Lt. William Kallop stepped into the family room of a home in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005. Before him were the bodies of old men, women and children.
Kallop was told that his Marines “fragged” the room – threw fragmentation grenades into it – after hearing a weapon being loaded. But Kallop found nothing to suggest that insurgents were in the house.
“Where are the bad guys?” Kallop testified. His deposition, videotaped in May, was played yesterday in a Camp Pendleton courtroom during the pretrial hearing for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani.
Chessani is one of four officers accused of not properly reporting and investigating the deaths of 24 Iraqis during the Haditha incident. Three enlisted Marines are charged with murder in the deaths.
The pretrial hearing for one of those murder defendants, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, is scheduled to begin Monday. He is accused of fatally shooting three men with a service pistol.
If Sharratt proceeds to trial and is convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
Brush up on the latest.
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