A final decision is expected by May 1 regarding the military future of decorated Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, who is fighting an involuntary discharge for confronting an Afghan police commander for raping a small boy and abusing his mother in 2011.
The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States voiced his concern last September about whether the military is punishing troops for doing the right thing instead of examining Status of Forces Agreements that has them serving and protecting others in foreign lands, yet ignoring local incidents that everyone knows in their hearts to be wrong.
"Martland did what I would hope anyone would do if confronted with the same situation," said VFW National Commander John A. Biedrzycki Jr. "We can only hope that his 11 years of service, three deployments and Bronze Star for valor are being strongly considered before a final decision is reached. The Army simply cannot afford to purposely discharge good soldiers who do the right thing."