Posted on Dec 1, 2015
Decision to force out Marine who sent warning ahead of insider attack upheld
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Decision to force out Marine who sent warning ahead of insider attack upheld. Remind you of another current event?
Is this another example of "If you've got an important name or you're running for President, you won't be held to the same standards as everyone else, particularly military members?" In other words, why has Hillary not been charged yet and will she be?
A senior Navy Department official decided Monday to force a Marine Corps officer out of the service for his handling of classified information, three years after he was first investigated after sending a warning to deployed colleagues about an Afghan police chief whose servant later killed three Marines.
Maj. Jason Brezler will be separated from the Marine Corps following a decision by Assistant Navy Secretary Juan M. Garcia, said Michael Bowe, Brezler’s attorney. The case grabbed attention in Congress and among highly decorated senior officers in the military, some of whom advocated on Brezler’s behalf to let him stay in the Marines. Other service officials maintained that retired Gen. James F. Amos, the Marine Corps’ top officer when the investigation began, and other generals involved handled the case well.
“We will now proceed to a real court and prove that Commandant Amos and his generals illegally retaliated against Major Brezler because they were more concerned with politics and their careers than the lives of their Marines and the service of a good Marine who did the right thing,” Bowe said in an e-mailed statement. “I look forward to their cross-examination.”
The decision comes as a related lawsuit filed by the family of one of the Marines killed remains pending against the service in federal court. It alleges that the service ignored Brezler’s warning that the police chief, Sarwar Jan, was corrupt and sexually abusing children, allowing for the Aug. 10, 2012, ambush in which Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley, 21; Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson, 29; and Cpl. Richard Rivera Jr., 20; were killed at Forward Operating Delhi, a Marine Corps outpost in Helmand province’s Garmsir district. A fourth Marine sustained five gunshot wounds but survived.
The suit was filed last year by the Buckley family, which also is represented by Bowe. In court filings, they have repeatedly expressed frustration with the amount of information the Marine Corps has provided them about the case. It alleges that the shooter, identified by the Marine Corps as Ainuddin Khudairaham, was among the boys the police chief assaulted.
A Marine official said Monday that the service had no immediate comment on the new decision about Brezler, citing its administrative nature and the pending lawsuit. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case. An administrative board of Marine officers moved to remove Brezler from the service in December 2013.
A spokesman for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus could not immediately be reached for comment.
The shooter was convicted last year in the killings. He was tried as a teen and sentenced to 7 1/2 years in confinement, infuriating the Buckley family, which expected a longer sentence. The shooter allegedly stole a Kalashnikov assault rifle and opened fire on the unarmed Marines until he ran out of ammunition. He is said to have bragged about it afterward to Afghan police, saying, “I just did jihad.”
Brezler has served in the Marine Corps since graduating from the Naval Academy in 2000, and is now a member of the Marine Corps Reserve. He works full-time as a member of the New York Fire Department, and has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Brezler’s case first came to light after he sent an e-mail with a couple classified documents attached to Marines in Afghanistan about Jan. Brezler was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, and had worked successfully to have Jan removed from power in another district, Musa Qala. Brezler self-reported his leaking of classified information afterward, and the service found that he had been keeping it on an unsecured hard drive.
Several Republican members of Congress have lobbied Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter to clear Brezler of all wrongdoing, citing the extraordinary circumstances of the case. It is not clear whether Carter will review the case.
Is this another example of "If you've got an important name or you're running for President, you won't be held to the same standards as everyone else, particularly military members?" In other words, why has Hillary not been charged yet and will she be?
A senior Navy Department official decided Monday to force a Marine Corps officer out of the service for his handling of classified information, three years after he was first investigated after sending a warning to deployed colleagues about an Afghan police chief whose servant later killed three Marines.
Maj. Jason Brezler will be separated from the Marine Corps following a decision by Assistant Navy Secretary Juan M. Garcia, said Michael Bowe, Brezler’s attorney. The case grabbed attention in Congress and among highly decorated senior officers in the military, some of whom advocated on Brezler’s behalf to let him stay in the Marines. Other service officials maintained that retired Gen. James F. Amos, the Marine Corps’ top officer when the investigation began, and other generals involved handled the case well.
“We will now proceed to a real court and prove that Commandant Amos and his generals illegally retaliated against Major Brezler because they were more concerned with politics and their careers than the lives of their Marines and the service of a good Marine who did the right thing,” Bowe said in an e-mailed statement. “I look forward to their cross-examination.”
