Yes we believe the government is doing everything they can to silence us. We believe they "got to" Fox News and told them not to talk to us about the TRUTH!
When they were making plans to talk to us on "Hannity's America" the producer always returned phone calls and answered our emails. And always within the span of an hour or less. Since they called to "postpone" our trip and interview they have not returned one phone call or answered one email.
Someone got to them. Who could it be?
The same goes for others in the media who were always only a phone call or an email away. Kirby Wilbur at KVI Radio in Seattle is one glaring example. He and his production staff were always available for us to discuss Rob's situation. No more. What could have happened? All evidence points to those in our government. They want this kept quiet. It's a very sad day in America. Hanging our brave heroes out to dry with federal felonies hung around their necks.
We have proof our guys were on an assigned mission to do what they did that night in April of 2006. Nobody seems to care. They don't care they helped relieve us of our retirement savings and home equity so that we might defend our Marines. Sad indeed. We're not whining, we only want the truth. When the truth does emerge there will be some very red faces in Washington DC. The day will come.
Update March 5 2008
Fox News has just postponed our trip to New York. It will now most likely be around the 19th of March. Stay tuned.
Update February 21 2008
BREAKING NEWS!!
Fox News is flying Rob, Deanna and I to New York City on the 5th of March to tape a segment with Sean Hannity for his "Hannity's America" show which airs on Sundays on the Fox News Channel at 9pm Eastern. 6pm Pacific, 4pm Hawaii Time. We do not yet know which Sunday our story will be on. It might be the following Sunday which will be the 9th of March or maybe sometime later. When we do know we'll post that information here. Check back often.
Deanna and I will fly to LAX to connect with Rob and a red-eye flight to JFK. We'll arrive NYC at around 7 in the morning and shoot the interview at about 7pm that night (the 6th). We'll head back to the west coast and on to Maui the next day departing JFK around noon. We'll leave here on the 5th and return on the 7th. How's that for commitment to our case?
Update January 28th 2008
This is probably one of those "good news / bad news" sorts of things but let's start with what will pass as the "good news". LtGen. Helland, Rob's commanding general has made his clemency decision. Such as it is. You may remember Rob was sentenced to fourteen years in jail and a dishonorable discharge. His plea deal limited the maximum jail sentence to eight years. That's where he was on the 10th of August 2007 when his former commanding general, LtGen James Mattis released him from custody.
The clemency decision is as follows: 21 Months confinement and a bad-conduct discharge (BCD). That's a heck of a step up from the original sentence but it leaves him a convicted federal felon with a bad discharge. And it's not right. Some of the members of his squad on the night in question were given no punitive discharge. Others were given less time. One was given no time behind bars and was released on the spot.
The "fairness" between the members of the squad is not the real issue. The matter must deal with what they did and why they did it. They were fighting an enemy with no uniform, no country, no tattoos on their foreheads to identify them. They did the best job they knew how to do and they did take out a bad guy. Deanna and I were told face-to-face by then LtGen. James Mattis that if they had taken out Bin-Laden himself that night it would have been wrong. Then he followed that up by stating that this has nothing to do with politics or 'political correctness'. He received a fourth star a few months later to make him a full general and shipped out.
We are about to assemble the troops to take action on behalf of our young Marine Heroes. If you'd like to sign up, let us know.
What's next???? Rob will most likely be placed on involuntary appellate leave very soon. That means he'll still be a Marine but on inactive duty. He will no longer be paid, not need to be on base, report to work or any of the other things normal Marines do. He will continue to receive benefits such as medical and dental but will have to find a place to live, a job and everything else the rest of us do. His automatic appeal will likely occur in about two years.
If you support our son and the other Marines and would like to help, the best thing you could do at this time would be write a letter to the President and ask him to pardon the "Pendleton 8". They were in combat doing the best they could to fight his "war on terror" and ended up in chains and later convicted of serious crimes. It's not right and it is very high time their Commander in Chief steps up to the plate and takes care of "his" men. Please write him a letter and tell him so.
