Fire Destroys Army's JAG Legal Office at Ft. Benning

A fire destroyed a building that houses the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Benning.

Fort Benning Fire Chief Arthur Simmons says a military police officer was treated for smoke inhalation in the Friday night blaze.

The JAG office, staffed by some 22 attorneys, handles legal matters for soldiers, including criminal investigations.

Benning emergency service director Lt. Col. Kevin Clarke says 35 Columbus and Fort Benning firefighters battled the fire, which they got under control around 1 a.m. Saturday.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(AP)

ATF Doubles Reward on Ft. Benning Blaze Info

Remains of the JAG office. Click on the image for more photos. (Photo: Lily Gordon, Ledger-Enquirer.com)

Federal and military authorities are probing a suspicious blaze that destroyed the Judge Advocate General’s office at Fort Benning, near Columbus in West Georgia.

Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are looking for evidence in the charred remains of the 10,000 sq.-ft. building, which went up in flames on Friday.

The ATF announced Tuesday afternoon that they are adding an additional $5,000 to the $5,000 reward offered earlier by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) for information on the fire.

Special agent Scott Sweetlow of the BATF National Response Team says the're looking for what sparked the blaze:

“...we're trying to develop a full picture with the use of our accelerant-detection canines, and our chemists. We're collecting evidence, but as a general principle we don't make any sort of a determination until we've got all of the facts in hand.”

If investigators find traces of an accelerant, it may indicate arson.

Former staff judge advocate and former Columbus mayor Bob Poydasheff worked at the office in the 1960's and 70's. He was stunned by the loss:

"It's just absolutely devastating to see. ...an historic building destroyed for what purpose? ... it's just unfair; it's stupid, it's just unfair."

Fort Benning emergency service director Lt. Col. Kevin Clarke says 35 Columbus and Fort Benning firefighters battled the fire, which they got under control around 1 a.m. Saturday.

After viewing the site on Sunday, and speaking with officials, Poydasheff says he has little doubt as to the cause:

"I've been told that there were some propane tanks, and so the way it presented itself - the entire building - there's no doubt in my mind; it was arson."

Sweetow declined to confirm or deny whether propane tanks were found among the ruins of the building.

Sweetow says they expect to conclude their investigation by Friday.

Senior JAG attorney Col. Tracy Barnes believe they'll be able to recover most of their digitally-stored files on the office's network server, computers and e-mail.

"We're certainly aware, that as part of the justice system - the federal court system, there's some critical records that are there," Sweetow said.

Barnes says no evidence was kept in the structure, and that the fire will not affect pending cases.

Post officials have relocated basic legal services to another office for the interim.

The 10,000 sq.-ft. JAG office is the second oldest building on post, and provides legal services for infantry troops and their families at the 184,000-acre training base.

The structure houses a law library, archives, and the courtroom where Army Lt. William Calley was convicted in the murder of 22 Vietnamese citizens at My Lai in 1968. That case was later overturned.

Officials have requested that anyone with information regarding the incident contact CID at 706-545-8915 or e-mail CID at crimetips@conus.army.mil, or ATF's 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473).

Click here for more GPB News coverage about Fort Benning.

Woman Accused in Fort Benning Fire Denied Bond

Firefighter walking in front of the inferno, which had been JAG headquarters at Fort Benning. (Photo: The Bayonet)

A woman accused of setting a fire that burned down the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Benning has been denied bond.

U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth issued the ruling on Friday against Shawana Topekia Pierce, a Fort Benning employee.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Flanagan said Pierce knew she was a suspect in a theft of government property case and that files about her were in the office at the time of the Feb. 6 fire.

The structure was totally destroyed in the blaze.

Defense attorney Mike Reynolds argued that while the accusations against Pierce are serious, they don't make her a flight risk.

Faircloth said he's concerned that Pierce had packed her car before she was arrested, making it appear she was ready to flee. He ordered her held until her next court appearance on Thursday.

Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

(AP)

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Columbus Woman Could Face 20 Yrs. Over Fort Benning Fire

A 30-year-old Columbus woman accused of setting fire to the Judge Advocate General’s office at nearby Fort Benning two weeks ago, has been indicted and linked to the arson by DNA evidence.

