- Reaction score
- 1,417
- Points
- 1,160
http://dcxposed.com/2013/09/24/us-1stlt-clint-lorance-gets-20-years-in-leavenworth-for-ordering-attack-on-taliban/
Leavenworth - Clint Lorance’s Conviction Will Stand – Clemency Denied
Twenty eight year old First Lieutenant Clint Lorance of North Texas was recently found guilty of two counts of murder in the July 2012 killing of two suspected Taliban fighters in a remote sector of Kandahar Province Afghanistan. Lorance was sentenced to 20 years in Leavenworth, dismissed from the army and must forfeit all pay. He was found not guilty of making a false official statement.
Prosecutors insisted Lorance ordered his men to open fire on unarmed civilians which violates the U.S. military‘s official rules of engagement – a policy that requires them to hold their fire unless there’s evidence of hostile action or direct hostile intent. Capt. William Miller, a government prosecutor, told the jury “Lt. Lorance used his rank and position to harass, intimidate, threaten and murder Afghans.”
Lorance’s defense argued that the village being patrolled was under Taliban control and had long since been vacated by all known civilian inhabitants due to constant violence and warfare. In fact, Lorance had just taken command of that particular platoon because in the days prior they had suffered several losses – including the loss of their prior commander. Lorance’s very presence in the situation was a testament to the “hostile action” and definitive “hostile intent” that U.S. troops had come to expect in that district.
Background of Lorance:
Clint Allen Lorance was born on December 13, 1984 and is a North Texas native who grew up in the town of Celeste. He was a member of the FFA as well as a Police Explorer throughout High School who also worked 3 jobs simultaneously to help cover household expenses as well as prepare for moving out on his own when he turned 18.
On the day of his 18th birthday Lorance walked into the Army recruiting station in Greenville, Texas and joined the Army as a Military Policeman. Upon graduating from Basic Training and AIT he shipped off to his first duty assignment in Pusan, South Korea. His next duty station was in Fort Richardson, AK, stopping briefly at Fort Benning, GA to earn his Airborne Wings.
As part of the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team In Alaska, Clint deployed for his first deployment to Iraq from September 2006 to November 2007 , initially a 12 month deployment which turned into a 15 month deployment. Lorance was then assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 4th BCT and deployed to Afghanistan in March 2012 to Southern Afghanistan. During his deployment, Clint was the squadron’s liason officer to the commander until selected to become a platoon leader.
Setting the stage:
Lorance’s patrol, consisting of 16 US Infantrymen, 5 Afghan National Army Soldiers, and 1 US Interpreter, left their Strong Point early in the morning on July 2nd 2012 headed to a remote village within the Kandahar sector of Afghanistan for a combat patrol.
Traveling on foot with electronic mine-sweepers in the front due to the heavily mine-riddled terrain, Lorance was in constant contact with overhead US Army helicopter pilots who had warned Lorance over the radio of enemy presence to the North, East and West of the Platoon’s position on the ground. Lorance confirmed with the pilots a good description of the enemy, and pilots continued to track and provide overhead surveillance for LT Lorance’s platoon.
As the patrol approached the village they spotted 2 individuals who were sitting on a motorcycle at a distance observing the patrol’s movement. The individuals matched the exact description that the Army pilots had relayed to Lorance moments earlier.
FYI: It’s common practice for Taliban fighters to use what the US calls “spotters”. This is a tactic the Taliban uses to communicate with one another and track the movement of platoons, just as it was apparently doing in the case of Lorance’s patrol.
Official intelligence reports for the area identified any personnel owning or operating a motorcycle as Taliban because as I mentioned earlier, there was no local population living there. The local population had long since moved out of the area because it had been taken over by the Taliban. Essentially, if they were in the area, they were up to no good and if they were in that area and perched upon a motorcycle sitting stationary there was little doubt they must have been Taliban scouts intent on divulging the existence and whereabouts of Lorance’s platoon – as had obviously happened just days prior when the same platoon was attacked in the same geographic location – losing several men.
His decision:
Realizing the situation afforded him just seconds to react, Lorance made the decision to protect his troops by preventing the scouts from relaying back to the Taliban any further information as the platoons whereabouts by ordering a trained US marksman, who was standing guard in an overwatch position from the road on a US gun truck, to fire two long-range precision shots, eliminating the threat, but it was too late. Within minutes Lorance and his men found themselves embroiled in a gunfight with Taliban fighters.
