dagblog - Comments for "Hey, Prez (you worthless pig)...Stop the rapes!"

Blackmailed.

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 02:47:33 +0000

In reply to Hey, Prez (you worthless pig)...Stop the rapes!

Blackmailed.

Now and then but just for

ocean-kat — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 16:36:24 +0000

In reply to Do you still play?

Now and then but just for fun. Not professionally anymore.

Do you still play?

Peter Schwartz — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 15:36:43 +0000

In reply to I was a trumpet player

Do you still play?

I'm not a lawyer so I can

ocean-kat — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:41:02 +0000

In reply to My understanding, maybe I'm

I'm not a lawyer so I can only talk of my experience. Its possible even likely that some of my terminology is incorrect. I'm sure the proceedings can be much more complex than my experience. I was in the army 4 years, 78 to 81. Every time someone I knew got an article 15 he also got an appointment with Lt. so-and-so to get legal advice. Didn't have to request it, he got an appointment to meet and his ranking officers or NCO's had to let him off for the day to go. You could accept the punishment, i.e. plead guilty, or choose to fight and ask for a court date. Only once did someone I know ask for a court date and once the article 15 was flawed and withdrawn as I explained above. Most people simply accept them and whatever fine or demotion comes with them.

I was a trumpet player

ocean-kat — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:32:38 +0000

In reply to What do you play?

I was a trumpet player stationed with the army band for two years in Indiana and two years in Japan. In many ways it was a great gig, especially Japan. I considered staying in but I couldn't deal with the authoritarian nature of army life even as a musician.

I imagine things like that

ocean-kat — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:10:14 +0000

In reply to I guess I had visions of

I imagine things like that happen in basic training. I remember once in basics when the platoon come back from some march and everybody's boots were in a big tub of water. They weren't clean enough you see. Then they had to be dried out, cleaned, polished and inspected. But that type of petty bullshit doesn't happen once you're in the regular army.

My understanding, maybe I'm

A Guy Called LULU — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 03:25:07 +0000

In reply to it's hard for me to imagine

My understanding, maybe I'm wrong or maybe things changed, was that an Article 15 was a completely administrative procedure where the person charged pleaded guilty and that there were maximum penalties allowed. If you chose to refuse the Article 15 you could be Court Marshalled and that was when legal protections including the right to a lawyer kicked in.

I guess I had visions of

jollyroger — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 00:46:31 +0000

In reply to it's hard for me to imagine

I guess I had visions of Private Gomer (the incomperable Vincent d'Onofrio) dancing in my head, courtesy of Full Metal Jacket...

That's what comes of a guy using military analogies who was never in the army...

Edit to add: I sure did enjoy the vision of some guy with a chest covered in fruit salad scrubbing away on a urinal with a toothbrush while it lasted.

What do you play?

Peter Schwartz — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 00:11:50 +0000

In reply to it's hard for me to imagine

What do you play?

it's hard for me to imagine

ocean-kat — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 23:56:59 +0000

In reply to OK, I tell ya what...I'll

it's hard for me to imagine that authority that (as I understand it) could put any general to work in the latrines with a toothbrush and a can of Ajax

You are wrong. While in BCT, basic combat training, or AIT, advanced individual training, the drill sergeants seem to have nearly unlimited power to assign any sort of extra duty for offenses its not true when the recruit reaches regular duty and its not even true in basics.

In some ways enlisted people have more rights than ordinary citizens, in other ways less. Any enlisted person can see a lawyer when given extra duty to demand legal proceedings though few do as its usually for a minor offense and the duty is correspondingly minor. Any enlisted person facing legal charges, even something as small as an Article 15, will be assigned a lawyer to protect his rights under the UCMJ.

An example from my own experience in the army as a member of the army band. The officer in charge assigned the whole platoon extra duty for an evening cleaning up the band hall. Any person could have seen a lawyer to take action to challenge the extra duty and demand legal proceedings. None did. Three soldiers deemed ringleaders were also given an article 15 that included a fine. The article 15, as always, would also be in their permanent record. Their lawyer informed them it was illegal to punish them twice for the same offense. Since they had accepted the extra duty the article 15 was illegal. It was thrown out. They had a choice to file a complaint regarding the illegal article 15 which would have been included in the officer's record or to not press charges.

Any person assigned extra duty, including your general, could challenge that punishment and demand legal proceedings. In your impossible scenario any general would. The only choice left the higher authorities would to bring up formal charges through an article 15 or higher charges.

The UCMJ is a complete and complex set of rules, laws, regulations that govern and protect the rights of enlisted personnel. Its not something that can arbitrarily be changed by one person be he the general of the post or the CiC. Though I don't know this I have no doubt that included in the UCMJ are the rules/laws detailing how it can be changed.