[paul51]

could receive a year in jail, a forfeiture of pay, reduction in rank and a bad-conduct discharge

Too lenient

[LasVegasMac]

Too lenient

I very much agree.

But he was smart with this move....

Paredes had waived his right to have his trial heard by a military jury.

LVM

[sarasmom]

Perhaps.
I vaguely remember recurring dreams of urgently advising people potentially "under my command" that since they had no honor and had adequately demonstrated their incompetence, that the minimal risk of death "while at war" was less than the certainty of death if they did NOT go AWOL and/or desert before they put anyone else in my unit at risk...
But that was just a dream fragment, or a partially remembered novel passage. sarcasm// Even an all volunteer armed force is not without its personnel challenges!