Free Republic

When a military member is wearing the uniform and receiving a salary from the Department of Defense, that military member has essentially signed away his First Amendment rights granted by the Constitution. The exact words of the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 88 - Contempt Toward Public Officials states: “Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall...

Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen said that if Republican nominee Donald Trump becomes president and follows through on some of the things he’s said on the campaign trail, the U.S. could face a “civil military crisis, the like of which we’ve not seen in this country.” "When we swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, which is a document and a set of principles and it supports the rule of law, one of those is to ensure that we do not obey illegal orders," Allen told told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on "This Week."

Retired Admiral William McRaven has published an op-ed in Friday’s New York Times titled, “Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President,” urging that Trump be removed from office — “the sooner, the better.” McRaven’s op-ed gives a military imprimatur to what President Donald Trump has already likened to a “coup,” as Democrats attempt to impeach him with barely a year to go before the next presidential election. The admiral, well-respected for his role in overseeing the operation to kill Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden in 2011, argues that senior military leaders have lost confidence in the president and...

The jury in the military trial of Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher has found him not guilty of premeditated murder and attempted murder during a deployment to Iraq in 2017. He was, however, found guilty of unlawfully posing for a picture with a human casualty. The verdict was reached after about a day of deliberation. The government and defense attorneys both made closing arguments in the case on Monday, after presenting testimony from numerous witnesses over two weeks. Gallagher, 40, was charged with premeditated murder over an alleged stabbing of a wounded ISIS fighter in Mosul, and attempted premeditated murder...

The WhatsApp group would eventually lead to formal allegations that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher fatally stabbed a wounded Islamic State captive in his care and shot civilians in Iraq in 2017. Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A jury of mostly combat Marines will ultimately decide the fate of the 19-year-veteran and Bronze Star recipient charged with murder, attempted murder and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline for posing with the corpse for photographs. No matter the outcome, the court-martial at Naval Base San Diego has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL...

After being confined in the Fort Leavenworth military prison for eight years, Sergeant Derrick Miller is out on parole and trying to put his life back together. In July 2011, Sgt. Miller was convicted of premeditated murder for the death of an Afghan during his third deployment with the U.S. National Guard. But the circumstances that led Sgt. Miller to join the military and got him to this point, are a story in and of themselves. "Initially, I had been working in construction for probably about six or seven years. I'd been doing carpentry and had my own crew. We...

Navy judge in SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher’s case won’t dismiss charges, but took away life-without-parole sentencing optionSAN DIEGO — The war crimes charges against a San Diego-based Navy SEAL will stand, a Navy judge ruled Friday. Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward R. Gallagher is facing charges that he killed a wounded teenage ISIS fighter brought to the SEAL’s Mosul, Iraq compound for medical treatment in 2017. Gallagher also is accused of shooting at civilians, posing for photos with a corpse and holding his reenlistment ceremony next to the body, according to court documents and prosecutor statements. Gallagher has denied all...

Full Title: Navy retaliated against SEAL Keith Barry after refusing to sign paperwork admitting guilt, he says – Navy denies . Navy Seal Chief Keith Barry has been through hell and back. He was released from jail in 2017 after serving three years for a crime that he didn’t commit, after it was discovered that one of the top lawyers in the Navy personally tried to ensure he was found guilty. -snip- Three years after the conviction, and after two failed appeals, it was revealed in 2017 that the convening authority in his case had been pressured to rule against...

A military judge on Monday took the rare step of removing a prosecutor accused of misconduct from the war crimes case of a decorated Navy SEAL. Capt. Aaron Rugh ordered Cmdr. Christopher Czaplak removed from the case of Operations Chief Edward Gallagher after defense lawyers accused the prosecution of spying on their emails, according to the ruling. ~snip~ Rugh has not yet ruled on whether to dismiss murder and attempted murder counts against Gallagher.

Full title: Citing prosecutor misconduct, defense urges judge to drop charges against Navy SEAL charged with murderDefense attorneys for a Navy SEAL charged with war crimes argued Friday that military prosecutors’ actions amounted to misconduct so egregious that all the charges against their client, Chief Special Operator Edward R. Gallagher, should be dismissed. The judge in the case, while agreeing prosecutors violated Gallagher’s rights, did not immediately rule on their motion. Gallagher is charged with killing a wounded ISIS fighter in Iraq in 2017 after providing medical care. Other charges he faces are related to fellow SEALs’ statements that he...

