Disclaimer: All guest posts are the opinion of the poster and do not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration.
M-H
Guest Post: Colonel Morris Davis, (retired)
At a White House press conference on May 7, President Barack Obama said members of the U.S. military who commit sexual assaults will be “prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period.” Clearly the president intended to send a laudable message that sexual assaults are a serious problem and perpetrators will face serious consequences, but good intentions can have unintended consequences.
On June 13, Military Judge Marcus Fulton found that the president’s remarks constituted unlawful command influence in two on-going courts-martial. As a result, two service members accused of sexual assaults will not be subject to punitive discharge from the service if they are found guilty. Judge Fulton’s decision was clearly intended to send a message that no one, not even the commander-in-chief, can put a finger on the scales of military justice.
