UNEQUAL JUSTICE

U.S. News & World Report ^ | 8 December 2002 | Edward T. Pound

[THE JAG HUNTER]

Cover Story 12/16/02 Unequal justice Military courts are stacked to convict–but not the brass. The Pentagon insists everything's just fine

BY EDWARD T. POUND

"The purpose of military law is to promote justice, to assist in maintaining good order and discipline in the armed forces, to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the military establishment, and thereby to strengthen the national security of the United States.''

–The preamble to the U.S. Manual for Courts-Martial

[THE JAG HUNTER]

"I believe that every man in uniform is a citizen first and a serviceman second, and that we must resist any attempt to isolate or separate the defenders from the defended."

President Richard M. Nixon 4 June 1969 Commencement Address U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs

[Capitalist Eric]

Let's put it this way... I was in the engine room of my boat (stretched 637-class), for three separate power plant casualties, that should have gotten somebody killed. Luckily it was not the case... Each time the C.O. ran around, trying to find someone to blame... (two of the three was no-BS, sh!t-happens type things) The last incident was a direct result of an engineering officer giving orders to do something REALLY stupid... when we told him such actions would endanger the ship, he blew us off, screamed at us to perform those actions. The resulting explosion was rather interesting...

He got promoted, two months later. The E.O. was threatened with NJP, for performing the actions (after marking in his log that he was ordered to against the protests of the E.O....

I worked for 16 months on a subtender... 5 men, 18 women in the shop. When one of the women (a loud-mouthed, nasty little Texan brat) had a beef with the LPO, she claimed sexual harassment, and had the gall to ask me to testify on her behalf (she was an E5, I was an E4). Of course, she'd been making all sorts of nasty remarks to me, of a sexual nature... I got in her face, told her if I was going to testify against anybody, it'd be her. And then told her NEVER to talk to me again, in case I decide to press charges...

She never bothered me again... BTW, though the charges against the LPO were thrown out, his career was destroyed...

I have many more examples, but you get the idea.

There is no such thing as "military justice." It does not exist...

[big'ol_freeper]

Talk about a hit job.

[dighton]

Something in your line, BlueLancer. I won't be surprised if your opinion is pretty much that of big'ol freeper's.

Warning: it's fairly long. Disclaimer: I have no personal knowledge of the subject at hand.

[Grut]

"Military justice is to justice as military music is to music." - Georges Clemenceau