Lawmakers commended the Army for finally deciding the Green Beret who beat up an alleged child rapist in Afghanistan could stay in the Army after months of appeals. But some were left asking why it took so long.
Sgt. Charles Martland beat an Afghan police officer during a deployment in 2011 after discovering that the official kept a young Afghan boy chained to his bed as a sex slave.
The Army told Martland, Bronze Star recipient, that he would be kicked out of the military for the violent episode. That prompted a backlash from members of Congress, who said the officer’s decision to stand up to a child rapist should be commended, not punished.
“The Pentagon finally took action and did the right thing,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. “Going forward, I hope the Department of Defense will learn from Martland’s case and avoid punishing those who stand up for American values at home and abroad.”
Martland was set to be discharged last November, but appealed the decision. The Army finally decided late Thursday night to allow the decorated Green Beret to continue serving, according to reports.
Buchanan, as well as Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., have led the charge in the House to reinstate Martland. Hunter encouraged the Senate this year to place a hold on the confirmation of Obama’s pick to be the next Army secretary over Martland’s case.
“Representative Hunter got the call last night from the acting Army secretary and he was elated,” Hunter’s chief of staff Joe Kasper said. “He thanked him for doing the right thing, and for putting Charles back in the fight, which is what Charles always wanted. We’ve worked a lot of these types of cases as an office and this is perhaps the most gratifying outcome of them all. The Army deserves credit here, too. The new leadership team is different than the old, and this decision is proof of that fact.”
On the other side of the Capitol, however, Republican senators were largely silent and unwilling to clash with the Pentagon over Martland’s career.
