Three appointments affecting Mideast operations have been announced by the Pentagon.

Maj. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, deputy chief of staff for strategic operations (C-3) with Multi-National Force–Iraq, has been assigned commanding general of Fort Benning, Ga., and the U.S. Army Infantry Center as well as commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School there, according to a release issued Friday.

Replacing Barbero is Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swan II, director of operations (J-3) for the U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Meanwhile, Brig Gen. Anthony R. Ierardi has been assigned deputy commander general of programs for Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. He has served as commander of Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Soldier charged in death set for court-martialFORT HOOD, Texas — Nearly a year ago, a gun battle erupted after a team of U.S. soldiers went to a dangerous area of Muqdadiyah, Iraq.

An Iraqi — severely wounded in the shootout — was shot to death by an Army sergeant as he lay on the floor of a house, unarmed and begging for his life, according to testimony at a previous military hearing.

When his court-martial begins Monday at Fort Hood, Sgt. Leonardo Trevino of San Antonio faces up to life in a military prison and a discharge if convicted on premeditated murder and other charges in connection with the wounded insurgent’s death last summer.

Trevino is accused of shooting the Iraqi twice: in the abdomen, a nonfatal wound, and then in the head, fatally, after ordering an Army medic to suffocate him. Trevino also is accused of lying to his superior, telling a soldier to drop a gun by the Iraqi’s body and instructing troops to say the man was armed.

Trevino’s attorney Richard V. Stevens has said the witnesses lack credibility and are holding grudges against their squad leader because Trevino disciplined them when they made mistakes.

Iranian woman released after export chargesFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — An Iranian national accused of trying illegally to export U.S. military night-vision goggles to Iran is expected to be released from custody within days after striking a last-minute deal with federal prosecutors.

Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan, 30, has been imprisoned since December, when she voluntarily traveled to Florida and surrendered to U.S. authorities.

She pleaded guilty Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale federal court to one count of conspiring illegally to export military goods.

In pleading guilty, Gholikhan admitted only that she served as a translator at a 2004 meeting in Vienna. At the meeting, prosecutors allege Gholikhan’s ex-husband accepted a sample pair of night-vision goggles from an undercover informant working for the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. law bans the sale of military-grade night-vision goggles without a license and prohibits all exports to Iran.

The case is one of a string of recent prosecutions involving the illegal export of sensitive military items.