"Green Beret discharged for beating alleged child rapist speaks out"

RallyPoint Shared Content — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:58:40 -0400

From: CNN

Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland, the Green Beret being separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist," began telling his side of the story Monday.

Martland is under a gag order imposed by the Pentagon, but at the request of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, he wrote a statement detailing his actions on Sept. 6, 2011, which was obtained by CNN.

"Kicking me out of the army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it," Martland writes. Last week the Army rejected his appeal.

Martland and former Captain Daniel Quinn were disciplined by the Army after they beat a powerful local police official who they concluded had been raping a small boy. They say they had been encouraged by higher-ups that there was nothing to do about such horrific acts, that these were Afghan problems for the Afghan authorities to work out.

But the Afghan authorities wouldn't do anything about it, the two soldiers say.

"Our ALP (Afghan Local Police) were committing atrocities and we were quickly losing the support of the local populace," Martland writes in his statement. "The severity of the rapes and the lack of action by the Afghan Government caused many of the locals to view our ALP as worse than the Taliban."

Quinn and Martland were told by a young Afghan boy and his mother, through an Afghan interpreter, that the boy had been tied to a post at the home of Afghan Local Police commander Abdul Rahman and raped repeatedly for up to two weeks. When his mother tried to stop the attacks, they told the soldiers, Rahman's brother beat her. Quinn says he verified the story with other ALP commanders from neighboring villages. Then they invited Rahman to the camp.

"After the child rapist laughed it off and referenced that it was only a boy, Captain Quinn picked him up and threw him," Martland writes. Martland then proceeded to "body slam him multiple times," kick him in the rib cage, and put his foot on his neck. "I continued to body slam him and throw him for fifty meters until he was outside the camp," Martland writes. "He was never knocked out, and he ran away from our camp." The incident lasted no more than five minutes, he says.

Quinn told CNN's "The Lead" last week "We basically had to make sure that he fully understood that if he ever went near that boy or his mother again, there was going to be hell to pay."

"While I understand that a military lawyer can say that I was legally wrong, we felt a moral obligation to act," Martland writes.

Quinn told CNN that they took the action they took because otherwise nothing would be done by the Army or local authorities. "The reason we weren't able to step in with these local rape cases was we didn't want to undermine the authority of the local government," he said. "We were trying to build up the local government. Us acting after the local government fails to can certainly undermine their credibility."

The Pentagon denies that telling soldiers to look the other way is official practice.

"We have never had a policy in place that directs any military member, or any government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses," Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. "Any sexual abuse, no matter who the alleged perpetrator and no matter who the victim, is completely unacceptable and reprehensible."

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/28/politics/green-beret-discharged-for-beating-alleged-child-rapist-speaks-out/

Green Beret discharged for beating alleged child rapist speaks out - CNNPolitics.com

Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland, the Green Beret being separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist," began telling his side of the story Monday.

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 1:03 PM

1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:03:29 -0400

Sorry he got the boot. Time for Hunter to step up and do the right thing.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 29 at 2015 1:14 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:14:38 -0400

I am glad to learn that Rep. Duncan Hunter has taken up the case of Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland who was separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist."
I hope that justice will prevail and those who back the policy of ignoring crime to appease the natives will be punished appropriately.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 1:22 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:22:37 -0400

He shouldn't be kicked out ... that is my thought.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Sep 29 at 2015 1:28 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:28:06 -0400

I thought one thing, but someone much smarter than me SFC Jack S. knows more and could change attitudes on this subject.
SFC Jack S.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Sep 29 at 2015 1:35 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:35:08 -0400

Aren't we suppose to be there protecting the people from tyranny?

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Sep 29 at 2015 1:57 PM

SPC George Rudenko — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:57:59 -0400

Talk about all the wrong reasons. This should have been handled administrattively, internally. But someone is trying to make political points.

