(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121107-bales-hmed-1140a.photoblog600.jpg)Lois Silver/ReutersA courtroom sketch shows U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, center, and his defense attorneys Emma Scanlan, second from left, and Maj. Gregory Malson, left, listen to witness Sgt. Jason McLaughlin (R) testify at a U.S. Courts Martial pre-trial proceeding, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington on Monday. Col. Lee Demecky, top center, is seen presiding over the hearing.By NBC News staff and wire servicesSgt. Robert Bales, accused of carrying out a massacre of Afghan villagers in March, had been chosen for an especially challenging assignment in southern Afghanistan because he was deemed a top soldier, according to testimony on Wednesday by 1st Sgt. Vernon Bigham, the News Tribune reported (http://blog.thenewstribune.com/military/2012/11/07/day-3-in-court-for-ssg-robert-bales-set-up-with-dna-firearm-experts/).
Follow @NBCNewsUS (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsUS)"We needed to put our best guys" with a Special Forces team at Village Stability Platform Belambay, the Tribune said, quoting Bigham, who testified over a video teleconference link from Kandahar Air Field to the hearings at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
NBCNews