Japan-Based Sailor Convicted Of Attempted Espionage At Court-Martial In San Diego

Alex Wilson at the Stars and Stripes reports on the court-martial of an American sailor of attempted espionage. 

A sailor accused of giving classified information to an unidentified foreign government was convicted Friday during a general court-martial at Naval Station San Diego. 

Chief Petty Officer Bryce Pedicini (seen in the above photo), a fire controlman who had been assigned to the Japan-based guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, was found guilty of attempted espionage, failure to obey a lawful order and attempted violation of a lawful general order, according to a statement from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. 

“This guilty verdict holds Mr. Pedicini to account for his betrayal of his country and fellow service members,” NCIS director Omar Lopez said in the statement. “Adversaries of the United States are unrelenting in their attempts to degrade our military superiority.” 

You can read the rest of the story piece via the below link:

Japan-based sailor convicted of attempted espionage at court-martial in San Diego | Stars and Stripes

Navy Charges USS Bonhomme Richard Sailor With Setting Blaze That Destroyed Ship

Wyatt Olson at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on a sailor assigned to the USS Bonhomme Richard being charged with setting the fire that destroyed The USS Bonhomme Richard.

A crewmember of the Navy’s fire-decimated USS Bonhomme Richard has been charged with starting the blaze under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the service said Thursday.

The charges “were brought forth against a Navy Sailor in response to evidence found during the criminal investigation into the fire” that began July 12, 2020, while the amphibious assault ship was docked in San Diego, according to a statement by Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a spokesman for the Navy’s 3rd Fleet.

The statement did not identify the sailor, and Robertson did not respond to a emailed query by Stars and Stripes.

“Evidence collected during the investigation is sufficient to direct a preliminary hearing in accordance with due process under the military justice system,” Robertson said in the statement.

Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, the commander of 3rd Fleet, is considering court-martial charges, he said. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Stars and Stripes - Navy charges USS Bonhomme Richard sailor with setting blaze that destroyed ship

Navy’s Top Europe Commander Pays Tribute To D-Day Frogmen At Normandy Statue Dedication

Scott Wyland at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on the UDT frogmen who led the way at the D-Day Normandy invasion.

U.S. frogmen slogged through choppy waves to the Normandy beaches on D-Day, demolishing mines and removing other obstacles as German soldiers fired at them from hilltop perches. 

These underwater demolition teams cleared the way for the largest amphibious assault in history on June 6, 1944, which led to the liberation of Western Europe and contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany a year later. 

The frogmen were among the first to step ashore and die. They carried out their mission despite having little defense against relentless machine gun and artillery fire. 

They were among the Normandy war dead honored Thursday during a dedication of a Lone Sailor statue on a plaza overlooking Utah Beach. It was one of several ceremonies in the region commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day. 

“The Lone Sailor monument represents all these sailors and Marines that lost their lives at sea — and what they have given to us,” said Adm. James Foggo (seen in the below photo), head of the Navy’s Europe and Africa command, according to a statement. “Victory in Europe would not have been possible without the determination and sacrifice of those sailors, soldiers and Marines here on Utah Beach, 75 years ago today.” 

The statue is one of 17 Lone Sailor monuments and is the first to be placed outside the United States.

Foggo noted that the frogmen were the forerunners of the Navy SEALs and a crucial part of the invasion force. 

The frogmen swam and waded through waters in a combat zone with no wetsuits or diving gear, submerging only as long as they could hold their breaths. The Navy adopt scuba gear in 1948 and started the SEALs in 1962. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

https://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/featured/d-day/navy-s-top-europe-commander-pays-tribute-to-d-day-frogmen-at-normandy-statue-dedication-1.584879 

Note: My late father, Edward Miller Davis, was a UDT Chief Petty Officer who served in the Pacific War.  

Pentagon Is Rethinking Its Relationship With US Defense Contractors Adding Security To Combat Espionage And Sabotage In The Supply Chain

Stars and Stripes offers a piece on the Defense Department's new security strategy to combat espionage and sabotage in the military procurement system. 

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has a new goal aimed at protecting its $100 billion supply chain from foreign theft and sabotage: To base its weapons contract awards on security assessments — not just cost and performance — a move that would mark a fundamental shift in department culture.

The goal, based on a strategy called Deliver Uncompromised, comes as American defense firms are increasingly vulnerable to data breaches, a risk highlighted earlier this year by China's alleged theft of sensitive information related to undersea warfare, and the Pentagon's decision last year to ban software made by the Russian firm Kaspersky Lab.

