“The U.S. Marine who posted videos on social media criticizing military leadership and the Biden administration’s withdrawal of military assets from Afghanistan was issued a letter of reprimand and a forfeiture of $5,000 worth of pay for one month, after pleading guilty to all charges during his court-martial hearing this week.
Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. pled guilty to all six misdemeanor-level charges Thursday, including willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, dereliction in the performance of duties and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
The judge, on Friday, said he would have given a two-month forfeiture of pay, had it not been for the nine days Scheller spent in pre-trial confinement. Scheller was freed from the brig last week where he was being held for violating an agreement to stop posting criticism on social media.
The judge said he does not condone Scheller’s offenses, but noted his 17 year USMC career, saying that prior to his social media incident, he was an officer with an outstanding record – a record, he said, he weighed heavily. ” foxnews
Comment: I presume that USMC will now accept his resignation without further fuss. pl
Good. Maybe more will come forward. 5K and a nasty letter. I’d do it. Only thing he got wrong was Trump being a divider. Trump got more minority votes than any GOP candidate in 60 years or something. Over 10M more than Obama and Biden cheated his ass off gong off of Federal election laws being broken alone. That alone and he does not win.
The USMC appears to have passed the matter of his separation upstairs, according to Task and Purpose, which reports a USMC spokesperson saying the nature of his discharge will be determined by the Sec of Navy.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-corps-lt-col-stuart-scheller-sentenced/
Whether this is SOP for senior officers, the passing a hot potato upstairs, or if the USMC is employing a delaying tactic in an attempt to save his benes both from and for him to decide after he hopefully cools down I haven’t an informed clue, but my hope is for the latter.
Mark Logan
It is quite normal for a service secretary to make such a decision.
Mark Logan,
I don’t think Scheller gets to keep his benefits under the current plea deal and conditions of discharge.
I was sympathetic to Scheller in his first social media message. Then I watched the second and, especially, the third, which he made after being ordered not to. If Scheller had been E5 instead of O5 he would have, appropriately, been handed time in the brig and a Big Chicken Dinner for that crap. Ironic, because he was initially calling for accountability. Watch his second and third videos. You just can’t do that! He’s guilty of everything they charged him with. At least he owned up to that in his plea.
The Republican need to put him up for office as soon as he’s a civilian.
EEngineer,
God no, unless he wants to waste his timing running against one of the squad.
Exactly, come right out and call them all commies in the most flamboyant un-PC drill sergeant manner possible. He’d be a media sponge like Trump was in 2016. The effect would be to suck the oxygen out of the room and put ALL of them on the defensive. Even if, probably actually, he doesn’t win he makes the Dems look bad EVERYWHERE. Like a feigning attack, the purpose isn’t to win, it’s to weaken the opposing forces at the real objective. When it’s all over he gets hired as a consultant somewhere or is given a federal job that counts his service time towards it’s pension.
Pity
Such an officer should be promoted.
Far to many sycophants and career butt smoochers infesting MIC.
Pulling out of Afghanistan was the right thing to do. Trump tried and due to the upper levels of the US military, he was thwarted. The problem was how it was done. If the Lt Col is critical of that and only that, then he is ok. If, however, he is speaking out against the actual policy of withdrawal then he is out line and exposed to the UCMJ ramifications. I don’t want Lt. Colonels making US foreign policy.
I was pretty sure the Corps (Sec Nav….whoever) would go lightly on Scheller and try to make this go away as quietly as possible. I thought they’d offer up medical retirement due to PTSD or some similar diagnosis. They were gearing up for a psych eval to set the stage, but it looks like Scheller didn’t want to go that route. Too bad, he could have kept his benefits and had an honorable discharge status (I think he’s down graded to a general under honorable now).
I saw Scheller’s third social media video after Col Lang’s post on the topic. Scheller appears clearly psychiatrically unhinged to me. He’s going off on all kind of tangents unrelated to the Afghanistan withdrawal. He’s even stating that Gen. Mattis is a homosexual. And he’s threatening what could be interpreted to be some kind of revolution against the government. Scheller has no future after that display.
Eric,
The Military Times reports getting an honorable or general discharge was part of his plea deal. The Sec of Navy can be expected to sign off on that. I suppose this might be reason the judge ruled against the prosecution’s call to dock his future pay.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2021/10/14/day-one-of-scheller-trial-brings-a-guilty-plea-and-a-political-sideshow-sentencing-tomorrow/
Mark Logan
He may br “expected to” but that is a proper function of a service secretary. That is what is referred to as civilian control.
