In the Brig

[Catseye3]

@george-k said in In the Brig:

But, as a member of the armed forces, there are protocols to be followed, and it seems he broke them.

Yep . . . where is all this rebellion against orders coming from?

Oh yeah. Social media.

And yes, I agree he sounds not quite-quite. The kindest thing you could say is that this is some sort of stream of consciousness happening. Maybe a psych eval; maybe a medical discharge? Dunno.

[LuFins Dad]

@doctor-phibes said in In the Brig:

I have to say, he doesn't sound completely rational to me.

Isn’t this the guy that they were expressing concern over his well being at the beginning of all this? Everybody dismissed that as a cheap stunt…

[George K]

@catseye3 said in In the Brig:

Yep . . . where is all this rebellion against orders coming from?

AFAIK, there were no orders related to his station in the military.

He was complaining about the policies/procedures of the military/government in general.

[Catseye3]

@george-k said in In the Brig:

AFAIK, there were no orders related to his station in the military.

I was speaking generally -- including those Marines who scribbled obscenities on the walls; stuff like that.

[Doctor Phibes]

@lufins-dad said in In the Brig:

@doctor-phibes said in In the Brig:

I have to say, he doesn't sound completely rational to me.

Isn’t this the guy that they were expressing concern over his well being at the beginning of all this? Everybody dismissed that as a cheap stunt…

I seem to think some people thought the references to his mental health might have been an Orwellian-style tactic to shut him down and lock him up. Personally, I thought at the time that there was a pretty good chance he was struggling with something a bit more than just disliking the way things had gone.

[LuFins Dad]

@doctor-phibes I think you may have been right.

[LuFins Dad]

Unfortunately, that will disqualify all of his points, some of which are worthy of consideration.

[taiwan_girl]

@george-k said in In the Brig:

My opinion?
If you disagree with the choices made by your superior officers, you have two choices:

Obey and STFU
Resign

There's a third choice - speak out, and face the consequences.

I agree. For most countries, the military is the same. They cannot allow an obvious show of not following orders.

It can be battle decisions, getting vaccinated, the type of uniform to wear, etc.

[Doctor Phibes]

@lufins-dad said in In the Brig:

Unfortunately, that will disqualify all of his points, some of which are worthy of consideration.

It's clear that the US operation in Afghanistan has been anything but a roaring success. Obviously, everybody is so busy blaming the other side for their part in the disaster that nobody is actually thinking that maybe, just maybe, this isn't the fault of one or two guys, but is actually a longer-term, and bigger problem.

[George K]

[George K]

Sentenced:

The U.S. Marine who posted videos on social media criticizing military leadership and the Biden administration’s withdrawal of military assets from Afghanistan was issued a letter of reprimand and a forfeiture of $5,000 worth of pay for one month, after pleading guilty to all charges during his court-martial hearing this week.

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. pled guilty to all six misdemeanor-level charges Thursday, including willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, dereliction in the performance of duties and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

The judge, on Friday, said he would have given a two-month forfeiture of pay, had it not been for the nine days Scheller spent in pre-trial confinement. Scheller was freed from the brig last week where he was being held for violating an agreement to stop posting criticism on social media.

The judge said he does not condone Scheller’s offenses, but noted his 17 year USMC career, saying that prior to his social media incident, he was an officer with an outstanding record – a record, he said, he weighed heavily.

The letter of reprimand was much less than what was recommended. The prosecution recommended a forfeiture of $5,000 of pay for 6 months and a letter of reprimand. The maximum penalty could have been forfeiture of 2/3 monthly pay for 12 months and a letter of reprimand.

Sounds like he got off pretty light.

I have no idea what military jurisprudence is like, and how much latitude the court has in sentencing. The fact that the judge took his 17 years of service into consideration is interesting. That would never happen (would it?) in a civilian court.