FOB Ramrod kill team
Encyclopedia
The Maywand District killings refer to the murder of three Afghan civilians perpetrated by a group of United States Army
soldiers in 2010, during the War in Afghanistan
. The soldiers, who referred to themselves as a "kill team", were members of the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at the FOB Ramrod
.
During the summer of 2010, the military charged five members of the platoon with murder of three Afghan civilians in Kandahar province
and collecting their body parts as trophies. In addition, seven soldiers were charged with crimes such as hashish
use, impeding an investigation, and attacking the whistleblower
Spc. Justin Stoner.
On March 24, 2011, U.S. Army Specialist
Jeremy Morlock pled guilty to three counts of premeditated murder
. He told the court that he had helped to kill unarmed Afghans in faked combat situations. Under a plea deal, Morlock received 24 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for murdering three Afghan civilians, in return for testimony against other soldiers. As of today eleven of 12 soldiers charged have now been convicted.
of Afghanistan
:
published three photos of U.S. soldiers posing with the bodies of Afghans they had killed. One of the photos shows Spc. Jeremy Morlock next to one of them. He appears to be smiling and raising the head of a corpse by the hair. Other images published later in Rolling Stone
include one of two unidentified Afghans cuffed together around a milestone and wearing a cardboard handwritten sign made out of a MRE
package box that read "Talibans are Dead". Other photos were taken of mutilated body parts, among them one of a head being maneuvered with a stick. Two videos were also published, one of two Afghans on a motorcycle gunned down by members of another battalion of the 5th Stryker brigade called "Motorcycle Kill", and one called "Death Zone" of gunsight footage with jeerings heard in the background showing two Afghans suspected of planting an IED
killed in an airstrike with Apocalyptica single "En Vie"
as a soundtrack. Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published to the images of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib
in Iraq.
. He gave one of them to Holmes, who kept it dried in a Ziploc
bag.
Calvin Gibbs from Billings, Montana
, the ringleader of the "kill team", was the highest-ranking soldier in the case. He is charged with conspiracy and three counts of murder
for plotting and killing three Afghan civilian
s.
A report in The Guardian
states that soldiers told the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command that Gibbs bragged of his exploits while serving in the Iraq War, saying how easily one could "toss a grenade at someone and kill them." Prosecutors said Gibbs was found in possession of "finger bones, leg bones and a tooth taken from Afghan corpses".
Gibbs was convicted by a military jury on 15 counts including the premeditated murder
of Mudin, Agha and Adahdad as well as illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters. In November 2011, Gibbs was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years minus the 547 days of pretrial confinement.
In September 2011 Holmes pled guilty to murder, and was sentenced to 7 years jail.
, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison by a military tribunal after pleading guilty to three counts of premeditated murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and illegal drug use. He will be dishonorably discharged from the military. He will become eligible for parole after serving 7 years in federal prison. He has agreed to testify against the other soldiers allegedly involved. During his hearing he was asked by Judge Lieutenant Colonel Kwasi Hawks "Were you going to shoot at (civilians) to scare them and it got out of hand?". Morlock replied: "The plan was to kill people, sir".
Morlock's mother accused the US government of scapegoat
ing him: "I think the government is just playing these guys as scapegoats. The leaders dropped the ball. Who was watching over all this?" she said in a Seattle Times interview.
(D-Fla.), and a sergeant at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
who told him to call the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. He then contacted the Fort Lewis command center and spoke to a sergeant on duty who agreed that Spc. Winfield was in potential danger but he had to report the crime to his superiors before the Army could take action.
Officials became alerted after an unnamed soldier reported hashish use by Morlock and Gibbs, and after reporting the incident to a sergeant, Spc. Winfield was accused of "snitching" and physically assaulted. The assailants warned the private to stay silent, but he contacted investigators, and informed them about hash and alcohol use by members of his company, and further raising his suspicions that some of his fellow soldiers had slain civilians while on patrol.