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Sep 29 at 2015 2:05 PM

Capt Lance Gallardo — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 14:05:25 -0400

When our Warfighters are put in the impossible position of turning their backs upon the rape of a child by an Afghan National Police Commander, or following what may very well be illegal (for sure immoral) orders not to interfere with such crimes against a child, we have to seriously think about getting the Hell out of Afghanistan! The "we had to burn the village, to save it the village" did not work in Vietnam where we allied ourselves with a morally compromised South Vietnam Government (which among its many crimes tortured and threw suspected NVA and Viet Cong Suspects/EPWs from Helicopters to their deaths), in what was essentially a nationalistic Civil War, and if our Warfighters cannot serve with their personal Honor intact, then we have got to do some hard thinking and hard bargaining with the Central Kabul Government regarding our Status of Forces Agreement, and what US Service Members can and will do when confronted with basic human rights violations committed in their presence, by people like the deplorable Afghan Police Commander.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Sep 29 at 2015 2:16 PM

SN Greg Wright — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 14:16:34 -0400

This is just...wrong. Way to go, Army.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Sep 29 at 2015 2:42 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 14:42:55 -0400

The rapist hot what he deserved.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 6:20 PM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 18:20:28 -0400

"We have never had a policy in place that directs any military member, or any government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses," Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. "Any sexual abuse, no matter who the alleged perpetrator and no matter who the victim, is completely unacceptable and reprehensible."

I am so glad they remember the lessons from the CBTs...but they really need to put them into practice. The Army is basically stating that everyone that has come forward stating that they were told to back off, turn the other way, do nothing, etc are all making it up?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 6:52 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 18:52:41 -0400

If the Pentagon didn't tell them to look the other way and ignore it then why is he being kicked out for it freaking government of ours

Response by 1SG Adais Garcia made Sep 29 at 2015 7:00 PM

1SG Adais Garcia — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:00:07 -0400

I concur too I would have done even WORSE shit when are we going to do the right Thing even if no one is watching I back up this NCO when all his Higher echelon has no Fucking Backbone then why Place us there in the 1st place Shit

Response by SSG Jim Foreman made Sep 29 at 2015 7:05 PM

SSG Jim Foreman — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:05:26 -0400

What happened? We were a Nation with honor, an Army with honor. Now we look the other way...pretend it didn't happen. I am happy to see men like the SFC and the Captain are still around and willing to protect the weaker.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 7:40 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:40:50 -0400

How in the hell is it that this guy was discharged, but this other guy (in the thread I've linked below) had direct abusive sexual contact with a child and his sorry ass is still in the military?

Something is wrong with this picture.

E-9 busted to E-4 and still in | RallyPoint

Just found this on military.com, What say you?Fort Carson, Aug. 5:Name: Sgt. Maj. Virgil L. EbrechtConviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of abusive sexual contact of a child.Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-4, confined for 30 months. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to six months.

Response by 1SG Jack Crutcher made Sep 29 at 2015 7:44 PM

1SG Jack Crutcher — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:44:37 -0400

If I was going to kick him out of the army it would be for not killing the SOB, if it was up to me I would promote him.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 7:44 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 19:44:40 -0400

Give Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland and Captain Daniel Quinn a medal and promotion. The Afghan Police Commander should have been shot.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 8:54 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 20:54:24 -0400

And this is exactly why I'm getting out of the Army when this contract is up. Ridiculous.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Sep 29 at 2015 10:05 PM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 22:05:31 -0400

Well this tells a different story from the first time I heard of it. Before the report said he just pushed him to the ground. I support what he tried to do whole heartedly, but whoever wrote the Pentagon response was being overly legalistic. Having a written policy and a verbal policy within commands are two different things.

Obviously, there was a policy in place to be hands off about these cases or the soldier wouldn't have been removed from his command and forced out. Some Army policy very high up pushed this along to get him out of the service for pointing out what no one wanted to talk about.

Response by Lt Col Michael Thomas made Sep 29 at 2015 11:56 PM

Lt Col Michael Thomas — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 23:56:10 -0400

Would not acting have made him complicit under the law? He had no choice and deserves better treatment.

Response by Sgt Bruce Taylor made Sep 30 at 2015 8:32 AM

Sgt Bruce Taylor — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 08:32:58 -0400

Aren't child rape and the corruption of men who sit above the law the primary reasons so many Afghans view the Taliban as a legitimate alternative?

