Mukilteo Marine awaits war crime hearing

By Paul Archipley

Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington was on his third tour of duty in Iraq. The Mukilteo man had volunteered to serve his country, was among those on the front lines of the initial assault on Baghdad, and later fought in Fallujah.

In July, the Kamiak grad celebrated his 22nd birthday in the Camp Pendleton brig.

Pennington, six other Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman are accused of murdering an Iraqi man last year in Hamdania, a village west of Baghdad, then trying to cover up the crime.

The government’s case seems to rest primarily on statements signed by the accused themselves, statements that defenders of the “Pendleton 8” say are highly suspect.

If there’s other evidence against the group, the government isn’t yet sharing it with defense attorneys.

That lack of cooperation troubles Pennington’s attorney, former Brigadier General David Brahms.

And the harsh treatment given the defendants, particularly in comparison to servicemen and women charged in other alleged war crimes, weighs heavily on Terry and Deanna Pennington, Robert’s parents.

“We’re trying to put pressure on the military to treat them fairly,” Deanna Pennington said from the couple’s new home in Maui, Hawaii. (A planned move from Mukilteo due to a job transfer for Deanna preceded the crisis.)

“No one in the Haditha case (in which Marines are accused of massacring 24 unarmed men, women and children) is in the brig.

“Our son was in the brig for a month without even being charged. I don’t understand why our boys are getting treated differently.”

Attorney Brahms said those decisions are in the hands of commanding officers. The commanding officer in the Haditha case seems to be supporting his Marines pending the outcome of investigations and hearings.

The commanding officer in the Hamdania incident is treating the Pendleton 8 like they’re guilty.

This much is known, said Terry Pendleton: “Some Iraqi civilian ended up dead. Several days later, his family alleged he was murdered. I don’t think they named names.”

Yet, according to the Associated Press, investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service claim that, without provocation, the accused troops nabbed the victim, Hashim Ibrahim Awad, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him.

The troops then allegedly placed an AK-47 in Awad’s hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear he had been planting explosives.

According to Terry Pennington, the NCIS put each of the accused in a room for up to eight hours without food or bathroom breaks, browbeat and threatened them with facing the death penalty if they didn’t cooperate, wrote up statements for them rather than taking statements, then secured signatures.

“They were told if they signed there would be some form of non-judicial punishment, such as being busted down a stripe,” Terry Pennington said.

“But the moment they signed, all promises were broken and they were flown to Camp Pendleton.”

Brahms has high regard for members of NCIS, but he has seen this kind of investigation before.

“They’ve got a bunch of pretty good people, but terrible policies,” he said. “They have a tendency to investigate by statement.

“They can lie, they can cheat, and standard practice is intimidation of our young men and women.

“It creates statements that are suspect.”

Despite the fact the accused hail from all over the country, each coming with the dialects and outlooks of their upbringing, Brahms said the statements “look remarkably alike.”

“It’s a great institutional failing,” he said. “They start with a premise, and their investigation is designed to validate that premise.”

The military has been basically uncooperative with defense attorneys, and has so far refused to facilitate trips to the crime scene.

Without all the evidence, Brahms said he’s like “a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”

The Pendleton 8 are awaiting an Article 32 hearing on Sept. 25. At that time a military court will determine whether there’s enough evidence to move forward with a general court martial.

Meanwhile, the Penningtons are working hard to win better treatment for their son and the other defendants. Terry Pennington has been on several talk shows. They have contacted elected officials without success.

There is a website, defendrob.com, for anyone wishing to send money to help with defense costs or offer moral support.

They say their son is bearing up well, but they worry he’s showing signs of traumatic stress syndrome. He’s getting poor or no medical treatment, they say.

Anyone who can is encouraged to help.

“Obviously, the commander-in-chief or secretary of defense doesn’t take my calls,” Terry Pennington said.

“If there’s anybody who’s politically connected, we need their help. Find us somebody in a position of power.”