Update November 16th 2007
Nothing new to report, no update to really post. People ask us all the time "what's new?" And the answer still remains "nothing". One small thing, LtGen Mattis referenced heavily in the previous update received his fourth star and has been transferred to a new command job in Virginia. He has been replaced by MajGen (LtGen maybe by now) Helland who will be putting the finishing touches on this story. Check back often they're bound to make a decision someday.
Update August 10th 2007 !!!!!
He's free he's free he's been "released from custody" by LtGen James Mattis !!!!! We are so happy to have him back.
What does this mean? How and why did it happen? Is it over? Lots of questions remain and we'll try to answer them here.
First this means ONLY he's been "released from custody" as a matter of "fairness". LtGen Mattis has only ordered Rob released. He has not officially commuted his sentence or made any other clemency decisions. He can officially commute the sentence, vacate the sentence, upgrade the discharge - make any changes he feels are appropriate. He has the power to make it all go away or make it less harsh. He is going to take more time to think about it and then we'll know. When? We have not been promised any time frame.
Rob will remain in the Marines for the time being. Once LtGen Mattis decides the clemency issues we'll know more. For now Rob has been assigned to Headquarters Battalion at Camp Pendleton and will live on base with the battalion. If his discharge is upgraded he will likely have to remain in the Corps for five or six months to fulfill his original contract with the Marines. If not, he could be out in a matter of weeks.
Rob's family is so grateful for all the support we've received over the last year and a half -- words can't express. Just know that without your support we would have had a much harder time getting through this. And it's not over yet, but that light at the far end of this tunnel is getting much brighter.
Check back often for updates on the clemency matters. Once we know the final outcome we'll post here.
Update March 2007
Rob went to court on February 13th and pled guilty to kidnap and conspiracy. He did so on the unanimous advice of his four-member defense team. This advice was based on the fact that four other members of his squad had already pled guilty and were under a mandate under the terms of their agreements to testify against the remaining four. The government is in possession of statements prepared by the NCIS as well as the testimony of the four junior members of the team. Chances for a conviction in a contested court martial were too high to take that risk.
We are so proud of Rob. We sat through the court process which was scheduled for 2 days, but took 5. We listened to Rob's testimony of that April night, but also heard a lot of information that we never heard before about the previous two deployments, and we have to say that we don't believe there was any other path than the one they took. I'm going to be very careful here at this point because we have only begun the process to help Bobby come home, and we don't want to say anything that would unwittingly harm his case, but please know that there IS more to the story and that the we have seen many untruths printed in the press.
One of the most important things we learned in that courtroom was that Fallujah was far more horrific, far more devastating than any of us really understood. We watched film, listened to testimony and realized how devastating this was for the boys who fought that bloody battle. We knew something was wrong when Rob came home, but we took his word that he could handle it. That's what those grunts do, right? Suck it up, don't show the feelings, don't show the fear or the vulnerability or the pain. We don't really know if there was anything we could have done, but maybe we could have tried harder. Maybe we could have pressed Bob for more information or we could have pressed the people that he did talk to for more information. We could have gone to the officers and voiced our feelings. We did not think he was in any shape to return to Iraq after Fallujah, but we took the easy route and let him tell us what we really wanted to hear -- that he was really okay.
Many have asked how Rob is doing. The son we sent to Fallujah did not return -- it was a different person. We are going to try to bring his spirit back, and the journey has only just begun.
He was moved from Camp Pendleton to the Miramar brig. Miramar is a much better facility which is very close to the San Diego airport. AND he is finally out of that 9' x 6' cell. They have many good programs including college classes, anger management classes and jobs. He took an aptitude test which he aced, so hopefully he will have some choices with his job. He said the good jobs tend to have a waiting list so we'll see. He is doing so well. We have seen great improvement in him over the past 2 to 3 months. He is strong and has begun to heal with the help of some very good friends and family. The cards and letters have kept him going.