"The department is examining ways to designate security as a metric within the acquisition process," Maj. Audricia Harris, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Determinations [currently] are based on cost, schedule, and performance. The department's goal is to elevate security to be on par with cost, schedule, and performance."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/pentagon-is-rethinking-its-relationship-with-us-defense-contractors-to-stress-supply-chain-security-1.542353 

An Iconic Military Pen Is Turning 50. Here's What You Should Know About That Skilcraft In Your Desk Drawer.

During my more than 37 years of U.S. Navy/Defense Department service, I must have used a good number of Skilcraft U.S. Government pens, just like so many other military and federal government people. 

Although I've been retired for more than 11 years, I still have a couple of the old pens in my desk at home.

The handy, inexpensive and disposable pen is an unsung hero.

So I was pleased to come across a Stars and Stripes piece on the Skilcraft pen. 

If you're in the military, you know Skilcraft U.S. Government pens. It's the same for anyone who's worked for the federal government or addressed a package at the post office. The ubiquitous silver-and-black pens turn 50 this month. Here are some fun facts about them:

It all started with a 13 million-pen mistake

The nonprofit organization National Industries for the Blind was tapped to supply pens after another manufacturer made 13 million defective ballpoints in 1967. The Skilcraft was introduced to government buyers on April 20, 1968, and it's been going strong ever since.

They're made by the visually impaired

For five decades, the task of making the pens has been entrusted to blind workers. The pens are sold to the federal government through a program started in 1938 to create jobs for people with disabilities. In 2016, the AbilityOne program sold $3.3 billion in goods and services, with more than half coming from military orders

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link.

https://www.stripes.com/news/an-iconic-military-pen-is-turning-50-here-s-what-you-should-know-about-that-skilcraft-in-your-desk-drawer-1.524240 

Note: The above photo is of the Skilcraft Memoranda book, which was a companion to the pen.

Navy Intel Chief Took Lavish Gifts From 'Fat Leonard,' But Cleared Of Consorting With Prostitutes

Craig Whitlock offers a piece in Stars and Stripes on the outcome of the Navy intel chief who was implicated in the Navy’s ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery and fraud scandal.  

After a four-year investigation, federal authorities concluded that the Navy's former intelligence chief accepted extravagant meals, cigars and other illicit gifts from a corrupt defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard," but were unable to verify allegations that he also partied with prostitutes, new documents show.

The documents reveal that retired Vice Adm. Ted "Twig" Branch (seen in the above photo), a fighter pilot and aircraft carrier commander who became the steward of the Navy's secrets, enjoyed a decade-long friendship with Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo), a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who has pleaded guilty to bribing scores of military officers and defrauding the Navy of $35 million.

The nature of their relationship had been a long-running mystery. In November 2013, the Navy announced on a Friday night that it had suspended Branch's access to classified material because he was under criminal investigation by the Justice Department for his ties to Francis. The contractor's firm held lucrative deals to provide supplies, fuel and port services to Navy vessels in Asia.

For years, Navy and Justice officials remained silent about the investigation, though in private Navy leaders expressed frustration that federal prosecutors were taking so long to review the case. In an unusual twist, the Navy allowed Branch to keep serving as its intelligence boss for more than 1,000 days even though he was barred from reading, seeing or hearing military secrets. Branch retired from the military in October 2016, but the investigation into his conduct continued.

Last September, on another Friday night, the Navy announced in a brief statement that the Justice Department had referred the case to the Pentagon after finally deciding not to bring charges against the three-star admiral. Cryptically, Navy officials said they had taken "appropriate action" against Branch for unspecified wrongdoing, but would not provide details and declared the case closed.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/navy-intel-chief-took-lavish-gifts-from-fat-leonard-but-cleared-of-consorting-with-prostitutes-1.516370

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Fat Leonard scandal via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

How 'Fat Leonard' Infiltrated The US Navy's Floating Headquarters In Asia

The Stars and Stripes offers Craig Whitlock’s piece on the Fat Leonard U.S. Navy bribery scandal and the 7^th Fleet Flagship, the USS Blue Ridge (seen in the above photo).

As the flagship for the Navy's 7th Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge plays a critical role in national security by overseeing all U.S. maritime operations in Asia and the western Pacific. The venerable warship is the Navy's second-oldest active-duty vessel and has survived the Vietnam War, the Cold War and tensions with China and North Korea.

  

But there is one foreign threat against which the Blue Ridge proved utterly defenseless for many years: a 6-foot-3, 350-pound tugboat owner known as "Fat Leonard."

