Posted on Sep 29, 2015
"Green Beret discharged for beating alleged child rapist speaks out"
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From: CNN
Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland, the Green Beret being separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist," began telling his side of the story Monday.
Martland is under a gag order imposed by the Pentagon, but at the request of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, he wrote a statement detailing his actions on Sept. 6, 2011, which was obtained by CNN.
"Kicking me out of the army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it," Martland writes. Last week the Army rejected his appeal.
Martland and former Captain Daniel Quinn were disciplined by the Army after they beat a powerful local police official who they concluded had been raping a small boy. They say they had been encouraged by higher-ups that there was nothing to do about such horrific acts, that these were Afghan problems for the Afghan authorities to work out.
But the Afghan authorities wouldn't do anything about it, the two soldiers say.
"Our ALP (Afghan Local Police) were committing atrocities and we were quickly losing the support of the local populace," Martland writes in his statement. "The severity of the rapes and the lack of action by the Afghan Government caused many of the locals to view our ALP as worse than the Taliban."
Quinn and Martland were told by a young Afghan boy and his mother, through an Afghan interpreter, that the boy had been tied to a post at the home of Afghan Local Police commander Abdul Rahman and raped repeatedly for up to two weeks. When his mother tried to stop the attacks, they told the soldiers, Rahman's brother beat her. Quinn says he verified the story with other ALP commanders from neighboring villages. Then they invited Rahman to the camp.
"After the child rapist laughed it off and referenced that it was only a boy, Captain Quinn picked him up and threw him," Martland writes. Martland then proceeded to "body slam him multiple times," kick him in the rib cage, and put his foot on his neck. "I continued to body slam him and throw him for fifty meters until he was outside the camp," Martland writes. "He was never knocked out, and he ran away from our camp." The incident lasted no more than five minutes, he says.
Quinn told CNN's "The Lead" last week "We basically had to make sure that he fully understood that if he ever went near that boy or his mother again, there was going to be hell to pay."
"While I understand that a military lawyer can say that I was legally wrong, we felt a moral obligation to act," Martland writes.
Quinn told CNN that they took the action they took because otherwise nothing would be done by the Army or local authorities. "The reason we weren't able to step in with these local rape cases was we didn't want to undermine the authority of the local government," he said. "We were trying to build up the local government. Us acting after the local government fails to can certainly undermine their credibility."
The Pentagon denies that telling soldiers to look the other way is official practice.
"We have never had a policy in place that directs any military member, or any government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses," Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. "Any sexual abuse, no matter who the alleged perpetrator and no matter who the victim, is completely unacceptable and reprehensible."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/28/politics/green-beret-discharged-for-beating-alleged-child-rapist-speaks-out/
Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland, the Green Beret being separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist," began telling his side of the story Monday.
Martland is under a gag order imposed by the Pentagon, but at the request of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif, he wrote a statement detailing his actions on Sept. 6, 2011, which was obtained by CNN.
"Kicking me out of the army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it," Martland writes. Last week the Army rejected his appeal.
Martland and former Captain Daniel Quinn were disciplined by the Army after they beat a powerful local police official who they concluded had been raping a small boy. They say they had been encouraged by higher-ups that there was nothing to do about such horrific acts, that these were Afghan problems for the Afghan authorities to work out.
But the Afghan authorities wouldn't do anything about it, the two soldiers say.
"Our ALP (Afghan Local Police) were committing atrocities and we were quickly losing the support of the local populace," Martland writes in his statement. "The severity of the rapes and the lack of action by the Afghan Government caused many of the locals to view our ALP as worse than the Taliban."
Quinn and Martland were told by a young Afghan boy and his mother, through an Afghan interpreter, that the boy had been tied to a post at the home of Afghan Local Police commander Abdul Rahman and raped repeatedly for up to two weeks. When his mother tried to stop the attacks, they told the soldiers, Rahman's brother beat her. Quinn says he verified the story with other ALP commanders from neighboring villages. Then they invited Rahman to the camp.
