. . . HUNG UP TO DRY

Sergeant Mark Leader, 18 years honorable service in the Royal Marine Commandos, says he acted in self-defense against a ‘dangerous and violent prisoner’.



A Court Martial heard how Sergeant Leader and his company commander Captain Wheelhouse burst into a tent where 48-year-old Ekhlas was being held and struck him around the head with a rubber boot, causing a cut lip, two loosened teeth and facial bruising.

The court rejected SGT Leader’s defense that he was trying to stop the man from escaping.

Sergeant Leader's character references speak of ‘calm maturity’ and described by colleagues as ‘a man of integrity’; his exemplary and unblemished record counted for nothing when set against a regrettable but relatively minor assault on an Afghan prisoner.

The Afghan was caught red-handed planting IEDs, and soon after the incident he was released by the Afghan police. A known terrorist is free to go back to what he’s doing - planting IED's and claiming the lives of NATO troops. Meanwhile, a good man's career of 18 years has come to an end.



Leader's own words:

"It was a split-second judgment call and the whole thing lasted about two or three seconds. I may have drawn the wrong conclusion but, given the same circumstances, seeing what I saw, I’d do the same again without hesitation."


Read the whole story here and judge for yourself.



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WHAT A ROADSIDE BOMB LOOKS LIKE

MARINE WAR DOG HERO

A Marine Corps Military Working Dog recently passed away; please review this touching tribute to a true canine hero:



MWD Flapoor was one of our great military working dogs who was on the front lines with our Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His handler, Marine LCpl Brown, made this tribute video so we can all remember one of our beloved K9 heroes.

MWD Flapoor did two tours in Iraq. During his first tour, in 2005-2006, MWD Flapoor and his handler at the time, Cpl Poelart, were providing security at an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ar Ramadi when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the building. The bomb killed dozens of Iraqis wanting to become police and wounded dozens more.

The bomb set a precedent in that the first military working dog handler, Sgt Adam Cann, was killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. MWD Flapoor and his handler were both wounded and awarded the Purple Heart. Cpl Poelart was eventually honorably discharged while MWD Flapoor recovered from his wounds and went back for a second successful tour in Iraq. Thank you for making this tribute LCpl Brown so we can all remember this amazing dog for his sacrifice and service to our country.