The Parker man arrived in Iraq on Thursday hoping to testify on behalf of his son, a St. Anthony native and Rigby High graduate.
Earlier this week, Parker resident Curtis Carnahan boarded the first of a series of flights that by Thursday had landed him in Baghdad.
He was nervous about setting foot in the war-torn country but said the gravity behind his reasons for being there far outweigh any trepidation.
Carnahan is set to appear as a character witness in a preliminary hearing for his son, Army Sgt. Evan Vela, who's been charged with premeditated murder of an Iraqi national.
Vela, a St. Anthony native and Rigby High School graduate, is a sniper with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
His unit had been stationed for several months near Iskandariyah, an area just south of Baghdad that makes up the southern tip of what U.S. and allied forces nicknamed the Triangle of Death.
The U.S. military alleges that sometime between April and June, Vela took part in the murder of a male Iraqi, placed a weapon with the man's remains, made a false official statement and obstructed justice. He was charged with the crimes July 1 and has been held in confinement in Kuwait ever since.
Carnahan says his son is a victim of a war in which the distinctions between enemies and civilians are blurred, and was only following orders.
"If we're going to start prosecuting our soldiers for this type of thing, we might as well just roll the whole show up," he said. "It's absolutely wrong to prosecute soldiers that are in combat."
A chance to try to clear his son's name is why Carnahan, 44, paid $1,750 for his trip, which will result in him spending more than 30 hours in the air by the time he gets back to Idaho on Wednesday.
To give his son what he hopes is the best chance for exoneration, Carnahan in August hired one of the top military defense teams in the country, including attorney James Culp, who has represented more than 1,500 members of the military around the globe.
But unlike the military defense lawyers the government provides for free -- Vela fired his -- civilian attorneys are expensive, especially when they're considered to be among the best.
The retainer alone for Culp and his partner, Gary Myers, was more than Carnahan's annual salary. He said he's taken out a second mortgage on his home to pay for Vela's representation and is asking the public for donations to recoup those costs and offset future ones.
A trust fund has been set up for Vela at KeyBank in Idaho Falls, though contributions can be made at any KeyBank.
Hippie printer
Though the business card of Carnahan, a printer who works in Idaho Falls, lists him as "the man ... the myth ... the hippie printer," he said he's no Hanoi Jane.
A proud patriot with an American flag waving in his yard, Carnahan has no military experience, but two of his sons do. Vela has been in the Army for three years, and his brother, Cory, is an active six-year veteran with the U.S. Navy.
Carnahan, who wears a mustache and a ponytail, said it's imperative that U.S. citizens stand up for soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives. He has no confidence in the people running the war, however.
For this reason, he has provided the Post Register and The Washington Post, among other news outlets, transcripts of military court hearings for two members of Vela's unit also charged with premeditated murder. According to testimony in the July 24 hearings for Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley of Chandler, N.C., and Spc. Jorge Sandoval of Laredo, Texas, some of the snipers in Vela's unit were aware of a classified program in which sharp-shooters would "bait" their targets with suspicious materials, such as detonation wire, and then kill whoever picked up the items.
Myers, Vela's attorney, has said his client was only following orders.
Carnahan encourages the public to read about the baiting program.
"To me, that shows a real gray area of what soldiers are supposed to think," he said. "This type of program paints a target on the back of every Iraqi."
The Army has declined to confirm that such a program exists.
"To prevent the enemy from learning about our tactics, techniques and training procedures, we don't discuss specific methods targeting enemy combatants," said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman.
Boyce did say, however, that there are no classified programs that authorize the murder of local nationals and the use of planted weapons to make the killings appear legally justified.
"Our rules for the use of force dictate that an individual must show hostile intent before they can be engaged," he said.
The good kid from St. Anthony
Vela, the second oldest of Carnahan and St. Anthony resident Anna Vela's four children, is described by friends and family members as a responsible and caring individual who rarely gets into trouble.
The 23-year-old resides in Anchorage, Alaska, with his wife, Alyssa, also of St. Anthony, and two children. He has a 4-year-old son, Jarom, and a 6-month-old daughter, Blair.
Alyssa Vela, who normally speaks with her husband once a week, said he's a laid-back but good father who's "more likely to hang out at home with his children and watch Saturday morning cartoons."
Though he's frustrated with the Army, Alyssa Vela said, her husband wants to pursue his goal of becoming a career military officer if he's cleared of the charges.
Family members aren't the only ones supporting Vela. A Web site set up in his name features several letters from people standing by him.
Fremont County Sheriff Ralph Davis wrote that he got to know Vela as a young man when Vela's mother began working for the sheriff's office.
"During the time I was serving as a deputy sheriff," Davis wrote, "I never saw Evan struggle like so many kids do in similar circumstances. ... We support this young man without any reservations."
Keith Fyfe, who worked with Vela for six months at Eagle Press in Idaho Falls, said he finds it hard to believe that Vela would intentionally cause harm to anyone.
"He's a good kid," Fyfe said.
The hearings
The investigation into the alleged murders began when two soldiers, Pfc. David Petta and Spc. Alexander Flores, complained that members of their unit were planting weapons on their targets to make the killings look legitimate.
But according to transcripts of a July hearing for Hensley and Sandoval, several members of the unit testified that Petta and Flores were liars and poor soldiers.
Spc. Joshua Michaud testified that Vela told him he had spoken with Petta and Flores about allegations that they were sleeping on duty. When Vela told them he was considering referring the two for a disciplinary hearing, Michaud testified, they said they would report Vela and others to their supervisors for planting weapons and other items.
On May 11, Flores testified that Vela, under orders from Hensley, executed an Iraqi national who had discovered his sniper hideout. After the man was shot with a 9 mm handgun, Flores said, Hensley grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle and laid it across the Iraqi's body.
Capt. Matthew Didier, the unit's ground forces commander, testified that he gave Hensley permission to order the "close kill" of an Iraqi national May 11 based on Hensley's word that he saw the man carrying an AK-47.
Carnahan said he was told that Vela's Article 32 hearing, which is an evidentiary process in which an investigating officer hears from both the defense and prosecution and recommends whether the case should be referred to a general court-martial, was to begin Saturday.
Boyce, the Army spokesman, said it might not get under way until Thursday.
Carnahan continues to contend that his son was following orders and thinks Vela, Hensley and Sandoval should all be acquitted.
He believes the odds of that happening aren't good right now but still stands by his son.
"One of his biggest concerns is he wanted to know if he could stay in the Army when this is over with, which I think speaks highly of his character and his desire to continue with the military," he said.
How you can help
To donate to Army Sgt. Evan Vela's defense fund, visit www.sergeantevanvelade fensefund.org.
Vela is one of 69 U.S. service members to have been charged in connection with Iraqi civilian deaths, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. Of that number, 31 have been convicted of a crime. If he's convicted, Vela will likely face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
