For three soldiers accused of assaulting a Bellefonte man, a new proposal by their defense attorneys may allow them to get out of jail -- and back to Iraq.

Jermaine Garrett, 25, of Walterboro, S.C., Christopher Holcomb, 22, of Kingston, Wis., and Brenton Scrudders, 22, of Milesburg , are charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. All three are Iraq war veterans.

According to court documents, Garrett approached Michael Benjamin, 30, on the 200 block of East College Avenue on June 24 and verbally assaulted and punched him to the ground. At a preliminary hearing June 28, witnesses testified that Benjamin fell to the ground and was defenseless when Garrett, Holcomb and Scrudders began kicking him in the stomach and groin area.

Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane said under the proposal, the soliders would admit "some responsibility" for the incident. In return, they would be credited for the time they have served in prison awaiting trial and be released on parole back to the military.

Andrew Shubin, who represents Scrudders, said the proposed agreement would allow his client to return to his unit in Iraq. Shubin said Scrudders is currently on active duty but cannot deploy to Iraq until the case is resolved.

Scrudders did not view a return to Iraq as a punishment, Shubin said.

"This is a situation were the guy's served for five years, and he's chomping at the bit to be back with his unit," he said. "One of the best ways to resolve this case would be for him to continue serving his country by deploying back to his unit in Iraq."

Shubin said the court has taken military service into consideration when deciding sentences in the past, noting a Centre County case in which two men chose to enlist in the navy as a sentence for shooting a cow.

The soldiers' case was scheduled for jury selection yesterday, but it was postponed to allow time to talk with the victim about the proposal, Sloane said.

The soldiers had previously been applying for the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program, which would allow them to receive a reduced penalty and apply to have their records expunged after a year, Sloane said.

However, Sloane said the program was normally limited to one-time, nonviolent offenses and it would be "very unusual" in this case. Sloane said District Attorney Michael Madeira had already denied ARD to at least one defendant.

Court documents indicate that during the incident, the three men told Benjamin to "say hello to the wizard." Benjamin said in July that "wizard" is a common name for Saddam Hussein -- which makes him think the crime was racially motivated. However, Philip Masorti, the soldiers' attorney at the time, denied that the term was part of army jargon and was not a reference to Hussein.