GOMoR
The Decision
When a field grade officer receives a General officer Memorandum of Reprimand it’s such a career-ending event that the officer is automatically put forward for chapter from the U.S. Army sometimes with other than honorable discharge.
I was not aware of the automatic discharge until the moment I received my letter of reprimand and I had to sign the documents acknowledging the ramifications of the general officer deciding to put this in my permanent record. The level of service I received from Fort Hood Trial Defense Services was lacking, to say the least. After hiring a civilian attorney out of pocket for 25k, I fought the automatic discharge at a Board of Inquiry, won, and was retained until lack of promotion got me discharged.
Findings
Concerning his decision of the findings of the investigation, there wasn’t any finding that I had violated any regulation. The investigating officer recommended some time with an EO advisor as corrective training. He couldn’t find that I violated a policy or regulation.
Alaract 061/2019
In my mind and the mind of my lawyer I did not meet the threshold of violating the ALARACT by committing any form of harassment, stalking or inflicting harm upon a person, except the one person who reported it and I will name and shame them later. When I told my lawyer about the case the first thing he asked was the name of the person I specifically targeted. I said nobody. He asked specifically who I tagged in the post or whose post I was commenting on, I said none. It was my post, on my page shared only to my friends.
Other Posts
As I stated before in Part I, in the middle of a PR crisis where the III Corps staff and command were absolutely failing the fuck out of basic crisis communications, they had a public affairs officer from III Corps cyber stalk my profiles looking for anything they could lay against me.
The PAO Lt. Col. found a post from #WalkAway campaign which was a generic cover photo with a flag for July 4th and had the campaign on the bottom. Supporting that campaign isn’t a violation of AR 600-20 or any DODI on political support.
The second was a post where I said “fuckity bye” to the people unfriending me as I turned against the left. That’s the crass language. And the fucks I used in the post. Again a post that targeted nobody and did not harass anyone.
Then there was the time I commented in a personal capacity on a Fort Hood town hall telling people what I told all my new soldiers: take your housing allowance and move off base. I received a verbal counseling from the Corps PAO for this. I barely remembered the incident when I spoke to the IO. I simply stated: Do not live in on-base housing because you have no rights to ensure you have a safe living situation for your family. They thought this was disrespectful. Of whom? They tried to turn it around and say I was being disrespectful of military spouse whose comment I replied to. I think it’s disrespectful to trap soldiers and their families in horrible and unsafe living conditions and steal money from them to fatten incompetent contractors. I know. Fuck me. Right? Laughable. Absolutley hilarious.
Once they knew I wasn’t a true believer, that I wasn’t on board with the program it was over for me. You are only allowed to question the leadership from one position: from the left. That’s it. No conservative or rational critique is allowed. I gave a critique from rational liberalism and that’s why I had to be jettisoned. If I would have written a leftist tirade calling all the GOs, the Army and the country racist and sexist I would have received a podium at the October AUSA conference and been brought into a GO’s command somewhere.
The Decider
The General officer who decided to file this letter in my permanent record, and ends my career was relieved a few months later and from what I understand is still hiding in a position at Army North. He was denied his next command and sent to the General Officer Protection Program in a staff position. MG Scott Efflandt oversaw the horrible response to the disappearance of Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood at the beginning of 2020. His lack of leadership and response is outlined in the Fort Hood Independent Committee Report.
If a GO fucks up that bad they should be forcibly retired, at least. Nope. He can disgrace the entire US Army. He can fuck up his job so bad he creates a media event that consumes multiple national news cycles. He can so horribly mismanage his elements that he can lose soldiers. SOLDIERS. They can be found MURDERED, buried in fields, burning in vehicles outside the gate, and he gets to continue his career under the protection of the GOPP. He gets a comfortable position from which to retire to a gig in the military-industrial complex. Where I’m sure he will be advising and consulting military contractors and civilian organizations on leadership. This is exactly the rot former USMC Lt. Col. Stu Scheller talked about. There is no real accountability for GOs.
This was all done from December 2019 to June 2020. The very time Vanessa Guillen disappeared, and two other soldiers were found murdered outside Fort Hood. The commanding general of Fort Hood and his staff were busy prosecuting me for a Facebook post.
The Fallout
I was discharged because of a Facebook post that was neither violent nor targeted any individual. It attacked a bad policy. It attacked a policy fully supported by the politicians and the regime regardless of the obvious unfairness and illogic of the policy. The mistake I made was bucking the regime. By the way, my wife, her friends all testified on my behalf at the board of inquiry that they didn’t find the post particularly offensive and agreed with the sentiment. They were all lieutenant colonels or higher. None of that mattered because my fate was sealed to be admonished and banished for this wrongthink.