A 27-year-old staff sergeant who supervised soldiers accused of murdering Afghan civilians last year is expected to face a court-martial today where he could be sentenced to 17 years in prison for a mix of assault and conspiracy charges.
Staff Sgt. David Bram’s court-martial comes a week after Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs was sentenced to life in prison for murdering three Afghan noncombatants last year.
The Army alleges that Bram joined Gibbs in assaulting the private who blew the whistle on misconduct in their platoon during its deployment to southern Afghanistan in May 2010, and that Bram tried to persuade a junior soldier to join him in a plot to kill Afghans on motorcycles.
Bram also is accused of abusing detainees and violating a general order against possessing images of casualties for personal use.
Bram was one of a dozen soldiers from the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division whose deployments were cut short when they came home in June 2010 accused of wrongdoing. Gibbs and four others were accused of murdering civilians. Bram initially was among seven defendants accused of lesser crimes.
Since then, the Army has pressed more serious charges against Bram suggesting he played a greater role in planning to murder Afghan civilians. Bram did not act on those schemes, according to testimony at past hearings.
– Adam Ashton, The News Tribune
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