In a case that ranks as the worst corruption scandal in Navy history, the Justice Department has charged 15 officers and one enlisted sailor who served on the Blue Ridge with taking bribes from or lying about their ties to Leonard Glenn Francis (seen in the below photo), a Singapore-based tycoon who held lucrative contracts to service Navy ships and submarines in Asian ports.

For the better part of a decade, as part of a massive scam to defraud the Navy, Francis systematically infiltrated the Blue Ridge to a degree that is only now coming into focus, more than four years after the defense contractor's arrest, according to the documents from federal court and the Navy, as well as interviews with Navy officials and associates of Francis.

Prosecutors say nine sailors from the 7th Fleet flagship leaked classified information about ship movements and other secrets to Francis, a Malaysian citizen, making the Blue Ridge perhaps the most widely compromised U.S. military headquarters of the modern era. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/navy/how-fat-leonard-infiltrated-the-us-navy-s-floating-headquarters-in-asia-1.509519 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Fat Leonard scandal via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

Navy Officer Pleads Guilty To Trading Info For Entertainment, Sex In ‘Fat Leonard’ Scandal

Matthew M. Burke at the Stars and Stripes offers a piece on another Navy officer taken down with the “Fat Leonard’ bribery and fraud scandal.

Another Navy officer has fallen under the specter of the ever-growing “Fat Leonard” fraud and corruption scandal.

Former Cmdr. Troy Amundson (seen in the above Navy photo on the right), 50, of Ramsey, Minn., pleaded guilty Tuesday in District Court in San Diego to one federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery for trading “confidential, proprietary U.S. Navy information” for entertainment expenses and prostitutes, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

Amundson is the 20th of 29 defendants to plead guilty in the scandal and faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges stem from a decade-long conspiracy where foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis of the Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia traded bribes and gifts — from cash to Spanish suckling pigs and luxury travel — to a slew of top Navy officers across the Pacific in exchange for information on ship movements and contracts, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent over-billing.

Francis (seen in the above photo) pleaded guilty in 2015 to bribery and fraud charges.

“Amundson deliberately, methodically, and repeatedly traded his public office for entertainment expenses and the services of prostitutes, and in so doing, aligned himself with a foreign defense contractor over his Navy, his colleagues and his country,” U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said in the statement. “We are pressing forward in this investigation until we are certain that all involved have been held accountable.”

Amundson was in a unique position to aid Francis and GDMA as the officer in charge of the Navy’s joint military exercises in the region from May 2005 to May 2013, the statement said. He was responsible for maintaining relationships with foreign navies.

As part of his plea, Amundson admitted that from September 2012 through October 2013 Francis paid for meals, drinks, transportation, other entertainment expenses and prostitutes for Amundson and other Navy officers.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/navy-officer-pleads-guilty-to-trading-info-for-entertainment-sex-in-fat-leonard-scandal-1.509248 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Fat Leonard case via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/03/my-piece-on-fat-leonard-us-navy-bribery.html 

RIP: Retired Lt. General Hal Moore; Depicted In Film 'We Were Soldiers'

Lt. General Hal Moore, co-author of We Were Solders Once... And Young, which was made into a film starring Mel Gibson as Moore, has died. He was 94.

Moore's book and the Mel Gibson film were among the best depictions of the Vietnam War, in my view.
 
Stars and Stripes offers an obituary of the Vietnam War hero.

Retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. "Hal" Moore, the American hero known for saving most of his men in the first major battle between the U.S. and North Vietnamese armies, has died. He was 94.

Joseph Galloway, who with Moore co-authored the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," confirmed Saturday to The Associated Press that Moore died late Friday in his sleep at his home in Auburn, Alabama.

You can read the rest of the piece and view photos via the below link:

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/lt-gen-hal-moore-dies-depicted-in-film-we-were-soldiers-1.453672

Flag Day, 2016: May She Always Wave For Freedom

Katie Lange at the DoD News offers a history of the Stars and Stripes via the below link:

http://www.dodlive.mil/index.php/2015/06/flag-day-a-history-of-the-stars-and-stripes/

Note: Today is not only Flag Day, as June 14th is also the birthday of my beautiful - and patriotic - daughter.

Navy SEAL, Dog Handler: How A Failed Mission To Rescue Bowe Bergdahl Caused Irreparable Loss

Dianna Cahn at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on a failed mission to rescue Bowe Bergdahl.

The juxtaposition of two American military men who could stand in the same courtroom in the coming months couldn’t be set in more stark relief.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl faces a general court-martial for walking off of his base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. Bergdahl spent five years in Taliban captivity, where he was tormented, before being freed in a controversial prisoner exchange last year.

