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6 sailors charged with detainee abuse in Iraq

The Navy will court-martial five sailors charged with assaulting 10 detainees May 14 at Camp Bucca, Iraq, a Navy spokeswoman said. A sixth sailor could be court-martialed after an evidentiary hearing.

Seven other Navy personnel have already gone to mast for failing to report the alleged assaults, said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, spokeswoman for Naval Forces Central Command. Five were punished.

Two detainees suffered abrasions as a result of the alleged assaults, and eight others were locked overnight in a detainee housing unit that was doused with pepper spray while its ventilation system was secured.

Twelve of the sailors implicated were part of Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion 4; the last sailor belonged to NPDB 1.

Campbell said the sailors were a mix of active duty and reserve, and said most had limited law-enforcement experience.

“None of them are masters-at-arms,” Campbell said. “These are all sailors from different rates. These are sailors from a number of [Navy communities] who come together for what I believe to be an absolutely thankless job. But still our bottom line is, we hold people accountable.”

She said the alleged incident occurred after a “day of unrest at the camp” during which detainees spat at and threw feces and urine on their jailors.

“These guards were assaulted by the detainees,” Campbell said. “Does that make this right? Absolutely not. But there certainly were actions taken by the detainees that day prior to the alleged action taken by their guards.”

Campbell said the Navy will hold a summary courts-martial and four special courts-martial for the five sailors. The sixth will undergo an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury inquiry. All six proceedings will take place within the next 30 days at a courtroom at Camp Bucca, a sprawling base south of Baghdad where the American military houses thousands of detainees.

All six charged sailors are enlisted, Campbell said.

One of the seven Navy personnel taken to mast was a lieutenant, and the other six were enlisted. Of those six sailors taken to mast, two had charges dropped, others were reduced in rank, given suspended reductions in rank, fined, sentenced to extra duty, or placed on restriction, Campbell said.

The use of pepper spray in warfare is banned by international treaties on chemical weapons, but many governments say members of their armed forces are permitted to use it in war zones for law-enforcement duties.

Vice Adm. William Gortney, 5th Fleet commander, will be convening authority for the courts-martial.