7 hours later....

So the Art. 32 (if you are confused about what this is, read the last post and if you are still awake after that come back and read this one) was today.  It only lasted 7 hours, which really isn't that bad as Art. 32's go.  I've been in shorter ones, and I've definitely been in longer ones.

It really is pretty amazing how sometimes how we in the Army get things done.  Most of the time with any court-martial, the government always has to deal with witness travel.  As we in the Army are very transient bunch, people who are at one location when a crime occurs are rarely ever still in that same location when the case is brought to court-martial.  Witness travel is where the "fun" so to speak comes in.  It is usually the bane of every trial counsel's existence.  As the representative of the government, it is the trial counsel who must ensure that all travel is coordinated and all witnesses are present.  In my almost 4 years in the JAG Corps, I cannot think of one court-martial, where there wasn't at least one witness who had to travel back for the trial.

This Article 32 was no exception.  The victim, who got his jaw broke in 2 places, is back in the states recovering from his injuries.  While he didn't have to travel back for the Art. 32, as a witness who is declared not reasonably available can give telephonic testimony.  However, this luxury does not apply at a trial, as the Accused's 6th Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him always wins out over a witnesses unavailability.  So, while the victim gave telephonic today, when the trial happens, he will have an all expense paid trip back to Afghanistan so he can take the stand and testify.

The victim wasn't the only person who isn't located here at KAF.  Pretty much every single witness set to testify is located at another FOB.  My co-counsel and his paralegal are also not located here at KAF.  So all of there travel had to be coordinated.  They were all supposed to fly in yesterday, but with weather, flights often get cancelled and they couldn't make it out.  There were also no flights that they could get on this morning, so they hopped on a convoy.  It really is amazing how we make things happen in the military.  One has to wonder why the IO thought it was a good idea to hold the Art. 32 here, when pretty much everyone except for myself and the defense counsels had to travel to come here.  It probably would have been easier for us three to travel than 8-9 people that came here, but it's the Army.  Sometimes we make things harder on ourselves only to pat ourselves on the back for being able to work through adversity.  But I digress...