On August 5, 2011, Winfield, charged with premeditated murder
and conspiracy to commit murder, pled guilty under a plea deal to involuntary manslaughter
and use of an illegal controlled substance. The involuntary manslaughter charge stems from Winfield's failure to intervene and prevent the other soldiers from carrying out the attack against the Afghan in U.S. custody. Under the plea deal he didn't admit to the killing of Mullah Adahdad. He claimed that he fired his automatic weapon away from Adahdad but that he did nothing to stop the murder. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
According to a secret US Army investigative report obtained by Der Spiegel
, Colonel Harry Tunnell's (of the 5th Stryker Brigade) "inattentiveness to administrative matters … may have helped create an environment in which misconduct could occur." However the report according to Der Spiegel cleared him of responsibility stating there was no 'causal relationship' between the killings and his "aggressive leadership style". At least a dozen media organisations have filed Freedom of Information Act
for the report.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldiers in 2010, during the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. The soldiers, who referred to themselves as a "kill team", were members of the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at the FOB Ramrod
Forward Operating Base Ramrod
Forward Operating Base Ramrod is a foreign military base in Maywand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.The base was initially built by the Fort Hood based Bravo Company 62nd Engineer Battalion....
.
During the summer of 2010, the military charged five members of the platoon with murder of three Afghan civilians in Kandahar province
Kandahar Province
Kandahar or Qandahar is one of the largest of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in southern Afghanistan, between Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul provinces. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is located on the Arghandab River. The province has a population of nearly...
and collecting their body parts as trophies. In addition, seven soldiers were charged with crimes such as hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
use, impeding an investigation, and attacking the whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
Spc. Justin Stoner.
On March 24, 2011, U.S. Army Specialist
Specialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
Jeremy Morlock pled guilty to three counts of premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
. He told the court that he had helped to kill unarmed Afghans in faked combat situations. Under a plea deal, Morlock received 24 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for murdering three Afghan civilians, in return for testimony against other soldiers. As of today eleven of 12 soldiers charged have now been convicted.
Killings
All of the three staged killings of Afghan civilians occurred in the Maywand DistrictMaywand District
Maiwand District is situated in the western part of the Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Helmand Province to the west, Ghorak District to the north, Khakrez District to the northeast, Zhari District to the east, and Panjwai District to the south. The population is 51,900 . The district...
of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
:
- On January 15, 2010 in the village of La Mohammad Kalay, fifteen year old Gul Mudin was doing farm work for his father. He was unarmed and killed "by means of throwing a fragmentary grenade at him and shooting him with a rifle," an action carried out by Spc. Jeremy Morlock and allegedly Pfc. Andrew Holmes under the direction of Gibbs.
- On February 22, using thermal imagery, the soldiers discovered Marach Agha curled in a ball by a roadside. Gibbs and Spc. Michael S. Wagnon allegedly shot him and placed a Kalashnikov next to the body to justify the killing. Spc. Jeremy Morlock pled guilty for his death. The Army later said it believed Marach Agha to be deaf or mentally retarded. The soldiers allegedly kept part of his skull.
- On May 2, 2010, MullahMullahMullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
Adahdad was attacked with a grenade and fatally shot, allegedly by Gibbs, Morlock, and Winfield. Three days after Adahdad was killed members of a Stryker platoon returned to his village. Tribal elders had complained to Army officers that the cleric had been unarmed and that the shooting was a setup. "This guy was shot because he took an aggressive action against coalition forces," Lt. Stefan Moye, the platoon leader, explained to village residents in Qualaday. "We didn’t just (expletive) come over here and just shoot him randomly. And we don’t do that." This conversation was recorded by embedded photojournalist Max Becherer.
Soldiers took photos of dead Afghans
Der SpiegelDer Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
published three photos of U.S. soldiers posing with the bodies of Afghans they had killed. One of the photos shows Spc. Jeremy Morlock next to one of them. He appears to be smiling and raising the head of a corpse by the hair. Other images published later in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
include one of two unidentified Afghans cuffed together around a milestone and wearing a cardboard handwritten sign made out of a MRE
MRE
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat — commonly known as the MRE — is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available...
package box that read "Talibans are Dead". Other photos were taken of mutilated body parts, among them one of a head being maneuvered with a stick. Two videos were also published, one of two Afghans on a motorcycle gunned down by members of another battalion of the 5th Stryker brigade called "Motorcycle Kill", and one called "Death Zone" of gunsight footage with jeerings heard in the background showing two Afghans suspected of planting an IED
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
killed in an airstrike with Apocalyptica single "En Vie"
Wie weit/How far/En Vie
"Wie Weit/How Far/En Vie" is a single by Apocalyptica, featuring Marta Jandová and Manu . It was first released under the title of "Wie Weit" on February 14, 2005, then again under the title of "How Far" on February 23, 2005...
as a soundtrack. Senior officials at Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul have compared the pictures published to the images of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
Beginning in 2004, human rights violations in the form of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy, and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came to public attention...
in Iraq.
