3rd Battalion commander highest-ranking officer to face charges

By: Staff Reports - | Thursday, December 21, 2006 11:17 PM PST ∞

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani was the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the time of the Haditha incident and is the highest-ranking officer to have charges filed against him.

The 42-year-old veteran Marine has been charged with failing to accurately report and investigate a suspected violation of the law of war. If convicted of that charge, he could face a maximum of two years' confinement, dismissal from the Marines and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

He also is charged with two counts of dereliction of duty for the same alleged offenses. Each of those counts carries a maximum penalty of six months' confinement, dismissal from the Marines and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

Chessani told investigators earlier this year that he did not initiate an inquiry into the deaths of Iraqi civilians because he did not consider the deaths unusual.

He made a sworn statement to investigators in March in which he said, "I thought it was very sad, very unfortunate, but at the time, I did not suspect any wrongdoing from my Marines."

In April, Chessani ---- who grew up in northwest Colorado ---- was relieved of his command, along with the Kilo Company's commander, Capt. Lucas McConnell of Napa. At the time, a Marine Corps spokesman told reporters that the two men had been relieved of duty, "due to lack of confidence in their leadership abilities stemming from their performance during a recent deployment to Iraq."

Before being relieved of duty, Chessani appeared to be on a solid career path. He was reportedly involved in helping to plan the 2004 assault on Fallujah.

He also served in the first Iraqi war in 1991. He received his first command position at an Albany, N.Y., recruiting station and later attended the Command and Staff College in Quantico, Va., where he earned a master's degree in military studies.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2004 and assigned to the post of operations officer for the 1st Marines in Iraq.

His first combat command came in May 2005, when he took over the base's 3rd Battalion.

Chessani majored in meteorology at the University of Northern Colorado and received his Marine Corps commission in 1988.

The Denver Post has reported that during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, he captured several of former President Manuel Noriega's top officers.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.