Lt. Col. Scheller to face court-martial

The Washington Times reports that the Marine Corps has ordered a court-martial for Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller. He’s the 17-year veteran who released several videos and social media posts sharply criticizing senior U.S. government and military leaders over operations in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Scheller has been charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: contempt toward officials; disrespect toward superior commissioned officers; willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; dereliction in the performance of duties; failure to obey an order or regulation, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

Scheller was courageous in leveling criticisms against the government and the military over the Afghanistan fiasco, knowing what the consequences might be. However, if he did, in fact, violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and if similar violations have resulted in a court-martial for the same alleged violations, then the Marine Corps isn’t wrong to proceed as it is doing in this case.

I hope that all relevant extenuating circumstances, as well as Scheller’s 17-year record, will be taken into account.

Proceeding with this court martial will have adverse consequences for the military. It will keep the Afghanistan fiasco in the news, or at least non-leftist precincts of the news. It will antagonize many Americans including, I assume, many in the military. Morale may suffer.

On the plus side from the military’s perspective, punishing Lt. Col. Scheller will send a message to others in uniform not to criticize the brass. Depending on how the Marines ultimately deal with Scheller, that goal in this context can be seen as part and parcel of the military’s decision, under Joe Biden, to take sides in our politics, for example by indoctrinating service members in the noxious, anti-American teachings of critical race theory and attacking alleged “extremism” in the ranks.

Even before the Afghanistan pullout, America’s trust in the military was waning a bit. I assume it took a hit as a result of that fiasco. Depending on the outcome of the Scheller case, it may soon wane some more.

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