Case against 3 SEALs weakens - Washington Times

Case against 3 SEALs weakens - Washington Times

I had experience with the Military Justice system both as an Infantry Officer and, later, as a Miltary Police Officer. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is eminently fair if conducted by fair, objective Commanders, and the military, across the board, trains its people to be fair and objective. Despite that training there are instances when the Peter Principle, or raw luck, places an officer one position too high for his capabilities and that, combined with the pressure for political correctness, can lead to some awful decisions to prosecute under the UCMJ.

To top it all off, the military has become extremely competitive for despite its size there are only so many open positions at the next level which can lead to the smallest smudge, let alone a black mark, in your record being the difference between being promoted and being passed over. And if you are passed over 3 times as an officer, you get a pink slip thanking you for your service and out the door you go even if you're only a couple of years from retirement. To put it in perspective, as a brand-new 2nd Lt. you get a letter admonishing you for an inspection that didn't go well and since that point you've performed in an outstanding manner yet that one smudge is enough to keep you from promotion to Major or Lt. Colonel and out you go. Not exactly a system that allows for the development of a Patton, Eisenhower or Marshall but it does ensure that we have the most competent–based on the rated performance–people possible leading our youth into battle. It is still possible for someone who to slip through despite lacking the true ability but most of the time they won't. Most of the time.

Now consider the case against the 3 SEALs. They are obviously fine fighting men who are willing to go the distance in the service of our country. I know of no one who served in the military that doesn't give a nod of respect to SEALs. The cone for promotions in the SEALs gets very, very tight as it nears the top. I know of men who had received the Silver Star getting a pink slip because there was just not enough room at the next level and they didn't even have that small smudge on their record as a junior officer or enlisted man. Being referred to a Court Martial, as these men have been, is slightly more that a "smudge" and will probably end their military career somewhere down the road. Major General Cleveland's preferring of Court Martial proceedings was clearly precipitous considering that faking torture is a known tactic of al Qaeda and that the terrorists train their people to make just that accusation. They know that the Left Stream Media and the liberal-progressive-socialist Democrats love to cast our own troops as being the true evil in the war and they use both those groups most effectively. Cleveland has clearly, in a time when political correctness is more important that the ability to lead in combat, covered is rear with paper in an effort to grasp for that third star. Just as clearly, he doesn't deserve the two he has.

I believe that the UCMJ will perform as intended and that these men, these warriors, will be exonerated from the charges started by a young, inexperienced officer and filed by a General Officer, both of whom exemplify the term REMF. (For those of you too young to remember the Vietnam era, I suggest that you Google the term. I probably should write it out but despite Joe Biden's efforts to bring it to the main stream lexicon I prefer to leave the "F" to the street where it belongs.) These men should never have been charged or even verbally admonished. They should have been awarded medals, instead, for their having done their duty in an outstanding manner.

May God watch over them and Bless them.

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