The decision comes as a related lawsuit filed by the family of one of the Marines killed remains pending against the service in federal court. It alleges that the service ignored Brezler’s warning that the police chief, Sarwar Jan, was corrupt and sexually abusing children, allowing for the Aug. 10, 2012, ambush in which Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley, 21; Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson, 29; and Cpl. Richard Rivera Jr., 20; were killed at Forward Operating Delhi, a Marine Corps outpost in Helmand province’s Garmsir district. A fourth Marine sustained five gunshot wounds but survived.
The suit was filed last year by the Buckley family, which also is represented by Bowe. In court filings, they have repeatedly expressed frustration with the amount of information the Marine Corps has provided them about the case. It alleges that the shooter, identified by the Marine Corps as Ainuddin Khudairaham, was among the boys the police chief assaulted.
A Marine official said Monday that the service had no immediate comment on the new decision about Brezler, citing its administrative nature and the pending lawsuit. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case. An administrative board of Marine officers moved to remove Brezler from the service in December 2013.
A spokesman for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus could not immediately be reached for comment.
The shooter was convicted last year in the killings. He was tried as a teen and sentenced to 7 1/2 years in confinement, infuriating the Buckley family, which expected a longer sentence. The shooter allegedly stole a Kalashnikov assault rifle and opened fire on the unarmed Marines until he ran out of ammunition. He is said to have bragged about it afterward to Afghan police, saying, “I just did jihad.”
Brezler has served in the Marine Corps since graduating from the Naval Academy in 2000, and is now a member of the Marine Corps Reserve. He works full-time as a member of the New York Fire Department, and has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Brezler’s case first came to light after he sent an e-mail with a couple classified documents attached to Marines in Afghanistan about Jan. Brezler was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, and had worked successfully to have Jan removed from power in another district, Musa Qala. Brezler self-reported his leaking of classified information afterward, and the service found that he had been keeping it on an unsecured hard drive.
Several Republican members of Congress have lobbied Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter to clear Brezler of all wrongdoing, citing the extraordinary circumstances of the case. It is not clear whether Carter will review the case.
Decision to force out Marine who sent warning ahead of insider attack upheld
Posted from washingtonpost.comPosted in these groups: 
Marine Corps
INFOSEC
Marine Corps INFOSEC
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 52
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Jason is my Classmate, and when this case hit the wires, it was certainly discussed on many 'informal' levels as well. Personally, I think the Corps is losing a great officer here. However, I don't think the comparisons to Clinton are quite parallel.
As a Marine officer, Brezler broke protocols, but was acting out of what I believe was a sincere desire to get critical tactical information to his peers as rapidly as possible. He either made an honest "mistake", or sincerely believed he was choosing the best means of communicating his vital intel rapidly. Nothing in his actions belies blatant incompetence or irresponsibility in my judgement.
By comparison, Secretary Clinton was either incompetently, or recklessly disseminating sensitive material, systemically, across insecure email traffic on a routine basis. To my mind, they cannot be equated as the same offense.
The counter point, which unfortunately for the Major, has weight...is that as an officer, he knew protocols well and his actions indicate he knew what he was doing. I hate to say it, because I DO NOT agree with it, but that, and not his intent, carries more water with those determining his fate.
Every senior NCO and officer on RP knows that its a fine line between being decisive...and forgetting that we don't write the rules as we go along. There's no way to know how many lives have been saved vs. lost over the decades owing to someone in charge, "breaking the rules"...but that's not part of our training at any level. It's a personal, ethical decision, and you know when you do it, you're taking large risks. I guess it's about what you can live with in the end.
Ultimately, neither Brezler or Clinton intentionally shared vital information with the enemy...We all know of one very junior solider in recent headlines who did, and is in prison.
As a Marine officer, Brezler broke protocols, but was acting out of what I believe was a sincere desire to get critical tactical information to his peers as rapidly as possible. He either made an honest "mistake", or sincerely believed he was choosing the best means of communicating his vital intel rapidly. Nothing in his actions belies blatant incompetence or irresponsibility in my judgement.
By comparison, Secretary Clinton was either incompetently, or recklessly disseminating sensitive material, systemically, across insecure email traffic on a routine basis. To my mind, they cannot be equated as the same offense.
The counter point, which unfortunately for the Major, has weight...is that as an officer, he knew protocols well and his actions indicate he knew what he was doing. I hate to say it, because I DO NOT agree with it, but that, and not his intent, carries more water with those determining his fate.
Every senior NCO and officer on RP knows that its a fine line between being decisive...and forgetting that we don't write the rules as we go along. There's no way to know how many lives have been saved vs. lost over the decades owing to someone in charge, "breaking the rules"...but that's not part of our training at any level. It's a personal, ethical decision, and you know when you do it, you're taking large risks. I guess it's about what you can live with in the end.
Ultimately, neither Brezler or Clinton intentionally shared vital information with the enemy...We all know of one very junior solider in recent headlines who did, and is in prison.
