Spec-ops court of inquiry pushed back

[unhappycamper]

Afghanistan incident examined
Company, platoon COs are focus of inquiry


Spec-ops court of inquiry pushed back
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 29, 2007 17:48:39 EDT

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A court of inquiry into the role two Marine special operations officers had in the alleged killing of 19 Afghan civilians earlier this year has been pushed back to December.

The military tribunal was scheduled to begin Thursday at Camp Lejeune, N.C., but will now most likely begin the first week of December, Marine officials said Monday.

The focus of the inquiry will be Maj. Fred C. Galvin, who was commander of Marine Special Operations Company-Fox, and Capt. Vincent Noble, who commanded a platoon of about 30 Marines whose convoy was attacked March 4 in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. Army officials said the Marines opened fire along a crowded roadway after their convoy was hit by a car bomb.

The entire 120-man company was expelled from Afghanistan shortly after the incident. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command leaders relieved Galvin and the company’s senior enlisted officer; they and six other Marines were sent back to Camp Lejeune after the incident. Their attorneys say the convoy came under small-arms fire.

The incident remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Lt. Gen. Jim Mattis, commander of Marine Corps Forces-Central Command, ordered the court of inquiry. He will review the court’s findings and decide whether criminal charges are warranted.


Article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/10/marine_court_of_inquiry_071029/