There were also new allegations by a member of the battalion Wednesday that a high-ranking officer in Alpha Company called a meeting of the unit's leadership within the last two weeks and presented a list of soldiers' names.
The officer had marked the names of those soldiers whom investigators were trying to persuade to provide evidence.
"These people were not identified for any other purpose than intimidation," the source said. "It was the circling of the wagons."
So far only Alpha Company has been placed on restrictive duty, Kent said.
"The soldiers of [Alpha] Company still contribute to the overall mission of the unit by performing other assigned duties to include base security missions," Kent wrote in an e-mail Wednesday.
He downplayed allegations of an extortion scheme reported in Wednesday's edition of The Times. In that story, two military sources alleged that at least six soldiers were involved in a scheme that extorted $30,000 from Iraqi shopkeepers in exchange for protection from insurgents.
Kent called those allegations unfounded, though he said one soldier was disciplined in connection with that portion of the investigation.
Markert said the financial investigation concluded weeks ago and found only a "$4,000 discrepancy." He said the problem stemmed from an inappropriate rental agreement between local Iraqis and the battalion's forward operating base. Markert said the situation had been blown out of proportion.
The most serious allegations involve Alpha Company, which started conducting operations with the Wolf Brigade after the Iraqi force moved from Mosul to Baghdad last spring.
In an online Alpha Company newsletter, Capt. Keith J. Haviland, the unit commander and a Pomona-based physical therapist, wrote about 2nd Platoon's ceding of responsibility for several Baghdad neighborhoods to Iraqi police forces. "We have assigned 2nd Platoon to help them transition, and install some of our 'Killer Company' aggressive tactical spirit in them," Haviland wrote. "With every Iraqi soldier we get fully prepared, ensures our long term success."
Haviland's online letter said 1st Platoon was assigned to work with the Wolf Brigade.
"1st Platoon has been integrated with the Iraqi Police in sector, and have trained them to do raids ... and patrol," Haviland wrote. He said that he assigned one officer to lead the training of "the Iraqi Army's Special Forces Wolf Brigade."
