| Logan Melgar | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1983 |
| Died | June 4, 2017 (aged 34) |
| Place of birth | Lubbock, Texas, U.S. |
| Place of death | Bamako, Mali |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | 2012–2017 |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group |
On 4 June 2017, United States Army Special Forces Staff Sergeant Logan Melgar was found dead as a result of asphyxiation, in the American embassy's housing in Mali that he shared with other members of U.S. Special Operations. The incident has been described as either result of a "hazing" or to cover up other crimes committed by the perpetrators.[1][2]
Shortly after Melgar's death, two unnamed members of the US Navy's SEAL Team Six were flown out of Mali and placed on administrative leave as persons of interest to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.[3][4] By February 2018, the strangulation had prompted a broad internal military audit and investigation of SEAL Team Six, which named the two members who were persons of interest in the homicide and initially focused on analyzing their conflicting statements regarding Melgar's death. While they had stated that Melgar had been intoxicated on the evening of his death, he was determined to have no drugs or alcohol in his system when he died. Melgar was further determined to have had his throat and upper body mutilated in an apparent attempt at a tracheotomy. The two Navy SEALs stated that they found Melgar unconscious and not breathing and that they tried to perform an emergency tracheotomy on him. One of the SEALs subsequently stated that he accidentally choked Melgar during a practice match. A continued focus of the investigation was allegations that Melgar had discovered that the two SEALs had stolen cash earmarked for paying local informants and that he had told the two that he would report that. The two SEALs denied this allegation.[5]
In November 2018, two SEALs, Petty Officer Anthony E. DeDolph and Chief Petty Officer Adam C. Matthews, along with two US Marine Corps Raiders, Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez and Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr., were charged with the felony murder of Logan Melgar, along with other crimes.[2][6] On 17 May 2019 Chief Petty Officer Matthews was sentenced to one year's detention in a military prison after having pleaded guilty and agreeing to testify in the cases against the other defendants.[7] On 7 June 2019 Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr. was sentenced to four years' detention after having pleaded guilty.[8] On 23 January 2021, Petty Officer Anthony E. DeDolph was sentenced to ten years detention after pleading guilty.[9] On 1 July 2021, Madera-Rodriguez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter as well as conspiracy to commit assault and battery, conspiracy to obstruct justice, hazing and making false official statements.[10]
See also[]
- Bullying in the military
- Military abuse
References[]
- ↑ "Navy SEAL pleads guilty in hazing death of Special Forces soldier in Mali". washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/navy-seal-pleads-guilty-in-hazing-death-of-special-forces-soldier-in-mali/2019/05/16/9482ad52-77f9-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html.(subscription required)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Navy SEALs and Marines charged with murdering Green Beret in horrific hazing incident: Prosecutors – ABC News". https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/members-seal-team-marines-charged-green-berets-murder/story?id=59218757.
- ↑ Schmitt, Eric (2017-10-29). "2 Navy SEALs Under Suspicion in Strangling of Green Beret in Mali". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/29/us/politics/navy-seals-team-6-strangle-green-beret-mali.html.
- ↑ Nichols, Hans; Gains, Mosheh (2017-11-13). "Witness: Navy SEAL Said He 'Choked' Green Beret Who Died". NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/africa/witness-navy-seal-said-he-choked-out-green-beret-who-n820506.
- ↑ Cole, Matthew (2018-02-07). "U.S. Military Launches Broad Investigation of SEAL Team 6 After Green Beret Killing in Mali". The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2018/02/07/seal-team-6-green-beret-mali/.
- ↑ "Navy SEALs, Marines Charged With Green Beret Logan Melgar's Murder". https://www.thedailybeast.com/seals-marines-charged-with-green-beret-logan-melgars-murder?ref=scroll.
- ↑ "Navy SEAL gets prison time for role in Green Beret's hazing death". https://nypost.com/2019/05/17/navy-seal-gets-prison-time-for-admitting-role-in-green-berets-hazing-death/.
- ↑ "Marine Sentenced to 4 Years for Role in Logan Melgar Homicide". https://news.usni.org/2019/06/07/marine-sentenced-to-4-years-for-role-in-logan-melgar-homicide/.
- ↑ SEAL Sentenced to 10 Years in Death of Green Beret Logan Melgar (24 January 2021). "SEAL Sentenced to 10 Years in Death of Green Beret Logan Melgar". https://news.usni.org/2021/01/24/seal-sentenced-to-10-years-in-death-of-green-beret-logan-melgar.
- ↑ "Military News Marine Raider Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, Hazing in Green Beret’s Death". 2 July 2021. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/02/marine-raider-convicted-of-involuntary-manslaughter-hazing-green-berets-death.html.
The original article can be found at Death of Logan Melgar and the edit history here.