A Marine at Camp Pendleton has been ordered back to prison -- possibly as early as Wednesday -- for the killing of an unarmed Iraqi man in 2006.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins was freed in April from the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, while appeals courts considered whether he was denied a fair trial at Camp Pendleton.

Hutchins had served four years of an 11-year sentence after being convicted as the ringleader of a plot to kidnap and murder a retired Iraqi police officer in Hamandiya, west of Baghdad.

But those appeals proved unsuccessful. Hutchins' attorneys have filed another appeal, but Hutchins was ordered back to prison while that appeal is considered.

A last-minute request for clemency was rejected Tuesday, without comment, by Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Hutchins is set to surrender to authorities at Camp Pendleton and be sent to the brig before being transferred to Fort Leavenworth.

Since April, Hutchins has been assigned as a rifle-range instructor at Camp Pendleton. He has reconciled with his wife, and the couple is expecting their second child, according to Hutchins' attorney Babu Kaza.

At issue in the appeals is whether Hutchins' right to a fair trial was damaged when one of his trial attorneys was allowed to leave the case on the eve of the court martial.

Seven enlisted Marines and one Navy corpsman were convicted in the Hamandiya killing. As the squad leader, Hutchins received the longest sentence. All of the others are now freed; none served more than 18 months.

The plan to kill an Iraqi was developed as a warning to other Iraqis not to attack Marines with sniper shots or buried roadside bombs. In the months after the killing, attacks on Marines in the region dropped.

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-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins. Credit: Associated Press

A bomb-sniffing Labrador named Eli is home from war, adopted by the parents of his Marine handler who was killed by a sniper in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of other dogs are still serving in Afghanistan, particularly with Marines fighting to wrest control of Helmand province from Taliban control. The dogs are so effective at sniffing out buried roadside bombs that some Marines believe Taliban snipers are targeting the canines.

The Marine Corps has a $53-million annual budget for what are technically known as improvised detection dogs.

Many of the Marine dogs are trained at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Others are trained by private contractors. The relationship between the handler and his dog is nurtured through predeployment training, including at Twentynine Palms.

"That relationship is what saves lives," said Marine dog handler Cpl. Al Brenner. "You need to be able to read your dog."

In Afghanistan, the dogs are a morale-booster for Marines patrolling villages.

"You feel a little more confidence, safer, with the dog," said dog handler Cpl. Cody Richeal.

In the case of Eli, Darrell and Kathy Rusk arranged to adopt the dog and take it to their ranch in Texas. They were grateful Eli guarded their son, Pfc. Colton Rusk, after he was hit by a sniper.

Rusk, from the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, later died from his wounds.

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Afghanistan's most loyal troops

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Eli, the retired Marine dog. Credit: U.S. Air Force

A Marine from the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was killed in combat Thursday in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Marine Corps officials identified him as Sgt. Jason Amores, 29, of Lehigh Acres, Fla. A squad leader, Amores was on his fourth combat deployment including service in Iraq. Among his medals was the Combat Action Ribbon for having been under enemy fire and returned fire.

The 3rd Battalion 5th Regiment has been deployed to the Sangin district of Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold.

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A Marine killed Friday in a training accident at Camp Pendleton was identified Saturday as Sgt. Wesley Rice, a 27-year-old Iraq veteran from San Antonio.

Rice, an instructor, was among six Marines in an amphibious assault vehicle that sank in a boat basin during a training exercise, according to the Marine Corps.

Five Marines were able to escape, but Rice did not.

Rice deployed to Iraq twice and received a Combat Action Ribbon for having been under fire and returning fire. 

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

A Marine died during a training accident at Camp Pendleton in which an amphibious assault vehicle became submerged, base officials said Friday.

Five other Marines in the vehicle survived without injury. The accident occurred at 11:30 a.m. in the Del Mar boat basin on the base.

The unidentified Marine was recovered at 2:15 p.m. and flown by helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he was pronounced dead at 2:47 p.m., officials said.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

A military appeals court Wednesday dealt a setback to a Marine sergeant hoping to avoid returning to prison for his alleged role as the ringleader of a plot that led to the kidnapping and fatal shooting of an unarmed Iraqi.

Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III was released in late April from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. after an appeals court ruled that he was denied a fair trial because one of his lawyers left the case on the eve of his court martial at Camp  Pendleton.

Hutchins had served four years of an 11-year sentence meted out after he was convicted of unpremeditated murder in the shooting of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the village of Hamandiya in 2006.

The military appealed the 2010 ruling. Hearing that appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services ruled that while the decision of the court martial judge to allow the lawyer to withdraw from the case was improper, "the errors did not materially prejudice the substantial rights" of Hutchins.

The court ruled that the case be returned to the judge advocate general of the Navy so that an appeals process testing whether Hutchins' rights were harmed can commence.

Hutchins, who was returned to duty at Camp Pendleton, said in an e-mail to family and friends that he considered the eight months of freedom since last year's decision to have been a blessing from God that allowed him to re-establish his relationship with his family and daughter.

"To all of you who have stood beside me throughout all of this, you have my deepest regards and thanks," said the e-mail. "...Remember, as Marines we NEVER retreat; we NEVER surrender. We adapt and overcome. So with that said, Semper Fidelis."

Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman were convicted in the incident. The other defendants, given lighter sentences, are all free. None served more than 18 months.

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Photo: Marine Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins at his court martial at Camp Pendleton. Credit: Associated Press

Marine Cpl. Tevan Nguyen has been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Nguyen, 21, of Hutto, Texas, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

He was killed Tuesday in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold. He is the 23rd Marine from his battalion to die from combat wounds since Oct. 8.

Nguyen enlisted in June 2007. This was his first combat deployment.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth Corzine, 23, of Bethalto, Ill., died Friday of wounds suffered in combat Dec. 5 in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

Corzine was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton.  He was the 22nd Marine from the battalion killed by combat in Afghanistan since Oct. 8.

A rifleman, Corzine was on his first combat deployment. He had enlisted in 2007.

He was transported to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., after the Dec. 5 incident in which a roadside bomb severed his legs and mangled one arm. He is survived by his 3-year-old daughter.

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A Marine from Camp Pendleton has been killed in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Monday.

Cpl. Eric Torbert Jr., 25, of Lancaster, Pa., was killed Saturday during combat in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold, the Pentagon said. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Pendleton.

Torbert enlisted in September 2007. This was his first combat deployment.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

A Marine lance corporal from Camp Pendleton has been killed in combat in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Saturday.

Jose Maldonado, 21, of Mathis, Texas, was killed Friday in Helmand province. He was part of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. A riflleman, he was on his first deployment.

Maldonado is the 21st Marine from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment killed in Afghanistan since Oct. 8. The battalion has been assigned to wrest control of the Sangin area from Taliban fighters.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego