Second Navy SEAL charged in war crimes probe

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Yes that is true just as the statement by Lt Col Charlie Brown above is true. Both points are critical and important to keep in mind. I guess because of my military experience I consider SecOps folks a little above because of their arduous training.

Absolutely true Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth I am not saying anything goes, however some of the behavior of the investigating crew seems to be over the top.

Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth My Lai was the very first thing that came to mind while I was reading this article. Thanks for pointing that out, sir.
Lt Col Charlie Brown That is correct and needs to be said, and then said again. Thank you.

Want to discourage illegal behavior...this is what you do.

Unfortunately, nearly two decades of virtually unchecked, throttled up activity leads to some bad apples doing some awful sh*t. Ask SSG Melgar about what out of control operators are capable of.

SGT (Join to see) - are we back to presuming guilt? Let's not do that. If he did murder someone, throw the book at him, lock him up, and throw away the key. However, we do not judge ahead of the trial.

Lt Col Charlie Brown - nope, not at all. However, if an article 32 investigation is enough to discourage recruiting as you state...

Call me cynical enough, and of course he’s given the presumption of innocence, but generally where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The SEALs (and the Navy as a whole) have been on a fast train for decades now. There have been multiple, multiple, multiple (let me stress..’multiple’) lapses in leadership and discipline. Of course, that trickles down to the sailors. Even the operators.

There has been little oversight and accountability. Sometimes for good reason. Most of the time, most people don’t need to know about most of what happens in a special operations unit. However, with great power comes great responsibility. And because we don’t live in a world of superheroes, sometimes, that great power gets abused,

Having unfortunately seen some unsavory sh*t swept under the rug, I’m quite aware it’s possble. Having read the article, nothing reported is out of the realm of possibility. Some of it, I don’t care about. Some of it raises some eyebrows. But I’m positive there’s more to the story that the public will never know.

Sorry to get long winded, but if an investigation into some bad sh*t discourages recruiting, we need to re-evaluate who we recruit. The fact that the Navy let it get to the point of an investigation is telling. If there was nothing there, or just something small, the military is good at disappearing things to cover for its high value assets.

Rather, an investigation, as I initially stated, might help to curb some of the f*ckery that has occurred in our forces. A lot of our joes have acted with a sense of impunity. (*note, I’m all about stomping bad guys, brutally. But taking pot shots at civilian women/children? Covering up the crimes of others? There’s a line in there somewhere). Because ultimately, that f*ckery only strengthens enemy resolve, and it helps them dig in for a fight that we’re not willing to fight.
(*note, that’s a whole other thread. If we want to take the gloves off, and unleash our operators, great. But I can’t see that happening).