Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller has been arrested and thrown in the brig.
To date, not one flag officer who was part of the group think that bumblefucked Afghanistan has been relieved of command.
Not one officer who took bad intel from the Taliban and killed an aid worker’s family, including seven children, has been relieved of command.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff admitted to promising to warn China ahead of any US military action, arguably committing treason, has not been relieved of command.
A Lieutenant Colonel asking of accountability has been fired and is now being prosecuted.
There is no end to how horrible our political partisan military has become.
LtCol S took a stand. It’s an honorable stand. It’s a righteous stand.
The UCMJ is a code that is more strict than civilian laws or regulations. It has substantially lower standards and burdens of proof than the civilian “justice system.” You can bet as a commander several times over, he knows that. The root is military must have good order and discipline and nothing short of that is acceptable…especially since they are held to a higher standard and arguably in a more rigorous environment. That’s all to say he knew the devil he was fixing to dance with.
Stu ain’t nobody’s dummy. He did not fall off any turnip truck. I’d wager he’s calculated his potential moves and risks carefully and in advance. I’d further wager he’s calculated their potential moves against him…well in advance. He knew the brig was an option. He also fully understood the optics that move might produce.
The administration…and MAKE NO MISTAKE…that’s with the generals, OSD AND CJCS et all piling on, has determined that the good order and discipline of the Marine Corps specifically and military in general is at stake. They cannot have public and acrimonious dissent. They especially cannot have pragmatic honorable disobedience.
IMO they’re grossly overplaying their hand. IMO they’re reacting to his behaviors. Right now, IMO, he’s calling the shots and they’re furious and fn scared.
I’m calling this go round for Stu. Might I suggest y’all don’t feel sorry for him. HE IS A WARRIOR WITH A WARRIOR MENTALITY. HE HAS DECIDED THAT THE POLITICAL CLASS HAS GROSSLY OVERSTEPPED AND IN DOING SO HAS USURPED THE POWER SPECIFICALLY ENUMERATED TO THE PEOPLE. HES ALSO EMBARKED ON A PATH TO FURTHER ILLUMINATE THAT GROSS OVERREACH TO ANY WHO MIGHT BE SAVVY ENOUGH TO SEE, APPRECIATE AND PREP FOR WHATS NEXT.
Leaders and born and made. LtCol Stu Scheller is a full growed male warrior of our species. This is what courage looks like. This is what honor looks like. This is what integrity and accountability look like.
He has my utmost respect and appreciation. He has though picked a damned hard path for himself in the near term. A leader of men…an officer of Marines wouldn’t have it any other way.
Semper Fidelis you big balled American bastard. May God be with you every step of the way. We are further in your debt every day.
Revere honor. Honor duty.
Get some!
Exactly on target Objee.
I don’t think TPTB want a leader of this caliber loose in the wild, hell, the natives might rise up and follow
I find it fascinating that they don’t want to accept his resignation.
Really? They know he’s critical of the regime. They know he’s not just some podunk sergeant or butter-bar lieutenant. Why the hell would you want him around? Isn’t part of officer ethics ‘if you do not think you can abide by your commanders, you need to step aside’?
I can’t tell if they’re trying to play 5D chess against him or if they’re just stupid. I am inclined to think the latter but I could be wrong.
They want to burn him publicly as a warning to other officers to keep their mouths shut.
Anyone who criticized the administration will be ruined.
This is the Soviet way.
Toast, I assume they thought that by not letting him resign they could control his speech, which would no longer work after he left the service.
Oops.
They cannot afford to let him loose in public
OTOH, they grossly underestimate to cost of his detention.
One of those laws of thermodynamics…you can pay me now or you can pay me later BUT you gonna pay.
If you insist on smoking stogies in the paint locker, at least have the minimum of goods sense to light them and extinguish them outside.
…or not.
I certainly thought this issue would draw more fire.
Perhaps I’ve overestimated the crew.
Just your daily reminder that ‘democrat’ is a synonym for ‘grotesque subhuman monster whose proper place in the world is kneeling in the street with a gasoline soaked tire around their neck.’
Tend to agree with Objee and J KB: they know what the rules are. They also know that he’s making them look like shit.
If they don’t charge him, they know a lot of others are going to speak out openly, and they can’t handle that(and yes, strictly speaking there are legitimate reasons for it).
They know that charging him brings this back into the limelight, and makes them look like vengeful, nasty assholes. And lots of questions will be asked. And “The UCMJ requires us to!” isn’t going to appease all those people.
‘Between a rock and a hard place’ comes to mind.