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CPT Lynn Brown
I only know what I've read but as Officers and or Soldiers we're duty bound to protect our men and our brothers. It's a duty I' always held close. There are some very distributing things going on. I'm sad for what the military has always stood for but glad I'm not in anymore.
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PO1 (Join to see)
This is horrible how he's butchered by policy. He gave information for a noble cause. Hillary, however, stored information wherever she wanted for convenience. Even unclassified data can uncover classified information when pieced together. Had I or many of the people here stored data on our home PCs and were caught, wed get the book thrown in our face.
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Capt Jeff S.
PO2 Mark Saffell "Yeah. Warning oil truck drivers before an attack/ Oh but that was Obama...Makes it ok"
A little off topic but in line with your above statement...
Russia was right in calling out Obama for doing very little to combat ISIS. He dropped leaflets to warn the civilians driving the oil trucks that they were going to get hit. Ostensibly, Obama doesn't want a lot of civilian casualties and collateral damage. If you are a civilian engaged in activity that is propping up the regime's war effort, then you are in effect a military contractor and are fair game. Truth be told, Obama and Erdogan are both propping up ISIS. Erdogan maintains a porous border that allows fighters to come and go and he buys their black market oil; Obama delivers weapons where they fall in ISIS hands. Turkey shot down the Russian jet because it was attacking a convoy of oil trucks heading into Turkey. There is a lot about this war in Iraq and Syria that doesn't pass the smell test.
A little off topic but in line with your above statement...
Russia was right in calling out Obama for doing very little to combat ISIS. He dropped leaflets to warn the civilians driving the oil trucks that they were going to get hit. Ostensibly, Obama doesn't want a lot of civilian casualties and collateral damage. If you are a civilian engaged in activity that is propping up the regime's war effort, then you are in effect a military contractor and are fair game. Truth be told, Obama and Erdogan are both propping up ISIS. Erdogan maintains a porous border that allows fighters to come and go and he buys their black market oil; Obama delivers weapons where they fall in ISIS hands. Turkey shot down the Russian jet because it was attacking a convoy of oil trucks heading into Turkey. There is a lot about this war in Iraq and Syria that doesn't pass the smell test.
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Not sure what this story has to do with politics but if it is true and this officer stood against the tides to warn fellow Marines, then he is worthy of praise in my book.
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Cpl Dr Ronnie Manns
PO1 John Miller - So let me see if I get you right, Hilary Clinton and this Marine admitted to disclosing classified secrets , neither will get jail time but she will get completely off while he gets kicked out of the Marines? Is that the connections?will get no jail time
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PO1 John Miller
Cpl Dr Ronnie Manns
That's pretty much my point. This Marine's career is over, while Hillary will most likely never be punished or even held accountable. AND, if the left wing gets their way, she will be our next Commander In Chief. If you think I'm defending Hillary at all, you would be wrong.
That's pretty much my point. This Marine's career is over, while Hillary will most likely never be punished or even held accountable. AND, if the left wing gets their way, she will be our next Commander In Chief. If you think I'm defending Hillary at all, you would be wrong.
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Cpl Dr Ronnie Manns
PO1 John Miller - I'm still a little confused about the relationship between these things but that's okay cause I was born confused. My take on this is, the Marine stood up and took responsibility for his actions which should make him see himself better for the rest of his life, as for those who committ issues but never is held responsible by those who were or could have been hurt by them will still pay a serious penalty that only judgment day can bring. So do all your dirt and blame others for your choices because in the end judgment day will never be avoided by anyone.
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This was utter bullshit. I know Jason well, and he is of the highest caliber of Marine. This was absolutely the wrong decision. Sure, he should have gotten a warning for the method he used to pass critical information, but to be separated from the Marine Corps for trying to save Marines' lives is a travesty. Best to you, Jason, on a career after the Corps. Maybe one day they will apologize for what they did, although I would not hold my breath.
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PO1 John Miller
Maj (Join to see)
I know you can't say too much about how you really feel since you're still on active duty, but rest assured I feel the same way and then some.
I know you can't say too much about how you really feel since you're still on active duty, but rest assured I feel the same way and then some.
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SGT Alexander Hildenbrandt
Sir,
If you know him and can get a message to him. Let him know that members of the veteran business community are supporting him and will help him in any way we can.
my email is [login to see] if you would prefer to talk offline or send him that contact point.
If you know him and can get a message to him. Let him know that members of the veteran business community are supporting him and will help him in any way we can.
my email is [login to see] if you would prefer to talk offline or send him that contact point.
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SPC Ken Sawyer
If he would just have worn a Hillary for president button all would have been forgiven
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