Soldiers collected human remains
Gibbs used medical shears to sever several fingers that he kept as a form of human trophy collectingHuman trophy collecting
The practice of human trophy collecting involves the acquisition of human remains. The intent may be to demonstrate dominance over the deceased, such as scalp-taking or forming necklaces of human ears or teeth, or to commemorate the deceased, such as the veneration of the relics of saints. It can...
. He gave one of them to Holmes, who kept it dried in a Ziploc
Ziploc
Ziploc is a brand of reusable, re-sealable zipper storage bags and containers originally developed by Dow Chemical Company, and now produced by S. C. Johnson & Son. According to Dow's website, the bags were originally test marketed in 1968....
bag.
Legal proceedings
Five of the Army soldiers face murder charges while seven others are charged with participating in a coverup.Staff Sgt. David Bram
David Bram from Vacaville is charged with conspiracy to commit assault and battery, unlawfully striking another soldier, violating a lawful order, dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreament and endeavoring to impede an investigation. In May 2011 additional charges were filed against Bram including solicitation to commit premeditated murder, aggravated assault on Afghan nationals, planting evidence and unlawfully discussing murder scenarios with subordinates. He was found guilty of assault, solicitation to commit premeditated murder, aggravated assault on Afghan nationals, failing to report crimes including murder, planting evidence and unlawfully discussing murder scenarios with subordinates. Bram was sentenced to five years in prison eligible for parole after serving about 3 years and four months of his five-year sentence.Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs
Staff SergeantStaff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
Calvin Gibbs from Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, the ringleader of the "kill team", was the highest-ranking soldier in the case. He is charged with conspiracy and three counts of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
for plotting and killing three Afghan civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s.
A report in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
states that soldiers told the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command that Gibbs bragged of his exploits while serving in the Iraq War, saying how easily one could "toss a grenade at someone and kill them." Prosecutors said Gibbs was found in possession of "finger bones, leg bones and a tooth taken from Afghan corpses".
Gibbs was convicted by a military jury on 15 counts including the premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
of Mudin, Agha and Adahdad as well as illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters. In November 2011, Gibbs was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years minus the 547 days of pretrial confinement.
Pfc. Andrew Holmes
Andrew Holmes' attorneys argued they were constrained in defending him by the Army’s decision to conceal photos of the man he allegedly shot in January. The National Institute of Military Justice argued that the gruesome corpse photos should be made public. Holmes has also said Morlock threatened his life if he told anyone that the killing of Gul Mudin was staged and unnecessary. A doctor testified at Holmes' trial that there were no machine gun wounds on the victim that prosecutors said was shot by Holmes' machine gun. Another soldier testified that the body was riddled with wounds and that it appeared to him that it was Holmes' weapon that killed Mudin.In September 2011 Holmes pled guilty to murder, and was sentenced to 7 years jail.
Sgt. Darren Jones
Jones of Pomona, Calif., faces charges that he beat up another soldier and fired at Afghan civilians who did not pose a threat to him. He was sentenced to seven months in prison and demotion to the rank of private.Spc. Adam Kelly
Kelly, of Montesano, was convicted of conspiring to harm the whistleblower Spc. Justin Stoner. He was sentenced to 60 days hard labor and discharged from the Army.Spc. Corey Moore
Spc. Corey Moore of Redondo Beach, Calif., pled guilty that he kicked a witness and stabbed one of the corpses. He was sentenced to 60 days hard labor and a bad conduct discharge.Spc. Jeremy N. Morlock
Jeremy Morlock, a 22-year-old Army specialist from Wasilla, AlaskaWasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison by a military tribunal after pleading guilty to three counts of premeditated murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and illegal drug use. He will be dishonorably discharged from the military. He will become eligible for parole after serving 7 years in federal prison. He has agreed to testify against the other soldiers allegedly involved. During his hearing he was asked by Judge Lieutenant Colonel Kwasi Hawks "Were you going to shoot at (civilians) to scare them and it got out of hand?". Morlock replied: "The plan was to kill people, sir".
Morlock's mother accused the US government of scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
ing him: "I think the government is just playing these guys as scapegoats. The leaders dropped the ball. Who was watching over all this?" she said in a Seattle Times interview.
Spc. Emmitt Quintal
Quintal was given a bad-conduct discharge and sentenced to 90 days hard labor in a plea deal for frequently using drugs during his combat deployment, joining an assault on a comrade and keeping digital photos of Afghan casualties. He is also required to testify against others in the case.Staff Sergeant Robert Stevens
Robert Stevens, an Army medic from Portland, Oregon, knew SSG Calvin Gibbs while serving with him in A-52, the Brigade Commander's Personnel Security Detachment where they served under CPT Samuel Lynn. The two maintained a close friendship and remained in contact after SSG Gibbs had been transferred from A-52 to 2-1 Infantry. SSG Stevens was sentenced to nine months in prison as part of a plea deal to testify against 11 other Lewis-McChord based Stryker soldiers. He pled guilty to four charges including shooting "in the direction of" two Afghan farmers for no reason. Stevens said Gibbs ordered him to shoot on the two farmers and that he regretted "not trying to stop Staff Sgt. Gibbs from trying to kill innocent people,".Spc. Adam Winfield
Christopher Winfield, the father of platoon member Spc. Adam C. Winfield, attempted to alert the Army of the "kill team's" existence when his son explained the situation from Afghanistan via a Facebook chat after the first killing. In response to the news from his son, Christopher Winfield called the Army inspector general's 24-hour hotline, the office of Senator Bill NelsonBill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
(D-Fla.), and a sergeant at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
who told him to call the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. He then contacted the Fort Lewis command center and spoke to a sergeant on duty who agreed that Spc. Winfield was in potential danger but he had to report the crime to his superiors before the Army could take action.
Officials became alerted after an unnamed soldier reported hashish use by Morlock and Gibbs, and after reporting the incident to a sergeant, Spc. Winfield was accused of "snitching" and physically assaulted. The assailants warned the private to stay silent, but he contacted investigators, and informed them about hash and alcohol use by members of his company, and further raising his suspicions that some of his fellow soldiers had slain civilians while on patrol.
On August 5, 2011, Winfield, charged with premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
and conspiracy to commit murder, pled guilty under a plea deal to involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and use of an illegal controlled substance. The involuntary manslaughter charge stems from Winfield's failure to intervene and prevent the other soldiers from carrying out the attack against the Afghan in U.S. custody. Under the plea deal he didn't admit to the killing of Mullah Adahdad. He claimed that he fired his automatic weapon away from Adahdad but that he did nothing to stop the murder. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Spc. Michael Wagnon
Wagnon from Las Vegas faces the following charges: possessing a human skull fragment, conspiracy to murder an Afghan, conspiracy to harm Afghans, assaulting noncombatants, trying to destroy evidence.US Army response
The US Army issued an apology for the photos, stating that "These court-martial proceedings speak for themselves. The photos appear in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterized our soldiers' performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations." In a Department Of Defense Press release on March 28, 2011 the Army stated:According to a secret US Army investigative report obtained by Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, Colonel Harry Tunnell's (of the 5th Stryker Brigade) "inattentiveness to administrative matters … may have helped create an environment in which misconduct could occur." However the report according to Der Spiegel cleared him of responsibility stating there was no 'causal relationship' between the killings and his "aggressive leadership style". At least a dozen media organisations have filed Freedom of Information Act
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure...
for the report.
See also
- Haditha killingsHaditha killingsThe Haditha killings refers to the incident where 24 Iraqi men, women and children were killed by a group of United States Marines on November 19, 2005 in Haditha, a city in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar. At least 15 of those killed were civilians...
- Hamdania incidentHamdania incidentThe Hamdania incident refers to an incident involving members of the United States Marines in relation to the shooting death of a possible insurgent Iraqi man on April 26, 2006 in Al Hamdania, a small village west of Baghdad near Abu Ghraib...
- Mahmudiyah killingsMahmudiyah killingsThe Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: ...
- List of massacres in Afghanistan
Further reading
- A Beast in the Heart of Every Fighting Man New York Times
External links
- Video - SPIEGEL TV's 'Kill Team' Documentary
- Images - of the soldiers posing with the corpses released by Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
. - The Kill Team Photos published by The Rolling Stone
- First US Soldier of Alleged "Kill Team" Faces Military Tribunal for War Crimes - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...