Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, who gained national attention after posting a video that criticized the withdrawal from Afghanistan, is presently facing severe consequences for speaking his mind on the disastrous withdrawal.
The U.S. military is reportedly planning to hammer Scheller with six different charges, as revealed in a recent announcement from the Marine Corps. According to the Marine Corps, Scheller will be charged with six different violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
These charges include: Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; Failure to obey order or regulation; Dereliction in the performance of duties; Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; Disrespect toward superior commissioned officers; and Contempt toward officials.
In addition, Scheller will be tried in a special court-martial.
Capt. Sam Stephenson noted that the charges pertain to Scheller’s alleged violation of the chain of command, namely since he aired his various grievances with commanders on social media platforms.
The military has “proper forums to raise concerns with the chain of command,” Stephenson proclaimed to the Marine Corps Times. He added that posting any form of criticism of the military on social media “is not the proper manner in which to raise concerns with the chain of command.”
Deviations from the “proper” chain of command can result in “a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Stephenson continued.
Scheller had been incarcerated in a military jail, though he was released last Tuesday. He had been sent to the military jail for pre-trial confinement after his alleged violation of a gag order, which commanded him to stop commenting publicly on the case pending against him.
Scheller is in trouble for not only criticizing the commanders above him, but also for referencing the word “revolution” repeatedly, per various leaked documents.
Nonetheless, one of Scheller’s attorneys, Tim Parlatore, noted that Scheller has never advocated violence, nor has he “ever advocated any violent overthrow of the government.”
Scheller does believe that a change in leadership is necessary, in “both the military and political class,” and this change is precisely what he had been referencing in all his commentaries.
The military has also become angered by Scheller’s intention to file charges against Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Jr. McKenzie, who is the head of U.S. Central Command, faces Scheller’s wrath due to the terrorist attack that struck Kabul Airport, a tragedy that resulted in the loss of 13 American service members and 169 innocent Afghan civilians.
Scheller is due to face a hearing on October 14, which will take place at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.