Posted on 07/01/2008 1:16:51 PM PDT by RedRover
CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine sniper charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of assault in the shooting of four Syrians last year had the authority to shoot suspected insurgents if he deemed they posed a threat, his platoon commander testified Tuesday morning.
Lt. Dominic Corabi, commander of a scout sniper platoon from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, said Sgt. John "Johnny" Winnick II had that authority when he led a six-man surveillance team on a mission near Lake Tharthar in the Anbar province of Iraq on June 17.
Winnick, 24, a San Diego native and 2002 graduate of Del Mar's Winston High School, is the subject of an investigative hearing taking place at the base to determine if the charges against him should stand.
"They were told to be prepared to engage targets of opportunity," Corabi testified, adding members of sniper teams were routinely taught that a surveillance mission can quickly transition to combat.
Winnick's sniper team was watching a mosque and abandoned store for possible insurgent activity when a series of vehicles stopped at an intersection with men emerging and appearing to plant a roadside bomb, team member Sgt. Alexander Wazenkewitz testified.
Shortly after those vehicles departed, an 18-wheel truck drove up and stopped near the same spot with the driver getting out, crawling under the truck and removing a black bag, Wazenkewitz said. Three other men then climbed out of the cab, he said.
"It looked the guy was laying down an IED," Wazenkewitz said. "It was definitely a threat."
At that point, Wazenkewitz said Winnick fired a shot from his sniper rifle at the truck driver and directed the five men he was leading to "suppress the vehicle," meaning they were to fire at the other men and at the truck to disable it.
Under questioning from Winnick's attorney Gary Myers, Wazenkewitz said he believed what the squad did that day was within the military's rules of engagement.
"If you think the guy is a threat and should be shot, you do it," he said.
Wazenkewitz called Winnick, whose parents and family members sat in the gallery watching the hearing unfold in a small base courtroom, a "great teacher and leader."
The incident took place as the unit was about a month into an Iraqi assignment. It was the squad's first engagement.
Wazenkewitz also testified that Marines had been told the insurgency was moving away from regular explosives to construct roadside bombs and was beginning to use the more portable and less detectable compounds such as ammonium nitrate. The truck they fired on disappeared from the intersection within hours of the shooting and was never searched, Wazenkewitz said.
Capt. Jeffrey King is presiding over the hearing as the investigative officer. When it concludes, he will write a recommendation stating whether he believes there is sufficient evidence to warrant Winnick face trial by court-martial.
The manslaughter charges against him allege that he killed one of the Syrians and killed or directed fire that killed a second man. The assault charges allege he ordered his men to fire at the other two, committing all the acts in violation of the rules of engagement.
Winnick was on his fourth combat assignment when the incident took place.
Winnick's case is the fourth involving local Marines accused of unlawful civilian killings in Iraq. He is expected to make an unsworn statement, meaning whatever he says is not subject to cross-examination by prosecutors.
If ordered to trial and convicted, Winnick could be sentenced to as much as 40 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
This is the first report I've seen from today's hearing. There should be a fuller report tonight.
sign up to protect your country but kill someone and we are gonna prosecute you....ya thats the American way anymore. appalling to say the least.
Only because we put up with it.
Based on Lt. Corabi’s testimony, I really don’t understand why this hearing is taking place.
The family has my prayers. I wonder what is the standard? To me, if he was acting in good faith, he is innocent of manslaughter. Unless the prosecution could prove that he knew the Syrians were not planting a bomb, IMO he was totally within the rules of engagement.
This is rediculous.
No nation that ever existed was able to conduct a war under “rules of engagement” like this. It sounds even worse than Viet Nam over there.
Odd that there is no word whether it was in fact an IED planted. Maybe NCT didn’t think that was relevant?
What can the Marine Corp be thinking? How are they get to get men to fight in combat if they risk prison for following orders. Let the Legal Eagles go on some combat patrols and then get their reactions.
This guy deserves our support.
This is in line with the Court granting of habeas corpus to POWs. All the soldiers on the battlefield now are subject to charges of murder or criminal assault and each may have to prove that the persons “damaged” were personally threatening them. Each incident in the campaign is now potentially subject to criminal action. The Court has converted War into police work and lawyer work. Our forces may have to begin lodging formal charges against individual enemy combatants and obtain warrants before they can attempt to “arrest” them. There will need to be as many attorneys on the battlefield as troops because each enemy combatant captured will have to be provided with an attorney.
Am I wrong in assuming these witnesses were called by the prosecution?
If they were I feel exactly as you, why were there any charges brought?
“Let the Legal Eagles go on some combat patrols and then get their reactions.”
Better yet, try these REMFs for treason and have them effing shot.
This is so clearly within his orders.
I have no idea why the government wasted money to have bring this even to an art 32.
It is sheer insanity.
Why not just charge every troop who has ever fired any round in Iraq or Afghanistan?
We can just have everyone read their rights are part of the predeployment briefing. /sarc.
CORRECTION: AS part of...
Why do my fingers do that?!!
Disgusting. Who needs to receive the letters that say we will NOT put up with this bovine excrement anymore?
Based on what's been reported so far, I'd say there is none. I hope this prosecution makes more sense when we've heard about the whole day's testimony.
BTW, I also agree with your tagline--and he can bring the Del-Tones with him!
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