"After the child rapist laughed it off and referenced that it was only a boy, Captain Quinn picked him up and threw him," Martland writes. Martland then proceeded to "body slam him multiple times," kick him in the rib cage, and put his foot on his neck. "I continued to body slam him and throw him for fifty meters until he was outside the camp," Martland writes. "He was never knocked out, and he ran away from our camp." The incident lasted no more than five minutes, he says.
Quinn told CNN's "The Lead" last week "We basically had to make sure that he fully understood that if he ever went near that boy or his mother again, there was going to be hell to pay."
"While I understand that a military lawyer can say that I was legally wrong, we felt a moral obligation to act," Martland writes.
Quinn told CNN that they took the action they took because otherwise nothing would be done by the Army or local authorities. "The reason we weren't able to step in with these local rape cases was we didn't want to undermine the authority of the local government," he said. "We were trying to build up the local government. Us acting after the local government fails to can certainly undermine their credibility."
The Pentagon denies that telling soldiers to look the other way is official practice.
"We have never had a policy in place that directs any military member, or any government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses," Defense spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said. "Any sexual abuse, no matter who the alleged perpetrator and no matter who the victim, is completely unacceptable and reprehensible."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/28/politics/green-beret-discharged-for-beating-alleged-child-rapist-speaks-out/
Army
Sexual Assault
Special Forces
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 28
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I am glad to learn that Rep. Duncan Hunter has taken up the case of Sergeant 1st Class Charles Martland who was separated involuntarily from the U.S. Army for kicking and body slamming an Afghan police commander he describes as a "brutal child rapist."
I hope that justice will prevail and those who back the policy of ignoring crime to appease the natives will be punished appropriately.
I hope that justice will prevail and those who back the policy of ignoring crime to appease the natives will be punished appropriately.
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Capt Lance Gallardo
I just called his office to voice my support and I will be donating to his re-election campaign!
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LTC (Join to see)
Another soldier caught in a witch hunt for those in command to save face and not to have a blemish on their careers. I would take 10 Charles Martlands any day of the week.
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I concur too I would have done even WORSE shit when are we going to do the right Thing even if no one is watching I back up this NCO when all his Higher echelon has no Fucking Backbone then why Place us there in the 1st place Shit
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Capt Lance Gallardo
Yes indeed, why?, must be asked at some point, probably now is as good a time as any, if the Afghan Government cannot stop the rape of little boys than maybe the Taliban should have control of the country (you got the death penalty for raping kids under the Taliban Rule, and the practice of raping little boys was all but non-existent under Taliban rule)), provided that they don't let Al Qaeda or ISIS back in. The funny thing is that ISIS is trying to displace the Taliban in Afghanistan, so there may be a day when we assist the Taliban (or former Taliban) against ISIS who are a much more serious threat against the US than the Talibs. Like Iraq, Afghanistan is essentially in a civil war which we were forced to involve ourselves in after 9/11. The central government is weak and corrupt, and the tragedy of US Warfighters, having to standby knowing that Afghan Officials like this Monster Police Commander, are raping boys, is another reason to question why we are still there fourteen years after 9/11. We did not invade Afghanistan to impose women's rights on them. We invaded Afghanistan to kill and displace the people who let Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda Murder 3,000 Americans here at home.
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1SG Adais Garcia
You are right Capt Lance Gallardo but wait until the next President moves in we are totally Screwed if it's Trump tghe Trumper
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Capt Lance Gallardo
Thank God the US Army is producing SF Soldiers, enlisted and officer, that know that right is right and wrong is wrong, and will not stand by for the continued rape of a little boy, when his mother comes to you for help. As to the Army's Bureaucratic Response to these soldiers, that should have a Congressional Investigation and hearings, and maybe an Inspector General's Investigation, as to what these men should have done when faced with the eminent harm to a child. I say they took less lethal action (although unconventional, maybe inspired action -isn't that what SF Soldiers are supposed to do, improvise, adapt and overcome, working with indigenous populations, often with out specific orders and with maximum autonomy. What about their Green Beret Motto "De oppresso liber" to liberate the oppressed - they liberated a child from his Oppressor) against the suspect/child rapist and thereby prevented further harm to the child, without doing lethal harm to the rapist. Mission Accomplished. These men should never have to buy a beer anywhere for the rest of their lives in a Public Bar.
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