On Saturday, October 3, 2015, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke to the Human Rights Campaign and passionately reiterated her support for the LGBT community. In particular, she told the crowd that she believed that LGBT military service members who have been discharged due to their sexual orientation should receive retroactive honorable discharges. “Don’t Ask, … Read more
Last July, Lt. Col. Joshua Kastenberg ruled that the dismissed sexual assault charges against 1st Class Brandon T. Wright had been exposed to “unlawful command influence” in Italy, but that the case should still see a stateside court-martial. Now, Wright’s defense counsel is arguing that the initial dismissal in favor of their client should stand. … Read more
This month, a second Army official has reportedly come forward and recommended that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl should not receive jail time for his alleged desertion and misbehavior before the enemy offenses. The recommendation comes a month following Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl recommendation, who investigated Bergdahl’s actions in Afghanistan and testified that Jail time would be … Read more
In a recent interview, Army Secretary John McHugh has revealed that the Army’s programs for treating soldier alcohol and substance abuse are shifting back to the Army Medical Command from the Installation Management Command. The change comes following a disturbing report from USA Today that detailed the sharp decline in treatment under the Installation Management … Read more
The Army is currently experiencing an explosion of misconduct-based disciplinary actions and discharges it has not seen since the 1990s. While officials insist that the spiking discharges are a result of tougher enforcement of Army standards, many others suspect that mass exodus of soldiers is actually peacetime downsizing in disguise– and that it’s unfairly characterizing … Read more
In a shocking new report from NPR and Colorado Public Radio, investigators claim that the Army has dismissed tens of thousands of troops with TBI or PTSD issues on the grounds of “misconduct.” Perhaps most alarming of the findings is that, despite Army officials’ claims to the contrary, the practice is likely continuing to thrive … Read more
Following a shocking investigative report from NPR last month, a dozen senators are now calling for the Army to investigate the misconduct discharges of nearly 22,000 soldiers since 2009. According to the NPR report, each of those soldiers had exhibited symptoms of combat-related TBI and PTSD and now, due to their less-than-honorable discharge, are cut … Read more
In a startling new study, researchers report that the occurrence of sexual assault on male military members could be as much as 15 times higher than initially thought. The study, which provided anonymity for its subjects, also highlights a crippling stigma associated with reporting these types of offenses. As Vocativ reports, the study was published … Read more
As part of our engagement with military law practice area, we at Joseph L. Jordan, Attorney at Law frequently try to highlight military stories that shine a light on urgent issues, injustices, and crises within the armed forces. The issues and concerns vary, but what they all have in common is that they feature hardworking … Read more
According to a new report released earlier this month, the Navy’s efforts to combat the prevalence of sexual assault among its ranks have been moderately successful. The fiscal 2014 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military revealed that while reporting on the crimes has gotten better, no progress has been made in curtailing incidents … Read more