Baghdad, Iraq – U.S. Army Sgt. Evan Vela spoke in a low voice Thursday at the court-martial for his fellow soldier. Tears slid down the 23-year-old’s cheeks, and the judge prompted him to talk louder.
On May 11, Vela’s sniper team had detained an Iraqi man in Jaf al-Sakr, Vela testified. Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley undid the ropes that had pinned the prisoner’s arms and asked Vela if he was ready, he said.
The dark-haired Idaho native told the court he wasn’t sure what his superior meant. Hensley then cradled the Iraqi’s head, straightened his headdress and moved away from Vela, who gripped a 9mm pistol.
“I heard the word ‘shoot.’ I don’t remember pulling the trigger. I just came to and the guy was dead. It took me a second to realize the shot came from the pistol in my hand,” Vela said.
Vela is one of three soldiers from the same sniper platoon who are accused of premeditated murder in three shooting incidents this spring. Their cases have provided a picture of mentally exhausted troops and the role they allegedly played in a “baiting program,” in which snipers are believed to have planted fake weapons and bomb-making materials, then killed anyone who picked them up.
The alleged program was revealed in a hearing in July that eventually sent Spec. Jorge Sandoval Jr. and Staff Sgt. Michael Hensley to face court-martial on murder charges.
The Pentagon refuses to speak publicly about baiting or other such tactics but insists its practices abide by the law.
Vela made his surprise confession Thursday on the second day of Sandoval’s court-martial on charges of murder, dereliction of duty and poor conduct. Sandoval also faces murder charges for allegedly shooting an Iraqi man and then placing a detonation wire on the body.
Vela has been promised that his statements in the Sandoval case won’t be used against him when he faces legal proceedings in connection with his alleged role in the slaying.
Vela’s account Thursday portrayed a unit that had lost sleep and lost control. In three days, he said, he closed his eyes for less than four hours.
Vela said he was in a daze the morning of May 11. He couldn’t recall Thursday how the Iraqi had shown up where the men were sleeping. The man seemed to just materialize, he said.
Vela didn’t know what to do, so he woke up Sandoval, who woke the others. Hensley appeared agitated and slammed his knee into the man’s back, Vela said, and threatened to kill him.
Hensley then sent Sandoval and his colleague to guard a pumping station nearby. Vela said he heard Hensley call his platoon commander on the radio and say he had seen a man running, carrying an automatic rifle.
A child wandered up to their camp, and Hensley briefly held the child on the ground, with a poncho over his head, Vela said. He eventually released the boy, who looked at the Iraqi man and called him “father.” Then the boy fled.
Vela said he thought they were going to free the man, but Hensley called their platoon commander and said he saw a “suspicious national” moving toward their position. Hensley then asked for permission to shoot to kill, Vela recalled.
Hensley then gave Vela the order to shoot, Vela said.
Once it was done, Vela testified, he watched Hensley grab an AK-47 rifle from his backpack and place it by the dying Iraqi man. The Iraqi man convulsed.
“Sgt. Hensley was kind of laughing about it. He hit him in the throat and said shoot him again, which I did,” Vela told the judge.
Addressing the court, Vela’s voice dropped nearly to a whisper and his tears kept streaming, so the judge gave him a break.
