…That’s according to his attorney from the Thomas More Law Center to whom I spoke this afternoon. He’d received the info on the appeal of the dismissal of charges five minutes before I talked to him.
To say Lt Colonel Jeffrey Chessani is crestfallen is an understatement. It appears that in their haste to find a scape goat for this incident, prosecutors are refiling charges. Why do you need a scapegoat for an incident that was sad, but not criminal? A day long fire fight in which insurgents and terrorists use women and children as cover–sad, but not criminal.
Why do this?
Chessani will go back to his desk job at Camp Pendleton while awaiting the appeal. He deserves our support. He did nothing wrong and neither did our other Marines whose charges have been dropped in this matter. One more Marine is awaiting trial.

Lt Col Chessani’s official 2006 Combat Fitness Report declared him “a superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business, ” and recommended him for promotion. The reviewing Major General added, Lt Col Chessani has “unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps, ” and also recommended him for promotion.

The following quotes are excerpts from Lt Col Chessani’s Combat Fitness Report (a required annual evaluation of a Marine officer’s performance) prepared by his superiors for the reporting period of September 2005 to February 2006 (This time period includes the date of the incident for which Lt. Colonel Chessani is facing criminal charges):

• “Leads Marines from front in every operation. Demonstrates moral courage everyday. Doesn’t hesitate to report bad news fast or contest unrealistic plans/poor concepts. Despite the complexity and size of his AO [area of operations], he always maintains a calm, cool demeanor.”
• “Always seeks advantage over complex, diverse insurgent enemy. Truly one of the finer thinkers in this COIN environment.”