Combat Marines Defend Pantano

An additionl update. - Sailor

Combat Marines Defend Pantano
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Friday, March 4, 2005

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles chronicling the case of The United States of America versus 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano, U.S.M.C.

A U.S. Marine being investigated for murdering Iraqi citizens has received strong support from his fellow combat soldiers and officers who believe the charges are bogus.


A special investigative hearing will soon be held about the actions of Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano relating to the deaths of two Iraqi during combat in Fallujah in April of 2004.


Time magazine recently noted, "[This] trial will be one of the most closely watched of any to come out of the Iraq war."


Sometime in the next couple of months, Lt. Pantano will appear before a Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 32 investigating officer at Camp Lejeune, N.C. At issue: are there reasonable grounds to believe Pantano committed the offenses of a pair of premeditated murders on April 15, 2004 while serving as a platoon commander in Iraq?


As he did as an infantry platoon commander in Iraq, Pantano will be fighting for his life, this time in a military courtroom, not the bloody streets of Iraq where Marines have been engaged in the worst kind of close-in urban warfare.


The preliminary hearing will be open to the public and so, most likely, will a general court-martial, should it follow, noted Time. "This one will get tried on TV - not at some small base in the middle of nowhere," said a former Marine lawyer.



Marines Rally to Pantano


According to the Time report, many of Pantano's fellow officers believe that the case reflects the gap between the way military leaders prefer to portray the war in Iraq to the public and the grim, blood-and-guts way it is actually being fought.


"The single biggest problem with the Iraq operation is that the military is at war but the nation is not," sums up one officer.


Some of the Facts

On April 15, 2004, while serving as a platoon commander in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment in Iraq, Pantano was ordered to reconnoiter a reported terrorist hiding spot. He led his "quick-reaction" platoon to the site, a home in the town of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad and not far from the bloody town of Fallujah.


Pantano's orders were to raid the house and neutralize the reported nest of insurgents holed up there with their arms cache.


The intelligence turned out to be correct, and Pantano's Marines discovered weapons and bomb-making equipment in the house. As the Marines were securing the building, two Iraqis bolted from the site to a nearby truck, a sport utility vehicle.


The Marines charged after the suspects and brought the vehicle to a halt by shooting the tires out. Pantano ordered the pair out of the truck and, in accordance with standard operating procedures, told the captives to tear the interior of the truck apart to ensure it was not booby-trapped.

What exactly happened next remains unclear.


The Marine Corps has not released any official rendition of what it alleges happened. However, Pantano's civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, says that the two Iraqi men began chattering to one another, then one of the Iraqis made what Pantano determined to be a threatening move. When told to stop in his native language by Pantano, they continued in his direction.

As Pantano described it to the Naval Investigative Service:


"After another time of telling them to be quiet, they quickly pivoted their bodies toward each other. They did this simultaneously, while still speaking in muffled Arabic. I thought that they were attacking me, and I decided to fire my M-16A4 service rifle in self-defense..."


After the fact, it is determined that neither suspect was armed nor rigged with explosives.


It was not until Pantano returned to Camp Lejeune that he was informed he was being charged with pre-meditated murder in the deaths of the two Iraqis – a charge that theoretically could carry the death penalty.


Several Marine officers who served with Pantano in Iraq, and who spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity, criticized the Marines for pursuing the case. Pantano, they maintain, had two choices. He could hold fire and risk his life and those of his men, or shoot to kill.


At DefendtheDefenders.com, Pantano's mother has been collecting the rave reviews of his fellow warriors:




On April 11, Lt Pantano's platoon was the battalion's Alternate Quick Reaction Force. On that day, my platoon became decisively engaged with an insurgent group that had ambushed an Army convoy carrying M113s (ambulances) and logistics. When dispatched to the scene, his reaction was swift, decisive and sound. His actions allowed the remainder of that convoy to break contact with the enemy force. He and his Platoon may have saved the lives of several soldiers in the ambushed convoy and may have saved the lives my Marines who were engaged with the enemy.

In a combat environment where seconds mean the difference between victory and disaster, whether in the Combat Operations Center or in the field with his platoon, he has repeatedly seen a situation and reached valid conclusions, decided and responded competently and skillfully well before either the enemy or his own peers were fully aware of what was happening. This gift of his is one of the primary reasons, in my opinion, that casualties in his platoon were relatively low while mission accomplishment was superb...

Even when our physical and mental limits were tested he was a leader among men. His intelligence, charisma, and genuine care for others were apparent even in the worst of conditions. I have been in direct with Ilario throughout his time as an officer in the Marine Corps. He has always been an example for others to follow and is truly an asset to anyone he serves with. He proved to be a highly effective combat leader in Iraq, accomplishing every task assigned to him with the utmost care and diligence. The Marines that he commanded in Easy Company are no doubt better Marines and better people because of his leadership. 2nd Lt Pantano remains an example for Marine Officers and it was my honor to serve with him in combat.

Through the various missions we accomplished, I had the honor to serve with Ilario. I saw him turn a platoon that was desperate for central leadership into a cohesive fighting infantry platoon. His enthusiasm, charisma, and unswerving integrity became the backbone of his leadership style. His hard work and dedication paid off as he soon gained a solid reputation as an outstanding combat leader, and gained the respect of his Marines, peers, and his superiors…

His military character is impeccable. His peers have always regarded Lt. Pantano as a model Marine Officer. Having served in the Gulf War, Lt. Pantano reentered the Marine Corps, giving up a lucrative and successful career, due to a sense of patriotism and lack of selfishness. From the day I met him, he displayed an aggressiveness tempered by a sense of caring for his fellow Marines that bordered on a maternal instinct. Lt. Pantano was chosen by his peers to be the Class Commandant Infantry Officers Course (IOC) 1-04... Lt. Pantano is a Moral and Just Man to whom I would entrust any member of my family. I do not hold these beliefs because he is my friend; he is my friend because I hold these beliefs. I have no doubt ion my mind that any actions taken by Lt. Pantano were justified and done to protect his Marines. I look forward to testifying to the quality of Lt. Pantano's military character.

Lt. Pantano has consistently impressed me with his confidence, intelligence, and ability to make sound decisions in a chaotic environment. While he served as Watch Officer, I witnessed his poise and leadership skills in the management of simultaneous contingency situations. Despite the hectic nature of the battalion' Combat Operations Center (COC), I always felt comfortable with decisions and the overall command of the situation demonstrated by Lt. Pantano.

Despite the outpouring of support and endorsements, the officers prosecuting Pantano remain somewhat smug about what's in store when alll the facts come to light at the pre-trial investigation.


"A number of people who have spoken out about the incident - his mother, his defense attorney, his peers - were not there," says Major Matthew Morgan, a spokesman for the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. "But those who attend the hearing will get a clear understanding of why the prosecution feels there is merit to the case."


One key prosecution witness is a sergeant who claims Pantano shot the unarmed Iraqis without provocation. Pantano and his supporters say this witness was a disgruntled member of their unit.


Yet another witness, a Navy corpsman, has told the Naval Investigative Service that Pantano shouted a warning and then the men moved suddenly.

The case is being closely watched because it has consequences beyond Lt. Pantano. It is another battle in the war between those who say lawyers dictate how we fight our wars, and those who feel this is simply a case of disciplining one soldier who committed a crime.