Full title: Lawyers defending accused SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher alleged prosecutors spied on them, and at least one reporter, via software attached to emails.A San Diego-based Navy SEAL charged with war crimes — including premeditated murder — was ordered released from pretrial restriction at Navy Base San Diego Thursday because the judge said prosecutors interfered with his defense counsel and caused delays in his trial. The delays are due to a Navy Criminal Investigative Service investigation into media leaks in the case. The judge said the release was a partial remedy. According to court testimony, Cmdr. Chris Czaplak, the Navy’s...

A former commander of the USS John S. McCain pleaded guilty Friday to dereliction of duty when the destroyer collided with a commercial tanker, killing 10 sailors and injuring five in the Straits of Singapore last August. Cmdr. Alfredo Sanchez, who has served in the Navy for more than 20 years, testified during a special court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard, Stars and Stripes reported. “I am ultimately responsible and stand accountable,” Sanchez said. “I will forever question my decisions that contributed to this tragic event.” Per disciplinary proceedings, Sanchez agreed to retire from service, forfeit $6,000 in wages, and...

WASHINGTON — The junior lieutenant in charge of navigating the USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a commercial vessel pleaded guilty Tuesday to dereliction of duty and acknowledged her role in the deaths of seven sailors last year. Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock cried during her court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard. She was sentenced to forfeit half of her pay for three months – an additional month on top of the two she forfeited as her nonjudicial punishment. She also received a letter of reprimand. “Not a day goes by where I haven’t thought about what I could have done...

Devin Kelley, the man accused of killing 26 people in Texas Sunday, was court-martialed in 2012... the Air Force confirmed to the Daily News Sunday night. In 2012, he was court-martialed after being accused of assaulting his spouse and child, spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said. Kelley was confined for 12 months and was reduced to E-1 rank, airman basic, which is the lowest rank possible.

<p>Devin P. Kelley, who was court martialed from the U.S. Air Force, was identified as the gunman who walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday morning and murdered at least 26 people, wounding many more in the tiny, rural community near San Antonio...</p>

Bowe Bergdahl's Sentence: No Prison Time November 3, 201711:44 AM ET Merrit Kennedy A military judge sentenced Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who has pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, to no prison time at a sentencing hearing Friday in Fort Bragg, N.C.

So at what point is this a court martial offense? The admiral is openly defying the President who is drafting policy with the Pentagon to end transgender individuals in the military. The ban is going to do three things when fully implemented: **It will end the practice of individuals signing up for military service to get their transgender fantasies fulfilled and fully paid for by the federal government. **It will eliminate incredibly costly treatments **It will rollback the creeping politically correct culture infecting the military, the military is not there for social experimentation… it is there to defend the United...

Potential jurors for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s court-martial in October may be forced to tell lawyers if they voted for President Trump. Comments made by Mr. Trump during his 2016 Republican campaign for the White House have influenced one of the most high-profile, court-martial cases in U.S. Army history. Lawyers for Sgt. Bergdahl, the soldier who left his post in Afghanistan in June 2009, have a private 41-question survey for a Fort Bragg judge to consider. One of 17 questions objected to by prosecutors involves support for Mr. Trump’s campaign. “The principal issue has to do with ensuring we are...

Lawyers for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl fulfilled a promise Thursday to appeal to the top military court to toss out their client’s case over disparaging comments made by President Trump on the campaign trail. In a 314-page motion filed Thursday with the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, defense lawyers said the “unprecedented circumstances” of Trump repeatedly calling Bergdahl a traitor who should be executed constitute apparent unlawful command influence (UCI). “To describe President Trump’s comments about Sgt. Bergdahl as merely ‘troubling,’ ‘made without consideration of their possible impact on the trial of the accused,’ ‘disturbing and disappointing,’...

<p>CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) - There will be no Article 32 hearing for the Camp Lejeune Colonel accused of sexually assaulting a child.</p> <p>55 year old Colonel Daniel Wilson of Mason, Washington, reportedly waived his right to the hearing, which is the military version of a civilian grand jury which determines if there is probable cause of a crime involving the accused. That's according to the online website Headquarters Marine Corps.</p>