Luke McConnell is currently a Major in the United States Marine Corps. In accordance with standard administrative procedure, he was initially removed from command of the Camp Pendleton-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines following an alleged November 2005 war crime in Haditha, Iraq, where Marines under his command were accused of having murdered 24 civilians after one of them had been killed in an insurgent attack. According to a repor...
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Luke McConnell is currently a Major in the United States Marine Corps. In accordance with standard administrative procedure, he was initially removed from command of the Camp Pendleton-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines following an alleged November 2005 war crime in Haditha, Iraq, where Marines under his command were accused of having murdered 24 civilians after one of them had been killed in an insurgent attack. According to a report in The Times on 29 May, 2006, commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey R. Chessani and Captain James Kimber were also removed from command. McConnell was not physically present during the incident but was being investigated for related events that occurred afterwards. Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich was the Marine leading the patrol.
Charges against McConnell have since been dismissed by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of the Marine Forces Central Command, after it was decided that any alleged "errors or omissions" made by the Captain...
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