Free Republic

It’s a massive victory more than six months in the making. Sergeant First Class Charles Martland – a decorated war hero who faced expulsion from the Army for defending a child – has been exonerated and will be allowed to remain in the U.S. military. We have been aggressively advocating for SFC Martland for more than six months, and now we’ve helped achieve a significant victory for this Green Beret war hero. SFC Martland faced expulsion from the Army for defending a child from sexual abuse and confronting an admitted sexual predator in Afghanistan. The ACLJ argued that his actions...

In a response to the case of a Green Beret whom the Army wants to boot for confronting an accused child abuser in Afghanistan, a House war veteran lawmaker is introducing a bill that would make such rape illegal on a military base. The move by Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, comes as the Army put off a final decision on the career of Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland. Now a hero to pro-defense and social conservatives, Sgt. Martland and his supervising officer roughed up an Afghan police officer immediately after they learned he was accused of raping a boy....

SFC Martland was set to be expelled from the United States Army today because he was willing to defend a child from horrific sexual abuse and torture. The Army’s announced extension today is most certainly welcome news. ... the Army says it is extending the deadline in SFC Martland’s case until May 1st saying the “extension was granted to allow consideration of his application to correct his records by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.” .. SFC Martland, a Green Beret Bronze Star recipient, faces expulsion from the Army because he intervened to protect a child from an...

Army Secretary John McHugh on Tuesday agreed to postpone discharging an Army Green Beret for his role in beating an Afghan police official who was sexually abusing an Afghan boy. The decision was announced after Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked McHugh to give Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland time to prepare an appeal. "Out of respect for Chairman Thornberry's continued strong support for our military, and his personal appeal, Secretary McHugh has agreed to postpone Sgt. First Class Martland's discharge from the Army for 60 days to allow him to file an appeal...

In the Obama military, you can celebrate immorality — but you can’t confront it. That’s the lesson the Army is trying to teach the Green Beret’s Charles Martland. A hero by both record and reputation, Sergeant First Class Martland is about to lose his career over something that any parent or decent American would have done: intervene in the violent rape of an innocent boy. When Martland confronted the attacker (a member of the Afghan police), the rapist laughed off the soldier’s horror, insisting it was “just a boy.” Shocked and outraged, the Sergeant and a fellow Green Beret said...

A Green Beret who may be pushed out of the Army for beating up an alleged child rapist sees a parallel between the U.S. military's failure to stop child rape in Afghanistan and a scandal at home: The abuse of children in the Penn State University football program. Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, a former college football player, made the comparison in a letter sent to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R.-Calif., Tuesday night and released to The Washington Post. It comes as he faces the possibility of involuntary separation for his actions in September 2011, when he and his commanding officer,...

EXCLUSIVE: Even as the U.S. military denies reports that American troops were told to ignore Afghan child abusers, an 11-year Green Beret who was ordered discharged after he confronted an alleged rapist was informed Tuesday that the Army has denied his appeal. Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland earlier this year was ordered discharged by Nov. 1. He has been fighting to stay in, but in an initial decision, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command told Martland that his appeal “does not meet the criteria” for an appeal. “Consequently, your request for an appeal and continued service is disapproved,” the office...