TheRepublic.com - Military legal affairs News

Soldier convicted of sexual contact in hearing

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:33:23 -0400

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - An Alaska-based soldier from California will serve six months in a military prison and then be dismissed from the Army after being convicted of abusive sexual contact and other charges at a court-martial.

NY senator: Assaults let military culture continue

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:49:38 -0400

ALBANY, New York - Charges that an Army sergeant secretly photographed and videotaped women at West Point are part of a military-wide pattern of sexual misconduct, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Thursday.

Fort Hood suspect wants to represent himself

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:47:40 -0400

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood attack wants to represent himself at his upcoming murder trial, which means he could question the nearly three dozen soldiers he's accused of wounding in the shooting rampage.

WikiLeaks case file fight moves to federal court

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:07:28 -0400

HAGERSTOWN, Maryland - The WikiLeaks organization and a handful of journalists are asking a federal judge in Baltimore to order greater transparency in the court-martial of an Army private who has acknowledged sending reams of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website.

House panel moves to curb military sexual assaults

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:12:09 -0400

WASHINGTON - Members of a House panel angry over the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military took a key step toward tackling the problem by passing legislation Wednesday that would strip commanding officers of their longstanding authority to unilaterally change or dismiss court-martial convictions in rape and assault cases. Lawmakers believe the revision will lead to a cultural shift and encourage victims to step forward.

Soldier charged with videotaping women

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:06:25 -0400

WASHINGTON - An Army sergeant has been charged with secretly photographing and videotaping at least a dozen women at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, including in a bathroom.

Judge allows foreign travel for NC theft suspect

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:11:13 -0400

ELIZABETH CITY, North Carolina - A federal judge is allowing a former manager at a Navy bombing range in North Carolina to take a Bahamas cruise, overruling prosecutors who warned he may never return to face charges of stealing more than $6 million worth of scrap metal.

APNewsBreak: Coast Guard deserter to be confined

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:07:22 -0400

HONOLULU - A Coast Guard rescue swimmer whose disappearance led to a massive search in Hawaii pleaded guilty to desertion Tuesday, saying he left work one day, decided never to return and spent the next three months camping in the mountains. A military judge sentenced him to more than six months confinement and a bad conduct discharge.

Deal on bin Laden evidence in WikiLeaks case

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:31 -0400

FORT MEADE, Maryland - Lawyers in the court-martial of an Army private who sent more than 700,000 classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks said Tuesday they have reached a deal that may eliminate the need for testimony from a member of the military team that killed Osama bin Laden. Prosecutors also agreed to accept Pfc. Bradley Manning's guilty plea to a lesser version of one of the 22 counts he faces.

Military discharges, rather than treats

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:14:29 -0400

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - The U.S. Army has discharged escalating numbers of traumatized combat veterans who commit crimes and in ways that make them ineligible for Veterans Administration health assistance, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports.

House passes bill on lying about military medals

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:15:06 -0400

WASHINGTON - People who falsely claim they have received a military medal in order to obtain money or government benefits could face up to a year in jail under legislation that easily passed the House Monday.

Soldier gets life without parole in Iraq killings

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:10:04 -0400

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington - An Army sergeant was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole for the 2009 killings of five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq.

Army general facing sex charges had pornography on laptop

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:10:41 -0400

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina - An expert in Afghan culture testified Wednesday that pornography found on the computer of a U.S. Army general then deployed to the Muslim country would be highly offensive to local residents.

Kansas, Armenia officials tout 10-year partnership

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:06:16 -0400

TOPEKA, Kansas - The Kansas adjutant general and top officials with the Armenian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that a 10-year relationship between the state and the former Soviet republic has yielded benefits for both groups.

Hagel informed Obama of latest sex abuse case

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:02:03 -0400

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed President Barack Obama of the latest sexual assault allegations against a soldier who was assigned to prevent such crimes - the second soldier involved in similar accusations - and the president made clear he wants that behavior stopped, officials said Wednesday.

Soldier in sexual assault office accused of abuse

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:27:18 -0400

WASHINGTON - A soldier assigned to coordinate a sexual assault prevention program in Texas is under investigation for "abusive sexual contact" and other alleged misconduct and has been suspended from his duties, the Army announced Tuesday.

Gitmo prisoner: Obama has 'abandoned' detainees

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:24:36 -0400

WASHINGTON - A Guantanamo Bay detainee says he feels abandoned by President Barack Obama and the world after more than 10 years at the U.S. prison.

Marine faces trial over urination on corpses

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:27:50 -0400

CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina - A Marine officer in charge of snipers shown in a 2011 video urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters Afghanistan will be court-martialed.

Judge: Soldier premeditated Iraq killings

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:21:46 -0400

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington - A military judge found Army Sgt. John Russell guilty of premeditated murder Monday in the 2009 killings of five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq.

JBLM trial ends, ruling expected this week

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:29:36 -0400

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington - The court-martial trial for Army Sgt. John Russell has concluded. Now a military judge will decide whether the 14-year Army veteran was deluded by depression and despair as he shot five fellow service members in Iraq. Or he may decide Russell was taking revenge against psychiatrists who had blocked his hoped-for early exit from the Army.

Prosecutors release evidence in Border Patrol case

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:01:22 -0400

SAN DIEGO - Federal prosecutors have released a surveillance video that was used in a case against a Border Patrol agent who was acquitted last month by a jury of a charge of choking a migrant.

Man plans to plead guilty in Navy kickbacks case

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:42:25 -0400

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - One of several people charged as part of a federal investigation into an alleged $10 million kickback scheme targeting the U.S. Navy plans to change his plea to guilty to four charges of tax evasion, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Soldier says she faced harassment over Muslim name

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:05:37 -0400

RALEIGH, North Carolina - Sgt. 1st Class Naida Hosan is not a Muslim - she's a Catholic. But her name sounded Islamic to fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and they would taunt her, calling her "Sgt. Hussein" and asking what God she prayed to.

UN: Girls as young as 6 raped by Congo troops

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:34:16 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - Congolese troops fleeing the M23 rebels last November raped at least 97 women and 33 girls, some as young as 6, a U.N. report released Wednesday said.

Grants offered for veterans going into foreclosure

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:40:07 -0400

LANSING, Michigan - Michigan's Attorney General and head of a new state agency for veterans said Tuesday that $5 million in grants will be available to help military service members and veterans struggling to keep their homes as a result of the mortgage foreclosure crisis.