If convicted, Shawana Topekia Pierce, a former employee at the JAG office, could face five to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Officials say Pierce is a suspect in a theft case, and that files about her were in the office, which was totally destroyed, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

Fort Benning: Firefighter walking in front of the inferno which had been JAG headquarters on Feb. 6. (Photo: The Bayonet)

Click here for previous GPB News coverage of this story.

Olympics: Fort Benning soldier wins gold

Spc. Walton Glenn Eller III of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga., bites his Olympic gold medal after winning the double trap event Aug. 12 at the Beijing Shooting Range. (Tim Hipps)

Eller set two Olympic records en route to winning a Gold Medal in double trap at the Beijing Shooting Range Tuesday.

Eller's score of 145 in the qualification rounds eclipsed the previous Olympic record of 144 set in the 2004 Athens Games by United Arab Emirates' shooter Ahmed Almaktoum, who finished seventh in Beijing, according to the Army News Service.

In double trap, competitors fire their 12-gauge shotguns from five adjacent shooting stations. At each station, two targets are thrown simultaneously from an underground bunker at speeds up to 50 miles per hour at set angles and height. The targets are thrown with a variable delay of up to one second and competitors get one shot per target.

"I realized with my last pair to go, 'Oh, the Olympic record is only 144. If I hit my last pair, I'm going to get the Olympic record,'" Eller said.

When Eller did that, he sensed that he was on his way to a spectacular day. He missed his first two targets in the final, but settled down and missed only three shots the rest of the way.

"If you shoot the Olympic record (in qualification rounds) and you've got a little bit of a lead, you expect to come out with Gold," Eller said. "But after I went out there (in the final) and missed that first pair, it was a little dicey there for a second, but I brought it all back together."

Eller's final score of 190 topped Almaktoum's world record of 189, also set in Athens. Italy's Francdesco D'Aniello won the silver medal in Beijing with a score of 187, and China's Binyuan Hu took the bronze with a 184 total.

"It's incredible," said the 26-year-old Katy, Texas native."I finally made a final in the Olympics. I came in like 12th (in Sydney) and 17th (in Athens), and finally came out and put a good day together. This was the only thing I was worried about for the last two years."

Explaining his key to success, Eller reached into his vest and revealed a handful of baseball cards.

"Hard work," the three-time Olympian said as he shuffled cards featuring Soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. "That, and I had my teammates with me. The military has been great to me. They've helped me fulfill a dream that, without them, I don't think would've ever happened. I owe everything to them."

Eller said he could not wait to give his parents a big bear hug:

"I'm going to go find my parents and celebrate," he said. "They've been here all week and to the last two Olympics watching me. To have them here and to finally win a Gold Medal for them is incredible. The crowd was amazing. The facilities were incredible."

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and here for more on the Beijing Olympic Games.

Ft. Benning unit deploying to Iraq, Kuwait

Nearly 70 soldiers from Fort Benning will deploy to Iraq this week. The deployment comes after four soldiers from the base were killed in fighting in Baghdad over the weekend.

Base Public Affairs Office spokesperson Elsie Jackson told GPB News the maintenance battalion soldiers would provide support and logistics for combat units in Iraq and Kuwait. Family members will see the troops off at the base's Lawson Army Airfield on Wednesday.

The Defense Department announced Tuesday that Iraqi insurgents killed three Ft. Benning troops in a roadside bombing and shooting attack on Saturday. A forth soldier was hit and killed from small-arms fire on Sunday. Both attacks took place in the Baghdad area.

21 troops from the base have been killed in the conflict this year.

Iraq: Ft. Benning soldier dies in firefight

Dillon (Image courtesy Army Special Operations Command)

A Ft. Benning soldier was killed in Iraq when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Cpl. Benjamin Dillon, 22, died Sunday in northern Iraq, according to a military statement.

Dillon had been assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He enlisted in the Army during his senior year at Southeast High School in Ravenna, Ohio, about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Dillon was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal. He is survived by his parents Terry and Linda Dillon, and brothers Nicholas and Steven all of Rootstown, Ohio.

