Courts Martial

Army Sgt. Evan Vela held back tears as he said at his court-martial Saturday that he had killed an Iraqi man who had stumbled into his sniper team's camp. Vela told the court on the second day of his trial that his superior officer, Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley, ordered him to shoot the Iraqi. "I thought he was going to let him go," said Vela, who is charged with murder, planting a weapon and making false statements. "I heard the word 'shoot.' My next memory is the man was dead.

A Navy lawyer charged with passing secret information about Guantanamo Bay detainees to an unauthorized person was ordered to face a court-martial, the Navy said. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz, 41, of Topeka, Kan., who was stationed at the U.S. base in Cuba from July 2004 until January 2005, could face more than 36 years in prison if convicted. No trial date was set.

A Navy lawyer charged with passing secret information about Guantanamo Bay detainees to an unauthorized person was arraigned in military court. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz, who was stationed at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from July 2004 until January 2005, could face more than 36 years in prison if convicted. Diaz did not enter a plea during the brief hearing at Norfolk Naval Station, Navy spokesman Kevin Copeland said. No trial date was set. Diaz, 41, of Topeka, Kan.

The nation's first Army officer to refuse deployment to Iraq urged the public in a statement Wednesday to "stop the war so that the death and sacrifices of American soldiers will not be in vain" after a major legal setback in his court-martial proceedings. First Lt. Ehren Watada, who is based at Ft.

Rape and drug charges have been dropped against a former Navy football player accused of assaulting two female midshipmen, but the Naval Academy said it would court-martial him on lesser counts. Kenny Ray Morrison, 24, had been accused of using a "date rape drug" to assault the women in separate incidents, but testimony from expert witnesses during pretrial hearings cast doubt on whether the women had been drugged.

The only U.S. military officer charged with a crime in the Abu Ghraib scandal will be court-martialed on eight charges, including cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners, the Army said. Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, 50, who ran the interrogation center at the Iraq prison, was accused of failing to exert his authority as the place descended into chaos, with prisoners stripped naked, photographed in humiliating poses and intimidated by snarling dogs.

THE soldier stands in his living room eyeing all the cool soldier stuff he never got to use in a real fight. Like the helmet with not a single ding and the sleek body armor with not a scuff. The gear piles high on the carpet. First Lt. Ehren Watada is giving it all back and, out of courtesy, packing it up. The Army had treated him with the utmost respect until the moment it decided to court-martial him. It was nothing personal. The Army does what it has to do.

A U.S. Army officer who refused an order to deploy to Iraq pleaded not guilty at a Ft. Lewis court-martial. First Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, faces a charge of missing movements when he refused to ship out to Iraq with his brigade last summer, and two charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for statements criticizing the war as illegal and immoral. Watada could face up to four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if he is convicted on all charges.

Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak could face serious legal trouble aside from the charges leveled against her in criminal court. As an active-duty Navy captain, Nowak is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That means Navy authorities could claim jurisdiction and court-martial Nowak for conduct unbecoming an officer. Legal experts say that is not likely. Usually, the Navy defers to civilian authorities in these cases and takes appropriate action after the civilian legal process is complete.

First Lt. Ehren Watada "brought shame upon himself, his unit and the U.S. Army," a military prosecutor said Tuesday at a court-martial for the Honolulu soldier, whose refusal to ship out to Iraq has made him a hero to some and a coward to others.