U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., doubled down on his efforts to get a Green Beret reinstated in the Army after he was forced out of service when he reported an Afghan ally abusing a child.
Buchanan noted that Sgt. First Class Charles Martland turned in an Afghan ally for his sex crimes to his superiors and had been scheduled to be be retired on Nov. 1 but he appealed the decision. The Army moved its decision on his appeal back to January and, then again, to May.
In the later half of last year, Buchanan called for an investigation of why the Pentagon covered up the sex crimes of American allies in Afghanistan. Pairing up with U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Buchanan also pushed for the Army to reinstate Martland.
Buchanan returned to that theme on Wednesday.
“The Pentagon needs to stop dishonoring a two-time Bronze star recipient and reinstate Sgt. Martland immediately,” Buchanan said.
“It is unfathomable that the Pentagon has yet to reinstate Sgt. Martland,” Buchanan added. “The Defense Department has had several months and several opportunities to right this wrong. I’m concerned that bureaucratic red tape is blocking common-sense action.
“Sgt. Martland stands ready to once again serve his country,” Buchanan continued. “The Pentagon and Congress should do everything in their power to make that happen as soon as possible.”
A New York Times article described a chilling Pentagon policy that told American soldiers to look the other way when Afghan allies sexually abused young boys, sometimes on military bases.
Buchanan and Hunter brought out a proposal back in September reinstating Martland to the service. While their proposal is non-binding, they insisted it “would send a strong message to the Pentagon that its actions in the Martland matter are unacceptable.”
“The fact that Sgt. Martland was reprimanded by the Army for confronting a corrupt Afghan commander and child rapist shows a complete lack of morality among the Army’s risk-averse leadership,” Hunter said.
Earlier in September, Buchanan sent a letter to Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the matter. Buchanan called for the Pentagon to stop averting its eyes from the sexual abuse and stop pushing back against American service members who reported it.
“This is one of the most disgraceful policies I have ever heard of,” Buchanan wrote. “It is bad enough if we were ignoring this type of barbaric and savage behavior, it’s even worse if we are punishing American heroes who try to stop it.
“The only people who should be punished are the ones who created and condoned this immoral and savage code,” Buchanan continued. “Fighting in a foreign theater should not require our service members to turn a blind eye towards criminal perversion. Those who wear the uniform of the U.S. military should be commended, not punished, for upholding American values.”
Buchanan returned to the matter later that month, writing U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the respective chairmen of their chamber’s Armed Services Committee, demanding an investigation over who had initiated efforts to discipline service members who reported on Afghan allies’ sexual crimes
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