Jimmy Hatch, a Navy SEAL senior chief who led a platoon into a fierce battle to try to rescue Bergdahl, was shot and badly wounded on that mission. Beside him, service dog Remco lay mortally wounded, after running through a hail of bullets at two Taliban fighters hiding in a ditch, exposing their whereabouts.

Bergdahl is charged with not only desertion but also misbehavior before the enemy – an archaic, rarely used charge that includes “endangering safety of a command, unit, place, ship, or military property” and has a maximum penalty of life in prison. It could help answer the question of whether Bergdahl betrayed his country intentionally or should be viewed as acting as a result of mental health problems.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/navy-seal-dog-handler-how-a-failed-mission-to-rescue-bowe-bergdahl-caused-irreparable-loss-1.385511

Another Former Navy Official Arrested In ‘Fat Leonard’ Bribery Case

Erik Slavin at Stars and Stripes reports on the arrest of another former U.S. Navy official in the "Fat Leonard" bribery case.

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A Singaporean woman is the latest former U.S. Navy official to be arrested in connection with a bribery scandal that traded classified ship information to a contractor in exchange for cash, travel and other perks.

Gursharan Kaur Sharon Rachael, 55, a former Navy lead contract specialist, was charged in Singaporean court Thursday with seven counts of taking bribes worth $92,000 from Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which supplied portside services to Navy ships for decades.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/another-former-navy-official-arrested-in-fat-leonard-bribery-case-1.381675

U.S. Marine Convicted In Transgender Slaying During Shore Leave In Philippines

Seth Robson at Stars and Stripes reports on the conviction of a U.S. Marine in the Philippines.

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines — A U.S. Marine was convicted of homicide Tuesday for the slaying of a transgender woman whom he picked up while on shore leave.

Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton was sentenced to six to 12 years in a Philippine prison and ordered to pay 4,655,250 pesos (about $100,000) in damages to the family of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, 26.

Pemberton had been charged with murder but was convicted of the lesser charge due to mitigating circumstances, including lack of premeditation and that he was intoxicated at the time.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/marine-convicted-in-transgender-slaying-during-shore-leave-in-philippines-1.381316

Philippine Protests Likely After Verdict In U.S. Marine Murder Trial

Paul Alexander at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on the murder trial of a U.S. Marine in the Philippines.

Protests are likely in the Philippines no matter what verdict is issued Tuesday in the trial of a U.S. Marine accused of killing a transgender woman whom he picked up in a bar and took to a hotel for sex.

The case — which has been heard sporadically since March in a courtroom in Olongapo City, about an 80-mile drive from Manila — has cast a pall over the renewal of military relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, providing fodder for those who object to any American presence.

Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton is charged with killing Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, 26, on Oct. 11, 2014. The two met in a disco in a red-light district of Olongapo — the main city along Subic Bay — while Pemberton was bar-hopping with other Marines after joint U.S.-Philippine military exercises. They checked into a nearby hotel, and Laude’s strangled body was later found in the bathroom.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/philippine-protests-likely-after-verdict-in-marine-trial-1.380816

Odd Facts About The Aircraft Carrier USS Kitty Hawk

I served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War in 1970-1971, so I was interested in an Allison Batdorff's Stars and Stripes piece that offers some odd facts about the old warship.

The second "K" on USS Kitty Hawk’s nameplate is upside down. The letter was skewed when welders transferred the small steel letter plates from the fantail to below the flight deck in the 1960s.

The USS Kitty Hawk is the second U.S. Navy warship to be named after the North Carolina site of the Wright brothers’ famous flight. The first was the civilian ship SS Seatrain New York, which was acquired by the Navy, renamed USS Kitty Hawk, and converted into an aircraft transport ship during World War II. It was decommissioned and given back to its original owners in 1946.

The Kitty Hawk is the second-oldest active ship in the Navy. The first is the USS Constitution, a wooden frigate that sailed in both Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. "Old Ironsides" is used for ceremonial, recruiting and tourism purposes today.

Kitty Hawk nicknames include "Miss Kitty," "Battlecat" and "Chicken Hawk."

... Kitty Hawk did six tours in Vietnam between 1963 and 1976 and was the first aircraft carrier ever to be awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The award, the unit equivalent of the Navy Cross, was presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson on Dec. 20, 1968, to the ship and Carrier Air Wing 11.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/strange-but-true-facts-about-the-uss-kitty-hawk-1.79225

Note: The piece did not include the carrier's most popular nickname when I served on her. Sailors during my day called the Kitty Hawk the "Shitty Kitty."