The aftermath:
Following the precision shots US Intelligence intercepted enemy radio signals talking about the position of the patrol and planning an ambush. Moments later, Lorance’s men engaged with and killed two confirmed Taliban fighters who were planning the ambush. Simultaneously, Lorance’s men in a separate location intercepted and detained a Taliban fighter who was attempting to flee the village on a motorcycle. Another suspected Taliban fighter was shot in the arm and was intercepted by the Afghan Army Soldiers. Lorance ordered his Combat Medic to immediately stabilize the man and bring him back to base with the patrol for further medical treatment and remain on Lorance’s base pending the investigation.
Upon return to base, Lorance ordered both of the captured men be tested for gunshot residue on their hands. Both men tested positive, confirming Lorance’s suspicions that the men had fired weapons recently.
Lorance then ordered that both men be physically separated, put into a shaded area, and be given food and water. Two-three hours later, the prisoners were transported to the Detainee processing facility at the Brigade Headquarters.
Even though both men tested positive for gunshot residue and were acting suspiciously military intelligence released them back into the wild.
The two aforementioned scouts were not confirmed as enemy fighters by that same exact military intelligence and the Army assumed Lorance guilty of random acts of murder – fired him from platoon leader and took his weapon. He was moved to HQ to assume administrative duties while awaiting the investigation.
On Tuesday January 15th 2013 Clint was charged.
The trial:
The marksman in this particular case, as well as 4 other U.S. military operatives involved in the events of July 2 2012, were exonerated of all responsibility in exchange for their testimony against Lorance.
On August 1st Lorance was found guilty on 2 counts of murder by a 10 member jury comprised of military officers. During the sentencing hearing Lorance said “I take full responsibility for the actions of my men on 2 July, 2012.”
Former military colleagues appeared and spoke on behalf of Lorance’s character, telling the jury they always knew Lorance as a smart, above-average soldier.
Capt. Zachary Pierce called Lorance “trustworthy,” “unparalleled” and “one of the kindest and gentlest people I’ve ever met.”
Regardless, Lorance was sentenced to 20 years at the Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas.
After the sentence was announced, Lorance turned to hug his crying friends and family members who traveled from Texas to North Carolina to watch the trial and support their hero during his court trial.
“Y’all can handle this,” Lorance told them. “Be strong.”
Lorance’s family has maintained that he was unfairly singled out by the military for simply doing his job.
Update 01.01.2015:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON CLEMENCY :
Brig. Gen. Richard Clarke of the 82nd Airborne Division notified defense attorneys that Clint’s conviction will stand. Clarke took 1 year off of the sentence.
http://www.stripes.com/opinion/lt-clint-lorance-could-be-any-one-of-us-1.325886
Lt. Clint Lorance could be any one of us
By Sean Parnell - Published: January 27, 2015
The vast majority of Americans cannot comprehend the reality of combat. Media portrayals, no matter how seemingly realistic, only dimly reflect the true nature of what it means to come under fire from an enemy. Films like “Lone Survivor” and “American Sniper” may be gripping, but the reality is even more intense, unsettling — and consequential.
Serving in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 with the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, my platoon and I engaged Taliban combatants repeatedly along the Pakistan border area. My platoon was deployed 485 days, with one of the highest casualty rates of the entire war.
The hardest lesson I learned was that in a combat situation, sheer uncertainty stalks you constantly. Amid that uncertainty, you’re forced to make instantaneous decisions with incomplete information, surrounded by chaos and under unimaginable stress. A wrong call can result in tragedy.
To grasp the price of that uncertainty, consider the case of Clint Lorance — a 29-year-old U.S. Army lieutenant sentenced to military prison for ordering his men to fire upon Afghan nationals he believed were a threat. The facts suggest the punishment rendered to Lorance is a stark injustice — and is a chilling example to all who have had to make tough decisions in complex combat situations.
Here’s what we know: In July 2012, Lorance was a new platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division on patrol in Kandahar province with his platoon. Three Afghan men approached the platoon on a motorcycle. Believing the men to be a threat, Lorance ordered his troops to open fire, killing two of the men (the third escaped).
In a war zone, such stories are common. What’s unusual is what happened next.
Army officials accused Lorance of violating the rules of engagement, saying the killed men were Afghan civilians. The young lieutenant was given a court-martial and charged with second-degree murder. In August 2013, he was found guilty and received a 20-year sentence. His most recent request for clemency was denied.
Uncertainty swirls around Lorance’s case. Any combat veteran will tell you that the lieutenant’s position that day in Afghanistan was challenging, if not morally impossible. Had he allowed the men to continue approaching, and they had in fact been Taliban combatants — either attacking his platoon, or surveilling their position for future attacks — his troops could have been injured or killed. If that happened, and he had failed to act, he would live in his own personal prison for the rest of his life — tormented by guilt and regret.
