Expert says Marine vehicle fired upon

Damage to a turret and windshield of a Marine Humvee is evidence that someone fired at the vehicle in March when as many as 19 Afghanistan civilians were killed, an Army explosives expert testified Friday.

Divots on the windshield, holes in a headlight and a nick on the turret all indicated that someone fired at the vehicle, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Mero told a special Court of Inquiry.

Mero was the first defense witness to corroborate the version of events from Marines in Fox Company, who said they were fired upon March 4 after a suicide bomber detonated a white van packed with explosives.

Some witnesses have said they didn't see anyone shooting at the six-vehicle convoy.

As many as 19 civilians were killed, according to an Army investigation, but attorneys for two Marine officers involved in the incident say the death toll was lower.

"I am 90 percent sure that was caused by small arms fire," Mero testified about damage to a headlight. He said the headlight would have been shattered, not merely damaged, if the blast were the culprit.

A nick on the turret that protects the machine gunner had a piece of plastic lining extended to the inside, showing the bullet that made the nick was fired from outside the convoy, Mero said.

"It was possible the bullet just missed the gunner," he said.

Marks on the thick windshield glass also were too close to each other to be caused by shrapnel from the blast, he said.

The car bomb was made from fertilizer and fuel oil and detonated by a Chinese or Russian mortar shell, he said.

Much of Friday's hearing was spent in closed, classified session. Earlier, a senior sergeant in the company testified the unit had to deal with tensions from others in the military.

Retired Master Sgt. Jim Elder said the company arrived at Jalalabad airfield in February 2007 and was assigned to a base camp that was not ready for use. He said it had no bunks, no fuel supply for generators, no food service and had fecal matter in the drinking water.

The hearing is focused on two officers — the special operations unit's commander, 38-year-old Maj. Fred C. Galvin of the Kansas City area, and a platoon leader, Capt. Vincent J. Noble, 29, of Philadelphia.

Once the hearing is completed, the panel of senior officers will write a report recommending whether the two men should be charged with a crime. The panel has been at work three weeks and officials said they expected to end the hearing early next week.