The Rage of a Soldier Described

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The Rage of a Soldier Described
November 08, 2008
Knight Ridder

A general's son testified Friday at a Fort Bragg court-martial that accused murderer Alberto Martinez wanted to ask his father to fire their commanding officer, Capt. Phillip Esposito.

A few months later, Esposito and another officer, 1st Lt. Louis Allen, were killed when someone detonated a mine in Esposito's office on a military base in Iraq. Martinez, who was a staff sergeant under Esposito, is on trial for the murders and could get the death penalty if convicted.

Martinez was the supply sergeant for the headquarters company of the 42nd Infantry Division; Esposito was the company commander.

Throughout the trial, there has been testimony that in 2004 at Fort Drum, N.Y., and in 2005 in Kuwait and Iraq, Martinez had trouble running the supply section and chafed under Esposito's command. He complained to many people in the company, including Sgt. Jason Taluto.

Taluto said it got to the point that every time he went to get supplies from Martinez, he had to listen to the complaints. "It almost seemed like a prerequisite," he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/the-rage-of-a-soldier-described.html?col=1186032310810