Fort Meade

The commander of the Military District of Washington has ordered a court-martial for Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, the former intelligence analyst accused of giving hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington made the decision Friday after reviewing testimony and arguments from a preliminary hearing at Fort Meade in December, officials said. There was no word on whether the as-yet-unscheduled court-martial would also be held at Fort Meade, one of three installations within the military district equipped to host such a proceeding.

I read with great consternation the Jan. 12 editorial "Fort Meade expansion a boon, but traffic must be addressed. " Studies have concluded that building more roads simply increases traffic. What an excellent opportunity we have to build a light-rail running right down the middle of Route 32 from Columbia to Fort Meade. When I first moved to Howard County in 1986, that road was being expanded. I was dismayed to see that wide expanse of median left untouched. Coming from an area with great public transit, I thought a chance at making a real difference for future traffic was being missed.

Col. Edward Rothstein, Fort Meade's new garrison commander, will be the featured speaker at the BWI Business Partnership's January Signature Breakfast, Wed., Jan. 18, at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, 7795 Arundel Mills Blvd., in Hanover, near Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Advance registration is required by Monday, Jan. 16. Members attend at no charge or $30, depending on membership level. Space permitting, nonmembers may attend for $50. To register, go to http://www.bwipartner.org and click on the event registration button, or call 410-859-1000.

Growth at Fort Meade, the ever-expanding Army base across the border in Anne Arundel County, has been beneficial for Howard County. But as an article in today's issue makes clear - the second in a two-part series - unless something is done to improve access roads in the area, that rosy picture could have a very dark cloud. Fort Meade is the largest single employer of Howard County residents, and that number is sure to rise in the next few years as the base's Cyber Command headquarters adds more and more people.

Defense attorneys for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning on Sunday grilled military officers about the intelligence analyst's dealings with classified information, suggesting that computer security at his Iraq base was lax and rules were routinely broken. Prosecutors sought to emphasize that Manning, the 24-year-old accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified files to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, was well trained in how to handle sensitive information and knew not to distribute it. Manning's direct supervisor, Sgt. First Class Paul Adkins, was set to testify Sunday but invoked his Article 31 rights, similar to the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Military prosecutors building a case against the 24-year-old Army soldier accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks sought to show Saturday that Pfc. Bradley Manning had access to the secret documents and the ability to share them with the world. Defense attorneys spent little time challenging Manning's retrieval of the information, but instead used the government witnesses to draw a picture of a bright but deeply troubled soldier who was allowed to poke through a trove of top-secret information even after showing clear signs of emotional distress.

Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to be published by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, made his first appearance in a military courtroom Friday on charges that could land him in prison for life. The diminutive former intelligence analyst, wearing a green Army camouflage uniform, was mostly quiet through the first day of the hearing at Fort Meade as his civilian attorney tried to get the presiding officer thrown off the case.

Hundreds of activists are planning to demonstrate outside Fort Meade this weekend in support of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, organizers said. The demonstrators are to include Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense Department analyst who leaked the Vietnam War records known as the Pentagon Papers; gay veteran Lt. Dan Choi, a national leader in the campaign to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell; and busloads from the Occupy Wall Street and Washington encampments.

To his supporters, Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning is a hero, the whistle-blower who revealed U.S. war crimes and diplomatic double-dealing in the Pentagon records and State Department cables he is alleged to have sent to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks. To the government, which is bringing criminal charges against the former intelligence analyst, he is a turncoat who endangered lives and damaged relations with allies by stealing and leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

Catonsville native William Roberts III was recently promoted to the rank of colonel in a ceremony at Fort George Meade Army Base. He has served for more than 27 years in both active and reserve capacities. In 1975, Roberts graduated from Catonsville High School, where he was the first black male to win the school's Scholar Athlete Award. After earning a degree in sociology at Towson State University, he worked for the Anne Arundel County Department of Corrections for more than 25 years.