JAG CENTRAL

Soldiers In Iraq Read About CPT Maynulet's Conviction (Stars & Stripes)

From the European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, this human interest story on how soldiers are reacting to the conviction and sentence of CPT Maynulet:

Soldiers serving in Iraq had differing opinions on the sentence of Capt. Roger Maynulet.

“I don’t think he should have got kicked out,” said Spc. John Kirkpatrick of Englewood, Fla., and the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment.

“He was just doing his job. That’s something where you have to make a split-second decision. The military jury should have been people who have been [in Iraq] and have done all that stuff.”

Kirkpatrick said that Maynulet’s soldiers who destroyed evidence in the case were just showing support and trust for their leader.

“It was a high-value target to be caught or destroyed,” Pfc. Christopher Cade of Jefferson City, Mo., and the 1-15th said of Karim Hassan Abed Ali al-Haleji. “He did what he thought was right. I can’t say he was right or wrong because I haven’t been in that situation.”

Spc. Aaron Berghoff of West Los Angeles, Calif., and the 1-15th said the sentence was appropriate.

“Once the guy is down, it’s done and the mission is accomplished,” Berghoff said. “Once [Maynulet] became the judge, jury and executioner, we’re no longer appropriately representing the U.S. military.”