Spending 20 years in the Air Force, I saw a lot of things, some good, some bad, and some indescribable. But I never thought I'd see or hear of something that would make me sad for the institution. So when I heard of the General who overturned a military court ruling, I had to write something.
A military court found a male airman guilty of sexually assaulting a female airman. This group that convicted was a group of 12 men. There were no females on the board. But then a General overturned the verdict and declared the male airman not guilty. This will allow the man to return to duty as if he had not been found guilty in a trial. I do not understand how any one in the military can overturn a court verdict, but the fact that this General did makes me sick to my stomach. If the General found a flaw in the procedures, he/she should have voided the verdict and set a date for a new trial. A Senate hearing will be convened to find out the reasons behind the General's actions, and it can't come a moment too soon, in my estimation.
The action by the General has given the Air Force a black eye. And if action ain't taken to reverse his/her decision or a full account of why the decision was taken, the black eye will spread to the rest of the country.
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