Sometimes Justice Takes A While

Last September I posted an article about Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland, a Green Beret who was selected for an involuntary discharge through an Army force reduction program. SFC Martland has served honorably, having been awarded two Bronze Stars during his time in the Army. He was chosen for release because he was charged with assaulting an Afghan leader.

This is the story:

In 2011, Martland was nearing the end of his yearlong deployment in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province when he and an officer became outraged with the behavior of some local leaders they were responsible for developing as police commanders.

Martland and his detachment commander, Capt. Daniel Quinn, lost their tempers when one leader near their base kidnapped a boy for more than a week, chained him to a bed, raped the child and then assaulted the boy’s mother, Quinn said.

The mother appealed to the Green Berets to help her son. Quinn said the soldiers brought the Afghan commander to their base and confronted him.

Quinn told The News Tribune that the Afghan admitted he had raped the boy. He angered the American soldiers by showing disregard for their concerns.

“He started laughing when we talked about what a big deal this was,” Quinn said.

Martland and Quinn proceeded to assault the Afghan. Accounts vary on how badly they hurt him.

Yesterday the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) posted an update on the story.

They reported:

The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ),  which has been advocating for Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland – a decorated war hero facing expulsion from the army for defending a child, calls today’s decision by the U.S. Army to retain the Green Beret war hero a “significant victory” and that “justice has been served.”

SFC Martland faced expulsion from the Army for defending a child from sexual abuse and confronting an admitted sexual predator in Afghanistan. The ACLJ argued that his actions – stopping the perpetrator who was violating Afghan law and forcibly removing him from a U.S. military base – were heroic.

“The decision by the Army to retain this hero is long overdue and represents a significant victory for SFC Martland,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  “Justice has been served. The U.S. military has a moral obligation to stop child sexual abuse and exonerate SFC Martland for defending a child from rape. The Army finally took the corrective action needed and this is not only a victory for SFC Martland, but for the American people as well.”

Pedophilia is not an American value. We should strongly discourage its practice in any country that we do business with.