His new address is:
Pennington, Robert
PO Box 452136
San Diego 92145-2136
The good news is that he can receive paperback books from anyone on his "list" - no need to send the expensive new books. He can also receive hardback books and Cd's direct from a known vendor such as Amazon.com, Barnes And Noble to name two. If you don't think you're on his "list" - a list of those he can receive mail from, send a note to our email address and we'll ask him to add you to his list when able.
We am so grateful for all the support our family has received. We are wealthy when it comes to friends and supportive family. There have been times when we thought I couldn't go on, and we KNOW one of you (or all of you) were praying for us. Knowing you were also praying for Rob and the rest of our family made us know we weren't alone and that we were going to make it.
The next step is a clemency hearing with General Mattis. We would appreciate any letters of support. Address them to Lieutenant General Mattis, let him know how loved and supported Rob is and will be if he were released from prison, and send them to his attorney, David Brahms (dmbrahms@aol.com). If you prefer to send a letter, let us know and we'll forward his address.
Update 16 February 2007
Rob has a defense team made up of four attorneys. One is a civilian, hired by his parents Terry and Deanna. The other three are active duty military assigned to the case by the government.
All four attorneys have decided a fair trial is not possible in this case. They have therefore recommened Rob take a plea deal to avoid the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. He has done so.
We have been in court with Rob and his defense team all day every day since Tuesday the 13th of February. We will be back there tomorrow, Saturday the 17th. Closing arguments will be heard in the morning, the military judge will then retire to chambers and deliberate on the sentence for our son.
We have a pre-trial agreement in place which will limit the sentence to either that specified in the agreement or to the sentence pronounced by the military judge, whichever is less.
Please stay tuned to this site for more information. We will post the judge's sentence and the limit of the pre-trial agreement sometime later on Saturday the 17th.
Update 27 December 2006
Per the first letter referenced in the update of 20 December, below, we've added some pictures of some of the supporters of our heroes during their candlelight vigils. In the top row are Rob's mom and dad, Deanna and Terry followed to the right by to of our very best friends and neighbors the Desmonds. You may view these photos here.
Update 20 December 2006
We've posted a couple of letters about this craziness from two very good friends at this location. Please take a moment to read them. They speak volumes. The first is from longtime very good friend Joy Bates. The second is from the world famous "TMP Mom" Ren. Please digest them both and keep praying.
Update 11 December 2006
Today we received word the military judge has ruled against suppressing the illegally obtained NCIS statements and also ruled against releasing Rob from pre-trial confinement. He and the others will continue to be treated as though they are guilty without having been tried. They have been convicted of nothing and will remain in jail. If this situation makes you angry please contact your elected representatives and let them know how our military is treating its heroes. This is not right and should not be allowed to continue.
Update 05 December 2006
We haven't updated this site in a bit due to very few things to report. We have been waiting for a military judge to rule on two separate motions
made before his court on Monday 20 November and Tuesday 21 November 2006. The first motion was to disallow the coerced statements produced by the NCIS, the second to release Rob from "pretrial confinement" in the Camp Pendleton brig. We expected to be able to update the site over a week ago with the judge's rulings. Alas, no word.
In the meantime, all the men in his same boat who have passed their normal discharge date have had their pay stopped. Yes, that's right, they've been convicted of nothing and are being held against their will and are not being paid. There's a payroll manual that applies to all servicemembers which states in effect that those who pass their discharge date but are in jail will no longer be paid. That was intended to mean those convicted of a crime shall not be paid, not those awaiting trial. This pretrial confinement they are experiencing is so unprecedented the payroll manual does not address it. Therefore, in order to make everyone's life as miserable as possible they quote from the manual and stopped their pay.
The men continue to deteriorate in there hideous situation. Hopefully we'll have some good news soon.
Update 23 September 2006
Rob's Article 32 hearing has now been pushed back to the 16th of October. Of course the government will do whatever
they can to make this as hard as possible. We already had tickets to fly there for the hearing,
and then they change their minds.
