I have been writing my blog on my laptop in my free time lately. Which I use a program called Zempt. It allows me to write blog postings offline then publish them later. So sometimes you may see a blog that wasn’t here yesterday and today you see one that is a week old.

Last night I was a little more tired than usual, and passed out on the couch in the living room. Which my wife woke me up at 6:30am, the exact time in which I needed to be at PT. Seeing it takes me about 20-45 minutes to get to work depending on the traffic I knew any effort I made at this point wouldn’t help at all. I fucked up and knew that they were going to take the punishment that was suspended from the article 15 on monday and reduce me at least one rank and take half a months pay. Which also meant that I officially no longer get a paycheck from the Army.

I am working for free now. My paycheck on Friday will be $304. At $5 an hour thats a 30 hour work week. McDonalds pays $7.25 here and I know I can get more than 30 hours (probably 38-39). So now I am faced with the decision that it would be financially smarter to go AWOL (they are chaptering me out of the Army anyway) and go work at McDonalds. I don’t think I could be sorrier of a person. A step up is McDonald’s? That’s pretty bad.

Which I am certian they will take one rank as well as the suspended rank so the good news is I don’t have to wear any rank now. Which is the worse part out of all of this.

The thing that gets me the most is I have seen lots of people in this unit do worse and go unpunished. Some even promoted. I build a website and get damned to hell.

I have gone from SGT to PFC in only a matter of months. However there is still one person in the company who places me as the runner up for being a Piece-of-Shit. This guy is about 25 pounds overweight and from my understanding he hasn’t passed a single PT test his entire career, which is about 3 years now. He is also a PFC.

Today I had to clean the barracks and he has the key to the cleaning closet. So I had to ask him to unlock it.

When I knocked on his door he sounded like he was in a normal spirited mood, but as soon as he saw me he went sour and looked like he was about to go postal. I waited for him to dig around his pig-sty of a room for the keys, and when he found them he grumpily pouted down the hall. I thought I would ask him why he looks so grumpy. His response…, “Because I don’t fucking like you”. I almost laughed at him, and about 100 comebacks came across my mind as to what I should insult him on first. I bit my tongue and chose to say nothing as the last thing I need now is a fight and he looked like he wanted one. Seeing he had well over 100 pounds on me I decided it may not be in my best interest as he only need to sit on me to win.

Sweeping the floor I started to think about it. I am guessing he is mad because I used to smoke the hell out of him when I was a SGT, especially during special pops PT. But it did really bother me and still reminded me, no matter what I do I will still be the runner up for the biggest piece of shit in the company.

Had a rocky start this morning with the wife, which should of been my first clue. I went to sign my appeal for the Article 15. I had requested to speak to the Brigade COL in person but apparently he reviewed it yesterday and denied the Article 15. Then the attorney in legal wrote a memo on why he denied it.

My appeal used the basis in which, whoever wrote the form, incorrectly wrote the article I was being charged with. Seeing the Manual for Court Martial (MCM) which holds all the articles of UCMJ along with several other laws regarding military law is around 800 pages, they rely on what the paperwork says, that they have been given while reading the Article 15. A typo, omission of a certain word, or some other typographical error I could possible understand. However, in this case they eliminated a keyword in the elements defined in Article 134, and replaced it. Seeing it is also the one word that would give any reasonable doubt, or prove my innocence completely I have a reasonable suspicion this was done intentionally.

Willfulness. “Willful” means with the knowledge that one is falsely holding one’s self out as such.

Apparently I was misinformed. Article 134 has a lot of different articles that fall under it. I was told that I was being charged with “impersonating a Non-commissioned officer”. This threw my whole defense off as I didn’t expect that there was anything other that this could fall under. I was charged with “Wearing unauthorized insignia”. Which according to the elements for this there is nothing that protects anyone being charged with this. Which really sucks. Why label it as being charged with a certain article if there are several items. Its not like they have any similarities either.

