Turns out, he went AWOL so he could go home because of family issues. His wife was Mexican and brought the rest of her family over the border illegally. So all the money this guy was sending home was actually paying to support illegal immigrants and drug addictions, not to support his daughter. So, because the military wasn’t helping him out to correct the situation, he bought a plane ticket and went home to “set things right”.

When he came back, naturally he went to Captain’s Mast. However, the Captain decided that there were extenuating circumstances so, even though we were going to war and he missed ship’s movement (one of the seven deadly sins of the Navy), the sailor received a slap on the wrist. He got restricted to the ship for 60 days (no big deal since we were at sea), extra duty for 60 days, and I think he lost some of his pay for a month or two. I don’t think he was demoted because it would reduce the amount of money his daughter would receive.

Basically, he should have been kicked out of the Navy for what he did but ended up receiving the same punishment as being insubordinate. So I won’t believe that what the Air Force woman received was a just sentence, especially because there was no harm done.

So it seems, that things have not changed all that much. What happened to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” company line? I would have hoped by now that the playing field was leveled. That soldiers were soldiers so long as they did their job. If every soldier (or sailor) was called on the carpet for every little thing that violated something in the UCMJ I would think that there would be a considerably smaller number of people serving their country.

I saw people that pulled up drug charges get less done to them. Reduction in rank yes. Getting the unwanted duties yes. But action by the courts. NO.

Aah.. menage-a-trois, trust the French to coin such a cool sounding phrase for the act.