Praise the Lord! One SEAL ...UP!

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>...and 2 to go.</p>

<p>Now, get these fine NAVY SEALS back to work, doing what they've been trained to do ...and some PC nut-cases determined they should be arrested for then doing! You gotta wonder who the enemy is! :confused:</p>

<p>This is a good start @ a happy ending!</p>

<p>Navy</a> SEAL Julio Huertas Cleared In Beating Of Iraqi Prisoner - kdka.com</p>

<p>And pass the ammunition! :cool:</p>

[1390hopeful]

<p>thank goodness for common sense prevailing…i can only imagine the effect this could have had (or did) on morale, with the govt not backing them up when they were simply doing their jobs…so some terror suspect got a bloody lip after he was captured, boohoo…imho he deserved alot more than that if the charges against him are true and he really was the mastermind behind the slaying of those american contractors…wp is right, sometimes you gotta wonder who is our real enemy</p>

[1390hopeful]

<p>also lets try to keep this thread somewhat civil so we dont get the old lock hammer thrown down on us like that last thread lol</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>1390 …I’m betting you’re gonna make a top-tier USN officer! I’ll be your 1st mate, matey! Steady as she goes.</p>

[1390hopeful]

<p>you can be my wingman anyday!!! anyone, anyone</p>

[mombee]

<p>So when we “praise the Lord”, what are we going to thank him for? That members of the military hit a prisoner who was bound hand and foot and blindfolded or that they attempted to cover up their actions during the subsequent investigation directed by their Commanding Officer who, incidentially, personally saw evidence of mistreatment.</p>

<p>It is possible that the Lord might find our praise misguided.</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>Anything’s possible. Not. </p>

<p>“And the beat goes on. The beat goes on. Drums keep a poundin’ mombee thru the brain…dumb, dumb dumb,dumb, dumb,dumb, dumb da dumb dumb …”</p>

<p>xo Cher</p>

[grad_dad]

<p>Mombee- Did the CO see evidence that his people did the mistreatment or did he see evidence that there may have been mistreatment. Based on the findings of the court martial, there was enough doubt as to who might have inflicted the injuries. There was even a possibility they were self inflicted. Do you have more information?</p>

[mombee]

<p>He saw evidence of the possibility of mistreatment and ordered an investigation. The three individuals obstructed the investigation. This is what the NJP/Courts Martials are about, not hitting a prisoner. They were not straightforward with their command. Good order and discipline. Commanders expect and deserve truth and honesty. This one did not get it. He had no choice.</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>No parsing the story to accommodate the post’s position. </p>

<p>2 of 3 are for obstruction. 3rd is for hitting the prisoner.</p>

[JustAMomOf4]

<p>No need to parse the story at all. If you did your homework you would have seen this:
[SEALs</a> accused of assaulting alleged terrorist - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times](<a href=“http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/11/navy_seals_charged_fallujah_112509w/]SEALs”>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/11/navy_seals_charged_fallujah_112509w/)</p>

<p>

Three Navy SEALs are facing court-martial in connection with the alleged assault and mishandling of a detainee they captured in Iraq in early September, military officials said.</p>

<p>The military provided few details of the circumstances, but a source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed for Navy Times that the detainee was Ahmed Hashim Abed, the alleged planner of the March 2004 ambush, killing and mutilation of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah.</p>

<p>“That’s why [the SEALs] went after him,” the source said, who asked not to be named. He noted that the takedown was “kinetic” but there was no gunfire. “[Abed] had a gun. The intel was perfect. No shots were fired.”</p>

<p>The three SEALs — Special Warfare Operators 2nd Class Matthew McCabe and Jonathan Keefe, and SO1 Julio Huertas — will be arraigned Dec. 7 in a military court in Norfolk, Va., said Army Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, a spokeswoman with U.S. Special Operations Command Central. All are assigned to SEAL Team 10, based in Little Creek, Va., Navy records show.</p>

<p>McCabe is charged with one count each of assault of the detainee, dereliction of duty and making a false official statement, Silkman said.</p>

<p>Keefe is charged with one count each of dereliction of duty and false official statement; Three Navy SEALs are facing court-martial in connection with the alleged assault and mishandling of a detainee they captured in Iraq in early September, military officials said.</p>

<p>The military provided few details of the circumstances, but a source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed for Navy Times that the detainee was Ahmed Hashim Abed, the alleged planner of the March 2004 ambush, killing and mutilation of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah.</p>

<p>“That’s why [the SEALs] went after him,” the source said, who asked not to be named. He noted that the takedown was “kinetic” but there was no gunfire. “[Abed] had a gun. The intel was perfect. No shots were fired.”</p>

<p>The three SEALs — Special Warfare Operators 2nd Class Matthew McCabe and Jonathan Keefe, and SO1 Julio Huertas — will be arraigned Dec. 7 in a military court in Norfolk, Va., said Army Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, a spokeswoman with U.S. Special Operations Command Central. All are assigned to SEAL Team 10, based in Little Creek, Va., Navy records show.</p>

<p>McCabe is charged with one count each of assault of the detainee, dereliction of duty and making a false official statement, Silkman said.</p>

<p>Keefe is charged with one count each of dereliction of duty and false official statement; Huertas is accused of dereliction of duty, making a false official statement and impeding an investigation, she said.</p>

<p>Army Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland, SOCCent commander, preferred the charges against the SEALs and will serve as the convening authority as the cases proceed to court-martial, tentatively scheduled for mid-January, Silkman said.</p>

