Anna Lorance, proud Mother of Lt. Clint Lorance, wrote me, "My son is being wrongfully accused while in war in Afghanistan. He has always been the kind of man to give 100% of himself to everything thing that he sets out to do. He has given 10 years of his life to US Army with 2 tours in the combat zone. Please read his story and sign his petition and share his web page with everyone. He needs his story heard by all Americans. Thank you in advance for taking the time to Stand for One who was willing to take a stand for Our Country!"
Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance volunteered to serve two combat tours: 15 months in Iraq and 7 months in Afghanistan, only to return home to face charges by the very government he swore to support for doing his duty. He needs our help: make a donation here and sign his petition.
Go here. More on the case here.
On 02 JUL 12 while conducting an Afghan-Led dismounted patrol into an afghan village, the Afghan Army element on the joint patrol began to engage what they thought were Taliban. Worried that the Afghan Soldiers are poor marksmen and would likely cause collateral damage, Clint ordered his gun truck to fire two precision shots at the Taliban. As the platoon moved through the village, the intelligence analysts intercepted several radio transmissions indicating the Taliban could see the Platoon in plain view. There was an existential enemy threat in the area. From the beginning of the patrol, US helicopters were radioing LT Lorance's patrol indicating confirmed enemy activity in the area, the description of the enemy matched exactly the enemy combatants the patrol initially engaged with the two precision shots. A few moments Later in the patrol in the same village, Clints Soldiers captured one Afghan on a motorcycle who was later confirmed as a Taliban.Later the same day, Clint was put on suspension, his weapon was taken away and he was told nothing for the next 5 days. Finally, he was taken to the Brigade HQ and still at this point hadn't been told what was going on.
Clint was sent to Kandahar for the next 2 months where he sat idle without a weapon for the remainder of the deployment. Upon returning to Fort Bragg on Sep 23, 2012, Clint was reassigned to administrative duties at the BCT HQ.
On Tuesday, 15 JAN 13, Clint was charged.
Prior to this incident, Clint planned on serving his country for 10 more years, retiring from the Army and attending law school. Clint's dream is to work in a district attorney's office as an associate prosecutor.