Update 27 August 2006
Video of Terry on Hannity & Colmes from June of this year is located here.
Update 20 August 2006
Rob's hometown newspaper, The Mukilteo Beacon, has printed a couple of pieces in the last two weeks which
are of great value. The first, a news story by Paul Archipley
appeared in the August 9th edition of the paper.
The second, a background story
about Rob and his younger years appeared in the August 16th issue. These are some of the best stories published about our son
and brother, and
are worth your time to read.
On another front, Rob was finally allowed to see a dentist last week. It took the Marines almost three months to respond
to his constant tooth pain. It took them a full week to provide medical treatment for a severely sprained ankle. Would someone
like to tell our elected representatives who love to whine about "torture" at the detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about the
torture that's being perpetrated on our Marine heroes in the brig at Camp Pendleton? I'd love to hear their response to these facts.
Update 16 August 2006
Rob's Article 32 hearing, the preliminary hearing which will determine whether or not he
faces general court martial, has been scheduled for the 25th of September. Deanna and I plan to attend.
Update 23 July 2006
You can now write to our son directly at:
Lcpl Pennington, Robert B.
Camp Pendleton Brig
Box 555226
Camp Pendleton CA 92055-5226
You can write to the others as well by substituting their rank and name.
Update 21 July 2006
We would like everyone to know Rob is still in good spirits and doing as well as can be expected
in his current circumstances. All the men are in high spirits because they know they've done nothing wrong and have a great deal of faith
in the "system" I sure hope their faith is well-placed. As his parents and family, we are very skeptical.
On May 25th the Pennington family received a collect call from the Camp Pendleton Brig.
It was Rob, our son and brother, calling to say that the Marine Corps had returned him to
Camp Pendleton and he was being investigated in a group of 7 Marines and 1 Navy corpsman
for charges of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder. He said that he was
not guilty of any of the charges, but that he was being held as a potentially dangerous and
violent person in the maximum security division of the brig along with the others.
Your help is needed.
First let us say that whether it is Haditha or Hamdania, there are more to
these cases than meets the eye. The press is reporting "leaks" made by
anonymous, high level officials on 'facts' of the investigation. Please trust us now that
once these supposed facts are brought into the courtroom, they will not stand up to scrutiny.
What has happened with all these leaks, is that the presumption of innocence has flown out the
window. Do our heroes not deserve better? The men who put their lives at stake for our
country have been deserted by the Marine Corps and the rest of the military for that matter.
Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, these are young men - mostly 18-22 years-old, many
were in the middle of their second and third tour in Iraq, and frankly they deserved better.
The Pendleton 8 finally received military counsel in June even though they have been
incarcerated in Iraq and Camp Pendleton since May 7th. Because there was such a delay and
due to the seriousness of the charges, all of the families involved have retained civilian
attorneys as well. We chose an excellent civilian attorney - a former Brigadier General who
was at one point, the top attorney for the Marine Corps. He has met with Rob and they both have
utmost respect for each other, so we believe he is in good hands.
We've created this site due to the huge groundswell of support and requests to help us
exonerate our innocent Son and Brother. We have created a Paypal account where you can transfer
a donation to Robert Pennington's defense fund. Go to the "How you can Help!" page to access the PayPal donation system.
If you'd like to send a check or money order by mail, you'll find the address for the defense fund bank account just
below the PayPal donation button.
You may see or hear Terry on various news programs. He has come forward to try to show how our
guys are being mistreated, as well as to let the rest of the world understand that these guys are
heroes who were doing their jobs, and should not be dealt with worse than a Prisoner Of War would
be treated.
Thank you for your donations and support. This has devastated our family. Robert has been through
three tours in his time of enlistment, and as harrowing as that has been, it pales in
comparison to
these dire circumstances we now find ourselves in. We are going up against a system eager to put
our heroic boys away for good. Please help us in not allowing this to happen.
