Iraq war trial has soldier's fate on hold

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4641774.html

From his early teens, Bryan Howard trained like the fictional fighter "Rocky" for his dream job as a Ranger in the Army.

He kept his hair clipped short and ran three miles a day with a 50-pound pack strapped to his back. He joined the JROTC at his tiny rural high school and rose quickly to the top leadership post. Two weeks after graduation, the Huffman teen headed to boot camp. As soon as he was done with that, he was sent to Iraq.

Pfc. Howard, now 23, never made it to the Rangers. And now a judge will decide if he ever will. The next step in his military career is a courtroom in Fort Campbell, Ky., where on Wednesday he is scheduled for trial for his role in one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq war.

He and others from his Army platoon in the 101st Airborne have been accused of conspiring to rape 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, then kill the teen, her parents and 5-year-old sister.