Click on the links for more GPB News coverage of events in Iraq and at Ft. Benning.

(With the Associated Press)

Southwest Georgia residents keeping their cool

Temperatures of over 100 degrees were the norm in much of southwest Georgia Wednesday.
But southwest GA residents kept their cool, despite a heat-index tipping the scales at 115 degrees:

• Fire and EMS services in Albany told GPB News they had no fire or rescue calls in the last 24-hours.
• Elsewhere, Sumter County schools moved some student activities inside, and others to earlier in the day to beat the midday heat.
• An army spokesperson at Ft. Benning told GPB that, despite the hot weather, there were no changes in maneuvers, and there were no heat-related medical treatments required. Soldiers were instructed to keep hydrated.

The scorching weather is expected to cool in coming days.

Ft. Benning soldier killed in Iraq

1st Lt. Jonathan W. Edds, 24, of White Pigeon, Mich., was killed in the line of duty on August 17th in Baghdad.

Edds died of wounds suffered when insurgents using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire attacked his vehicle, the Department of Defense said in a release on Monday.

Edds was a part of the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Benning.

Ft. Benning: robot UAV's take flight and fight - alone

25 teams flying unmanned robotic aircraft squared off at a international competition at Ft. Benning on Thursday.

The university teams, from Georgia, other states and countries took turns putting their lightweight helicopters and fixed-wing planes through exacting timed trials.

Virginia Tech: Jonathon Gaines with
deployable rolling robot. (Photo: Dave Bender)

It may seem like fun and games, but the competition highlights a growing aspect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Professor Robert Michaelson heads the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, who sponsored the meet: “What we're doing here with this technology is to create something that's more or less fire and forget. You could go into the mountains of Afghanistan, and the mission could be, 'spy in all caves, and search them to see if there's anybody in them.'”

Georgia Tech's helicopter flew first. The vehicle spotted a target within a building. It then deployed a motorized, two-wheeled, mini-robot that rolled over to a dummy bomb inside a room, and sent back live video -- all without any human guidance.


Georgia Tech crew after their test with
deployable robot. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Update, Thursday afternoon:

"GA Tech completed phase 3 and VA Tech completed phase 2 and are going to attempt phase 3 tomorrow morning. If they both complete phase 3 this year they will be going head-to-head for phase 4 next year and $80,000 will be awarded to the winning school." (via PAO)

Iraq: 3 Ft. Benning soldiers die in combat

The Department of Defense on Friday announced the death of three Ft. Benning soldiers in fighting in Iraq.

They died on October 30 of wounds sustained in combat in Salman Pak, when enemy forces engaged their unit with small arms fire and an improvised explosive device, according to the statement.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.

They are:

• Sgt. Daniel L. McCall, 24, of Pace, Fla. He died in Baghdad.
• Pfc. Rush M. Jenkins, 22, of Clarksville, Tenn. He died in Salman Pak.
• Pvt. Cody M. Carver, 19, of Haskell, Okla. He died in Salman Pak.

McCall was born in Pace, Fla. on Nov. 25, 1982. He was awarded two Army Commendation Medals; a Good Conduct Medal; a National Defense Service Medal; an Iraqi Campaign Medal; a Global War on Terrorism Medal; a Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; an Army Service Ribbon and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

Jenkins was born in Clarksville, Tenn. on Oct. 30, 1985. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal; the National Defense Service Medal; the Iraqi Campaign Medal and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

Carver was born in Haskell, Okla. on June 23, 1988. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and an Iraqi Campaign Medal.

Columbus remembers 9/11

CSU students singing national anthem at clock tower.
(Dave Bender)

Columbus State University's historic clock tower rang out at noon Tuesday as faculty, students and city residents gathered to remember the grim events of September 11, 2001.

Tony Oxford, president of National Security Associates is a security specialist who spent several weeks working with recovery crews at the World Trade Center site after the attacks. He told GPB News that the recovery operations left a deep impression on him:

“It was a very humbling experience, a life-changing experience, and it gives us an appreciation for America, what America stands for and why we live here - and why we continue to fight to keep America what it is today.”

