Saving Sandoval

The true story of the 2007 case of a soldier charged with murder by the very government he had sworn to serve.

While deployed to the most dangerous area in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death,” U.S. Army Specialist Jorge G. Sandoval Jr., an airborne infantryman and elite sniper, was instructed to “take the shot” and kill an enemy insurgent wearing civilian clothes. Two weeks later, Army Criminal Investigation Command descended upon Sandoval’s unit and began interrogating the soldiers, trying to link Sandoval and others to war crimes, including murder.

Captain Craig W. Drummond was the JAG military defense attorney assigned to Sandoval’s case. “The case blew up and was closely followed by reporters around the world. After all, a soldier is trained to follow orders, not ask questions or second-guess authority. I knew I needed to prove his innocence or risk other soldiers being tried and convicted for simply doing their job.”

Saving Sandoval covers the events from the moment the trigger is pulled through the trial in a U.S. military compound on the outskirts of Baghdad. With the fast-paced, detailed account of the investigation and trial testimony from elite Army snipers, readers are brought into the courtroom and onto the battlefield of Iraq.

“A revealing, real-life courtroom drama, reminiscent of A Few Good Men.”—Hunter R. Clark, Director, International Law and Human Rights Program, Drake University Law School

“Gives an inside look at the scrutiny soldiers face on the battlefield and the politics involved in modern day warfare.”—Major Chris Ophardt, U.S. Army, Public Affairs Officer to the Secretary of the Army, 2016-2017, (Iraq Veteran)