You can read my post on the Kitty Hawk via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/05/look-back-at-aircraft-carrier-uss-kitty.html

What Role Did Transgender And Military Cultures Play In Philippines Death?

I've been following closely the murder trial of U.S. Marine Joseph Pemberton (seen in the above photo), in Olongapo, as I was a frequent visitor to this wild city in the Philippines when I was a young sailor serving on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War.

Seth Robson at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on the trial and a clash of cultures.

SUBIC BAY, Philippines — Marines and sailors are pretty eager to blow off steam after weeks at sea, particularly when granted liberty in an exotic port with a notorious reputation for easy female company.

While troops get briefings before going ashore on what to expect and what to avoid, some information may have gotten lost over the two-plus decades since the U.S. military left U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay: Not everything is what it seems in Olongapo, the city that sits just outside the gates.

 

Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, a 19-year-old anti-tank missileman based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., who enlisted in 2013, was among those who flooded out of the USS Peleliu last on Oct. 11. He joined a few buddies at the Ambyanz nightclub on Magsaysay Drive.

 

By the time the night was over, transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude lay dead in a bathroom at the Celzone Lodge, a seedy hotel across the street from the nightclub. 

 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/what-role-did-transgender-and-military-cultures-play-in-philippines-death-1.339491 

2nd Witness IDs Marine As Checking Into Hotel With Slain Transgender Filipina

Seth Robson at Stars and Stripes reports on the trial of the U.S. Marine accused of murder in the Philippines.

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines — A second witness testified Tuesday that U.S. Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton checked into an Olongapo City hotel with a transgender Filipina whose body was found soon afterward.

Pemberton is accused of killing Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, 26, last Oct. 11. Laude’s body was discovered later that evening in a bathroom at the Celzone Lodge – a cheap hotel near the gates of the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay.

Media are barred from the trial that began Monday at the Hall of Justice in Olongapo City. Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos described Tuesday’s proceedings to reporters.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.stripes.com/news/2nd-witness-ids-marine-as-checking-into-hotel-with-slain-transgender-filipina-1.336188#

U.S. Navy To Review Port Contracts In Light Of Bribery Scandal

Matthew M. Burke at Stars and Stripes offers a piece on the U.S. Navy bribery scandal.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus (seen in the above U.S. Navy photo) has ordered a review of how husbanding and port service contracts are handled after the recent corruption and bribery scandal ensnared a handful of high-ranking officers.

In a Dec. 5 memo, Mabus instructed Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Sean Stackley to review “all acquisition strategies” worldwide and determine whether proper procedures are being followed. He also told the Navy auditor general to audit the contracts to improve internal controls.

 

Husbanding and port service contracts assist Navy ships and sailors when they pull into a foreign port and include everything from goods and services such as fuel or docking, to water and sanitation. Mabus’ memo is in addition to guidance laid out in September after investigations by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and audits by the Naval Audit Service raised concerns.

 

“This review will ensure we have the proper procedures and policies in place to ensure we live up to our responsibility to the American taxpayer,” Mabus said in a Navy statement released Monday. “This is a responsibility I take seriously, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure we do not violate their trust.”

 

The GDMA scandal — named after the Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia — broke in September when the Justice Department announced the arrests of Cmdr. Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, former deputy operations officer aboard the USS Blue Ridge for the Yokosuka-based U.S. 7th Fleet; NCIS supervisory agent John Bertrand Beliveau II; and GDMA head Leonard Glenn Francis.

 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/navy-to-review-port-contracts-in-light-of-bribery-scandal-1.256885 

The Stars And Stripes Forever: Today Is Flag Day

Alaska Military Policeman Sentenced To 16 Years For Attempted Espionage

Seth Robson at the Stars and Stripes newspaper offers a piece on the sentencing of a U.S. soldier for attempted espionage and other charges.

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A military panel sentenced a soldier with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to a long prison term Monday for trying to sell classified information.

Spc. William Colton Millay, 24, a military policeman with the 164th Military Police Company, communicated with and transmitted national defense information to an undercover FBI agent whom he believed was a foreign intelligence agent, a U.S. Army Alaska statement said.

 

On March 19, he pleaded guilty to attempted espionage, failing to obey regulations, issuing a false official statement, soliciting another to commit espionage and communicating national defense information, the statement said. 

 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/army/alaska-gi-gets-prison-term-for-trying-to-sell-information-1.216793

 

Note: The above U.S. Army photo is of Spc. William Colton Millay.