An honor guard of Columbus fire and law-enforcement officials stood at attention near relics of the attacks, at an extensive multimedia exhibition.

Honor guard at attention near steel remains recovered from WTC site. (Dave Bender)

A central display featured a torn and twisted steel column recovered from the base of one of the twin towers.

A table featuring documents and relics from the attack on the Pentagon was set out in memory of Marjorie Champion Salamone, a Defense Department employee who was killed in that suicide attack. Salamone grew up in Pine Mt., and attended Troup High School.

"God Bless Fort Benning" flag. (Dave Bender)
A support group called, "God Bless Fort Benning," hung a commemorative 26-by-32-foot American flag in front on the exhibit's venue at The Cunningham Center. 700 children of service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed the panels of patriotic messages.

Busloads of high school students from Muscogee County schools attended the events, which included educational displays; community public safety exhibits and demonstrations; videos, artifacts and stories from “Ground Zero” in New York; musical performances. A vigil at 8 p.m. and military fly-over at 8:15 p.m are to close the exhibit, according to a university statement.

Col State 9/11 page.

Ft. Benning Ranger killed in Iraq

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. William P. Rudd, 27, of Madisonville, Ky., died October 5th of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire while on a combat patrol in Mosul, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

As of Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at least 4,178 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,383 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The AP count is one fewer than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.

Two Georgia-based soldiers killed in Iraq

The Department of Defense on Tuesday announced the deaths of two soldiers in fighting in Iraq:

• Pfc. Timothy R. Hanson, 23, of Kenosha, Wis., died Jan. 7 in Salmon Pak, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Benning.
  
  
• Spc. James D. Gudridge, 20, of Carthage, N.Y., died Jan. 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart.

Live bazooka round causes bomb scare in Columbus

A live bazooka round caused a bomb scare and blocked-off streets in downtown Columbus this afternoon.

A man in Meriweather County first discovered the explosive round on his farm. He, in turn, gave it to his daughter in Phenix City, according to local Department of Homeland Security chief Randy Roberts.

She then brought it to show friends at the Springer Opera House in Columbus.

The group showed the shell to employees at the Fire Department across the street. They, in turn, alerted the authorities, according to Sheriff's Department Major Joe McCrea.

Police, Sheriff's Department and DHS officials quickly locked down the area, and closed off nearby streets, fearing the device might detonate.

Bomb squad experts from nearby Ft. Benning were alerted. A team surrounded the device with sandbags, and safely disposed of the round.

CSU plans 9/11 memorial events

Columbus State University’s Cunningham Center will be the site for a day-long “September 11 Remembrance Day.”

Opening at 9 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 11, the event will feature educational displays; community public safety exhibits and demonstrations; videos, artifacts and stories from “Ground Zero” in New York; musical performances; and a closing vigil at 8 p.m. and military fly-over at 8:15 p.m, according to a university statement. Remembrance events will include:

• Ground Zero artifacts including a 1,700-pound piece of World Trade Center steel, rescue equipment, personalized notes and messages and flags
• Personalized items memorializing 9-11 Pentagon victim Marjorie Champion Salamone, provided by her mother, Lillian Champion of Pine Mountain
• Simultaneous and continuous large-screen video presentations of the “Inside 9-11” documentary; live news feeds from remembrance events in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania; and a compilation of local news interviews from 2001 with local officials and ground zero rescue workers.
• Hazardous device response demonstrations utilizing both a robot and explosives-sniffing canine
• Musical performances, from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., by high school ensembles.

Columbus Consolidated Government, In conjunction with the activities at the Cunningham Center, CSU students will stage a brief, “CSU Remembers” vigil at the clock tower, starting at 11:55 a.m. and including a tolling of the tower bell at noon.

Groups expected to take part in the event include Columbus Consolidated Government, the Muscogee County School District, the Muscogee County sheriff’s and fire departments, Homeland Security, God Bless Fort Benning, the Columbus Museum, the Salvation Army, the Community Emergency Response Team, CSU’s Cunningham Center for Leadership Development, and the university’s Student Government Association and Student Activities Council.