Clearing the Fog of War

Hasan's trial will not be under a gag order

FORT HOOD — A judge declined Wednesday to impose a gag order in the capital murder trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan after an FBI transcript between him and a television news reporter was released to the media.

In his conversation with an Al Jazeera reporter, the Army psychiatrist, charged with killing 12 soldiers and a civilian in a Nov. 5, 2009, shooting spree at Fort Hood, made a now-famous refrain that he felt guilty for serving in the U.S. Army.

“I would like to begin by repenting to almighty Allah and to apologize to the mujahedeen, ... the believers and the innocent,” he was quoted as saying in the transcript of a July 15, 2011, jailhouse phone call.

“I ask for their forgiveness and their prayers. I ask for their forgiveness for participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, ... their religion ... and their lands. It has resulted in the death ... destruction ... and deception of many innocent men and women.”

Prosecutors opened a 38-minute hearing Wednesday by asking the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, to reconsider a gag order after parts of the two-year-old transcript appeared in the media. A judge who was on the case until being replaced by Osborn late last year had refused to issue a gag order as well.

Hasan sent copies of the document to the Killeen Daily Herald and a Fox News affiliate.

Hasan's remarks were similar to comments he has made in recent weeks when he asked the judge to allow him to tell jurors that he didn't wish to wear his Army uniform.

“I can't take any pride in wearing this uniform,” Hasan told Osborn. “I want the panel to know that, that I am being forced to wear it.”

Osborn rejected the request.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Hasan-s-trial-will-not-be-under-a-gag-order-4699257.php

T-38 belly-lands at Randolph

Two Air Force pilots escaped injury this week when their T-38 Talon jet belly landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

Details about the incident were unclear, but the 12th Flying Training Wing said in a brief statement that the twin-engine, supersonic aircraft touched down without its landing gear on the base's east runway.

The Air Force did not say if the accident was believed to have been triggered by mechanical failure of some kind or possibly human error, but a 12th Flying Training Wing spokeswoman, Bekah Clark, said the pilot in command of the jet declared an in-flight emergency. The pilots were not identified.

The incident occurred at 10:30 a.m. Monday, but the wing did not send a release to media outlets advising than an accident had occurred, a routine practice of military public affairs offices.

A notice about the crash was initially posted on the wing's website at 11:10 a.m. Monday and updated Tuesday morning.

The Randolph-based aircraft didn't carry dummy bombs and cannot dump fuel. After it landed, it slid down the runway, but Clark didn't say how far it went before stopping. First-responders were called to the scene after the plane landed, but no water or foam was used, she said.

Damage was still being determined. Flying operations resumed Tuesday on the east runway, one of two at Randolph.

The accident is the first at Randolph in 10 years. In that crash, a T-38 with two instructor pilots went down March 19, 2003 while making a touch-and-go landing after the right tire gave way. The left tire then collapsed as the pilot tried to control the plane.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/T-38-belly-lands-at-Randolph-on-Monday-4699124.php

Lackland airman charged in abuse at camp

The Air Force has charged an enlistee with sexually abusing two people, one of them younger than 16, at a camp an hour northeast of Del Rio that hosted San Antonio high school students.

The Air Force said over the weekend that Airman 1st Class Nathan G. Wilson-Crow, a combat cameraman at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, exposed himself to a child younger than 16, who was identified as Victim 2, and had sexual contact with another camp participant, identified as Victim 1. Wilson-Crow was accused of touching a third person while in the presence of Victim 2, but no charge resulted from that.

Read more on ExpressNews.com.

 

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Lackland-airman-charged-in-abuse-at-camp-4692535.php

Shattered lives left in wake of Fort Hood rampage

Maj. Nidal Hasan, 42, is accused of committing the deadliest act of criminal violence ever on a U.S. military base.

The Nov. 5, 2009, rampage left 13 people dead and 32 wounded. He was paralyzed in a shootout with police and has since admitted his actions.

As Hasan goes on trial nearly four years later, and as victims prepare to testify as key witnesses, those at the scene that day and the families of the victims struggle to move on.

Read more about the victims' shattered lives on ExpressNews.com.

More on ExpressNews.com:

 Widow following legal case, hoping for closure

 Mother misses son with a love of learning

 After shooting, ex-GI is 21 'going on 15'

 Fort Hood Massacre: The 13 who died

 

Military jury finds Air Force trainer not guilty

A jury Friday night found an Air Force basic training instructor not guilty of rape.

Tech. Sgt. Marc Gayden was charged with rape, forcible sodomy and trying to develop an illicit personal relationship with a woman while he was her instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland nearly three years ago.

Earlier in the day, fellow trainers testified that Gayden was a trusted leader.

“That man is probably the epitome of what an instructor should be,” said Master Sgt. Greg Pendleton, a 19-year Air Force veteran.

Much of the questioning during the four-day trial centered on whether the woman, identified as Airman 1, could have been alone in a dorm on Dec. 24, 2010, the day of the alleged attack, and if Gayden missed physical training sessions. Testimony has conflicted on the issues.

Read the full story at ExpressNews.com.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Military-jury-finds-Air-Force-trainer-not-guilty-4690081.php

Airman testifies in rape trial

The star witness against an Air Force basic training instructor charged with raping her in a dormitory office said his misconduct began with a kiss she didn't see coming — and says she didn't want.

Taking the stand against Tech. Sgt. Marc Gayden for about three hours Thursday, the woman told a five-member jury the first incident occurred as she stood duty as a dorm guard.

“He came up to me and tried to hug me, and I turned my head,” said the woman, identified as Airman 1.

Gayden is charged with rape, forcible sodomy and trying to develop an illicit personal relationship with the woman while he was her basic training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He could get life in prison.