Items that fall under Article 134:
-General
-Abusing public animal
-Adultery
-Assault - indecent
-Assault - with intent
-Bigamy
-Bribery and graft
-Burning with intent to defraud
-Check, worthless, making and uttering - by dishonorably failing to maintain funds
-Cohabitation, wrongful
-Correctional custody - offenses against
-Debt, dishonorably failing to pay
-Disloyal statements
-Disorderly conduct, drunkenness
-Drinking liquor with prisoner
-Drunk prisoner
-Disorderly conduct, drunkenness
-Drinking liquor with prisoner
-Drunk prisoner
-Drunkenness—incapacitation for performance of duties through prior wrongful indulgence in intoxicating liquor or any drug
-False or unauthorized pass offenses
-False pretenses, obtaining services under
-False swearing
-Firearm, discharging—through negligence
-Firearm, discharging—willfully, under such circumstances as to endanger human life
-Fleeing scene of accident
-Fraternization
-Gambling with subordinate
-Homicide, negligent
-Impersonating a commissioned, warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer, or an agent or official
-Indecent acts or liberties with a child
-Indecent exposure
-Indecent language
-Indecent acts with another
-Jumping from vessel into the water
-Kidnapping
-Mail: taking, opening, secreting, destroying, or stealing
-Mails: depositing or causing to be deposited obscene matters in
-Misprision of serious offense
-Obstructing justice
-Wrongful interference with an adverse administrative proceeding
-Pandering and prostitution
-Parole, Violation of
-Perjury: subornation of
-Public record: altering, concealing, removing, mutilating, obliterating, or destroying
-Quarantine: medical, breaking
-Reckless endangerment
-Requesting commission of an offense
-Restriction, breaking
-Seizure: destruction, removal, or disposal of property to prevent
-Self-injury without intent to avoid service
-Sentinel or lookout: offenses against or by
-Soliciting another to commit an offense
-Stolen property: knowingly receiving, buying, concealing
-Straggling
-Testify: wrongful refusal
-Threat or hoax: bomb
-Threat, communicating
-Unlawful entry
-Weapon: concealed, carrying
-Wearing unauthorized insignia, decoration, badge, ribbon, device, or lapel button

On top of that I have been told that Article 134 can be re-written upon the needs of the commander. Thats a lot of laws that anyone can re-write just for the sake of being able to. That also scares me to think someone made the ability to do so.

This is what they are using to chapter me so now it is official on the chapter. Which after I made this careless discovery it totally ruined my day.

Yesterday, I was read the final portion of my Article 15. The charge was “Impersonating an NCO”, even though the record of proceedings didn’t label it that way. They did say that it was in violation of Article 134 of the UCMJ. Which if you were to look up is titled “Impersonating a commissioned, warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer, or an agent or official.

Yes, I assumed the responsibilities as an NCO when I arrived at Fort Campbell.

Was I lead to believe that I was in fact an NCO?
Yes.
Did I have all the appropriate paper work to prove that I was an NCO?
Yes.
Did I manufacture, forge, or in some other form produce false documents?
No.

The Article 15, Record of Proceedings, paper work reads:

In that you, did, at or near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, between on or about 13 March 2007 and on or about 21 June 2007, wrongfully and without authority wear upon his uniform the insignia or grade of a Sergeant of the Army. This is in violation of Article 134, UCMJ.

All other information on the form is pre-printed and some names. So its clear that this is everything they are punishing me for.

The thing that confuses me is they give an example in the Manual for Court Marshal (MCM), where they list and discuss Article 134 states the elements, and whoever wrote the record of proceedings copied it verbatim, except for one thing. They don’t use the word willful. Which without the word this is simply stating, “you were wrong” and nothing more. “Yes, we know it wasn’t your fault, and that it was a misunderstanding created by a paperwork error. But because this is wrong you are getting in trouble for it”.

They get away with this because they changed the regulation to suit them. No where in Article 134 does it state “without authority”. This is something that they added, literally out of thin air. Which basically only supports the fact that it is wrong and nothing else.

Article 134 actually gives an explanation of the article. They call it, an “Explanation”. Those “Explanations” are:
(1) Nature of offense
(2) Willfulness
(3) Intent to defraud

Lesser included offenses are included under Article 80 - Attempts.

So, I am confused. Which one of these three does “wrongfully” fall under?

Part of the elements of this article is “That the impersonation was wrongful and willful”. Is it me or do you see the word “and” in between those last two words? Maybe we should define willful? Great! Article 134 gives the definition of “Willfulness”. It says:

Willfulness. “Willful” means with the knowledge that one is falsely holding one’s self out as such.

So the bottom line is…, was I willful? Well, that would be kind of stupid wouldn’t it? I have a star MOS, I would make cut-off 6 months after I lost my E-5. So it was a temporary demotion. If I knew the paperwork was wrong and I was sure that I wasn’t given a second chance wouldn’t you think that possibly, just possibly I would risk losing more rank? Getting in trouble a second time? Its a pretty big risk to just assume they won’t find out.

I just had the BC and CSM inform me that yes I was wrong and understood it wasn’t my mistake. But sometimes we must pay for our mistakes. The CSM gave an example. If you consume alcohol, get in a car, and kill someone, you are guilty and must be punished. You may not of intended to kill someone, but you did. He explained that this is an extreme case but the same rules apply.

This caught me off guard. How do you argue that? I broke attention (which I was at attention for the entire reading that lasted 30 minutes) to look at CSM and drop my jaw. I knew how to rebuttal it, but how do you put that in words and still remain tactful as to not offend the CSM? My opportunity to respond had passed and the topic changed.

I lost.

I was found guilty.

Reduction to E-3, with E-2 suspended for six months, 30 days of extra duty, and half a months pay for 2 months suspended for six months. I am now the biggest piece of shit in the company. A PFC with almost 5 years in service, and E-5 still on my ID card. Its embarrassing to even think it. I checked the appeal box, but what good it will do I don’t know. I am hoping that the brigade commander will consult with legal and get an honest decision, and not one that is biased.