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Sep 30 at 2015 10:20 AM

Capt Lance Gallardo — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:20:05 -0400

Why are we still in Afghanistan? must be asked at some point, probably now is as good a time as any. Though five years after 9/11 would have been a better time to leave Afghanistan than now. If the Afghan Government cannot stop the rape of little boys than maybe the Taliban should have control of the country (you got the death penalty for raping kids under the Taliban Rule, and the practice of raping little boys was all but non-existent under Taliban rule)), provided that they don't let Al Qaeda or ISIS back in. The funny thing is that ISIS is trying to displace the Taliban in Afghanistan, so there may be a day when we assist the Taliban (or former Taliban) against ISIS who are a much more serious threat against the US than the Talibs. Like Iraq, Afghanistan is essentially in a civil war which we were forced to involve ourselves in after 9/11. The central government is weak and corrupt, and the tragedy of US Warfighters, having to standby knowing that Afghan Officials like this Monster Police Commander, are raping boys, is another reason to question why we are still there fourteen years after 9/11. We did not invade Afghanistan to impose women's rights on them. We invaded Afghanistan to kill and displace the people who let Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda Murder 3,000 Americans here at home.

Response by Sgt Ronnie Mack made Sep 30 at 2015 10:39 AM

Sgt Ronnie Mack — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:39:28 -0400

This is all political brother, but then agin. You already know this. Unfortunately, our govt has and always will sale is out. And once and a while, they make a example of a true warrior to appeas the Geneva convention!!!! What we did/do for our great Country which we live in will always be "thankless"!!! But that is what makes us who we are, always doing the morally right thing in and out of the presence of our superiors! Never forget that brother!!!

Response by SGT Eric Love made Sep 30 at 2015 3:45 PM

SGT Eric Love — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:45:09 -0400

Defense Spokesman.....you were told to lie and you are a liar.

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Sep 30 at 2015 8:01 PM

Capt Lance Gallardo — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:01:53 -0400

Thank God the US Army is producing SF Soldiers, enlisted and officer, that know that right is right and wrong is wrong, and will not stand by for the continued rape of a little boy, when his mother comes to you for help. As to the Army's Bureaucratic Response to these soldiers, that should have a Congressional Investigation and hearings, and maybe an Inspector General's Investigation, as to what these men should have done when faced with the eminent harm to a child. I say they took less lethal action (although unconventional, maybe inspired action -isn't that what SF Soldiers are supposed to do, improvise, adapt, and overcome, working with indigenous populations, often with out specific orders and with maximum autonomy. What about their Green Beret Motto "De oppresso liber" to liberate the oppressed - they liberated a child from his Oppressor) against the suspect/child rapist and thereby prevented further harm to the child, without doing lethal harm to the rapist. Mission Accomplished. These men should never have to buy a beer anywhere for the rest of their lives in a Public Bar.

Response by SPC Andrew Burns made Oct 1 at 2015 12:00 AM

SPC Andrew Burns — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:08 -0400

Whomever is responsible for the firing of this soldier should be fired themselves and he should be let back in and promoted.

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Oct 1 at 2015 12:03 AM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:03:51 -0400

Ridiculous. Army gods messed up on this one.

Response by SPC David S. made Oct 1 at 2015 5:06 PM

SPC David S. — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 17:06:11 -0400

If there is no policy in looking the other way then why the gag order from the Pentagon if the case is closed? Smells a lot like bullshit. Like I said before he did the right thing but chicken shit leadership is making him out to be the bad guy - this is f'ing crazy.

Response by James Zander made Sep 5 at 2019 4:12 PM

James Zander — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 16:12:09 -0400

My sympathies are with our bravest...every day. Serving our nation, while put in situations where they know what the honorable thing to do...but their hands are tied. Imo...forcing our bravest to in essence...act without honor...in these cultural situations or situations such as this...is not a stain on them...but a stain on the higher ups...knowingly setting them up for this to happen...then not have their backs. We all know what we likely would have done in real life, here stateside, if we came upon such an act of barbarism.