Moreover, serious questions have been raised about the fairness of Lorance’s trial. Lorance’s attorney maintains there is evidence that the Afghan men killed on that fateful day in 2012 had links to Taliban insurgents. There is also evidence that the Army has willfully withheld this evidence, for an unknown reason. If true, that would shine a decidedly different light on Lorance’s order to fire.
The Army prosecutors who zealously pursued Lorance’s case seem to have forgotten a basic principle of military service: The benefit of the doubt in a combat situation should always go to our men on the battlefield. With the uncertainty surrounding the facts of Lorance’s case, he deserves that same benefit of the doubt.
As a combat veteran, I look at Lorance’s situation and realize his fate might just as easily have been mine. I am Clint Lorance, just like thousands of other combat leaders who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Based on the standards used to prosecute Lorance, virtually any one of us could be in jail as a result of difficult decisions made in combat.
I can’t say for certain I didn’t make a wrong call while under combat strain; no one who’s served under fire can. I know I was faced with tough decisions that required immediate judgments based on incomplete information, and I may have made mistakes.
In 2007, my men and I came under attack by Taliban insurgents, one of whom was wounded and rolled down a hill, coming to a stop near our patrol vehicles. As the man lay dying, one of the specialists under my command — spiking with adrenaline, fear and anger — wanted to finish him off. While I understood his desire to take decisive action against an enemy combatant who had posed a serious threat to our lives, I would not allow him to kill the wounded man. That was the right decision.
But I can also look back and see how it might have gone the other way if I had judged that man to be an immediate or future threat — and how I then might have found myself facing a military tribunal and potential imprisonment, just for seeking to keep my men safe. If I had made that decision, would I be in prison for 20 years?
The system failed Clint Lorance, but there may still be a chance to get it right. His case is being forwarded to the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals for review. His family and supporters should continue pressing for a fresh look at this case — because, if we are honest with ourselves, any one of us could be in his shoes. We are Clint Lorance, and we will always have his back.
Sean Parnell, military adviser to Concerned Veterans for America, is a retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger who served as a captain in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. He is the author of “Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan.”
Video Clip: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4021681269001/a-closer-look-at-the-case-of-lt-clint-lorance/?#sp=show-clips
More Info: http://allenbwest.com/2014/12/bombshell-army-withheld-evidence-free-clint-lorance/
Leavenworth - Clint Lorance’s Conviction Will Stand – Clemency Denied
Twenty eight year old First Lieutenant Clint Lorance of North Texas was recently found guilty of two counts of murder in the July 2012 killing of two suspected Taliban fighters in a remote sector of Kandahar Province Afghanistan. Lorance was sentenced to 20 years in Leavenworth, dismissed from the army and must forfeit all pay. He was found not guilty of making a false official statement.
Prosecutors insisted Lorance ordered his men to open fire on unarmed civilians which violates the U.S. military‘s official rules of engagement – a policy that requires them to hold their fire unless there’s evidence of hostile action or direct hostile intent. Capt. William Miller, a government prosecutor, told the jury “Lt. Lorance used his rank and position to harass, intimidate, threaten and murder Afghans.”
Lorance’s defense argued that the village being patrolled was under Taliban control and had long since been vacated by all known civilian inhabitants due to constant violence and warfare. In fact, Lorance had just taken command of that particular platoon because in the days prior they had suffered several losses – including the loss of their prior commander. Lorance’s very presence in the situation was a testament to the “hostile action” and definitive “hostile intent” that U.S. troops had come to expect in that district.
Background of Lorance:
Clint Allen Lorance was born on December 13, 1984 and is a North Texas native who grew up in the town of Celeste. He was a member of the FFA as well as a Police Explorer throughout High School who also worked 3 jobs simultaneously to help cover household expenses as well as prepare for moving out on his own when he turned 18.
On the day of his 18th birthday Lorance walked into the Army recruiting station in Greenville, Texas and joined the Army as a Military Policeman. Upon graduating from Basic Training and AIT he shipped off to his first duty assignment in Pusan, South Korea. His next duty station was in Fort Richardson, AK, stopping briefly at Fort Benning, GA to earn his Airborne Wings.
As part of the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team In Alaska, Clint deployed for his first deployment to Iraq from September 2006 to November 2007 , initially a 12 month deployment which turned into a 15 month deployment. Lorance was then assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 4th BCT and deployed to Afghanistan in March 2012 to Southern Afghanistan. During his deployment, Clint was the squadron’s liason officer to the commander until selected to become a platoon leader.