Mark Logan,
I could be wrong about this. So someone can set me straight if I am, but, yes, you’re correct that he would be able to receive service related disability benefits and VA care. However, what I was referring to is that if he had been found to have done what he did due to PTSD or other psychiatric condition he could have been medically retired and then enjoyed retirement benefits too. My point is that Scheller might have had an opportunity to for retirement benefits beyond service related disabilities *if* he had stopped his social media postings when ordered to, or, if he continued like he did, had been found to be suffering from a psychiatric condition related to service that caused the postings.
His family may find themselves wishing he had gone the psychiatric diagnosis route. Scheller’s honor wouldn’t allow it, though; which I understand. He’s in a tough place and it’s sad to see. He has a rough road ahead of him. He fired a second torpedo into his own ship by dissing Trump and refusing financial aid from Trumpers.
EN
Yes, he could say he is an emotional cripple for a few lousy bucks.
He’s walking away with a $2.5+ million crowdfunding donation.
I suspect dodging the dishonorable discharge is the best he could’ve reasonably hoped for.
IMO this man did not cleverly plot all this out. The risk was enormous.
I’ve seen none of Scheller’s videos, but from comments here, it sounds like he’s crazy like a fox.
He created all kinds of chaos, has many people asking uncomfortable questions.
The Cancelled Contingent will love him for that: he said and did what they wished they could but did not have the courage, the ability to take the career and financial risk. He garnered that “audience share.”
Even “dissing Trump,” if that’s what he did, — more audience share.
Col. Lang nailed it: He’ll get along on $2.5 million until “media career kicks in.”
Kinda refreshing that someone can do well by doing good.
Blazing a path?
Artemesia,
Ok. I’m glad he got more money than he would have over his remaining life time after putting in his full 20.
In his last video, the one filmed in the trailer with the chess board wherein he states that he is resigning his commission as of that moment, that the powers that be don’t understand what he’s capable of and that he’s going to bring the “entire system down”, Scheller says that he is not interested in money and doesn’t want a Go Fund Me or anything else; though he does allow that one could be established for his wife. So I assumed that he was separating from the service with a safety net. I guess maybe he re-thought one. Crazy like a Fox? Maybe so. Will be interesting to see what his next move is.
This news story seems relevant to the topic of military command and discipline:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/us-navy-secretary-lloyd-austin-threatens-navy-sealss-get-vax-will-fired-may-force-pay-back-cost-training/
Joe Biden imposed a mandatory vaccine mandate on the US military. A growing number of Navy SEALs are seeking a religious exemption to the government’s vaccine mandate.
Now the US Navy is threatening to fire the SEALs and force them to pay back the money spent on their training.
I am not well-informed enough to guess the outcome of this.
For some as yet unknown strategic reason, which would be wrong to speculate on here, the US Government and many around the world seem to want to enforce mandatory vaccination, apart from the favoured few.
The action being taken against the SEALs and in many other organisations is part of that objective.
As time goes on it is proving to be almost exponentially difficult to get the objectors vaccinated. Even as far as the loss of their livelihood.
I have had it but no-one of my late 40s children have, costing one their job.
The Navy Seals who refuse being innoculated with these products a right on gounds of common sensse with regard personal security.
As the cases of strokes, thrombosis, cloths and other blood related issues plus sudden deaths and other serious conditions ammount, it would be for them like playing the Russian Roulet while waiting when the fat lady sings…
It has been already two Spanish soldiers who have resulted death when diving…
Then there is the astonishing ammount of young and fit people who have resulted either death or crippled for life after taking these “vaccines”, including high level sports stars, like some NBA players who previsouly never suffered any health related issue in all their whole careers.
A job is important, ni doubt, as it is a whole already made career, but you will not be able to continue working anyway if you result either death or crippled, with the handiap that nobody will get the responsability for your disability, and thus you will not being payed and cared either.
Asking people to risk their whole health capital and lives in such a way would require a voluntary submission, and this under high payement in any case…as it ha been always through pharma trials…
@Navy SEALS! Sources with which to construct your claims to Lloyd Austin:
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1449629378195951620
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1449291290626121729
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1449287143113822209
https://multipolar-magazin.de/artikel/i-cannot-do-it-anymore
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1449290336375906305
https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2021/10/16/616af2b121efa0d24b8b460c.html
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1449332302513950720
Condottiere
I don’t begrudge him the money. He is going to need it until his media career cranks up.