Mother of sexually abused child: The military is failing victims Army Times By: Karen Jowers March 9, 2018
"The investigators did not investigate Wilson’s past, she said, adding that the Marine Corps didn’t follow through to address previous reports of a sexual nature against Wilson. If they had, she said, 'Wilson would never have been able to take our child’s innocence from her.'"
Adrian Perry testifies before the personnel panel of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee during Thursday's hearing on domestic violence and child abuse in the military. (SASC video screen shot)
Marine wife whose 6-year-old daughter was sexually abused by a Marine Corps colonel told lawmakers the military is failing victims.
“Had my husband and I stayed silent, our case would never have been brought,” said Adrian Perry, who testified before the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee hearing Thursday examining child abuse and intimate partner violence in the military.
Witnesses testified about problems with investigations, cumbersome processes, lack of proper resources for victims, and communication issues between military and civilian authorities. read more here
Army Delays Discharge of Soldier Who Confronted Accused Afghan Rapist
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Oct 06, 2015
"It was not until the Army was forced to shed tens of thousands of soldiers that it opened the QMP process to a population to which it would not otherwise have applied. This is the unfortunate by-product of indiscriminate cuts to our military." Rep. Mac Thornberry
The U.S. Army on Tuesday delayed the discharge of Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland who has admitted to roughing up an Afghan police commander accused of sexually abusing a boy.
The action followed a phone call on Martland's behalf from Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Republican from Texas and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to Army Secretary John McHugh.
The service later issued a statement saying, "Out of respect for Chairman Thornberry's continued strong support for our military, and his personal appeal, Secretary McHugh has agreed to postpone Sgt. First Class Martland's discharge from the Army for 60 days to allow him to file an appeal with the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records."
The New York Times reported last month that in 2011 Martland and Special Forces Capt. Dan Quinn physically confronted an Afghan commander accused of sexually abusing a boy. Quinn has since left the Army and Martland has said he is being forced to retire for intervening. read more here
Army kicking out decorated Green Beret who stood up for Afghan rape victim
FoxNews.com
By Lucas Tomlinson
Published August 21, 2015
Martland was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions. According to one evaluation, he also was "praised" by Gen. David Petraeus, then commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan.
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Army is kicking out a decorated Green Beret after an 11-year Special Forces career, after he got in trouble for shoving an Afghan police commander accused of raping a boy and beating up his mother when she reported the incident.
The case of Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland now has the attention of Congress, with Rep. Duncan Hunter writing to Defense Secretary Ash Carter challenging the decision.
"I am once again dismayed by the Army's actions in this case," Hunter, R-Calif., wrote in a letter to Carter.
Martland is described by many of his teammates as the finest soldier they have ever served alongside.
But his Army career changed course during his second deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. After learning an Afghan boy was raped and his mother beaten, Martland and his team leader confronted a local police commander they had trained, armed and paid with U.S. taxpayer dollars. When the man laughed off the incident, they physically confronted him.
Martland grew up south of Boston, in Milton, Mass. An all-state football player in high school, he set his sights on playing college football after graduating in 2001. Martland went for the Florida State University team, which just finished a season ranked #4 in the nation. read more here
After losing both legs in Afghanistan, Just Gaertner moved to the front lines of another war
Marine fights against online child predators
ABC Action News
Alison Morrow
October 18, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. - After losing both legs during his third deployment to Afghanistan, a Pasco County man finally achieved his dream of returning to war.
Except, this time, the battlefield looks a little different.
"In the beginning, when I first got blown up, I thought my life was over," Justin Gaertner said.
"We think this is the end."
On his third deployment to Afghanistan, the young Marine was hit by an IED. Perhaps equally debilitating, he lost a future in combat.
At the same time, however, another war gained momentum closer to home.
"It's disturbing work. It's very upsetting. It's challenging. It's not for everybody," explained HSI Special Agent In Charge Susan McCormick.
McCormick oversees forensic analysis that tracks child exploitation from a field office in Tampa. It's one of a dozen new test sites for the "HERO Corps" pilot program.
Gaertner is one of 17 veterans participating, after training for two months in forensic analysis and digital evidence collection.
"It's kind of like going back to bootcamp," Gaertner said.
"It's exactly like going back in the battlefield. It's the same thing." read more here
Wounded veterans train to help fight sex crimes
By YESENIA AMARO
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Justin Gaertner of Tampa, Fla. is part of the HERO Corps pilot class. (Courtesy)
Las Vegas won’t be Iraq or Afghanistan for Kevin Leduc, but it will give the Army veteran the opportunity to continue to serve his country.
The 31-year-old former special operations infantryman is one of 17 veterans — many of whom were wounded in the line of duty — who will be deployed across the nation by federal law enforcement agencies to help solve criminal cases involving child pornography and online sexual exploitation.
“It’s my second chance to serve through the government,” he said Friday afternoon from Washington, D.C.
Leduc is part of a new pilot program, the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Child Rescue Corps, called the HERO Corps. Graduates of the program will work at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations offices across the nation. Their job: to assist special agents using computer forensic skills obtained during intensive training during the past couple of weeks.
Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s western region, described the program as a “win-win” for those involved.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” she said. “And it’s a great opportunity for the veterans.”
The original idea for the program was brought to the table by the National Association to Protect Children, Kice said. They wanted to create a program for veterans no longer able to serve in the military. read more here