Setting the stage:
Lorance’s patrol, consisting of 16 US Infantrymen, 5 Afghan National Army Soldiers, and 1 US Interpreter, left their Strong Point early in the morning on July 2nd 2012 headed to a remote village within the Kandahar sector of Afghanistan for a combat patrol.
Traveling on foot with electronic mine-sweepers in the front due to the heavily mine-riddled terrain, Lorance was in constant contact with overhead US Army helicopter pilots who had warned Lorance over the radio of enemy presence to the North, East and West of the Platoon’s position on the ground. Lorance confirmed with the pilots a good description of the enemy, and pilots continued to track and provide overhead surveillance for LT Lorance’s platoon.
As the patrol approached the village they spotted 2 individuals who were sitting on a motorcycle at a distance observing the patrol’s movement. The individuals matched the exact description that the Army pilots had relayed to Lorance moments earlier.
FYI: It’s common practice for Taliban fighters to use what the US calls “spotters”. This is a tactic the Taliban uses to communicate with one another and track the movement of platoons, just as it was apparently doing in the case of Lorance’s patrol.
Official intelligence reports for the area identified any personnel owning or operating a motorcycle as Taliban because as I mentioned earlier, there was no local population living there. The local population had long since moved out of the area because it had been taken over by the Taliban. Essentially, if they were in the area, they were up to no good and if they were in that area and perched upon a motorcycle sitting stationary there was little doubt they must have been Taliban scouts intent on divulging the existence and whereabouts of Lorance’s platoon – as had obviously happened just days prior when the same platoon was attacked in the same geographic location – losing several men.
His decision:
Realizing the situation afforded him just seconds to react, Lorance made the decision to protect his troops by preventing the scouts from relaying back to the Taliban any further information as the platoons whereabouts by ordering a trained US marksman, who was standing guard in an overwatch position from the road on a US gun truck, to fire two long-range precision shots, eliminating the threat, but it was too late. Within minutes Lorance and his men found themselves embroiled in a gunfight with Taliban fighters.
The aftermath:
Following the precision shots US Intelligence intercepted enemy radio signals talking about the position of the patrol and planning an ambush. Moments later, Lorance’s men engaged with and killed two confirmed Taliban fighters who were planning the ambush. Simultaneously, Lorance’s men in a separate location intercepted and detained a Taliban fighter who was attempting to flee the village on a motorcycle. Another suspected Taliban fighter was shot in the arm and was intercepted by the Afghan Army Soldiers. Lorance ordered his Combat Medic to immediately stabilize the man and bring him back to base with the patrol for further medical treatment and remain on Lorance’s base pending the investigation.
Upon return to base, Lorance ordered both of the captured men be tested for gunshot residue on their hands. Both men tested positive, confirming Lorance’s suspicions that the men had fired weapons recently.
Lorance then ordered that both men be physically separated, put into a shaded area, and be given food and water. Two-three hours later, the prisoners were transported to the Detainee processing facility at the Brigade Headquarters.
Even though both men tested positive for gunshot residue and were acting suspiciously military intelligence released them back into the wild.
The two aforementioned scouts were not confirmed as enemy fighters by that same exact military intelligence and the Army assumed Lorance guilty of random acts of murder – fired him from platoon leader and took his weapon. He was moved to HQ to assume administrative duties while awaiting the investigation.
On Tuesday January 15th 2013 Clint was charged.
The trial:
The marksman in this particular case, as well as 4 other U.S. military operatives involved in the events of July 2 2012, were exonerated of all responsibility in exchange for their testimony against Lorance.
On August 1st Lorance was found guilty on 2 counts of murder by a 10 member jury comprised of military officers. During the sentencing hearing Lorance said “I take full responsibility for the actions of my men on 2 July, 2012.”
Former military colleagues appeared and spoke on behalf of Lorance’s character, telling the jury they always knew Lorance as a smart, above-average soldier.
Capt. Zachary Pierce called Lorance “trustworthy,” “unparalleled” and “one of the kindest and gentlest people I’ve ever met.”
Regardless, Lorance was sentenced to 20 years at the Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas.
After the sentence was announced, Lorance turned to hug his crying friends and family members who traveled from Texas to North Carolina to watch the trial and support their hero during his court trial.
“Y’all can handle this,” Lorance told them. “Be strong.”
Lorance’s family has maintained that he was unfairly singled out by the military for simply doing his job.