<p>The alleged incident happened in Iraq on or about Sept. 1, Silkman said. None of the SEALs is confined, she added.</p>

<p>The source said the charges stem not from the capture itself — which have a high potential for violence — but from later on, when Abed was under detention.</p>

<p>“If they really wanted to [beat] him that was the time do it,” during the capture, the source said. “That’s why this is so ridiculous.”</p>

<p>The charges were first reported by Fox News, which posted a story on its Web site Tuesday. The source confirmed that Abed was known by the military code “Objective Amber,” but could not say if the capture went down in the city of Fallujah or in the outlying area.</p>

<p>The source said the allegations began when a master-at-arms sailor assigned to guard Abed told a SEAL platoon commander that one of the operators had punched Abed in the stomach.</p>

<p>“This was reported by the SEAL platoon commander to the chain of command,” he said.</p>

<p>The SEALs have been assigned military attorneys to defend them in the cases, which will be tried separately as special courts-martial.</p>

<p>One defense attorney said the SEALs refused to accept nonjudicial punishment, which are administrative actions that some in the military may consider as an admission of guilt.</p>

<p>Neal Puckett, a defense attorney who is representing McCabe, said the SEALs are being essentially charged for allegedly giving the detainee “a punch in the gut.”</p>

<p>They are expected to plead not guilty when they appear at their December arraignment, he said. “They are all together, and they all maintain that they are innocent of these charges,” said Puckett, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and judge advocate.</p>

<p>The SEALs were on the tail-end of their deployment to Iraq when the alleged incident happened, he said.</p>

<p>McCabe’s special court-martial is slated to begin Jan. 19, he said.</p>

<p>Huertas, 28, is from Blue Island, Ill., and enlisted in 1999. He has served in special warfare units since 2002. He has an Iraq Campaign Medal and was advanced to E-6 in June 2006, Navy records show.</p>

<p>Keefe, 25, is from Yorktown, Va., and enlisted in 2006. He began SEAL training the same year, Navy records show. He was last advanced in June 2008.</p>

<p>McCabe, 24 is originally from Perrysburg, Ohio, and enlisted in 2003. He served on the Amphibious Assault Ship Belleau Wood before training in special warfare. He was advanced in September 2007, Navy records show.

</p>

<p>I have bolded the important points for you.</p>

<p>To recap for you - the SEAL who was acquited, Huertas was accused of:
accused of dereliction of duty, making a false official statement and impeding an investigation.
Charges were brought because he was reported by his own SEAL Commander a Naval Officer.</p>

<p>Are you saying that the Navy Seal Officer is a PC nut case???</p>

[JustAMomOf4]

<p>grad/dad - apparently a Navy Petty Officer witnessed the captive terrorist being hit/assaulted etc. There were two SEAL’s in the room and the witness did not see clearly who did the hitting. He made the report to the Navy SEAL officer who then sent the case up the chain of command.</p>

<p>From today’s Navy Times:

A six-man Navy jury found Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Julio Huertas not guilty of dereliction of duty and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member. The jury heard too many differences between the testimony of a sailor who claimed he witnessed the Sept. 1 assault at a U.S. base outside Fallujah, Iraq, and statements from a half-dozen others who denied his account.

Basically the jury chose to believe the accused over the Master-At-Arms 3rd Class who made the initial accusation.</p>

<p>This case moved forward because Navy sailors made accusations against each other - not because some injustice was uncovered by the “liberal” media as some would have you believe.</p>

[1390hopeful]

<p>if they are all exonerated, will they be able to go rejoin the fight? im sure they are very eager to do just that, but being that they are specops personnel, arent there some PERSEC issues what with all their names plastered throughout the media for everyone to see</p>

[mombee]

<p>

@1390hopeful

if they are all exonerated, will they be able to go rejoin the fight?

Probably not. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, even if they are found innocent, their days on the teams are likely over. SEALs are the most disciplined warriors in the world. No one wants anyone around in whom they cannot trust completely to follow orders and regulations and do exactly as they are told. Anytime there is a “he said, she said” situation, there will be elements of doubt as to what really happened. What were they thinking? On the day of the incident, when their skipper saw what he was sure was evidence of foul play, had they simply been straightforward and honest when he asked “What happened?”, none of this would have, most likely, ever happened. War time is not a time to play lawyer. Unfortunately, with the sensationalism press, those in a position to learn from this situation, probably never will.</p>

<p>PC nut case? JAM, why do you even acknowledge such ill informed drivel?</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>Why! :eek:Can’t help it! Nor you, my little fella. :D</p>

<p>Lay you a little wager on these SEALS. All will be exonerated, rightly so. And all will be back in the SEAL saddle, despite what the odd couple might ominously forecast. Wait and watch …and remember.</p>

<p>Losers make a $1,000 contribution to the USNA Foundation this year, designated half for USNA SEAL screening and half for the USNA Chaplains efforts. In cash. What say you? </p>

<p>Will either respond? Accept the challenge???</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>2 down, 1 to go …</p>

<p>Special Ops 2/C Keefe, not guilty.</p>

<p>Seems a military court martial are having a tough time with your allegation, mombee.</p>

[Whistle_Pig]

<p>Seal #3 got his verdict today … :eek:</p>

<p>NOT GUILTY - ALL CHARGES :D</p>

<p>Just as predicted … :p</p>

<p>Now, back to work! :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Go NAVY! Beat Army …again and again. </p>

[1390hopeful]

<p>great news to hear!!</p>