Finding out one of our own has died, especially from the hands of our own; it evokes a great deal of anger. The kind of anger you can’t really put into words.

Four elite members of the military have been the cause of such anger over the past year. The two SEALs and two Marines facing charges in the death of Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar are set to have their preliminary hearing on Dec. 10.

If you don’t recall hearing about the strangulation of Melgar, here’s a little back-story. A heads up, it changed a few times between then and now.

First, we heard the death was an accident, involving horseplay between Melgar and two SEAL members, which resulted in Melgar passing out and the SEALs unable to revive him. Then we heard there was hand-to-hand combat training when the incident occurred.

Another story included Melgar being intoxicated, and one member performing CPR and a tracheotomy before taking him to a medical facility. We later found out that two Marines were involved, and there had been a trip to the Marine barracks to get duct tape, then to Melgar’s living quarters, where they broke in and locked him in a chokehold.

The toxicology report, however, showed Melgar had neither alcohol nor drugs in his system. And his autopsy report showed his cause of death was “homicide by asphyxiation”.

Charges under the UCMJ include felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, hazing and burglary, per the release from Navy Region Mid-Atlantic public affairs.

 

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