As the morning unfolded, Airman 1 maintained her military bearing, never becoming flustered or emotional.

She maintained that Gayden raped her even after Houston defense attorney Guy Womack highlighted differences in three statements she gave Air Force investigators, the email she sent and an evidentiary hearing here in April.

A prosecutor, Capt. Mark Schwartz, this week said Airman 1 was on crutches nursing a bad ankle on Christmas Eve 2010 when she talked with Gayden about the injury. They were in his office a short walk from her bed.

As they talked, the government alleges, he tried to kiss her, then put a hand down her pants and pushed her into a chair, where he briefly forced her to perform oral sex.

When it was over, the recruit limped to bed and cried, leaving her crutches behind, she said. A few minutes later, she said, he stood over her.

“'No one's going to believe you,'” Airman 1 recalled him saying.

Womack calls her a liar and worked throughout the day to damage her credibility. He threw many punches as 10 witnesses took the stand, but landed few.

Read more here: 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Airman-testifies-in-rape-trial-4687855.php

Lawyer highlights inconsistencies in military rape allegation

The star witness and accuser against an Air Force basic training instructor charged with rape said his misconduct began with a kiss she didn't see coming.

Tech. Sgt. Marc Gayden is charged with rape, forcible sodomy and trying to develop an illicit personal relationship with the woman while he was her basic training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Gayden is the 25th instructor to go on trial in a scandal that so far has seen 33 trainers fall under investigation for misconduct with 67 recruits and technical school students.

Prosecutors say Gayden raped the woman and tried to force her to perform oral sex.

The witness identified as Airman 1 took the stand for around three hours Thursday to testify against Gayden. She said she was standing duty as a dorm guard on the night of the incident, when Gayden left an office inside her living quarters.

“He came up to me and tried to hug me, and I turned my head,” she said.

Houston defense attorney Guy Womack spent much of the morning trying to debunk her testimony.

The case hinges on her believability. She is the sole witness against Gayden, an 11-year Air Force veteran the defense says was highly regarded.

As the morning unfolded, she maintained her military bearing, never becoming emotional as some victims have over the last 15 months.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Lawyer-highlights-inconsistencies-in-military-4686941.php

An Air Force basic training instructor on trial for raping a recruit won't be allowed to bring witnesses to the stand who would testify that the chief accuser in the case lied about him.

Houston attorney Guy Womack wanted the judge, Lt. Col. Grant Kratz, to let him call several former recruits to testify the woman made up claims that Tech. Sgt. Marc Gayden showed favors to them during basic training.

Prosecutors argued that the allegation was irrelevant because Gayden faces life in prison for rape and forcible sodomy, and was not charged with misconduct associated with favoritism. Womack, however, said the testimony was a crucial cog in the defense's strategy.

“Our defense is she lied, period,” he told the judge Wednesday.

An 11-year Air Force veteran, Gayden is the 25th basic training instructor to be tried in a sex scandal at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland that is the worst in the service's history. So far, 33 instructors have been investigated for misconduct with 67 recruits and technical school students.

Jury selection was to begin this morning for Gayden, who has asked that a panel of officers and NCOs hear his case. He took the stand Tuesday as Womack, who defended Abu Ghraib torturer Cpl. Charles Graner, sought to admit an email into evidence.

 

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Defense-aims-to-show-Lackland-accuser-lied-4684166.php

Lackland trainer goes on trial in recruit's rape

A San Antonio NCO charged with raping a recruit in basic training first learned he might be in trouble when the ex-trainee sent him an email.

Tech. Sgt. Marc Gayden said Monday he opened the message Oct. 18, 2012 after arriving at work. A woman identified as Airman 1 told Gayden that she had read a newspaper story about the sex scandal at Joint Base San Antonio.

“It made me think of what you did to me in your office,” she wrote him. “I'm thinking of reporting it.”

Stunned, Gayden said his heart raced and he breathed heavily while pondering the message, sent to him as part of a probe that had been launched by the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations.

Gayden, an 11-year Air Force veteran, later was charged with forcible rape, forcible sodomy and trying to develop a personal relationship with a recruit. The 25th basic training instructor to be tried in the Lackland scandal, he could get life in prison if convicted this week.

Two-dozen airmen have gone to trial since April 2012. One of the latest was Senior Airman Andrew Lira, a seven-year veteran who was given six months in jail, 30 days' hard labor, $1,200 in forfeitures and reduction to the lowest rank for seeking sex with eight enlistees.

Read more here: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Lackland-trainer-goes-on-trial-in-recruit-s-rape-4681452.php

Airman awarded a silver star

Tech. Sgt. Ismael Villegas was awarded the Silver Star in a San Antonio ceremony Monday, marking only the second time in a dozen years that a member of the Air Force Special Operations Command has been given the honor twice.

Standing before Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel, Villegas, 35, of Del Rio was given the Silver Star along with another airman, Staff Sgt. Dale Young.

Both were described by a fellow war veteran as quiet, humble and even laid back, with Villegas likened to a California surfer.

“I had no idea he had a Silver Star until today,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro, who called in airstrikes in Afghanistan until badly injured in a 2005 bomb blast. “Then I found out he had two.”

Villegas and Young, 29, were given the awards at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Both are combat controllers who led airstrikes against entrenched insurgents in Afghanistan.

Villegas received his first Silver Star in October 2011 from then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.

A combat controller is not only qualified to call airstrikes for Air Force Special Operations, but also is an Federal Aviation Administration-certified air traffic controller. The job involves mastering many tasks, from making parachute jumps into enemy territory and scuba diving to riding motorcycles and marching through any weather — often fighting in remote and desolate locations.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Airman-awarded-a-second-Silver-Star-4680204.php