Court Martial Attorney - Officer at N.S. court martial appalled by video of soldiers clowning with guns
THE CANADIAN PRESS
SYDNEY, N.S. — The officer in charge of briefing arriving Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan about weapons safety expressed disgust Thursday at video clips of soldiers clowning around with their weapons.
Capt. James Young, a 26-year veteran of the Forces, took the stand during the court martial of Cpl. Matthew Wilcox, who is accused of shooting and killing a colleague in March 2007.
Young seemed flabbergasted by what he saw in photographs and in two video clips taped during pre-deployment training in Alberta and played in the military court.
He told defence lawyer Lt.-Col. Troy Sweet that if anyone pointed a weapon at him as was seen in the photos and clips, “I’d be punching out that individual.”
“I would do everything in my authority to make sure they are moved from their positions of authority and removed from the Canadian Forces,” he testified.
Wilcox, 24, of Glace Bay, N.S., faces charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty in the death of Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, of Stellarton, N.S., at Kandahar Airfield.
As the camp sergeant major in 2007 for Canadians at the airfield, Young was responsible for everything from the cleanliness of soldiers’ tents to the construction of buildings on the base.
Young said it was of the utmost importance for troops to always know the current state of their weapons — unloaded, loaded or in the readied position.
“It was every soldier’s responsibility that no matter what weapon was under their control, they were in charge of it,” he told prosecution lawyer Maj. Jason Samson.
Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.
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