Discharge suggested for anti-war Marine

A military panel recommended that an Iraq war veteran who wore his uniform during an anti-war protest should lose his honorable discharge status, brushing away his claims that he was exercising his right to free speech.

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, argued that since he removed his name tag and military emblems from his uniform, he did nothing wrong by participating in the March protest in Washington, D.C.

. . . a three-person Marine board recommended he receive a general discharge under honorable conditions, one step below an honorable discharge. It would let Kokesh keep all of his benefits.

"This is a nonpunitive discharge," said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. "The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge."

After the hearing, Kokesh criticized the panel for not taking a stronger stand on the issue. He said he might appeal the board's ruling.

"I do not think it was in the Marine Corps spirit to take the easy road or to not take a stand. In the words of Dante, the hottest layers of hell are reserved for those who in times of moral crisis maintain their neutrality, and I think that's what happened here today."

. . . he was identified in a photo caption in The Washington Post. A superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization. Kokesh had already received an honorable discharge from active duty before he was photographed at the protest.

An investigating officer had recommended that the board immediately discharge Kokesh under other-than-honorable conditions, the toughest such penalty it could impose.

The cat will win on appeal.

Was he in the IRR? Yup - but was he paid? Nope.

Did he report for drill? Nope.

Does he have a DD form 214 in possession? I suspect that answer is yes.

The cat was no more in the Crotch then I was in the Army while the draft was active. The IRR is a contact option for the Corps to recall trained employees (yah, I know) - not everyone on IRR is recalled. UCMJ doesn't apply IMO.

Sorry - points go to the First Amendment.

ASOC: The cat was no more in the Crotch then I was in the Army while the draft was active. The IRR is a contact option for the Corps to recall trained employees (yah, I know) - not everyone on IRR is recalled. UCMJ doesn't apply IMO.

Equality 7-2521: Your interpretation is correct.

I'm no expert on the Marine Corps nor the UCMJ. Lord knows I'm not. But neither do I understand your posts.

Unless there was something you were responding to in Popocatapetl's post that I can't connect to, I don't see how your interpretation could possibly be correct.

If the Corporal is assigned to the Individual Ready Reserve, he is a Marine. He is in The Crotch.

Under certain circumstances, his civilian conduct can get his current status and future discharge reviewed. I'm not sure who composed this board or who the convening authority was, but in determining characterization of discharge, the following paragraph appears in the Marine Corps Separation and Retirement Manual (as of 30 May 2001):

1004.4.d. Conduct by Reservists. Conduct in the civilian community by a member of the inactive reserves (including the Individual Ready Reserve) who, at the time of the conduct, is not on active duty, or active duty for training, may form the basis for characterization under other than honorable conditions only if such conduct directly affects the performance of military duties (service related). Such conduct may form the basis of characterization as general (under honorable conditions) only if such conduct adversely affects the overall effectiveness of the Marine Corps including military morale and efficiency.

I cite this paragraph only to contend that the Corporal's conduct placed him under the jurisdiction of the Marine Corps. Maybe some military legal type might step in to set things straight for us.

Basically, the cite you have given lists specific conditions that must be met in order to form the basis of a General (under honorable conditions) Discharge.

Each of the conditions has to be met. They are in order:

The conduct must directly affect the performance of the servicemember's military duties.
The conduct must adversely affect the overall effectiveness of the Marine Corps including military morale and efficiency.

Member's of the IRR have very few military duties. Really, the only duties that they have is to hold onto their uniforms (or at least have a complete inventory if recalled) and ID card, update their contact information when necessary, and show up once per year for a physical. That's it. Protesting in part of a uniform does not affect any of those duties.

I hope that helps.

The magic phrase is “pay”

IRR do not get paid. IRR mostly have a DD214 - a Military discharge form.

The :Reservists: you quoted about perform duty and get paid. The whole “two weeks and one weekend” thing.

The UCMJ is kinda funny in many ways. Bottom line, ya gotta be a paid member of the military. As a retiree, I could get called back to active duty (doubtful for an old fart like me) for something or the other and

this is important

I get paid every month, regular as clockwork - so in theory, the UCMJ could be applied to my tired backside. But I am such an old fart, I still believe in the USofA, patriotism and all that....

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