BG Sinclair: General Petraeus, Allen Nothing But A Bunch Of GD Amateurs

[longknife]

by Jay

BG Jeffrey Sinclair
The following is an opinion piece written by Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair.

So, now it seems we have questions about a number of high-ranking defense officials and their conduct both on and off the job. The list reads like a resume for a Clinton-era appointee.

Shady travel vouchers got now-Lieutenant General Kip Ward booted from AFRICOM and a missing star in the bargain. He’ll probably end his career as some project manager, sequestered in a Pentagon sub-basement. Head of Joint LGBT affairs, probably. They say he overcharged $82,000 in travel expenses. Really, what kind of overcharging can you make in Africa? Maybe he got hotel upgrades to rooms with air conditioning. You ever been to Africa? It’s hot as shit, man. I don’t blame him.

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[waltky]

General Hanky-Panky gets slap onna wrist...

Sinclair reprimanded, fined; case likely to reignite battle over military justice
March 20, 2014 ~ An Army general who once faced life in prison for sexual misconduct with a subordinate ended up with a fine and a reprimand, a verdict that surprised military justice watchers and left unanswered many questions about the role of command influence in criminal cases.

One of the most high-profile sexual misconduct cases in years ended Thursday when a military judge at Fort Bragg gave Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair a formal reprimand and ordered him to forfeit $5,000 a month in pay for four months. Sinclair was allowed to remain in the military, keep his pension and avoid jail time under a plea deal which dropped the most serious charges of sexual assault, “open and notorious” sex, and threatening to kill the accuser and her family. Instead, Sinclair, 51, pleaded guilty to mistreating a female captain with whom he maintained a three-year relationship and misusing a government credit card to pursue the affair, among other lesser charges.

Brig Gen. Jeff Sinclair arrives to the Fort Bragg courthouse, for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, March 19, 2014, in Fort Bragg, N.C. Sinclair, who was accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate, plead guilty to lesser charges in a plea deal reached with government prosecutors.

After the sentence was handed down, he a brief statement outside the courtroom, the Associated Press reported. "The system worked. I've always been proud of my Army," said Sinclair. "All I want to do now is go north and hug my kids and my wife." Sinclair was not given the officer’s equivalent of a dishonorable discharge, a dismissal. If he had been dismissed, he would have lost all retirement pay and benefits. But he will still go before a grade determination board that will decide at what rank he will be allowed to retire.

Greg Rinckey, a Washington attorney and former Army judge advocate general, said the sentence was “mildly surprising” but “in the realm” of an appropriate sentence for the offenses to which he admitted. Yet the case is likely to reinforce arguments by critics that the military justice system is flawed and especially incapable of handling sexual offenses involving subordinates. “This case has illustrated a military justice system in dire need of independence from the chain of command,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who sponsored legislation to remove sexual offense cases from the chain of command.

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Brig. Gen. Sinclair sentence again shows flaws in military justice, critics say
March 20, 2014 ~ Members of Congress and victim advocacy groups reacted with horror and resignation Thursday to news that Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair will avoid jail time and instead be reprimanded and fined after pleading guilty to adultery, mistreating the female captain with whom he had a three-year relationship, misusing a government credit card to pursue the affair and other charges.

Sinclair must still go before a review board that will determine at what rank he will be allowed to retire, but the punishment is far less severe than life in prison, as he had faced. The possible sentence was reduced when sexual assault and other serious charges were dropped in return for his agreement to plead guilty to the other crimes. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, called the punishment “laughable.” “This sentence is a mockery of military justice, a slap on the wrist nowhere close to being proportional to Sinclair’s offenses,” Speier said. “The misuse of government funds should be enough to fire Gen. Sinclair. There are plenty of former government employees who have been canned for less.”

Greg Jacob, a former Marine and current policy director for Service Women’s Action Network, said the case illustrates why prosecution authority should be removed from the defendant and victim’s chain of command, as proposed in a bill by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “Today’s sentencing is reflective of a case that fell apart long before today,” Jacob said. “The Gen. Sinclair case will go down in history as yet another reason we need Sen. Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act.” The bill failed to reach the threshold necessary to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, but Gillibrand has vowed to keep fighting until a similar measure passes.

Sexual assaults can be hard to prosecute, and the Sinclair case is particularly complicated, said Sarah Feldman, a spokeswoman for Sen. Claire McCaskill, who opposed Gillibrand’s legislation but pushed for a slate of other significant changes to the military justice system. Still, the case highlights “what we already know: that commanders are often more aggressive than prosecutors in pursuing prosecutions and vetting those cases,” Feldman said.

Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican and co-chair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus, said he is deeply disappointed by the sentence. “This unfortunate outcome bolsters our call to increase mandatory minimum sentencing in cases of sexual assault and sexual misconduct,” he said.
Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., who serves as the other co-chair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus, said she was shocked when she heard Sinclair’s sentence. “Military leaders must be held to a higher standard, but this sentence undermines that standard of accountability,” Tsongas said. “It is clear that Brig. Gen. Sinclair abused his authority and perpetuated a toxic military culture that is accepting of unprofessional, inappropriate and criminal behavior.”

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[1776]

Well, he got caught screwing a subordinate....which is a crime and he cheated on his wife...which is a crime.

Nevermind the woman he cheated with said he also raped/sexually assaulted her.....another crime.

No pity for that SOB.

 

[Mushroom]

Well, he got caught screwing a subordinate....which is a crime and he cheated on his wife...which is a crime.

It seems to me that not all that long ago, we were told that was not a crime, and nobodies business but their own.

And not only that, I also remember people screaming that the military was in the wrong when they court-martialed Lieutenant Kelly Flinn for adultery.

So which should it be? Because you can't have it both ways. Either adultery is a crime and should be prosecuted (which actually only happens in the military), or it is the business of nobody but the individuals involved.

You can't have it both ways.