Update 01.01.2015:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON CLEMENCY :
Brig. Gen. Richard Clarke of the 82nd Airborne Division notified defense attorneys that Clint’s conviction will stand. Clarke took 1 year off of the sentence.
http://www.stripes.com/opinion/lt-clint-lorance-could-be-any-one-of-us-1.325886
Lt. Clint Lorance could be any one of us
By Sean Parnell - Published: January 27, 2015
The vast majority of Americans cannot comprehend the reality of combat. Media portrayals, no matter how seemingly realistic, only dimly reflect the true nature of what it means to come under fire from an enemy. Films like “Lone Survivor” and “American Sniper” may be gripping, but the reality is even more intense, unsettling — and consequential.
Serving in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 with the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, my platoon and I engaged Taliban combatants repeatedly along the Pakistan border area. My platoon was deployed 485 days, with one of the highest casualty rates of the entire war.
The hardest lesson I learned was that in a combat situation, sheer uncertainty stalks you constantly. Amid that uncertainty, you’re forced to make instantaneous decisions with incomplete information, surrounded by chaos and under unimaginable stress. A wrong call can result in tragedy.
To grasp the price of that uncertainty, consider the case of Clint Lorance — a 29-year-old U.S. Army lieutenant sentenced to military prison for ordering his men to fire upon Afghan nationals he believed were a threat. The facts suggest the punishment rendered to Lorance is a stark injustice — and is a chilling example to all who have had to make tough decisions in complex combat situations.
Here’s what we know: In July 2012, Lorance was a new platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division on patrol in Kandahar province with his platoon. Three Afghan men approached the platoon on a motorcycle. Believing the men to be a threat, Lorance ordered his troops to open fire, killing two of the men (the third escaped).
In a war zone, such stories are common. What’s unusual is what happened next.
Army officials accused Lorance of violating the rules of engagement, saying the killed men were Afghan civilians. The young lieutenant was given a court-martial and charged with second-degree murder. In August 2013, he was found guilty and received a 20-year sentence. His most recent request for clemency was denied.
Uncertainty swirls around Lorance’s case. Any combat veteran will tell you that the lieutenant’s position that day in Afghanistan was challenging, if not morally impossible. Had he allowed the men to continue approaching, and they had in fact been Taliban combatants — either attacking his platoon, or surveilling their position for future attacks — his troops could have been injured or killed. If that happened, and he had failed to act, he would live in his own personal prison for the rest of his life — tormented by guilt and regret.
Moreover, serious questions have been raised about the fairness of Lorance’s trial. Lorance’s attorney maintains there is evidence that the Afghan men killed on that fateful day in 2012 had links to Taliban insurgents. There is also evidence that the Army has willfully withheld this evidence, for an unknown reason. If true, that would shine a decidedly different light on Lorance’s order to fire.
The Army prosecutors who zealously pursued Lorance’s case seem to have forgotten a basic principle of military service: The benefit of the doubt in a combat situation should always go to our men on the battlefield. With the uncertainty surrounding the facts of Lorance’s case, he deserves that same benefit of the doubt.
As a combat veteran, I look at Lorance’s situation and realize his fate might just as easily have been mine. I am Clint Lorance, just like thousands of other combat leaders who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Based on the standards used to prosecute Lorance, virtually any one of us could be in jail as a result of difficult decisions made in combat.
I can’t say for certain I didn’t make a wrong call while under combat strain; no one who’s served under fire can. I know I was faced with tough decisions that required immediate judgments based on incomplete information, and I may have made mistakes.
In 2007, my men and I came under attack by Taliban insurgents, one of whom was wounded and rolled down a hill, coming to a stop near our patrol vehicles. As the man lay dying, one of the specialists under my command — spiking with adrenaline, fear and anger — wanted to finish him off. While I understood his desire to take decisive action against an enemy combatant who had posed a serious threat to our lives, I would not allow him to kill the wounded man. That was the right decision.
But I can also look back and see how it might have gone the other way if I had judged that man to be an immediate or future threat — and how I then might have found myself facing a military tribunal and potential imprisonment, just for seeking to keep my men safe. If I had made that decision, would I be in prison for 20 years?
The system failed Clint Lorance, but there may still be a chance to get it right. His case is being forwarded to the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals for review. His family and supporters should continue pressing for a fresh look at this case — because, if we are honest with ourselves, any one of us could be in his shoes. We are Clint Lorance, and we will always have his back.
Sean Parnell, military adviser to Concerned Veterans for America, is a retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger who served as a captain in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. He is the author of “Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan.”
Video Clip: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4021681269001/a-closer-look-at-the-case-of-lt-clint-lorance/?#sp=show-clips
More Info: http://allenbwest.com/2014/12/bombshell-army-withheld-evidence-free-clint-lorance/
