Luke McConnell is currently a Major in the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

. In accordance with standard administrative procedure, he was initially removed from command of the Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...

-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines following an alleged November 2005 war crime

War crime

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...

 in Haditha

Haditha

Haditha is a city in the western Iraqi Al Anbar Governorate, about 240 km northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River at . Its population of around 100,000 people is predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, where Marines under his command were accused of having murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

ed 24 civilians after one of them had been killed in an insurgent

Iraqi insurgency

The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

 attack. According to a report in The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

on 29 May 2006, commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 Jeffrey R. Chessani and Captain James Kimber

James Kimber

James Kimber, age 33, is a captain in the United States Marine Corps, and was commander of India Company 3rd Battalion 1st Marines. He was removed from command following a report by The Times regarding an alleged hazing incident in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005, recorded and aired by the BBC...

 were also removed from command. McConnell was not physically present during the incident but was being investigated for related events that occurred afterwards.
Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich

Frank Wuterich

Frank Wuterich is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and is alleged to have participated, on November 19, 2005 in Haditha killings, where he and fellow Marines are accused of having killed 24 civilians after a Marine had died in an insurgent attack...

 was the Marine leading the patrol.

Charges against McConnell have since been dismissed by Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of the Marine Forces Central Command, after it was decided that any alleged "errors or omissions" made by the Captain would best be handled through an administrative process.

According to reports in a local newspaper, McConnell grew up in Napa, California

Napa, California

-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...

, and graduated from Vintage High School

Vintage High School

Vintage High School is a comprehensive high school with a student body of over 2,300. It is one of three comprehensive high schools in the Napa Valley Unified School District. The other comprehensive high schools are Napa High School and American Canyon High School...

 in 1993, where he was the captain of the football team. He went to study at the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

, graduating in 1997. McConnell started his
Marine career as the 1st platoon commander of Bravo Company , 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion

3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion

3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion ' is a mechanized infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 and they are part of the 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force...

in 29 Palms, California.